I have a loud barking dog. And it’s really freakin’ annoying.
I’m now at the stage with Logan, that I need to stop it. NOW.

Throughout my research of positive training methods, I came across this unbelievably interesting study done by Sophia A. Yin, DVM, MS and Sarah L. Richardson, PhD from the Department of Animal Science at the University of California.
I have a handful of clients, that have the non-stop barking dog, that also suffer from beyond average dog-anxiety. These owners also swear by citronella collars.
What these dog owners don’t relate, is that the chances of the dog suffering from anxiety directly from the use of training collars (ie. citronella, shock collars, etc) – AND, if they stopped using these training tools, chances are, they’d no longer have a anxious, depressed dog.
It may still bark, but it won’t be peeing itself as you walk out the front door.

Just something to think about.

Percent of Dogs in Which Remote Punishment was Effective or Had Adverse Effects
Citronella collar           Electronic collar
Short-term effectiveness                      53.9%                           65.7%
Long-term effectiveness                       13.5%                           16.8%
Adverse effects 2                                         2%                               39.9%
INTRODUCTION:
Up to 33.4 % of owners complain their dogs bark excessively1-3; however, only a few
studies addressing solutions to excessive barking exist4-8. Fewer studies have
examined the etiologies and nature of excessive barking—an important step in
helping to focus efforts for developing solutions.
PURPOSE:
The goal of this study was to determine the contexts in which excessive barking occur,
to characterize the nature of the barking and the factors reportedly associated with
barking, and to survey how owners address the problem.
METHOD:
In fall of 2004, we administered a web-based questionnaire to dog owners who
received invitations to participate through several on-line discussion groups. These
groups were primarily comprised of dog owners with an interest in dog training. We
received 996 completed replies. Roughly half of the respondents’ dogs were male
(49.5%) and half were female (50.5%). 84.5% of the dogs were spayed or neutered.
79.8% of the dogs spent half or more of their time indoors. We recognize that this
convenience sample is not necessarily representative of the total population of dog
owners; however, the responses still offer valuable insight as to how and when barking
occurs and what dog owners do about it.
III. PATTERNS of BARKING BEHAVIOR
Barking during the owner’s presence:
• 39.6% of dogs bark excessively both when the owner is
home AND when the owner is away.
• 35.3% bark only when the owner is at home, but not while the owner is away
• 18% bark only when the owner is away and not while the owner is at home
When owner is home:
• 62.4% of dogs bark both inside and outside.
• 14.1% of dogs bark only inside but not outside
• 23.5% of dogs bark only outside but not outside
When barking is triggered by stimuli:
• 40.4% of dogs bark excessively at stimuli when they are both inside and outside
• 16.2% bark when they are inside but not when they are outside
• 11.3% bark when they are outside but not when they are inside
When barking is due to attention-seeking:
• Dogs that bark for attention inside are not more likely to bark for attention
when outside (i.e. to be let in when they are outside) and vice versa.
• 20.7% bark for attention only when inside
• 7.8% bark to be let in but not for attention once inside.
• Dogs that tend to be quiet inside are also quiet when outside (i.e. do not bark
excessively to be let in) and vice versa (61% of dogs)
When the owner is away from home:
71.8% of dogs that bark when their owners are away bark both
when inside and when outside.
• 5.4% bark only when indoors, but not when outdoors.
• 22% bark only when outdoors, but not when indoors.
IV. USE of REMOTE PUNISHMENT COLLARS
• 14.2% of all respondents had used a citronella collar
• 14.4% of all respondents had used an electronic collar.
• 5% had used both.
* Most common adverse effects were fear of the collar or areas in which the collar was activated
and generalized depressed behavior when wearing the collar.

DISCUSSION
1 One of the most common images that excessive barking conjures is that of the
lonely or bored dog who is confined to the yard and barks while his owners are away.
FINDING: Barking does occur in this context; however, our study indicates that the
majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is present and in the house with
the dog.
IMPLICATION: While most anti-bark devices, such as electronic and citronella
collars, aim to suppress barking, particularly when the owner is absent and
therefore unable to control barking, these findings suggest that much nuisance barking
could potentially be addressed using positive reinforcement techniques involving
the owners rewarding the dog for quiet behavior.
2 FINDING: Furthermore, in this group of dogs the use of remote punishment, such
as citronella and electronic collars, was poorly effective long-term and many dogs
experienced adverse effects including fear. IMPLICATION: These findings again
suggest that other forms of training might be more appropriate.

3 FINDING: Regardless of whether excessive barking occurs when the owner is
home or away, the barking tends to occur in response to identifiable stimuli rather
than out of non-specific boredom.
IMPLICATION: This indicates that increasing exercise
and enrichment may not be sufficient to alter barking behavior. Efforts to modify
responses to stimuli might better address this form of nuisance barking.

4 FINDING: For dogs that tend to bark when the owners are away, barking occurs
both when dogs are left inside and when they are left outside.
IMPLICATION: Thus
just changing the dog’s general environment without addressing the specific cause may
not be effective.

5 FINDING: A large percentage of dogs that barked when the owners were home
also tended to bark when the owners were gone.
IMPLICATION: This suggests that
perhaps by addressing the barking that occurs in their presence owners may also be
able to address the barking in their absence.

6 FINDING: Dogs that did not bark for attention when inside also did not bark for
attention when outside to be let inside.
IMPLICATION: If owners focus on training
dogs by providing attention when their dogs are quiet and removing attention when
the dog is barking when the dog is inside, perhaps the dog will also learn to avoid attention-
barking when outside.
CONCLUSION
Because a majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is home and thus
available to reinforce alternate behaviors, because many excessive barkers bark at specific
stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom, and because remote punishment
has low long-term efficacy, solutions to excessive barking should focus on helping
owners understand the causes of barking and providing them with positive reinforcement
shaping procedures that address the specific etiologies.

Tags: citronella collar, dog barking, methods, negative training methods, positive training, s collar, shock collar, training