[Dailydrool] Shedding ceases

[Janice Colvin]

Since I have moved to the Oregon Coast to live this summer, I have noticed that Truman is not shedding much at all.  This is truly a miracle, as I usually have to vacuum the sofa after our morning cuddle time, and vacuum the floors every couple of days to minimize the fur clouds.  The temperature at the beach is normally about 10 degrees cooler than in the Willamette Valley and apparently that is just enough to stop the onslaught of the power shedding.  I’m almost tempted to make my move permanent, at least for the non-winter months.

Now, I have a slightly basset-related story to tell.  It’s basset related because my husband’s beagle, Data, lives with basset hounds.  Recently Data’ s barking has gotten out of paw. When the lawn guy shows up, Data barks non-stop most of the time the guy is here. I have tried countless reward-based strategies to no avail. I was looking for a muzzle to use on Data when the yard guy is here.  Truman has one, and he only has to wear it for a few minutes when he goes over the top, such as when the grand boys visit. 

The pet store clerk advised me that a muzzle was not the appropriate solution for Data.  He suggested a bark collar.  I have used a citronella-dispensing collar on Data in the past.  This time I bought a collar that gives a very small shock when the dog barks loudly.  It was a miracle.  My grand dog Caper was visiting, and Data was completely out of control with his barking.  I put the collar on him, and his barking stopped after a few tries. Now the amazing part: I took the collar off after 10 minutes, and Data seems to have learned that barking too much can bring the dreaded collar.  All I have to do is look at him, and he stops barking.  It’s been a week now.  A mostly peaceful one.

The manufacturers of the collar state that the dog will not be harmed by the electrical charge he feels.  They say it feels more like a tingle.  I have to say that using the bark control collar was pretty much a last resort for me.  I didn’t want to take Data to the coast with us because he barked a nickzillion times per day, so I left him with his slave Bill.  I even missed the little beagle boy.

Janice