Mocha Barks Too Much
I recently visited my sister-in-law and her family in Boone, NC and helped them solve a problem with their dog Mocha. My sister-in-law’s family is made up of a husband, three sons, and a great dog they rescued from the local shelter. Mocha is a mixed-breed and has a great disposition except she was driving her family, the neighbors, the UPS driver, the mail carrier and anyone who came to visit crazy with her incessant barking. She was not being aggressive or mean, just very vocal. The family tried distracting her with toys and treats, telling her to be quite, and, near the end, yelling at her to stop. I tried to point out how they were enabling the barking by giving her attention when she barked by “barking” with her through their yelling but that did not solve the problem.
I brought with me a bark control collar and helped them understand how it is used to control nuisance barking and pointed out that the goal is not to eliminate barking but to address the nuisance barking. I showed them how it worked and fitted it on Mocha. The stimulation level on the collar automatically adjusts based on the number of barks – the first bark activates the collar and they receive level 1 which most dogs can not feel because it is so low. If they bark again within 20 second the collar automatically increases to level 2, if they bark again it goes to level 3, and so on through 6 levels. When they stop barking, the collar resets to level 1. Additionally, there are three temperament zones – low, medium, and high – each has 6 levels of stimulation so you can adjust the collar to the temperament of your dog. Mocha quickly learned that when she barked she experienced a sensation that she did not like – she was still able to bark once or twice until the level got high enough that she felt she did not need to bark any more. I pointed out that the key is to remove the collar when barking is ok to give her neck a rest and to allow her to freely express herself.
I called them the other day to see how Mocha was doing with her barking and they happily told me that with the collar on or off, she does not bark like she did, she is much calmer, and she seems happier since people are more likely to stop and pet her now that she is not barking all the time. My sister-in-law pointed out that it is much nicer having a dog that everyone likes and is not afraid of. I know not everyone likes the use of bark collars but this is an example of how improved the relationship between the family and their pet.
--Chris Brudecki
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Chris Brudecki is the Director of Outreach for Radio Systems Corporation and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
