# Bark Collar useful?



## lancestar2 (Jan 19, 2013)

I am planning on moving to a smaller studio apartment and the landlord suggested I get a bark collar once I told her I had a chihuahua. I don't know much about bark collars and wanted to see what you guys think of them she said it vibrates whenever they bark to help denture them from barking... idk if it's safe and comfortable for a pet to wear but as of right now I just turn a fan on to make it loud enough my chi can't hear to much outside of the apartment.

I currently work overnights so I never had any neighbors complain about barking and idk if what I am doing is enough as I think I will just continue to use the fan as that seems to work enough though my electricity bill is a bit higher lol...

Does anybody have any thoughts on the subject is there any risk of it being dangerous on our little pet friends?


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

I would never put a bark collar on since Chihuahuas have such delicate lungs and as susceptible to collapsed lungs if irritated. Ur landlord must not like dogs lol


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

As above ,i would never use one they are cruel ! instead of a fan what about a radio ? and the lights on


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

P.s dogs have amazing hearing lol!!!


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## Saqqara (Feb 14, 2013)

Isn't there a difference between a vibrating collar and a shock collar? I've never used one so I don't know. There are also citronella spray collars that are used for the same reason.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

How about training him to 'whisper'? Deborah Wood talk about it in "Training Your Pint Sized Companion". I wouldn't even mention it, except we had a friend over this weekend with her small poodle that been trained to whisper. Really, I wouldn't have believed it.


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## Angel1210 (Mar 14, 2011)

A water bottle!  that's what I use with Angel. He gets a squirt and a no bark command. It works! But if he barks when you are not home, that may pose a difficulty!

I don't like those no bark collars either! He needs a companion!


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## LadyDevlyn (Jul 8, 2013)

zellko said:


> How about training him to 'whisper'? Deborah Wood talk about it in "Training Your Pint Sized Companion". I wouldn't even mention it, except we had a friend over this weekend with her small poodle that been trained to whisper. Really, I wouldn't have believed it.



Candi whispers. Lol. We never could get her to quit barking completely, so I taught her a real quiet "woof" is acceptable. Romeo just is the strong silent type. 


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## lancestar2 (Jan 19, 2013)

michele said:


> As above ,i would never use one they are cruel ! instead of a fan what about a radio ? and the lights on


I ALWAYS leave a light on if I expect to be gone longer than an hour. On top of that I have 2 light sensor nightlights 1 next to her pad and another in a different room to help give of SOME light but I usually like to have a room light on so she can see... as far as I know dogs can't see in the dark like cats can.

Also the fan seems to be working for the most part I think I turn it on the middle setting so it's rather loud and drowns out much outside noises. During the day when I am at home I can easily control her from barking unless I have visitors which don't happen that often lol.

I am planning on finally getting a 2nd chi this early fall!  Then she will have a baby sister!!! Again I might look into picking one up and using it if necessary. By necessary I mean if management or a neighbor complains about her barking then I have to I guess...

My new place will be much smaller and instead of being at the end of the hallway I will be in the middle but I will have a bathroom on oneside and a kitchen on the other so I think I will have plenty of buffer space in the middle for her kennel and a small potty pen for when I am gone and with the fan near I think that will be good.

Although I do like the idea of also adding a radio into the mix to further ensure she won't feel threatened by strange voices and want to bark... 

As to the teaching her to whisper part :lol: I can't even teacher her not to potty on the carpet! After 14mo. she still don't get it... It could be that I didnt fully clean it up enough too but I do think there is something off about my little vida... I mean she can't quite pinpoint the source of sounds very well so idk if that has something to do with it or if I failed as a teacher either way it is what it is...

I am OK with the idea of ensuring that from now on I can only live in hardwood floor apartments or tile ect ect. I'm ok with that and once I finally settle down and buy a house I will make sure to remove all carpets then I can expand my chi family to 4!! 

I may not be the best chi own by many people's standards here but heck I sure have came alot further since I got here (in this forum) I'm hopful everything will work out at my new place thanks for the tips everyone!


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## AnnHelen (Nov 29, 2010)

I would tell that landlord to go &/$(=#/&%$####### himself ! To give you an idea of what I think about this: I would radther live on the street than put a barking collar on my Baby ! 

