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This is one of my favorite puppy pictures of Joker,
my Boston. Note the blue left eye.
When
I was looking for a Boston, I noticed quite a breeders were selling Bostons on line with blue eyes as though it's a wonderful
novelty and some were charging a hefty price, too. Beware that a blue eye in a Boston Terrier is a a genetic fault.
It doesn't cause vision problems, but the gene that causes the blue eye can also cause deafness. Thankfully, Joker's
hearing is fine. A blue eye also makes Joker ineligible for showing and he shouldn't be bred. I have no intention
of breeding (he's neutered) or showing.
SELECTING
A DOG Selecting a dog, particularly for
new dog owners, should be considered very serious business. It can mean the difference between a very happy or very dissatisfied
human-canine relationship. I strongly encourage
dog shoppers to stop and think carefully about their current lifestyle and living conditions before considering different
breeds of dogs. You'll want a dog that complements the way you live now, not one that will disrupt the way you live.
For instance, if you're an active person who already
likes daily walks and the outdoor life, rain or shine, no matter whether it's hot or cold, then it's not unreasonable
to consider a dog that needs a lot of exercise. Conversely,
if you are not an active person who doesn't like to walk and aren't the outdoor type,it would be a huge mistake to
get a very active dog. Consider a breed that needs less exercise. It might also be a good idea to consider an older
dog instead of a puppy, since most puppies are very active. Remember: Dogs that don't get the exercise they need are far more likely to develop behavior problems,
such as chewing inappropriate objects or barking. There are lots of good books that provide descriptions of different
dog breeds, including exercise needs. Identify breeds suitable for your lifestyle, but remember, too, that each dog
is an individual, and that two dogs of the same breed (or two mixed-breed dogs with the same predominant breed) can have different
temperaments.
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Check
out Barnqueen's books The Guilt-Free Dog Owner's Guide and The Puppy Owner's Manual. Guilt-Free has great advice about how to match a dog to your lifestyle.
The Puppy Owner's Manual features an easy-to-read question and answer format and focuses on solving problems
that may arise with your dog; it includes clever ideas for exercising dogs too. Both books have received excellent reviews
and are sure to be helpful. They can be purchased on Amazon.com.
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_________________________________________ IS BARK-OFF A BUST?
Our Aussie Trooper is a generally well-behaved dog, but the one bad behavior we've
never been able to correct is excessive barking when anyone comes near the front of the barn, which is also our house. At
a large boarding barn such as ours, there are people coming and going all day and into the evening, so the barking is constant,
and Trooper's bark is especially loud. Trooper also sets off our two smaller dogs, so we often end up with three barkers.
It's irritating to us, to the people coming to the barn and it interrupts me when I'm trying to work, which is especially
annoying.
We've tried a wide variety of corrective measures including shaking coins in a can, training him to
associate the command "no bark" with a treat and a citronella collar that sprays the dog in the face when he barks,
all to no avail. I even tried a very expensive shock collar, which I swore I'd never use, but did in desperation. After
Trooper got one little shock, all I ever had to use was the warning signal to get him to stop barking, but the problem was
that I had to be there to give the signal.
When I saw "Bark Off" on television, it sounded like a
great little product. When the dog barks, it's supposed to emit a noise that people can't hear, but that's audible
and irritating to the dog, prompting him to stop barking. The television offer was for two units, so I readily ordered a
set online, which came to just under $24 with the shipping costs.
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After the units arrived, I set both up, and they seemed to work, at least for Trooper; he barked a couple times,
then stopped. It didn't seem to have any effect on our Boston Terrier's barking, and our Mutt Morgan seemed to bark
a bit less, but she might have been following Trooper's example.
The problem with Bark Off is the maintenance.
These devices eat 9-volt batteries, which are expensive. This is the same problem I had with the citronella collar; it takes
a 12-volt battery, which doesn't last long and is even more expensive than a 9-volt, and the replacement citronella canisters
are costly too and don't last long.
There's an adapter available enabling Bark Off to be plugged into
an electric socket, but I didn't want to order one from the company that sells Bark Off and wait for it, so I went to
Radio Shack and bought an adapter, which cost about $15. However, I can't tell if the Bark Off unit with the adapter is
functional because there's no light indicating whether it's on or off, working or not. The dogs are barking, so I
guess not.
Now I've purchased a tester to tell when the 9-volt batteries for Bark Off are shot; that was
another $10. I'm up to $48 spent, not even including the cost of the 9-volt batteries!
In short, Bark off
just isn't as simple or inexpensive as the advertising would lead dog owners to believe, so buyers beware.
UPDATE: It's not working AT ALL despite new batteries. The dogs are barking their heads off...
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