Friday, April 18, 2008

How to make a “mean” dog a "nice" dog…


To start this out, let me explain that I’m a huge dog fan – always have loved dogs. Team BRAZO had two (2) miniature dachshunds (Reggie and Kaz) for 16 years before they passed away a few years ago. We still miss them today.

But I realize that there are nice dogs and there are not so nice dogs. On my bike I was once chased by a farm dog that was showing its teeth while trying to catch me. Of course, it probably was a “nice” dog because a slow cat could catch me on the bike. But anyways, that night I went out and bought some pepper spray just in case. The last thing that I want to do is spray a dog (or any animal) with pepper spray, but I also don’t want to wipe the bike and get mauled with my clips still in.

So, today while running along my favorite running path I see a couple of elderly ladies walking their dog. The dog was on a leash and it only stood about 1 foot of the ground – but sometimes those are the dogs that come after you. So I’m watching this lady and she seems to be getting a bit nervous. She is almost frantically looking for something or trying to get a better hold on the leash or something. The only thing I knew was this was not a good situation for the runner – and that happened to be me.

So, I begin to make a wide path around her and just then I saw what she was doing. Obviously her dog is not too fond of runners running on “her” path. So the ingenuous elderly lady came up with a solution – feed the dog treats the whole time the runner is running by. I made my pass wide and watched this dog catch probably 5-6 treats without even having a thought on how my calf’s might taste.

But after I ran by I gave it some thought and I’m thinking if this dog is like our boy’s (Reggie and Kaz), they know exactly what he/she is doing. Fake like you are going to tear the runners leg off and then at the last minute look up and begin the feeding frenzy.

Dogs are so much smarter than all of us…

4 comments:

IronTriTim said...

Love dogs too, miss the family labrador back in the UK. The smaller the dog the louder the bark.

Anonymous said...

poor baby dogs but ill try that when i walk my dog too

Anonymous said...

poor baby dogs but ill try that when i walk my dog too

Anonymous said...

i have two dogs: a golden retriver and a shitzu.. the shitzu is old but the golden retriver is only 2. she barks at everyone.. and is realy mean.. but she is not mean unles u are in my house. but if i take her out on a walk she will be mean.