You are so right, Carolyn! I do keep him away from the instrument itself, and put it away in another room when I have finished.

Sometimes I have to chase him off the body of the instrument again and again while I am playing. I pick him up and say "no chewing on the dulcimer!" and put him back on my shoulder. Meanwhile, he looks very satisfied with himself. It's like keeping him from stealing the keys from my laptop while I am working.

In some ways, the mountain dulcimer is an easier instrument to play. It is diatonic--mostly like the white keys from the piano, so you don't hit too many wrong notes. However, playing in different keys can require retuning or playing with a capo. The mountain dulcimer is played on the lap. It has three strings and is usually tuned DAD. I find it much easier than the guitar, but it is also more limited.

The hammered dulcimer, which I don't play, is a whole different instrument played with hammers. It has many, many strings, like a harp.