Learning how to stop a puppy barking can be very time consuming, expensive and in our experience with great difficulty.

However if you do persevere and learn how to train a puppy not to bark then it can be a rewarding experience. What makes training a puppy particularly difficult is that the puppy will often bark when you are not by their side like in the middle of the night or when you leave your pet at home while you go out.

This is why we recommend using an anti-bark collar or ultrasonic training device. We have found these to be the most effective at stopping a puppy’s bark. When breeders ask us which are the best, we always suggest the static shock bark control collars, as they tend to work on all breeds. As opposed to ultrasonic units or spray collars which are not that effective for particularly stubborn dogs.

However, most static bark collars can’t be used on pet’s weighing less than 8lbs (3.6Kgs). There is only one static bark collar we can recommend for use on puppies and that is the PetSafe Little Dog bark control collar. This can be used on dogs weighing over 5.5lbs (2.5Kgs) but remember the puppy has to be over six months old before you can use one of these anti bark collars or ultrasonic devices. This collar often stops nuisance barking within two days and we have been told on many occasions that it has stopped a dogs bark within minutes of wearing it.

PetSafe Little Dog Bark Collar

The Little Dog bark collar uses nano technology and is the smallest electronic collar on the market. If your puppy is very small or you don’t want to use a static collar then the next best option is an ultrasonic anti bark unit which creates a bark free zone. It listens for your puppies barks and once detected it emits an ultrasonic sound which dogs don’t like.

The main problem with an ultrasonic unit is that a loud noise like a car backfiring or another dogs bark can set the unit off and so your puppy is punished even though it wasn’t barking. This can confuse your pet and lessen the effectiveness of the unit.

There are lots of different types of bark control collars and bark free units which are designed specifically to quit nuisance or excessive barking but our suggestion is don’t go for a cheap model. They are less likely to be effective and are generally very poor quality. We recommend you invest in a branded model, in our experience they work the best and you get good support and service.

Some ultrasonic bark free units come with a manual button. This is useful if you want to stop your dog doing other unwanted behaviours like sitting on the sofa!

Just to recap then.  When you are looking at how-to stop a puppy barking, our two tips are to use a static bark control collar, or if you don’t want to use one of these the next best option is a bark free ultrasonic unit. Always go for a branded model like PetSafe or Koolatron and always read the instructions carefully so you get the best use out of your chosen anti-bark device.

Wishing you a bark free and peaceful life.