For several weeks we have been fostering a sweet, beautiful adolescent Lab mix named Sadie, taking her to PetSmart on weekends in hopes that the Pet Adoption League can help her find a loving home. My husband and I are old hands at fostering animals, but we’ve never had such a barky baby. Sadie barks when she’s happy. She barks when she’s lonely. She barks when she runs and she barks when she’s lying down in her doghouse. She’s absurdly healthy, and she’s friendly and playful and all sorts of good things. But the barking is agitating our three indoor dogs (not to mention our neighbors). Bringing Sadie indoors is not an option.
I don’t know whether it actually works, but I noticed this in a catalog the other day, and thought it was pretty neat. It’s pricey, but if you foster dogs on a regular basis, you might find it worthwhile.
Rather than shocking the dog when he barks it sprays citronella spray. It worked really well on my lab/shepard mix. He still continued to bark occasionally but only when he actually had a reason to bark ( like someone knocking on the door). Previously, he was constantly barking at nothing and everything. It has a side advantage of making your dog smell a little better too.
I appreciate the suggestions, folks, but our financial status is such that we can’t buy any nonessentials right now. Fortunately for Sadie, her food is donated by the animal rescue group to which we belong.
I don’t have any suggestions regarding the barking, but wish to thank you for fostering Sadie until you can find her a home. We adopted a rescued dog last December and if he’s not been fostered by someone as nice as you are he’d have been put down at the pound.
I have great news: our foster dog Sadie has a new home. Today at the PetSmart showing, a nice middle-aged couple adopted her. Her barkalicious, puppyish clumsiness and enthusiastic lack of manners were obvious, and yet these good people loved her anyway. I think my husband feels the same way about me.
Many, many thanks for the suggestions and kind words, y’all.
I rescued a mouthy little Jack Russell some time ago. The rescue coordinator gave me a shock collar in hope of quieting him down. No go. He took the hit and kept on barking. When he wasn’t barking he was talking a blue streak.
He died of cancer last October, and I swear I have not been the same since. It absolutely baffles me how a little 12 pound rat brat can leave such a hole in my life.
Perhaps Sadie’s new family will come to love her the way I loved Rex. They will be the better for it.
