Anti-Bark Collars Increase Barking
Yes, you read that right. Anti-bark collars increase barking behavior. And you’re probably thinking, “no way, the dog knows when that collar is on and doesn’t bark.” And I tell you…. that is the kicker.
You see punishment is a funny thing. It has a bunch of side effects. One being the punisher needs to be present for the behavior to happen. (Think of driving the speed limit. Do you slow down until you see the speed trap?) The other side of this coin is once the punisher is not present, the “undesirable” behavior is reinforced automatically. (Once you pass the speed trap, you go right back to speeding.) With this concept being understood we can move on.
Slapping an anti-bark collar on a dog, whether it electrocutes them with a shock, sprays citronella in their face, or makes an ear splitting sound is the punisher. And I’d be hard pressed to find a dog who doesn’t know the collar is the “speed trap.” Ever take that collar off the dog? What happens? Does the dog bark? You bet’cha. And usually with even more gusto. So, is the dog trained at all? Nope. Have you ever been stuck behind pokey the wonder sloth while driving? You know, the huge truck going 10 miles under the speed limit. Let’s pretend you’re behind this slow poke for a good 15 minutes. Who doesn’t hit the gas (no matter the intensity), after he finally turns off the road? Doesn’t it feel good too?
The problem with anti-bark collars (besides, in my opinion, they are down right cruel) is that they don’t train squat. And if you truly understand behavior, you know they actually increase barking problems. Because as soon as you take it off, barking continues.
Barking is never the issue anyway. Barking is always a symptom of an underlying reason. And if you figure out the reason, you get rid of the barking. Don’t treat the cough, treat the cold. Don’t focus on the barking, focus on why the dog is barking.
Reasons such as frustration, fear, anxiety, or aggression are challenging enough, so adding an additional “icky thing” only makes these problem worse. If a dog barks at guests when they enter the house because he’s scared, a good solid spray in the face (or electric shock, or ear pinching sound) doesn’t help. It only proves the dog’s point that people coming in the house cause super annoying, harmful, or additional scary things to happen to him. So don’t be surprised to have a dog flip out and road rage on your guests. And trust me, you want a dog who will warn. You want a dog who will bark first.
If you know of a dog who is already wearing an anti-bark collar, let the owner know they are in for one heck of a behavior burst. So, step one go out and buy yourself some ear plugs. Step two, bring the anti-bark collar to its final resting place and file it away in the round file. Step three, call a trainer.
19 Comments to “Anti-Bark Collars Increase Barking”
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By we are at war, August 15, 2011 @ 8:42 pm
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By JJ, May 13, 2011 @ 5:39 pm
Training does not happen in a vacuum, so treating a bark with a shock collar can very well end up in miss-association of the punishment with something completely unrelated to the behavior that is being punished.
Yet again, training does not happen in a vacuum.
Also, though, barking is not always due to fear, anxiety, etc. Sometimes it’s excitement…and other times (like in daycare) it’s socially facilitated and the dog is barking just because other dogs are doing so.
I don’t think that most people can handle using punishments appropriately, and please don’t be insulted, but there ARE four quadrants to learning theory for a reason. Punishment and stress are very much a part of training and learning. The only difference between most positive trainers and shock collar trainers are that we choose a different intensity/invasiveness to our punishments. We still use them. No. Time-Out. Being ignored. The list goes on.
I guess the big difference between the two sides is that positive tries to stay away from putting the dog in any amount of pain.
Lastly, do you have any references (other than anecdotal evidence) to suggest that it actually does increase barking? I can follow the logic in my head, and I even agree, but I work very closely with a lot of traditional – shock collar, choke collar, beat the crap out of the dog, etc – trainers and their dogs don’t bark, even without the equipment on. Not even years later, after years of not wearing the equipment. (I work with them because there are people in this area who WILL NOT use treats – they’re Don Sullivans all the way – and I’d rather send them to someone who knows what the heck they’re doing as opposed to some idiot who is going to make the problem worse…worse-er?)
Anyway, I know a lot of people would be aghast at the fact that I refer out to traditional trainers, but I like the ones I work with. They’re the sort that say “If you have to use this collar more than three times to correct the dog on X behavior, take it off, return it, and find a cookie-tosser, because you’re an idiot and at this point you’re just being a bully to your pet.”
By Jules Nye, May 31, 2011 @ 1:59 pm
There is data out there. Let me know if you can’t find it and I’ll track down some studies. I’d start here: http://dogwilling.weebly.com/articles—alphadominance-theory-and-other-training-myths.html
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