by Carlene White
Wanda, could I have just one little bite?
What are you going to do with Pasta?
I don’t know. He is a nice pup, and learning fast. He likes people — all people.
He can be frightened by things like mannequins and rocking horses, which is better than being oblivious to odd things.
He is not doing well with small dogs — even the bite from Wanda did not cure him — so we had to go to the more demonstrative method: a quick finger across his nose.
Using your own finger prevents you from striking his nose too hard, because it will hurt your finger. You want to surprise him. Somehow you must.
Before I am reprimanded for striking his nose with a finger, you have to realize that if he does not stop this behavior by the time he gets to over 150 pounds, someone will decide he is aggressive … and his life will not be worth much.
I do believe he is just trying to be overly friendly.
My next frightening device would be a water bottle with coins. Unfortunately, that might scare Wanda, who, by Pasta’s very actions, would be in the same line of fire.
So, if I go to a water bottle, I will first have to get Wanda to accept it as a normal thing.
Wanda does not frighten easily.
How a dog perceives anything has always fascinated me. If we are driving down the street with four in the car and come to someone walking a dog, they are inclined to bark.
I don’t like that. My initial response is to yell “Will you stop barking!” at them and tell them to lie down.
What that evolved into was all four lying down and barking, because they had decided my yelling was actually my joining them in the barking.
Having failed with that concept, my next is to look behind me for any car that might be following.
If there isn’t one, then I just tap and release the brakes ever so lightly. That throws them off balance, so when I say “down,” it becomes a logical command.
It does not take much of a tap-and-release to shake them slightly.
Now, if you have a teenage driver with you at the same time, it is also a good lesson in inertia of motion and seat belts.
I love the lessons in physics that are in everyday life.
Carlene White runs an animal rehab Crazy Acres Farm in Ipswich whose mission is to improve the welfare of community seniors and veterans by interacting with rescued and repurposed sanctuary animals. Read more of her columns here.