[Dailydrool] Anti-Bark and Anti-Cruise

[Sarah Frioux]

After 3 years in our house, Koa is really starting to show his true colors.
We've learned a few things about deterrent systems recently.

Citronella collars are great, and I was a little squeamish about the whole
shock collar thing. So we started there to stop Koa's barking. The problem
is that the collar holds only 25 sprays. So, if you're gone more than about
2 hours, Koa will use up the whole reservoir, and then bark to his heart's
content. And that's a lot. Like, neighbors calling animal control. :) If
your dog barks some, but not all the time, I think the Citronella collar
works. If he can go 2-3 hours without stopping, then maybe you have to
choose a different thing. The shock collar works, and on a pretty low
setting. And, it keeps working the whole time. The birdhouse is okay, but if
you have a larger yard, I know some dogs who have figured out where is "out
of range" of the noise, and they stand there and bark.

Sadly, the shock collar didn't work to deter Koa from counter cruising. The
whole point of the training collar is to catch the dog in the act, and I
know few hounds who will notify you prior to their cruise attempts. The only
thing that has worked is to keep food out of his reach, and keep him off the
counters. I would say first, take a tour of your kitchen and figure out how
your hound is getting up on the counter in the first place. If it's just on
their hind legs, then fine. Your upper cabinets and top of the fridge are
probably safe places for food - just not the counter. If they're climbing up
ON the counter, then take a look around. Low shelves under the counter?
Nearby chairs? If you can remove their climbing access, it's a lot easier.
Or, gate them out of the kitchen. Regardless, it is going to require
changing something about the way you currently manage your kitchen. If
you're not able to do that (or if, like my DH, you get stuck in the mindset
that "I shouldn't have to change. He should just know not to do that."), you
may spend a lot of time annoyed with your dog. BTW, the DH is better now,
after the theft of a certain NY strip steak. He decided he'd rather eat
steak than stand on the moral high ground.

Sarah, with Koa and Othello eyeing up the barbecued chicken on the counter
as we speak.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20081006/17754246/attachment-0002.htm>