You can train your dog to be more secure and comfortable in it*s home, WATCH this please and maybe you will get som learning tips, I learned so much from this lady


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## momofmany (Apr 23, 2012)

Yes Charlie whispers or trys to talk rather than barking . Its the cutest thing when he talks makes me laugh every time. Taz doesn't bark much unless there are people at my door or when the male cats are outside singing to my female cats when their in heat. I breed Persians so I have 2 female cats. I wouldn't use one of those collars either. There is something else that works to stop dogs from barking that I saw on line I forget what its called now. But if you Google how to stop dogs from barking I'm sure you will find it. It something that sends out a sound that only dogs can hear you just turn it on and you dog and any dog that can hear it won't bark I thought it was pretty neat if it works.


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## MMS (Aug 2, 2012)

I am definitely not a proponent of any kind of training collar. Too much potential for misuse. 
Stella was taught to use her "inside voice" but she will bark full force if not given the command. Dogs bark, they are vocal creatures. It's there way of communicating with each other (usually over distance, but also during play) and with us. I think you miss out on a lot of their personality if you don't let them bark ever.

That being said, there is of course a point where enough is enough, so the commands "quiet" and "enough" are very useful. And if they're extra vocal when you're not home, using things to muffle outside noises (radio, tv, fan, white noise machine, etc) can really be helpful. 

As to your question about dogs being able to see in the dark: How Well Do Dogs See At Night? -- ScienceDaily

Dogs have better low light vision than we do, but not as good as cats (who also cannot see in pitch dark, but in low light that we would struggle in, can see just fine)


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## Molly n' me (Oct 11, 2013)

Have you tried counter conditioning training for noise? Molly used to react to every person or car that went past our apartment and we live in a very busy area so you can imagine what an issue this could have been. I sat one afternoon with her at the window and every time someone or something was approaching, before she got the chance to go over-threshold and into barking I gave her a treat and then another for staying quiet until she wasn't looking at the noise or person/car anymore - she was looking at me and wanting more treats, only giving treats when she wasn't reacting and once the person/noise/car had gone the treats stopped. We repeated this for every person/car/noise for that afternoon and by the end of the day, as soon as she saw/heard something out there she'd look at me for a treat rather than panic and shout. So she wasn't seeing these outside noises as threats anymore, they meant good things happen! Then I'd do a little more training every day after that, even just 5 minutes is beneficial. They are such fast learners. I would ALWAYS opt for some proper training rather than the quick-fix fear/pain-inducing apparatus. Good luck, keep us posted!


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) funded two pieces of research on electric shock collars which were published last summer and show that electric shock collars can cause long term negative behavioural and physiological changes in dogs, even when used by professional trainers following an industry set standard of training.

The research also showed that most owners did not read the instruction manuals or chose to ignore the advice provided which leaves these devices open to misuse by users.


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## Angel1210 (Mar 14, 2011)

Molly n' me said:


> Have you tried counter conditioning training for noise? Molly used to react to every person or car that went past our apartment and we live in a very busy area so you can imagine what an issue this could have been. I sat one afternoon with her at the window and every time someone or something was approaching, before she got the chance to go over-threshold and into barking I gave her a treat and then another for staying quiet until she wasn't looking at the noise or person/car anymore - she was looking at me and wanting more treats, only giving treats when she wasn't reacting and once the person/noise/car had gone the treats stopped. We repeated this for every person/car/noise for that afternoon and by the end of the day, as soon as she saw/heard something out there she'd look at me for a treat rather than panic and shout. So she wasn't seeing these outside noises as threats anymore, they meant good things happen! Then I'd do a little more training every day after that, even just 5 minutes is beneficial. They are such fast learners. I would ALWAYS opt for some proper training rather than the quick-fix fear/pain-inducing apparatus. Good luck, keep us posted!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's what I did to Angel and still do! Whenever I walked him to go potty he would bark if he saw someone. I had him look at me and as long as he looked at me he got a treat until he either stopped or the person was no longer there. It really does work!!


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## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

I leave the TV on for Kody and 'the pesty puppy' 

there is a channel just for Dogs...







.


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

I know this is an older thread, but I'm a new Chi owner. I just want to thank you Zelda for your post about teaching a dog to whisper. I researched, watched a video, and tried it today with my waldo. A - Ma- Zing!!!

