DIY “Bad Dog Spray” Bottle

I’ve literally had Pomeranians at home my entire life.  I adore their people-pleasing yet mischievous personalities, their gorgeous little teddy bear faces, the fluffy coats, and how they are always up to warm my lap.  They have a reputation for being yappy little ankle biters, but I’ve been fortunate to wind up with intelligent, calm Poms.

Then I had the brilliant idea to share Pomeranian ownership with my kids and we would up with a brother & sister pair.  They are adorable, sweet, and quirky.  And naughty as hell.  It’s the first time we’ve ever kept siblings and it’s as changeling as anyone will tell you.  While toy eating is way down after passing their first birthdays, they still are rambunctious, full of energy, and ready to fly off into a crazy barking fit on a moments notice.  I’m sure their energy reflects the energy of their people:  a pair of energetic preschool girls.  As much as they do take some responsibility for their furry BFFs, it’s been up to me to wrangle in the bad behavior.  For them, it’s mostly barking.

It’s difficult to scold barking.  They can’t hear me over their own racket (plus the older dogs who often join in) and other methods have proven impossible with two young children and other dogs around when I’m the only adult willing to address the problem.  That’s when I remembered what I had used on cats and decided to give the ole’ spray bottle a whirl.

It works.  Set the nozzle to stream, fill a clean bottle with water, and that burst of water gets them under control immediately.

I tried water guns, but they don’t make them like they used to and I felt it was sending the wrong message to the kids.  Then I found a plain white water bottle intended for helping with ironing at CVS for about $4 (similar here on Amazon.com, affiliate link) and that light bulb when on over my head.  Naturally, I had to make it fancy.  I first soaked the label off and then got to work with my Silhouette Cameo (affiliate link) using the Silhouette Studio software and whipped up the perfect design.

If you haven’t applied vinyl before, it’s pretty simple really.  Silhouette Studio tells me to set the blade to “2”, but I find that with generic vinyl (I buy mine here on Amazon.com, affiliate link) setting the blade to “3” is best.  You may want to add a box or circle around your design to cut down on wasted vinyl.  Use a hook tool (upper right of the above photo) to grab the bits that aren’t part of the design, then apply transfer paper cut to size.  My kit came with a scrapper tool which I use to press the transfer paper to the design, but you can use a credit card as well.  Then lift and apply to the spray bottle, using the scrapper tool or credit card again to press the vinyl onto the spray bottle.  Remove the transfer paper and…

Boom.  Bad Dog Spray.

Just be sure to be nice.  Use only water and use only to correct bad behavior.

Want my design?  I’ve made it available on Etsy with an instant download.

If you have any other great dog training ideas, let us know!