only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
I’ve Created A Monster!
- by Marisa
- July 3, 2007
I love my dog, Belle. She’s a member of our family and if you ask her she’ll tell you that she is not a dog. She’s just another kid who happens to walk a little different than the rest of the kids.
Belle has to have a snack whenever one of the kids gets a snack. Belle has to be covered up with a blanket when the kids are wrapped up in a blanket watching TV. Belle has to get hugs and kisses when someone comes in and hugs and kisses anyone else in the family.
And yet, even though she thinks she’s a real person, Belle is still a dog. Being a dog, she does some Dog Things that people don’t do. Being a Pit Bull, she does those Dog Things bigger and louder than other dogs who are not Pit Bulls.
For instance, barking.
Although Belle is a big baby and does more harm with her wagging tail than any other part of her body, she does have a ferocious bark. It’s loud and deep and not at all ladylike. No matter how many times we admonish her to use her Inside Voice, she just ignores us and continues to warn us of every creature passing by the front of our house. On more than a few occasions, Belle has wakened the husband and/or the baby. Not good.
It seems, too, that certain people who walk around our neighborhood are convinced that Belle is going to break through our picture window and lunge at them. This is silly. The few times that Belle ran off, she was much more interested in getting to the field to chase butterflies or trying to jump the fence to visit her brother down the street than chasing after people. Well, that is unless the people have dog treats or offer to rub her belly.
Recently, Belle has also begun to bark quite a bit when she’s outside on her chain. We’ve been keeping her on the closed-in side of the yard so that she doesn’t bark at the dogs next door. Instead, Belle barks constantly for someone to pay attention to her when she’s outside. She’s so spoiled. She can’t be out back for more than 3 minutes by herself. So now, not only does she bark at every stray sound when she’s in the house, but she’s also barking the whole time she’s outside!
Ah, but I’m not one to do nothing about a problem. I’ve been out searching for solutions and I’ve found exactly what I need. The Pet Super Store has bark collars for dogs of all sizes. I’ve read the descriptions and done a little additional research. I can’t believe I didn’t know about these before. What a great idea!
There are several brands and models available but I really like the Yapper Stoppers S500. This waterproof collar has seven different intensity levels and is rechargeable. I’m not sure what level I’ll need for Belle but I like the idea of being able to start out low and increase the intensity only if needed.
I do wish I’d looked into this about a year ago when Belle’s barking became worse. I think it started when my granddaughter, Kendyll, was born. Perhaps Belle became more protective then. Being protective is a good thing but too much of a good thing is just plain annoying. Now, no more annoying!
And since I’m looking at products at The Pet Super Store, I think I’ll check out some of their other accessories, too. Belle loves getting presents, you know!
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Our dogs think they are people. I understand you, and our beagle is a barker to end all barking. We’re looking at the citrus spray collars, as another kind we tried awhile back did nothing. For now, I stand outside with him if he’s barking, and he stops. If i’m in the yard, he stops, if I’m behind the screen door, where he can see me, but IN the sun room, he barks…open the door, step outside he stops. It’s crazy!
I put his chain back close to the door and she’s fine now. She just didn’t like not being able to look in the house now and then. Strange dog.