I was at the vet this morning and he was talking to me about training collars. I never liked the idea of those. i came here to see what you all thought and found the idea of teaching them to whisper.

waldo has caught on to training pretty quick. he's only 1.5 years old, and i've only had him a couple of week, but he catches on quick. he picked up on "speak" and then "quiet" very quickly. I'll keep reinforcing it with several training sessions every day. but i'm just so thrilled that this has seemed to work. so far. cross all crossables please!


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

I found something to help with barking and just had to share. i ordered this from Aamazon:
http://smile.amazon.com/PetSafe-Ult...93308&sr=1-1&keywords=ultra+sonic+pet+trainer

It was amazing!! it just emits an annoying sound (that humans can't hear). you press the button when the barking starts, and the annoying tone breaks the behavior up.

It really reduced the excessive barking by about 80%! Timmie caught on pretty quickly - after about 2 days, the barking went down.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Vibrating collars vibrate, shock collars use a shock. Different collars. I'd do what you're doing now, and if you get complaints, then move toward the vibrating collar. I'd NEVER use a shock collar. period.


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## Corona Pup (Jan 27, 2015)

I don't know that I would use any type of collar, and I am very lucky my Corona does not bark, but my neighbor has collars that spray her dogs when they bark. I have no idea where she got them, but that seems like a pretty humane solution as far as collars are concerned. Sure you could find them in the Internet. Just a suggestion!


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

i taught timmy to whisper, but it has limited usefulness. when he gets worked up, pretty much nothing works.

i have used this which cut his excessive barking down about 80%, but there are still those days,when he seems to just bark at everything. 

http://smile.amazon.com/PetSafe-Ult...256348&sr=1-1&keywords=ultrasonic+pet+trainer

and, now that the windows are open - nighttime is a challenge, since he seems to want to bark at every little noise outside our building. . .i do appreciate the warning, but it would be nice to keep it just a little bark, not as much as now.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

It's so sad to me that in a thread from 2014/15 there is even a question that a bark/vibration/insert any type of punishment is useful to stop barking. It was refreshing to see that so many of us here don't agree with it and the idea of teaching a whisper is very neat. I think that meeting their needs (physical, social, mental) plus making them feel safe and getting appropriate help if it still is a problem if the best way to tackle excess barking.


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

look, i'm still new to chihuahuas, though i've had other dogs. i was ill-prepared for the excessive barking.

i think i meet timmy's needs pretty well. we take a long leisurely walk every day, there's plenty of stimulation inside the house as well - toys, games we play together, training daily etc. . .

but my condo is in a building, and since the windows are now opening, the sounds of the neighborhood are much easier to hear. and people are outside more as well.

last night he barked on and off (mostly on) till about 1 a.m. this afternoon he's been excessively barking for several hours.

i've tried using the crate, squirting with water bottle, using ultrasonic sound, positive reinforcement, i've taught him to whisper, - none of these things has helped. i just ordered a vibrating collar because i am desperate.

if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

waldo said:


> look, i'm still new to chihuahuas, though i've had other dogs. i was ill-prepared for the excessive barking.
> 
> i think i meet timmy's needs pretty well. we take a long leisurely walk every day, there's plenty of stimulation inside the house as well - toys, games we play together, training daily etc. . .
> 
> ...


I'm so sorry you're going through this!! Even the most precious chis tend to be vocal little critters. We have a problem when our two are together. One "feeds" off of another, and you can imagine...I can't imagine having to worry about neighbors so close. I'm not sure about what to do during the day, but at night have you thought about a noise machine in whatever room he's sleeping in? You can get one at Walmart. I don't know where Timmy sleeps, but Lulu sleeps buried under the cover with us, and there is a noise machine on. I think we could be carted off and she wouldn't wake up! lol


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## MMS (Aug 2, 2012)

waldo said:


> look, i'm still new to chihuahuas, though i've had other dogs. i was ill-prepared for the excessive barking.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



He has only been with you a couple weeks, and you've gone through all of these? You haven't given anything enough time to actually work! 

A single "leisurely walk" probably isn't enough physical exercise. How often are you training and really making him use his brain for things? This should be done several times a day. He sounds bored and scared to me. The white noise machine at bedtime is a good idea, too, to help drown out scary outside noises.


