Anti-bark collars provide a 'quick-fix' solution to the problem of noisy dogs by giving an electric shock (yes, a painful and shocking stimulus, not a ‘tickle’ or a ‘static charge’ as the sellers of such devices would have us believe - try them on your own neck if you are not sure) or squirt of air or noxious substance, such as citronella, up the nose of the dog when he barks (if you remember that dogs have an area for scent detection  many times larger than ours and a bigger area in the brain devoted to smells, you can understand how much more of an insult this is to them compared with if it happened to us.  It’s a little like someone squirting a stinging spray in our eyes every time we tried to speak).

Collars that shock or squirt are a selfish and unkind way to deal with a separation problem.  Helping the dog to find a way to feel content when alone is a much better way to solve the problem.

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