Barking control device and method

Abstract

A bark trainer which allows a dog by its own barking behavior to control a level of electroshock stimulus. Circuitry in a collar-mounted electrical shock device detects the onset of barking and initially produces only a single low stimulus electrical shock pulse that gets the dog's attention, but does not produce a highly unpleasant level of stimulation. If the dog continues barking, the stimulation level of the electrical shock pulses are increased at the onset of each barking episode in a stepwise fashion until the stimulus becomes so unpleasant that the dog stops barking for at least a predetermined time, e.g., one minute. After that minute elapses, the circuitry resets itself to its lowest initial stimultion level and remains inactive until barking begins again, and then repeats the process, beginning with the lowest level of stimulation and increasing the stimulus level if barking continues. In one embodiment, a certain duration, i.e., 30 seconds, of 'watchdog barking' is permitted before the initial stimulus pulse is applied to get the dog's attention, after which continued 'nuisance barking' results in gradual increasing in the intensity of the adverse stimulus up to a maximum level until barking stops for at leasts one minute.