A New Collar

Emma's carpet scratching habit (nesting) has gone to the extremes lately.  It drives the zookeepers crazy.  She won't stop when you ask, holler or scream at the top of your lungs out of frustration.  We could put her on medication but I really don't like the idea so I decided to try this:

It came a couple of days ago and took a good bit of time to charge up.  Okay - so don't freak out - its not a shock collar and I tried it out before I put it on the dog to make sure it wouldn't hurt.  It actually feels very similar to a cell phone set to vibrate in your pocket.  Once I made sure it wasn't going to hurt the pup I put it on.  You put the part that vibrates lined up with her snout around her neck - not too tight but snug enough that  the two little posts are up against her body.

Then we waited for scratching to occur.  It wasn't all that long - it happened when I was on a conference call and could not go on mute so I just pressed the blue button without telling her to stop.  You know - she is a somewhat neurotic dog so I was afraid she would freak out.  Not really....she was startled but not upset.  And she stopped right away.  Then I noticed it was quite some time (several hours) before she started again. This time I was able to ask her to stop.  I did - in a regular voice and she stopped immediately.  Later in the evening - when the scratching is usually particularly bad - she started again.  I asked her to stop and she did.

Long story short - the collar has been on for 2 days.  I have pushed the button 1 time and had to talk to her about scratching only 3 or 4 times.  It's amazing.  Very pleased so far - we will continue to see how it goes.  You can also use the collar to help with barking - which she does - alot - even after she is told to stop.  One thing at a time....  :)