Bark Free

Most dog owners seem to have great love for their pets. And yet, there’s a market for collars that electrocute your dog? This page is just one of many examples:

A Bark Collar is your answer to stop excessive barking. A Bark Collar is an effective and safe way to stop barking dogs fast. Keep the Peace! A Bark Collar is a safe, humane and effective way to stop excessive barking. A Bark Collar is the best way to control nuisance barking.

Lower down, the page explains that, in fact, “Dogs bark. It is part of their normal and natural communication and behavior.” Amusingly, most of the pages I looked at never actually discuss the electrocution mechanism. They espouse “18 levels of electronic correction”, “control your pet remotely” and “new microprocessor technology provides a warning beep with the first bark”. They rarely articulate how their products inflict pain. Why not skip the collar and just whale on your dog?

There are lesser alternatives, including a collar that sprays citronella, which the dog apparently doesn’t dig.

Here’s a tip: if you can’t humanely train your dog not to bark, or can’t abide its natural behaviour, don’t own a dog. Are we so lazy that we need a remote control dog?