HOW TO STOP YOUR KELPIE FROM BARKING

It is normal for a puppy to go through periods of barking. Often between 6 months and 14 months, a pup learns to bark and enjoys it. This is a perfect time to teach your dog to bark 'on command'. By doing this you will have some control and be able to get your dog to 'speak' when you give the command and be 'quiet' when you give that command. You dog starts to understand what you want.

Sometimes a dog that is allowed to continually bark will get locked into the habit and this will then be very difficult to turn around. Some dog will only bark when you are not home so you need to catch them in the act and stop them in mid-bark! Others will bark at night and you will need to put them in a kennel or shed or in the house where they will not disturb other people living nearby.

In nearly every single case of a dog nuisance barking regularly, it is a dog that is not getting enough exercise and not being mentally stimulated. Having a big backyard does not mean your dog gets enough exercise. So many people misunderstand that. We would prefer to see our Kelpies living in apartments and getting plenty of walks and mental stimulation than in a huge yard and not walked each day. Well balanced dogs need daily walks. Your dog should be under control and at your side. Your dog should not be pulling forward and should not be allowed to wander, sniff, lift their leg etc. without you giving permission. These rules are extremely important and you will find a lot more detail in our book -Kelpie Basics. Each walk should be between 30 minutes and an hour. If the family works together and you can manage a morning and evening walk, it will be even better. After a few weeks you will notice a huge difference in your dog's behaviour and attitude. A good run where the dog can stretch out once or twice a week is beneficial too.

Barking at night may be caused by animals or unusual noises. A handy product for occasional night time barking is a 'Non-Barking Muzzle'. This fits over the jaws and prevents a dog from opening it's mouth wide enough to bark but still allows the dog to get a drink. They should never be left on for long periods and can get very hot in Summer. Some dogs will still try a muffled bark through them and in our experience they don't change behaviour, they just stop the symptoms of the problem while the muzzle is in place. They tend to work better on young dog than on older dogs that are already in a bad habit of barking.

ELECTRONIC NO-BARK COLLAR

In more serious circumstances, often the best product for barking dogs are electronic no-bark collars. The new models available give a range of electronic stimulus to the dog when they bark. Settings usually range from vibration to remind the dog not to bark through to a mild shock similar to a static electricity charge. As they only use tiny batteries to power them no shock can be too severe.

One brand on the Australian market is the Free Spirit battery powered AUTO-SET non-bark collar from Innotek. It has around a  80% success rate. They are a reasonable choice for the dog owner who has tried Sonic or Citronella collars unsuccessfully and tried conventional positive training etc.  These collar features brand new technology and is one of the kindest and safest of it's kind on the market. It is completely controlled by your dog. You cannot make any setting yourself!

The collar has seven levels of stimulation from it's small 6 volt battery. The first is a vibration similar to a pager or mobile phone vibrate, right up to a stimulation similar (but less strong) than a static charge from carpet that just about everyone has experienced at some time. If your dog barks then it gets level one of the stimulation and then cuts out for 2 seconds. If your dog continues to bark, then it goes up one level and cuts out again for 2 seconds as a safety feature. With determined barkers the level will continue to rise until level five which stops most dogs. If the dog doesn't bark for 5 minutes the level drops back one level and so on. At any time you remove the battery the collar drops back to level one again.

Another quality brand is Tri-Tronics. Their Bark Limiter XS, is a very stable, well designed collar that is very effective on dogs that may be more determined to bark or already well set in a bad habit. It has a light to indicate it is on and easy settings. Unlike the old style collars it is stable and doesn't set off randomly. It has replaceable lithium battery which lasts quite a long time. 90% success rate. Waterproof.

Some dog behaviourists have used these collars to change aggressive behaviour on dogs that growl as the collar operates on vibration from the throat and works for barking, howling or growling. This new technology does need a separate vibration disk. It all works in the one unit.

This type of collar in the past were much stronger and without these special features and people set them high and abused them. This new model is advertised as the kindest and safest  method ever available. It is very easy to use and very fair to your dog. We have tried these collars ourselves on our own neck and although very unpleasant they were very low in power and in no possible way harmful. They can only give as much power as the tiny battery carries. They cost around $200 Australian Dollars.

[Please not that different regulations on these collars apply in each Australian State.]

There are also other good quality no-bark electronic collars on the market such as Tri-Tronics 'Bark Limiter' and the bigger, powerful, Dogtra' brand collars.

Info from Innotek:

The No-Bark Collar can only be triggered by your dog's bark. The vibrations in his vocal chords are picked up with sensitive technology built into the small, lightweight box on his collar and this activates a brief, but meaningful electronic stimulation. The seven stimulation levels of the No-Bark Collar let you adjust the collar to suit your dog's temperament.

SMART DOG No-Bark Collar are used and recommended by local Councils around Australia to solve community barking problems.

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