Citronella Anti Bark Collar
The advantage of using a citronella Anti Bark Collar vs. a shock collar is quite simple. The Cornell University did a study a few years ago comparing the spray method and shock method in dealing with nuisance dog bark issues. The citronella spray bark collar was found to be 88.9% effective and the shock was found to be approximately 40% effective. The reasoning? Shock causes pain. With pain, anxiety increases. Dogs react to pain by barking much as people react by screaming, crying, etc. With the citronella spray bark control collar, there is no pain, therefore anxiety doesn't increase and neither does the barking. When the dog barks, the microphone on the anti bark collar hears the bark and sends up a burst of spray. The spray captivates 4 senses all in one instance-they see it, feel it spray under the "chin", hear it, and smell it. The result of having all these senses captured all at one time is that the dog immedietly startles or says "WOW! WHAT WAS THAT?!!! and becomes quiet. This gives the owner 1 to 1 1/2 seconds to step in and say "Good boy, good quiet" or give him a firm stroke accross the head as positive reinforcement. Ultimately, it's allowing owners to communicate with their dogs what the desired behavior is by communicating in a way the dog understands without causing pain, but instead, giving positive reinforcement through, "Good boy" or a firm stroke. Remember, as with humans, a behavior that is praised is a behavior that will be repeated! The Gentle Spray bark collar IS NOT recommended for barking that is the result of anxiety; for instance, separation anxiety or a dog who only barks non stop during thunderstorms. In situations such as these, the dog is already nervous and anxiois, and introducing any outside factor (be it spray or shock) is going to increase that anxiety and not be good for the dog. In situations like this, we always recommend that the owner consult their vet or a Behaviorist to determine the best way to help their dog cope with the situation that is making them anxious and causing them to bark uncontrollably. Nuisance barking is defined as: your dog sees a squirrel run across the yard and is still barking his head off at a squirrel that hasn't been in sight for ten minutes, or barking at every single person that walks past the house, etc. We don't recommend that the bark collar be worn 24 hours a day. Why? Because dogs need to bark-just as humans need to talk! There are many circumstances in which it's okay and healthy for a dog to bark-we're trying to curb the nonsense NUISANCE barking.