Lady: "I'm bored and lonely!"

A happy, mellow dog doesn't stand around idly barking. Dogs who bark nonstop are barking for a reason. Are they bored? Lonely? Frustrated? If you really care about your dog, you'll get to the root of the problem instead of just trying to shut Fido up artificially with a citronella collar. It puzzles me that even so-called "positive" dog trainers will use citronella collars, when by their very nature, they do nothing more than suppress the symptom (barking) without correcting the underlying problem. This can be considered cruel, because now the dog is still bored or lonely or frustrated but can't even express it!

For the uninitiated, a citronella collar is one that is voice-activated to spray a stream of citronella up into the dog's face when he or she dares to bark. I know—it's unbelievable on so many levels. Dogs tend to hate the smell of citronella, and here it's being blown right toward their sensitive noses. On purpose. Yet, these trainers call it an "alternative" to a shock collar. I call it six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both are unpleasant and both fail to address the underlying problem that is causing all the ruckus. Furthermore, if you suppress the barking but don't address the underlying issue, it will most definitely resurface in some other way, such as chewing on furniture or ripping up curtains.

The best way to keep a dog quiet and mellow is to take him or her for a long walk every morning. I'm not talking about a 10-minute walk around the block. I'm talking about a brisk walk that takes, at a bare minimum, 30 to 40 minutes. For you athletic types, a run is even better. Most dogs will fall into a deep sleep for hours after a satisfying walk. If you currently walk your dog at night and are having a barking problem, consider rearranging your schedule so that you can go walking first thing in the morning. This is optimal for good doggie behavior. As they say, "A tired dog is a well-behaved dog."

Dogs also need to use their minds. Sitting home alone all day is BORING. Interactive toys that dogs can play with for hours are a good antidote for that. With some of them, the dog has to roll the toy around and goodies will fall out. But the time-honored old standby is the Kong, which is basically a heavy-duty hollow rubber toy with a hole on each end that can be filled with anything, such as peanut butter or canned dog food. A dog can spend the better part of an afternoon cleaning it out. (You'll want to scrub it out periodically, too, because it'll get moldy if you don't.)

If the root cause of the barking is loneliness, a compatible companion would do the trick. Another dog is the obvious choice, but sometimes another species can fit the bill. For dogs who have to spend long hours at home alone, a dog-walker can be engaged to come in every day for another long walk and some one-on-one interaction. Or a high-school student who gets home early could be paid a small stipend for coming over to play with Fido for 45 minutes after school every day. There is no end to the kinds of creative solutions you can come up with to alleviate loneliness.

In the near future, I'm going to be blogging on a book that I'm reading called Through a Dog's Ear. It discusses sound from a dog's point of view and all the ways in which our modern human sounds can either drive dogs crazy or help to relax them. The best sound for relaxing a dog is classical music—the slower and simpler, the better―so leaving classical music on for your dog while you're away from home can also contribute to a mellower pup.

By the way, I just found out yesterday that one of the biggest manufacturers of citronella collars and other citronella products to torment dogs with, Premier Pet Products, is also the same company that produces the Easy-Walk front leash attachment harness, which helps to keep dogs from pulling too hard on the leash. This is very disappointing, as I have two Easy-Walk harnesses myself. But from now on, I'm going to buy and recommend the Sense-ation front leash attachment harness by Softouch Concepts since that company doesn't produce any other products that I would consider unethical.