Is your dog's barking getting out of control? Does the barking get worse when you leave your home? Are your neighbors at their wit's end? Are you contemplating getting rid of your dog? Bark collars can stop barking dogs quickly, easily, and humanely. When used properly, the electronic bark collar can stop your dog's barking completely within a matter of few days. If all else fails, however, surgery might be a reasonable alternative.

Most electronic bark control collars employ sound as the basic stimulus because it is well established that animals learn more quickly and retain a better memory when the desired behavior is associated with a sound. The more advanced models progressively increase the sonic stimulus as barking persists. Some models employ gradually increasing electric shock stimulus along with the sound to stop even the most stubborn barkers in a humane manner.

The more sophisticated electronic bark collars sense the vibrations in a dog's throat that happen only during barking. By doing so, they prevent false corrections from other loud noises and from other dogs barking.

The drawback with some "barking dog collars" is that they may detect barking with a microphone and activate on sound; these can be set off by other noises or by another dog's bark. Some Barking Dog Collars use only vibration; these can be set off by motion or jostling.

Stay away from the following types of bark collars:

1) Bark Dog Collars the project a spray mist which startles and confuses the dog's olfactory senses, causing him to stop barking. These mists may cause allergic reactions and hypersensitivity in your dog.

2) Independent devices that have a built-in microphone tuned to the sound of your dog's bark. They emit a loud correction to startle the dog so he stops barking. They automatically stop and reset themselves after each auditory correction. The dog feels no correction with this type of bark stopper and can simply move away to another location further from the receiver and completely avoid the sound all together.

Look for a barking dog collar with the following features:

1) One that simultaneously senses both sound and vibration, and only uses a combination of sound and vibration to trigger the electronic correction. By having both of these features, the electronic bark collar will be activated only by the dog wearing the collar, so there won't be any "false corrections" caused by loud noises or other dogs barking.

2) One that automatically adjusts the level of static correction to your dog's temperament with different levels of self-adjustable corrections in response to the bark intensity of your dog. The more intensity settings will help to accommodate the most sensitive too the most stubborn dogs.

3) One that provides a warning beep with the first bark.

4) One with a rechargeable battery, which features a low battery indicator light.

5) One that features a quickfit buckle that provides a quick release.

6) One that is durable, light weight, waterproof, and adjustable.

7) One that comes with a complete operating guide and a video tape demonstration.

In some extreme cases, however, an electronic bark collar may fail to produce results. If your dog happens to exemplify such a case, then a surgical procedure called "De-barking" might provide you with a suitable alternative. The surgery is fairly simple to perform and your dog's barking will be replaced with "squealing" sounds. The surgery will not affect your dog physically or psychologically as it will not make any difference to your dog whether it squeals or barks. However, there are several drawbacks to surgery. First, the procedure is irreversible; and second, your dog won't be able to alert you to intruders. If you are at your wit's end, when you have exhausted all others means, when you can no longer face your angry neighbors, then surgery might be the best alternative to giving your dog away.

Armen T. Ghazarians offers advice, information, and articles regarding many aspects of professional dog training for all those who are not professional dog trainers themselves. For more articles like this one, visit his website at http://www.newdogtrainingsecrets.com.