i’m heartbroken
wow.
i can’t believe how emotional this whole pet thing has been.
most if it has involved overwhelming joy and happiness that comes from the newest member of our family.
she really is an angel and we are blessed that she is a part of our lives.
but early on i was devastated that the cats weren’t eating. i cried.
you all know that. i felt horrible for turning their lives upside down.
i just wished there was a way to explain to them that ruby came from the same animal shelter that they did and that she needs a good home just like they do.
then they would get it.
well, now the cats are fine.
they aren’t best friends yet but they sit in the same room with a fair amount of tolerance.
but, now i am depressed about something else.
we got a call today from the office that the neighbors on the back side of us had complained about the dog barking "all day."
all day my ass.
i was probably in my office a a total of about 10 hours last week after we got her. the rest of the time i was home with ruby.
and she was NOT barking.
when we are home, she barely makes a noise. the loudest she gets is a small whimper when she has to go outside. and i will bet my life that they can’t hear that. and she goes outside 3 or 4 times a day.
but obviously, even though she hasn’t been barking "all day," she has barked enough to annoy them, which i am obligated to do something about.
i mentioned the dog has separation anxiety. and i guess its manifesting itself in her barking while we are gone.
i’m bitter and depressed. these are the same people that got a new surround sound system over the holidays and played it so loud that i couldn’t hear my own tv.
i thought about complaining but i didn’t. because i recognize that i live in a townhouse and that i share walls with other families so i am bound to hear noise from time to time.
if i never wanted to hear my neighbors, i would move to a house in the suburbs with 3 or 4 acres of land.
needless to say, if we can’t get the dog to chill out, we either can’t live here or the dog has to go.
and being that chewie is not working, we can’t afford to just up and go. it’s not really in the budget to go buy a house in the suburb with 3 or 4 acres of land.
we have been working with her on her separation anxiety. we have also been working with her on her barking.
the good news is, chewie will be home all this week, so she won’t be alone much.
and that will give him more consistant opportunities to work with her and train her.
and we have an appointment with the vet tomorrow to see if she has any advice.
i also did something i never thought i would do.
i bought one of those barking collars that supposedly shocks the dog when they bark.
i feel like it is horrible and inhumane. but i read several reviews online that they were effective. and i would feel like it was even more horrible and inhumane if i had to return ruby back to the shelter and send her through more of what has caused her separation anxiety in the first place.
so i hope and pray that the collar is the lesser of the two evils.
i tried it myself to make sure it wasn’t painful.
the collar works when it detects two things present at the same time: vibration from the vocal cords of the dog, and sound from the bark that is picked up by a microphone.
when only one or the other is present, it doesn’t work. for instance, a dog near ruby could be barking. but since the collar doesn’t detect the vibration from the other dog, ruby won’t get shocked for it.
the collar has 6 levels of shocking. it starts at the mildest, and with each bark withing about 15 seconds, it increases to the next level.
if she reaches the 6th level and is still barking, the collar will automatically shut off for 5 minutes.
you only have the dog wear the collar when you don’t want the dog to bark. so when she is running around the house or out for walks, she won’t need it.
but we are supposed to put it on her a few times a day while we are here to train her. we still need to train her to not bark in conjunction with using the collar.
it seems to work pretty well.
i was doing crate training with her tonight and put it on her while she was in her crate. i left the room.
i could hear her in there whining.
no barking though.
but the whining was so sad.
it doesn’t shock her when she whines, but it sounded like she was in pain.
i don’t know.
i am just so torn.
i want to be able to keep this little angel. i wish i could tell her that if she wants to stay with us she needs to get it together while we are gone.
at this point, it’s a blessing in disguise that chewie isn’t working. he can work with her consistantly over the course of the next couple weeks to build her confidence and skill.
i wish i could take a couple weeks off work to help her, too.
and i wish i could tell my damn neighbors to chillax.
i wish i could tell them that she is a rescue dog that was abused and neglected; and that we are working with ruby so that she can coexist and not disturb the neighbors. i wish i could tell them to just give us a couple weeks before they decide they can’t stand it anymore.
or i wish i could tell them to turn up their damn surround sound to drown out the dog.
we don’t know the neighbors, otherwise i would go over there.
if they complain again, i may just have to do that. though. and i will bring the dog so they can see how adorable she is.
i am just depressed at the thought of having to give her up. and even more so that she might not find another good family.
