Show me how you manage your dog, and I'll have an idea about what kind of person you are.
New-ish across-the-street neighbors have some kind of -doodle mix dog. It probably weighs 70 pounds. Yesterday evening, I was re-coiling a gardening hose as a pair of different neighbor ladies walked the street a few lots away, and my next door neighbor was wheeling her garbage bin to the curb, the side door of the new-ish neighbor's house opened, and out bounded their dog. After scanning its surroundings, it bounded down the driveway and made a beeline for the walking ladies. As they braced for impact the father/husband stepped from the open doorway and called to the dog, which had zero effect. The dog averted a collision at the last second, and then circled the ladies, intermittently darting toward them as they backpedaled. Husband/father stood motionless, continuing to call to the dog, having zero effect. The dog then noticed my next door neighbor and her trash bin, and took off directly toward her, again avoiding a collision at the last minute, circling around her as she tried to keep the trash bin between the dog and herself. Husband/father is statuesque, and continues to do nothing more than repeat his meaningless calls to the dog. The dog then noticed me, because I was running across my front yard, trying to command the dog to go home. The dog loped around, and then took off to make a loop of its owner's front yard, then a second pass by the retreating walkers before returning to my next door neighbor's front yard where it proceeded to sniff around intensely. I called to the husband/father and asked him if he'd retrieve his dog. He returned a blank stare, remained completely motionless, and called the dog's name. Suddenly the dog stopped sniffing, hunched, and dropped a huge pile of poo in my next door neighbor's front yard. Upon seeing this, husband/father gesticulated in frustration and then returned inside his house. By this time the walkers had faded back up the street, my next door neighbor was back inside her house, and I had coerced the dog back into its own yard. The front door of the house opened, the dog zipped inside, and then the door closed.
I returned to my front yard and waited to see if anyone from the new-ish neighbors' house was going to retrieve their dog's poo pile and discard it, but no. After 15 minutes, I gave up. A few hours later, after walking our own dogs up and down the street, I took a flashlight and plastic bag, found and picked up the dogpile, and put it into the trash bin.
Now, this is a -doodle mix, so it's likely that the dog is actually friendly (they're generally well dispositioned, IME), if not a bit goofy and not very bright compared to other species, but the walkers and my next door neighbor were definitely frightened by it, and it clearly hadn't been trained to obey voice commands. And, okay, sometimes dogs get out or away from an owner, but to just stand there motionless the whole time and not take a single physical step toward helping? No apologies to anyone? No assurances that the dog is friendly? Disappearing when the dog drops a pile? Not taking it upon one's self to clean up the pile? Even after having hours to do so under the cover of darkness? Seriously?!
I returned to my front yard and waited to see if anyone from the new-ish neighbors' house was going to retrieve their dog's poo pile and discard it, but no. After 15 minutes, I gave up. A few hours later, after walking our own dogs up and down the street, I took a flashlight and plastic bag, found and picked up the dogpile, and put it into the trash bin.
Now, this is a -doodle mix, so it's likely that the dog is actually friendly (they're generally well dispositioned, IME), if not a bit goofy and not very bright compared to other species, but the walkers and my next door neighbor were definitely frightened by it, and it clearly hadn't been trained to obey voice commands. And, okay, sometimes dogs get out or away from an owner, but to just stand there motionless the whole time and not take a single physical step toward helping? No apologies to anyone? No assurances that the dog is friendly? Disappearing when the dog drops a pile? Not taking it upon one's self to clean up the pile? Even after having hours to do so under the cover of darkness? Seriously?!
Tagged:
Comments
That you are a person of superior discernment.
You take the sub role in relationships generally?
Sorry. I know the way to the door.
IMO early life direction and correction is the key to good socialization in both species. What we allow, we teach.
AFF
And here I thought it was the pastor who did the training.