Have you met Tucker?


9 comments

Cute right? He is quite adorable. Don't let him fool you....he's a master of disguise.

If you are of the elite who have met Tucker and went on to absolutely love him....you are of the few.

I'm being a little harsh....he isn't that bad.

But do you see that nifty collar Tucker is wearing? It was a purchase made in desperation - a last resort. NO...it is NOT a shock collar. It has two settings - either a beep or a vibration (medium or high levels). If you use a shock collar on your dog, that is your own personal preference. When we move to a new house, Gracie will most likely have one so we can keep her contained to our yard, but she is a large dog....so I can deal with her having one. Tucker, on the other hand, is a little guy. He only weighs about 10 pounds, so I didn't feel right about putting a shock collar on him.

Get to the point Lindsay....

Tucker likes to bark - LOUDLY. And I just can't take it anymore. When people enter our home, they are welcomed by Tucker, barking, quite aggresively, and even nipping at their ankles/fingers/whatever is exposed. When he hears a car door shut - barking. When he sits at the window and watches people walk by outside - barking. When we scold the cat for eating Tucker's food - barking. Luckily, his bark is not a yippy bark, but it is annoying and just so darn loud!

Ayden, bless his heart, grew accustomed to the barking. Tucker only ever scared him twice. Oh, and both times it absolutely crushed me to see that little lip poke out followed by that sad, pitiful, "He scared me" cry. Oh....it breaks my heart just thinking about it. So, we've been meaning to go this route for a long time.

The collar came in today, and so far.....it's touch and go. It'll go off sometimes when he barks but not every time. Not sure why...unless his bark just isn't forceful enough (uumm...really??) or the collar isn't quite tight enough. I tightened as tight as I felt would be comfortable for him, so perhaps the little buzzer part has to be right against his vocal chords. I don't know.... I'm giving it a couple more days. So far, when it has buzzed, he has scurried off to another room. It does jolt him and stops the barking for that moment, so I'm hoping that if it happens enough, he'll get the point.

Poor Tucker. I hate doing this to him. Dogs bark. It's in their nature. And his nature is a very protective one. This dog is quirky. Literally, he suffers from OCD and a severe anxiety disorder. He's also got a touch of little man syndrome. So, I feel for him. It must be tough to be so conflicted, but if I can't fix everything else, I can at least try to fix the barking.


Really...he isn't that bad. He's a sweet dog, and once he gets to know you, he'll give you hugs and bring you his toys. Once you're in with Tucker, you're a friend for life.

Next, I must introduce you to our giant. The 16 pound cat who is king of the roost around here. I'll save him for another day. With a name like Sinatra...you can expect diva status. We are just little pions under his mind control....and he knows it.



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9 comments:

  1. Definitely do an update on if this works or not!! Our dog barks all the time and it drives me crazy!

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  2. Really? Your cat weighs that much? I have to see this!

    My dog has a shock coller...she is a 170 pound lab and as stuborn as they come. We had the coller to contain her to the yard as well, otherwise she would run into the street after squirrels. She is now living with my Mom and Dad 10 min from my house, she snapped at my daughter 3 weeks ago (her face!) and it scared the daylights out of me. It also breaks my heart because she was my furbaby and is such a sweet dog. Thankfully I get see her all the time still.

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  3. Tell him it could be worse--he could be sporting the man wrap like our Buster. . .

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  4. sooooo laughing at you!!!! LOVE your sense of humor.

    our sweet little sheltie (just passed on, bless his heart) was a barker too!!! LORD HAVE MERCY! we were alerted to every car/bike/walker/squirrel/or person who even THOUGHT about walking in the vacinity of our house... loudly. :)

    we do love our fur babies don't we? can't wait to meet your other furry family members.

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  5. I hope this new technique is the answer you're looking for. I love dogs - had them my entire childhood and will surely get one for my kids at some point. But right now I don't think I could handle the incessant barking on top of the regular household chaos. My cat is 15+ lbs and thinks he's a human, so I'm looking forward to reading about your big guy.

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  6. I have used a bark collar on a dog and it worked great, but he was a bit bigger. I also use an underground fence now with my dog which alerts him with a noise and then shocks him if he proceeds to try and leave the yard, I think they are both great, but like you said, it's all in what the owner is comfortable with. Hope the bark collar keeps Tucker in check! :) Good luck!

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  7. Hope it works! Adorable pup!!!
    Love you, Kelley

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  8. Hope it works :) Adorable pup!
    Love you, Kelley

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  9. Hope it works :) Adorable pup!!!
    Love you, Kelley

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