Rem Blog II

After my post about Rem Dog, I have had many thoughtful and concerned readers ask me how he is doing and if we have found a solution to the barking. The answer is a very enthusiastic: YES! Thanks to some of the comments from y'all,we decided to bite the bullet and try a bark collar. We reluctantly headed to PetSmart where the helpful associate confirmed that the collar was guaranteed to solve the Remmer's barking without harming him in the process. We picked one out that actually emits a beep before a zap (something about some guy named Pavlov and classical conditioning) and we began putting the collar on him when leaving, as well as keeping him upstairs in the condo, so that he couldn't nervously watch out the window for us. He used to spend hours just looking (and barking) until we came home. Within days, our problem was solved. Once we created the routine of bringing Remy upstairs with the collar, he actually seemed to look forward to it (with Mitchell chasing him all over the place and Landon grabbing his tail, I can imagine Remy gets much needed respite when we leave). I can happily say that we no longer have to use our cell phones as a dog monitor, and we can leave the house without the fear that our neighbors will complain. To all of you who we offered Remy to, I humbly retract the offer. Remy Roo is a wonderful family dog, and even though he gets in the way (we don't have much space to work with right now), can be a bit annoying at times (aren't we all), and I stress out about whether he gets enough exercise (the days are becoming too short), he is a DeStratis for life and we're happy about it!