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Citronella spray collar to reduce barking in dogs
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Constant or frequent uncontrolled barking is one of the most common behaviour problems in dogs. A colleague from the Canine Behaviour Centre of the University of Belfast tried to evaluate the efficacy of the very popular citronella spray collar. And is it better to use it constantly or intermittently?
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This study examined the effectiveness of a citronella spay collar in reducing barking in 30 dogs which wore the collar continuously, i.e. every day for 30min, or intermittently, i.e. every other day for 30min, for a period of 3 weeks.
Owners rated the frequency of their dog`s barking on a scale ranging from 1 (very infrequent) to 5 (very frequent) before the study began (pre-treatment condition) and at the end of every week that the collar was worn (treatment condition). A further evaluation was made at the end of week 4, following 7 days of collar deprivation (post-treatment condition).
Dogs exhibited a significantly lower frequency of barking during the treatment and post-treatment conditions compared to the pre-treatment condition.
Barking was most effectively reduced when dogs wore the collar intermittently.
However, barking increased over the period of time the collar was worn, particularly in those dogs which wore the device every day. Barking continued to increase when the dogs stopped wearing the collar, albeit at frequencies lower than pre-treatment, particularly in those animals which had worn the collar continuously.
The collar was more effective at reducing travel related barking than television or traffic related barking.
Findings indicate that dogs generally habituate to the citronella spray collar irrespective of how the animal is exposed to the device.
A longer period of efficacy occurs, however, if the collar is worn intermittently. This may appeal to owners who are concerned about their pet having to wear the collar for long periods of time.
Source: D L. Wells (2001): The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs. In: Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol. 73 (4) (2001) pp. 299-309
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