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

he's been with me 2 months


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Ok, lets look at some inside games. Toss a ball (golf sized ball,) inside a sock for retrieving games. Look at some of the interaction games at petsmart/co. These can work his brain, tiring him out! There are a few out there. Look at stuffed kongs (his food frozen with some broth) or the kong stuffing. I would also leave the radio on to a classical music station. Is his barking AT something outside? Is he wanting YOUR attention by barking? Try and figure out what his is barking at.


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

we have teeny stuffed animal to play with, one of those puzzle boxes where he has to pull to get treats out, he gets a stuffed kong every day when i leave for work, and i leave the radio on. there are also 13 guinea pigs around he can watch and feel like he has some company (they make noises and will interact with him - they're floor level). From what my neighbors tell me he isn't barking when i'm out of the house.

timmy is a very reactive barker. he barks when he sees the cat - EVERTIME . he barks whenever he hears a noise of any kind. i don't mind him _alerting_ me when he hears a noise, but even after i thank him, then distract, or whatever the technique i try is, he barks on and on and on. 

when i'm unable to break his barking cycle, i have taken to putting him in his crate, where he continues his barking for some time, but eventually will quiet.

pool season is coming up. our back glass patio door faces the development pool. lots of people, lots of noises. ugh!


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I can't remember if this has been mentioned, and didn't want to go back and look. lol What about a squirt bottle of water? Keep it handy and squirt him when he barks. It really didn't work well for me, but I read several others that it did work for to the point that all they had to do was pick up the bottle and the barking stopped.


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## MMS (Aug 2, 2012)

lulu'smom said:


> I can't remember if this has been mentioned, and didn't want to go back and look. lol What about a squirt bottle of water? Keep it handy and squirt him when he barks. It really didn't work well for me, but I read several others that it did work for to the point that all they had to do was pick up the bottle and the barking stopped.



Please don't do this! The lady at the rescue I got Rufus from used this technique on the dogs while they were in the kennels, now every time I take out a spray bottle to clean poor little Ru runs and hides. It is more aversive than you think! Your dog is already fearful. Don't make it worse by using aversives!

You are better off teaching the dog WHEN to stop barking, by thanking and rewarding for alerting and then taking him off to do something else. Typically people allow 3 barks, then "thank you," reward, and off to do something fun! Yes, it is going to take time (two months is not very long, especially for a rescue), and it's going to be frustrating at times. Consistency is key! When he starts barking, get up and see what he is barking at! Reassure him that it is nothing to be worried about, and go back to whatever it is you were doing. He will feel more confident knowing that you are recognizing his concern, and you are not bothered by the situation.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

MMS said:


> Please don't do this! The lady at the rescue I got Rufus from used this technique on the dogs while they were in the kennels, now every time I take out a spray bottle to clean poor little Ru runs and hides. It is more aversive than you think! Your dog is already fearful. Don't make it worse by using aversives!
> 
> You are better off teaching the dog WHEN to stop barking, by thanking and rewarding for alerting and then taking him off to do something else. Typically people allow 3 barks, then "thank you," reward, and off to do something fun! Yes, it is going to take time (two months is not very long, especially for a rescue), and it's going to be frustrating at times. Consistency is key! When he starts barking, get up and see what he is barking at! Reassure him that it is nothing to be worried about, and go back to whatever it is you were doing. He will feel more confident knowing that you are recognizing his concern, and you are not bothered by the situation.


Thanks, Marty! You're right. I only used it a couple of times, and just made Lulu wet--which I didn't like--so I didn't continue. I don't have a problem with Lulu alone, but Lulu and Gidget together--Yikes!! This is a tough problem to overcome, and I feel for someone who has the pressure of close-quarter neighbors that might not be so understanding.


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## MaddiLovesDogs (Jan 16, 2014)

Sometimes, you can't help what your dog is going to do when you're not there. It's really up to your judgement of your dog's personality. Does your dog have separation anxiety? Is he/she jumpy at noises? 

