Nuisance barking problem solved?

We have a couple of barkers in our house. It can be quite annoying, especially at 5:00 AM when a certain JRT decides he's up for the day and everyone else should be too. I kept complaining about it... so much that Chris finally decided to do something about it. Introducing the Anti-Bark citronella spray bark collar by Multivet.

This bark collar is completely painless, humane (it is SPCA approved!) and safe without any kind of side effects. It isn't one of those ones that will "shock" or "jolt" the dog when they bark. Instead, if they bark while wearing the collar, a spray of citronella comes out of the collar and sprays upward towards their face (but not in the eyes). More than anything it startles the dog and overloads their sense of smell (their strongest sense) and soon they realize that the barking is what makes the spray blast.





We tried it out on the dogs last night. We first put the collar on Al, but he wasn't really barking so it didn't really work very well. We then put the collar on Mrka and I went outside and rang the doorbell. All of the dogs bark when the doorbell is rung. When she barked, the citronella sprayed and startled her. It was really funny, actually. She looked like "WTF was that???" It only took about two times before she associated the barking with the spray. We continued to ring the doorbell and although she was VERY alert, she didn't bark.

We also put the collar on Bauer who had a similar reaction. Maybe we've finally solved the barking problem in our house?!?!

Right now, the plan is to only have it on them when we are home so we can use it as a training device...

No workout today -- BAD KELLY!

Nope, didn't do it. Didn't get up as planned to do my Monday AM workout. Didn't even work out this evening. Too tired! I woke up when the alarm went off this AM, but when I could barely reach my arm from under the covers to turn it off, I decided maybe I needed a little break.. So, here's to getting up early tomorrow and getting back on track!!!

Back-to-back Swim Attack!

Good idea or not, I did a second swim workout today. 1,200 yards. It felt good during, but I ended up needing a 2 hour nap afterward!!

First swimming workout in about 7 years...

Today we went to the new gym for the first time. They have a 25 yard pool that I desperately wanted to take advantage of. So, after signing up there, I signed up on Swimplan.com. This is a great site. It will customize swim workouts for you depending on what kind of strokes you want to do, the equipment you have, the duration you would like to swim, and your experience level. Today, I did a 1,400 yard workout! I'm so proud... and I'll be so sore tomorrow :) But, it really felt good to be back in the pool!

An awesome keyless lock!

So, we joined a gym today. Shocker, right? The main reason was so I could have access to a lap pool again. This one has a 25 (they claim) meter (although I think it is really a yard) pool with four lanes. Yippee!

But, we needed to get locks for the locker room. Chris suggested I pick up these ones, and I LOVE it!





These locks are by Master Lock and are called the Speed Dial. They're awesome not only because they are keyless, but they have this slider "button" that moves up, down, right and left and customize a sequence instead of memorizing the numbers.

I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, for my first workout!! (at the gym, that is)

Sore :)

Today is officially a "rest" day according to the workout schedule I printed from online. Waking up (about 40 minutes ago), my butt and thighs and biceps hurt! I'm thankful for the day of rest. But, I think I'll still probably take a walk or something later... that is, if it is cool enough. I'm getting my hair done today, including color, and I don't want to get all sweaty... so much that I would need to wash my hair afterward... especially not with fresh new color on it!

Taking Control!

This week I'm taking control. I'm trying to get my food intake and lack of exercise to where it SHOULD be.

Sunday afternoon, Chris and I (ok, mostly Chris) cleared out "his" spare bedroom (this means we took all the crap he had in there and junked up "my" spare bedroom, but that's ok... for now) and set up the Bowflex and made the elliptical more easily usable. We also moved the TV in there to a position that you can see it from either machine. We also dug out the dumbbells and whatnot. We also went to Publix and bought all kinds of yummy healthy food.

Monday morning I got up just before 6:00 AM (ugh) and did my first workout. This was one I printed from online, and it alternated 5 minutes of cardio and one set of a Bowflex exercise. I'm kind of liking those "fat burning" routines. I did it again yesterday too! Today was my "rest" day from those workouts, so instead of that, we walked to dinner and back. We went to our local sub shop and I got a great roasted pork sub on a wheat roll. Was quite yummy. We're also really liking the Stauffers skillet meals... you just dump the bag into a skillet and in 10 minutes it is done! Plus, they're only about 350 calories per serving and I think they're quite satisfying. Super easy solution for a work night!

Oh, and I'm also tracking my exercise and food intake via the "Lose It!" app on my iPhone. Super cool app... and it is FREE!

Wish me luck!!

Happy 233rd Birthday, America!!

How are you going to celebrate? We'll be watching fireworks at Epcot :)