So Hannah has had this issue with barking. Not just a little bark when someone walks down the street, but really obnoxious loud barking, jumping all around, etc. It's really a problem when the mail gets the delivered or the UPS man has a package to drop at our house (which, given Pete's job, he does every other day). Since we have family with little ones coming for Thanksgiving, we decided to nip this problem in the bud and get her a barking collar.
I picked one up yesterday after work and we put it on her right away, eagerly anticipating her first lesson. Well the mail had already come, so I went outside and rang the doorbell. No fooling her, she knew it was me and wagged her tail. Not to be outdone, Pete put on a baseball cap, went out the back door, then came around front and banged on the door really hard. I nearly fell out of my desk chair, but Hannah knew it was Pete and didn't really react.
Not 15 minutes later a stranger approached our door with some kind of flyer about a lost cat --Hannah started barking and I thought, 'at last! time for her to learn her lesson!' I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTE TORTURE!!! Her whole body went stiff and she yowled and yowled --which made it shock her more --and all of the hair on her body stood on end...meanwhile, I stood in the corner crying, calling for Pete to make it stop. So I'm a big sissy who can't discipline my dog.
Now Hannah is afraid to even come in the living room, she won't lie in the sunbeam (her favorite thing to do) and she followed us around all night with her little ears tucked back.
8 comments:
Poor pooch, but it really is getting out of hand with the mailman.
awww. - sounds like me when I used to sit in the hall outside Jacob's room when we were teaching him to "cry it out" and go to sleep. It took hours sometiems and I'd cry right along with him. This too shall pass as he has learned to give it up as we're not gonna come get him and now he goes to sleep really well. So - you sound like "normal" parents to me :)
I love reading that -- Only b/c I can completely visualize it ...
So many comments - so little space --
I CAN"T BELIEVE you didn't test it on yourself first! **KIDDING** Little Matt used to be daring and try to make it shock him.. Once It got him.. and scared the fire out of us
My friends and I tested out an electric fence collar once when I was younger (not around our necks, but we held it in our hand, and tried over and over to reach through the fence without dropping it....we dropped it every time if I remember correctly).
oh my goodness! poor poor hannah!!! i think ALL labs do this unfortunately. our dogs HATE UPS men. It's really annoying since my dad offices from home. He has to lock them up when UPS comes. Hilarious.
TOUGH LOVE, Laura, TOUGH LOVE!
With Bailey's fence collar - it certainly levitated her off the ground a few times until she learned her lesson.. And even now she still will test it occasionally to see if the batteries are dead..
They sell citronella collars, that instead of shocking when they bark, the spritz the dogs nose with citronella.. (they don't really work tho)
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