I've had lots of experience with bark/shock/citronella collars, and I can tell you this: it's a mechanical correction. A correction, yes, but not one coming from you, and sometimes the collars can go off for abstract reasons (another noise, some sort of malfunction) and it actually takes away from the training and makes dogs more insecure. Depending on the dog there has been good and bad reactions. For an overly exhuberant dog when corrections can't come fast enough, a collar of this type is useful. BUT... with chihuahuas? I really wouldn't at all recommend it. The world is so big and scary to them anyways, and adding another foreign mechanical thing would really confuse them and make them sad (unless, like I said, they were an overly exhuberant dog and just have so much energy it's hard to keep a "hold of 'em"... which isn't hard to do with Chis)

I think, instead of depending on mechanical correction, you should look at your dog and ask yourself "What makes him feel like he needs to alert?" and then nullify/use other methods to distract/make them comfortable (I saw a fan, a fan's a good suggestion, or a radio, ect.) Chihuahuas are so small. They're so fragile. And yet, so intelligent. I "birdcage" my chihuahua, meaning: She has an open wire kennel, but if she's insecure and I know she can't deal with a situation very well, I put a blanket over her (restricting stimuli.) 

Please please don't ever put a "bark" collar on your dogs unattended. It's still a mechanical correction that, sometimes, has no relevance on their behavior. If your dog has separation anxiety or is overly alerting, try to figure out how to "dull" those stimuli instead of leaving them unattended with an unreliable mechanical device.


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## LittleBeverly2015 (Jan 26, 2015)

This may not work but here is what I did for Beverly. She rarely barks, but when someone is walking up the street or is in their yard and she can see them, she barks quite a bit. At first I would get up and look out the window with her to see what she was barking at. She is smart, all of our dogs are! She could see that I looked and then I would look at her and tell her that it is ok. After quite a bit of that I don't have to look anymore, she will stop if I say its ok, but I still usually get up and look. The way I see it, something is out of place in her world and she wants us to know. I personally never used negative reinforcement to train her to stop barking. I found that anytime I really even raised my voice during training she just shut down. I like that she has the courage to bark, and I don't want to take that away from her.


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

LittleBeverly2015 said:


> This may not work but here is what I did for Beverly. She rarely barks, but when someone is walking up the street or is in their yard and she can see them, she barks quite a bit. At first I would get up and look out the window with her to see what she was barking at. She is smart, all of our dogs are! She could see that I looked and then I would look at her and tell her that it is ok. After quite a bit of that I don't have to look anymore, she will stop if I say its ok, but I still usually get up and look. The way I see it, something is out of place in her world and she wants us to know. I personally never used negative reinforcement to train her to stop barking. I found that anytime I really even raised my voice during training she just shut down. I like that she has the courage to bark, and I don't want to take that away from her.



Love your response. This makes total sense and definitely something I think I'll try with a couple of mine. I don't mind if mine bark. I'd just like for them to stop once I've assured them it's okay lol


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## minnies_mom (Jun 15, 2014)

Molly n' me said:


> Have you tried counter conditioning training for noise? Molly used to react to every person or car that went past our apartment and we live in a very busy area so you can imagine what an issue this could have been. I sat one afternoon with her at the window and every time someone or something was approaching, before she got the chance to go over-threshold and into barking I gave her a treat and then another for staying quiet until she wasn't looking at the noise or person/car anymore - she was looking at me and wanting more treats, only giving treats when she wasn't reacting and once the person/noise/car had gone the treats stopped. We repeated this for every person/car/noise for that afternoon and by the end of the day, as soon as she saw/heard something out there she'd look at me for a treat rather than panic and shout. So she wasn't seeing these outside noises as threats anymore, they meant good things happen! Then I'd do a little more training every day after that, even just 5 minutes is beneficial. They are such fast learners. I would ALWAYS opt for some proper training rather than the quick-fix fear/pain-inducing apparatus. Good luck, keep us posted!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I am so excited to try this with my Pip. I did something similar a few years ago to overcome fear aggression in Minne and it was the only thing that gave me consistent results. Now I have an indoor barking problem with Pip my pup, some how I didn't even think to do this!


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## waldo (Feb 16, 2015)

Thanks all. i just noticed a pattern with tim. whenever he encounters new people he barks like mad, but after a few minutes will calm down and ends up in their laps licking their face. 

so, now, whenever we have a visitor, tim goes in his crate until he calms down and stops barking. once he's out he gets treats as long as he's quiet, and he just strolls over and says a quiet hi!

that has now become the extent of his barking problem, so we're pretty good. he does bark like crazy when the door bell rings, but it's momentary and lower on the list of problems to address. we need to workon nail trimming and bathtime first. Ha!


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