a quieter Honey

My roommate's dog is an unknown mix (of mythical renown amongst our community). One thing is for sure: she has some guard/alarm dog in her. When she hears any noise that might – in the slightest – indicate someone is coming through the door, she barks. And if she sees someone out our great window, then she's definitely letting us know about it. These are harsh "I'm on fire! I'm on fire and burning to death and it burns! SOMEONE HELP!" barks. They pierce your soul and leave you empty inside. (I would propose that it comes from one of the other five mouths.)

She barked hard, until today.

Today, she did not bark. She did not bark at the mailman. She did not bark when Jeff came home. She did not bark as Keith came home or went in and out of the front and back doors preparing to grill tonight (it smells good in here right now!).

Over the past couple weeks we've implemented a new strategy to quiet Honey. When she barks, we calmly lead her upstairs to her room (where she is happy to be). Crucially, the "upstairs" command comes immediately after the bark, so she's learning that barking gets her sent upstairs.

There's no punishment involved, but there is a consequence. Honey loves to see people come through the door. Especially women for some reason. It may have taken about two weeks, and it probably will take months more to solidify, but I think Honey is catching on. We've been diligent and the rewards today will only encourage us to stay consistent and help her improve.

It's been a nice quiet day, and I think everyone that knows Honey will be excited to hear this news!

(I also worked from home today to quiet Jupiter (from around the corner) each time he whimpered or scratched at his cage. After a while, he was quiet for periods lasting up to 2 hours. It was SO encouraging. I feel very positive about him tonight. And today was especially quiet.)