Anti-bark collars can be useful but I've never had to recommend them to my clients yet and if I ever do (haven't yet!), I'd recommend the citronella collar over the shock collar. Shock collars are painful! Ouch! I'd only recommend the citronella collar as an absolute last resort as they're expensive (to buy and to refill!), and they're really just bandaids on a problem.. they take care of the barking.. but they don't care of the reason why the dog is barking.

I agree with Catnapper. There are reasons for barking. Some dogs are just bored, some don't like people walking on their territory, some think their purpose in life is to rid the world of evil squirrels and some were bred to bark (unfortunately, I own such a breed. )

Kaedyn has some major issues with barking. The breed is known for constantly "talking", he doesn't like people coming close to his territory, he wants to rid the world of all cats, birds and squirrels, and he gets bored often (my fault.. I work long hours). I try to lessen his motivation to bark by providing more obedience training (easier to mentally tire out a dog than to physically tire it out! ), and working on boundary exercises [not allowed to look out the window and bark at people, dogs, cats, etc]. It helps but he still barks. When he does, I give him a firm "no!" then ask him to do an obedience exercise.. it gives him something to do other than bark, and it gives me a reason to praise him after scolding him.. as he has a pretty soft temperment.

I'd suggest trying just a firm "No!" after barking. Consistency is key though. If that doesn't work, there are a few alternatives. You can also put a few pennies in a can, tape it up and shake it when he barks. I've found most dogs don't like the sound of it. If that doesn't work, you can also try spraying him with water. Doesn't work so well for inside barking but if it's outside, a water gun works really well.. but the key is to squirt him without him seeing.. so that barking=him getting wet/punish.. and not punished by you.. otherwise barking when you're not around, or too far, is a-okay.