Well, there he goes again. Hershey, our family pet, is off and running, barking his head off. Hershey barks at people walking, children playing, other dogs, cats, squirrels and in fact anything that moves outside. Being a labradoodle, he doesn't have that high pitched bark. But still, I get weary for constantly telling him "No barking Hersh!"
We have tried and tried to find ways to train Hershey to stop barking. We even bought a shock collar. Now don't go and call those people at the ASPCA. The fact is, Hershey has so much hair, its often hard even to get a pulse from the collar through the hair to his body. Still, we have used it and Hershey knows exactly what it is. It comes with a hand remote we can push when we want him to stop certain behaviors. When pushed, the collar gives a mild shock and it gets his attention. Now, we just hold the remote up without pushing a button and he stops the undesired behavior. Amazing what result a little black, hand held remote with a long string can have on a dog. Most of the time, the remote is not charged. (We always forget to charge it). Hershey doesn't know that though ,and he acts like it's a nuclear weapon. He backs off and runs straight to us.
I wonder if God thinks I need a shock collar? I continue to repeat the same things over and over....bad attitude, barking at people, road rage (only to myself), frustration, putting other things before Him, forgetting to be grateful for what He does for me, etc.? I wonder if He wants to just give me a good shock sometime?
His Holy Bible is like the remote I need, when held up before me, warns me to follow His commands and shows me His grace. It never dries out of charge (always applicable) and is always available!
I'm grateful for His just and gentle warning. I'm also grateful He doesn't give me a shock each time I disobey, but instead, uses His Word to gently guide me with His grace. Otherwise, when I think about it....I'd be electrocuted by now!
Thanks Hershey for teaching an old dog a new lesson!
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