Best No Bark & Anti Bark Collar For Small Dogs

Are Bark Collars Safe for Small Dogs?

In general, they are although a lot of dog lovers would consider a bark collar a last resort. It is natural to feel frustrated when you have to deal with excessive barking. Before trying anything out of the ordinary, barking is normal.

Dogs bark when they are excited, want attention and when they're frightened and lonely. High quality training collars are not designed to punish and they don’t hurt the dog in any way. It’s more an unexpected surprise. What’s delivered via the collar is the equivalent of a static shock you get walking on nylon carpet. However, it is essential to buy the best collar that relies on a patented technology that activates after detecting the correct sound and vibration.

Even so, there are different points of view on the use of the best small dog bark collar. For instance, Michigan State University researchers don't recommend electric shock collars and suggest dog owners should always stick to positive training methods.

If you're concerned about hurting your small dog with barking collars, you may want to avoid shock collars and try citronella spray or tone correction. These spray anti-barking collars are very safe since they only release a spray of citronella when they detect a barking. Citronella is strong enough to feel unpleasant in a sensitive nose and disrupts their barking. Although it’s gentler than a shock collar, this is still not considered a positive training as recommended by dog trainers. 

The truth is that anything used incorrectly will cause problems and confuse your dog, and a barking collar is no exception. The idea is for the dog to make the connection between barking and future negative consequences whether it's a shock, spray in the face or a loud noise. Dogs live in the moment. A future consequence is an abstract. If you have a bright dog like a Collie, it will quickly make connections but the whole concept is a challenge for the average dog. Some dogs are just nice but dim, and joining the dots is beyond them and they accept the shock, vibration and sound and carry on. 

Therefore, you need to be cautious about deciding you need to use these collars for dog s barking and if you do, ensure there’s only one training objective, like to help your dog to stop barking at night, and boost up positive reinforcements for other acceptable behavior with play to reinforce bonding and with food, the great motivator. If you really have to use a collar for your dog to stop barking, he only needs to wear it when the problem is likely to occur. After a while, this on its own will signal it's time to stay quiet. 

What is the Best Anti Bark Device for Small Dogs?

Dogs bark at night because this is the time when instinct says they should be bedding down with the pack for security. It’s their natural instinct is to bark or howl to find them and some dogs feel this urge stronger than others. For most mammals, being in the dark is when they feel most vulnerable and to a dog, you are the alpha they rely on to protect them. If you are in the house, and your dog is barking at night, the most obvious solution is to let your dog bed down where it can see you and hear you.   

When you are not around, preventing your dog from excessive barking is harder. Dogs are strongly social and barking when alone is a sign of stress and anxiety. It’s also a noise nuisance and most complaints about a barking dog are about the dog barking non stop in the daytime. When your dog is distressed and neighbors complaining, it becomes necessary to look for fast and effective alternatives besides leaving toys to play with and a jumper or blanket with your scent on it.

Using a bark collar is a good idea, especially when you use them in conjunction with positive training methods although you will need a way to find out if its working. Choosing the right bark collar for your dog’s size and breed needs careful consideration. There are a lot on the market so perhaps these points will help.

Electric Bark Collars: E-collars are increasingly popular and designed to deliver a small electric shock to divert your dog from barking. The shock is harmless and doesn't hurt. You can now find e-collars that are actually radio-controlled electronic devices, whereas others use vibration and tone settings. Some high-end dog collars come with a built-in GPS locator. These dog collars deliver shocks in different intensities, so you can select the most suitable for the size and breed of your dog.

• Ultrasonic Bark Collars: In order to deter barking, these collars produce a high-frequency sound inaudible to humans that is a distracting irritation for your dog. Dogs learn to associate the high-pitched sound happening when they bark and the idea is they don’t bark again to avoid it. If you are lucky, your dog might only need to bark once, must most dogs need to experience the sound consequence over a few barking sessions to make this type of cognitive connection. Compare that with how fast your dog learnt to associate food with the sound of a chips bag being opened.
• Vibration Bark Collars: Many dog owners believe vibration bark collars are best because they don't harm your dog in any way, shape or form, and can be used easily with positive training methods. Sensors detect sound and activate the collar to produce vibrations as a gentle distraction. It’s like the vibration on your cell phone. It is possible to adjust the intensity upwards for larger dogs. For tiny toy breeds and small dogs like Shih Tzus you may want to opt for a remote vibration collars in conjunction with other technology like dog watching apps. They are also useful if you have a breed that does a lot of dog talking, like chatty Huskies. You’ll need a camera. The app sends a notification when barking over a set time as been detected and you decide whether or not to activate the collar remotely. This allows you to focus sharply on retraining to stop extended barking and since the best apps also keep a log, you can check for anything on their environment that is acting as a trigger.
• Spray Bark Collars: These are new to the list and are suitable for small dog owners who don't want to use anything that delivers a shock or high-pitched sound. Whenever your dog barks unnecessarily, the collar activates and releases a burst of citronella spray to your dog's snout. The spray is harmless to your dog as well as your family and the environment as a whole but the spray will activate whenever they bark, even if that’s as they play.  These citronella bark collars are considered more humane and less frightening and perhaps are more suitable for use with nervous breeds and anxious dogs.