So this past weekend I decided to try and redirect Bella's barking and feeding issues. Some days it gets out of control and gives me a headache.
She is very vocal and likes her voice to be known. She can bark for 20 minutes straight at just the air.
Well, I had the spray called "Pet control" you spray it and it makes a hissing sound that annoys the dogs. (Never spray it in their face)
I used it in the past with Thumper and it has worked. Unfortunately, I forgot how much Thumper HATES the spray. He freaks out just looking at the bottle.
Therefore, the entire weekend he was not himself. He would curl up in a ball and run away from me. Additionally, he was constantly shaking. It didn't occur to me that he was scared of the spray.
I was so worried about him I made an appt with his vet this month instead of waiting until next month to talk about this issue. I thought something more was going on.
Yesterday, he was back to his normal self and I realized he must have just been scared of the spray. No more shaking or hiding out in the bathroom. His tail was back to wagging.
Well that leaves me with a problem. How can I curb Bella's barking; as me constantly stating "No Bark" does not work.
Additionally, I want to re-train her for feeding. Both Bella and Thumper think 5:30 - 6:00 am is a good time to wake me up for food. Even though I try and not get up to feed them at that time. I try to wait until 7:00 am to feed them. They will both make noise, give constant kisses and jump on my back until I eventually get up and feed them.
I have already tried feeding them their dinner later in the evening but that does not work either.
Does anyone have any suggestions on new training tools to redirect their behavior. I refuse to use the spray anymore because of how terrified Thumper gets.
They are gated when I am not home but have free reign at night and when I am home.
Thank you!
