No more barking?

Choco has gotten into the bad habit of waking up at 4:00 AM and expecting the rest of us to wake up too. She is in a cage in the entry way during the night (to keep her from barking at cars and neighborhood cats in the middle of the night) and basically she is quiet and content. Until 4:00 AM! At 4:00 AM she starts whining and yelping which crescendos into an all out barking frenzy when the paper boy arrives. At that point Tetsu and I get up and we all go for a walk.

Tetsu is constantly grumbling about all the work this dog takes. And even my vet had shaken his head at all of Choco's barking. So I bit the bullet and ordered a No-Bark collar! Let me tell you! It was expensive!

The collar works by spraying citronella into the dog's face whenever she barks. Supposedly this will stop the unconscious barking of which Choco has down to a fine art. Tetsu and I attached the collar before going to bed and the next morning...?

The same whining and yelping and high-toned racket! GRRR!!!! Well!! THAT was a waste of money!!!

But once outside in the yard, Choco barked once at a passing dog-walker. Instead of going into her normal frenzy, the spray hit her in the face and she jumped a bit into the air and hid in her dog house. A few minutes later a Jr. high student passed by on his bicycle and Choco let out a bark and was stopped by another spray of citronella. This disturbed her enough to make a quick glance at the area around her and then she retreated to the far side of her dog area. Throughout the day I'd hear one bark and then nothing. Choco was very suspicious of her dog area! To her it seems that an invisible gnome is following her around and spraying her every time she barks.

The next morning, Tetsu and I were awakened again by Choco's whining and yelping. It seems that the collar doesn't register the high tones, only a firm bark... Sigh. I went downstairs and napped on the sofa from 4:00 AM. But when the newspaper boy stuffed the newspaper in our entry slot I heard a low growl coming from Choco cage. She was doing her best to refrain from going into her normal "I'm going to get that newspaper boy!" tizzy.

It is wonderful that the No-bark collar has really tamed down Choco's barking. (I'm sure our next door neighbor is absolutely thrilled!)

Too bad it doesn't do much for 4:00 AM whining and yelping.