So, after moving in with my parents after graduation along with a new puppy, things got weird.
I brought Jackie home and she was doing pretty well for a while. She would play with Chipper, my mom’s adorable Dachshund, and sleep under our backyard shed every night. When I started work, however, things changed.
She started to find the most intriguing things in the backyard, and destroy them. This wasn’t just the sticks and toys she was supposed to be playing with. I’m talking about the lattice on the underside of the shed where she sleeps, the actual siding to our house, and anything else she could get her paws on. So, she had to be stopped.
We got her a fenced in area kennel for times when no one could keep an eye on her, and she went nuts. She would cry and bark when she was put up, and the worst was her little wake up call howling at 5:30am every morning. She kept waking up my dad, so after an ultimatum was put in place, I had to go get her a bark collar.
Now, first of all, before PETA swoops in, I made sure to get the safest and gentlest bark collar I could find. It doesn’t send any sort of shock, but instead has a vibration that’s more annoying and surprising than actually hurtful. But still, I dreaded it.
She would bark, and then look around confused because the collar just vibrated. It was painful to watch, but honestly, it works. She has cut down on her impulsive barking and she behaves well for attention instead of annoying us into paying her some negative attention.
I know that it’s pretty much all my fault that I’m so busy during the week, but I’m moving to Kernersville, NC very soon, which is closer to work. This will allow me to spend tons of time my baby Jackie, and the town is super dog friendly, so I’m excited!