I've bought it both at Home Depot and Lowe's, the two biggest "box" stores around here. It's about $10 for a 2 cu ft bag. I picked up two bags this past weekend just to try it out because I liked the fine texture and dark brown color. I also don't have any dogs and none of my close neighbors do either so figured there wasn't too much danger. There is definitely a chocolate smell, I don't know how long it'll last, but it is a little weird to walk out first thing in the morning to the car and smell.... chocolate :-)

Well, I just went through a frustrating similiar experience and here is how it played out: My neighbor has 5 unlicensed dogs that she barely cares for. They are constant barkers. The neighbor to her South gets the honor of dealing with the barking mostly. Last week, I am home, and notice a animal control truck in front of the barker's house. The dog owner was not home. The officer left a message that the owner must contact AC. Much to my surprise, the owner called AC., Subsequently she brought back one of the dogs (the second most vocal of the lot) to the shelter from which it had been purchased. NOW GET THIS!! She called the Mayor and pleaded her case to keep all four remaining dogs because they are old....need medical attention...too ugly to adopt.... etc. The major said no. Now she is in cahoots with the South neighbor (the one who originally called) to lie to animal control that the fourth dog actually belongs to the neighbor - in the likely event AC comes to her door again. Moral of the Tale: #1) Owners such as your neighbors are mentally and emotionally unstable people that you want to limit verbal contact with. #2) You cannot let bad owners ruin your quality of life. #3) Involving the authorities may be the best thing for the dogs - whatever the outcome.

I read the entire blog but didn't choose to watch the videos. I just couldn't. That said, there is a letter posted from Four Paws that the owner/poster added yesterday. In it the company, Four Paws, said that it was going to put a warning on it's website about how to check the pimple balls to see if the small hole did go through so that there wouldn't be a suction problem. The letter from the poster was dated last week. I just checked the website and there is no warning for possible problems with the pimple ball nor the pimple tower. I can't believe that the manufacturer couldn't have made time to put an ugent notice yet. Robyn

I know what you're going through! The neighbor behind me had her house broken into and got a large dog to "guard" her property. Problem was that this dog barks at everything- makes no difference if it's a person or a butterfly. My husband and I were in the back yard discussing the best way to install a drip system and couldn't hear ourselves talking and we were less than 3 feet from each other. She's such a good neighbor in every other way, but she just doesn't see the problem. She thinks he'll grow out of it. Okay, he's 2 years old now and I told her "He's done growing. This has to be trained out of him". I was so tired of working in my garden and having this huge dog practically throw himself against the chain link fence between us and barking in my face. I felt like I had made it clear that there was a problem that needed to be addressed and it was also clear that she wasn't going to do anything about it, so I decided that I had to take care of the problem myself. Involving the police would be a last resort. I tried making friends with the dog. No help. Still barked. I did a bit of research and finally ended up buying a device similar to the one you talked about. But I bought a small hand held box that I could take out into the garden with me and use when necessary. My limited research suggested that an ultrasonic wave coming from an unknown source would surely irritate the dog, but that he would not be able to associate it with the fact that "I" was the one he shouldn't bark at. I mean, I don't expect a dog never to bark. Dogs bark. I just didn't want him barking at ME. The research also suggested that this wave should be preceded by a command. So, each time I was in the backyard I took the box with me. I'd go about my work and when he barked, I'd firmly say, "Cody, stop!" and push the button. Immediate results, but not permanent. Each time, the routine was the same. It only took a couple of days for success. Now, when I'm in the backyard and he senses a presence, he takes a run toward the fence. When he sees me, he slows to a walk and lowers his head and ambles on by. If someone else is in the yard with me, sometimes he'll bark, and he gets his "Cody, stop!". That's all it takes now. If my neighbor is out back when Cody barks and hears my command and his response, she just thinks he's figured it out himself. Yeah, he's figured it out alright. I would never tell her what method I used though. I might lose a good neighbor. I hope you have success with your problem.