by Rhonda Nieman

Created on: March 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 05, 2007

The first thing that you should consider before using an electronic, or shock collar, on your pet is this; does your barking dog necessitate the use of this device? If you live in the country or rural area, then you probably will not need to avert to this. If, however, you live in a crowded neighborhood, and have received complaints about your barking buddy, then you may need to look into this as a last option.

You should also familiarize yourself with your pet. Why does your dog bark so much? Can this be solved without the use of a shock collar? If your pet is a new addition to the family, it could be that he/she is still in an adjustment period. If they are an only dog, or possibly missing their kennel mates; they could be barking out of loneliness. Please keep in mind also, the attitude of your pet. If your dog has aggressive tendencies or just the opposite; it is shy or is a rescued animal, you may want to consider some other training options.

Recognize the fact that when a dog barks, he's not just making racket; he's trying to tell you, or another animal, something. Just like people have different tones and inflections to their speech patterns, so does your pet. If you can familiarize yourself with the different barking sounds of your pal, then you have the chance to pinpoint what is causing them to bark. Remember to only use a shock collar as a last resort to your pet's training.

If, after researching all of the above, you feel that a shock collar is something you may need to turn to for training your dog to be quiet, then you need to know how to make the most of your purchase; for your sake and your pet's. Your basic shock collar will have built in features to aid in the training period. These can include a "warning shock", this is usually at half power, to let your pet know that if he makes that sound again, something will happen. Rover doesn't always get the message the first time however, if he continues to bark then there will be a shock at full power. If he still doesn't get it, most of the collars on the market will come with a built- in feature that will cause the collar to shut down for a short period of time if he barks "X" amount of times in "X" amount of seconds. This will protect your animal from coming to any harm. Make sure to read the booklet that comes with your collar first to see what sort of features it has.

Okay, so you've got the collar and you've read all of the information and you are ready to put it on your pet. What happens next?

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