Shocking...

I am saddened to report that I have had to break down and by a shock collar for my sweet little 9 lb. maltese, Toby. Collin and I decided it was time to get serious about getting him in line due to his excessive barking since moving into the new house. First, for our neighbors sake. Since we live in a covenant community now we were afraid that someone would call our HOA on us. Second, for our sake. He was waking up WAY too early and barking non-stop until someone let him out. And third, for the baby. We knew it just would not work to have Toby barking all the time once Maddox arrives. We really only had two choices here one being the shock collar and the other to give him away. And I am just not ready for that second choice yet. I do realize that if we can't get him under control then giving him away will be inevitable but I wanted to give this method a shot first.

We have had the collar on him for 2 days now and it actually seems to be helping. One of the biggest problems we were having was him barking at every person that walked by our yard and with the neighborhood mailbox being right outside our fence people come by all day long to pick up their mail. Well, the good news is yesterday 2 people came by to get their mail while he was outside and he just stood at the fence and watched them...YAY Toby!! I also took him to Collin's softball game last night and he didn't bark at anyone which is also an improvement. So, I am thinking that this thing is actually working, even though I feel super guilty every time I have to push that button that sends the electrical pulses to his little neck. Hopefully, he will get the hang of it quickly and won't need it for a long time.

And just for the record...the collar does not hurt him!! It just sends an uncomfortable sensation to his neck to show him his behavior is not ok!!