Aw, hun! I hope you don’t have to give her up:( My neighbors at my apartment had a RIDICULOUS surroud sound. In the summer when both our patio doors were open, I could HEAR THE MOVIE like it was in my OWN apartment. Luckily I found out that my friend screwed on of the guys (they chatted while they were out smoking on the adjacent decks) and she asked them kindly to turn the surround sound down after 11:00. They agreed and I never had a problem again. But I hope that Chewie can work with Ruby and help her out. And the collar isn’t inhumane unless you were doing it for personal entertainment…and clearly, you aren’t. Good luck!!! ::HUGS::
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I hope things go alright. People are just idiots sometimes. If need be I’d take her over there. Try recording sounds when you aren’t there to really see what is going on maybe? *hugz*
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That’s so sad! She’s totally adorable and I wish the neighbors understood the situation. Aren’t there some sort of classes that you (or Chewie more likely) can take her to?
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I think that you should go over to the neighbors. Why do they have to be a**holes and complain to the office? Why couldn’t they just have come to you? I’ll bet if you showed them little Ruby and told them what was going on, they would understand…. I hate that you have to use that collar….but I guess you’re right…it’s better than having to give her up.
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Who says you have to know th neighbors to go over there. Go, be polite, say that you understand that the barking is disurbing them and apologize. Then explain the situation, and wha tyou are trying to do to correct the problem and ask if they could give a few days, or a couple of weeks or whatever to try to resolve it. With or without Ruby there, such an approach will likely work, unless they
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really are total assholes. It could just be that they went to the office instead fo yo becasue they don’t know you, and din’t know what kind of reaction you’d have. sometimes the presence of an arbitor (the office people) makes people feel more comfortable. Once they see you’re a reasonable person, with a kind heart, they will likely feel more comfortable coming to you with future issues,
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rather than running to the office. Especially if you invite them to come to you with problems, and/or omake them a peace offering, such as a plate of cookies or something. Most people (I think) are decent enough folks, given a chance to be, even if they don’t know how to show it before being invited to do so. MsTT? Any thoughts from the Queen of Wisdom?
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🙁 Hope the collar works. Wish they made one that shocks ’em when they pee on the floor….or take pillows out the doggy door into the muddy back yard…or chew shoes….or tear up the toilet paper all over the house…or maul the cats…or….you get the picture.
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You can’t find any friend who stays at home who would be willing to watch her? Heck, pay me to do it and I’ll totally quit my job and hang out at your house all day! Seriously, there’s enough (decent) people out of work right now that would settle for $8/hr to babysit her or something. I don’t know. I know it sucks to have to pay money for it and it probably isn’t ultimately helping the anxiety issue… but shocking sounds so sad. (That said, I really want one for myself just to see.) The neighbours definitely have to meet her, and I agree with continuing to ignore the stereo issue or they’ll get super-obnoxious.
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Those collars do work and yet do no harm to the dog. Now if they made ones that fit neighbors..
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Like you are going to do: practice at home. Since our kennel is low enough for the dogs to jump over during the day when they are in it, we put them in there while we eat and other times to let them know they have to stay in there. I am one of “those” neighbors who doesn’t like noise–but if the dog was barking all night that’s when I’d complain.
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yeah, hounds are known to houl though. they’re very vocal. hope everything works out though, dear.
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I think it says something that you were willing to try it out…did it knock you to the ground or…? I remember I was at the magnet store in Hawaii (its called “The magnet store” they are super original. The guy at the shoppe was hitting on me and he had me pull down a tiny slot machine magnet and it friggen shocked me and it scared me so bad I cried. So yes…would make me stop barking. I agree that maybe just talking to the neighbors and explaining the situation with some cookies would help and at least they would know you aren’t jerks who just don’t care. I think alot of times just making the effort can be really touching and cover alot of ground. If that doesn’t work definetly just say “Chillax” I personally love that. <3
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It just might be your neighbors are jerks. Maybe you should place a tape recorder in your home one day you are out, just to see how loud she is. If it isnt at all above a reasonable level, then you can do the same with a video camera as better proof. You have a right to live there as much as they do and dogs bark. If she is indeed barking really loud, then atleast it justifys the use of the collar
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Mary suggested putting cyanide in the cookies…. lol. No? Okay how about something a little more realistic? lol I think you need to make allies out of your neighbors. If you go to talk to them (and I think that you should) apologize first and then ask them if they have any experience with dog training. Do they have any suggestions to pass on….. Anything new that you can try. I wouldn’t
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mention the dog collar though. It might freak out someone who doesn’t understand how it works and therefore putting your efforts into jeopardy. If you make them feel like they are part of the solution and not just there to tolerate the barking, you might have a better chance of them being more receptive to your request to give it a few weeks. Good luck hun. Know that I’m in your corner. Hugs,
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It always takes a while for everyone to get adjusted to the new house, cats and dogs. She’ll figure it out, and those collars do work. They only shock if the dog is doing something bad, so not cruel. It’s the same as a quick pop with the training collar if she does something bad.
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maybe turn up YOUR music to drown out the puppy while your away. lol. i know, what a great idea haha 🙂 hey, it might work, would be distracting to the pup and the neighbors might rather hear music than barking. how is is going these days, any better?
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