A few weeks ago, We Live in a Flat wrote about Donna–one of the best-photographed dogs on the planet–being an embarrassment, and I thought "GASP-not DONNA!" She's only delightful. When the dogs aren't ours, and we're perfectly happy to observe these dogs we feel we've come to know from afar, they're all angels, right? But when they are ours...
My dog screams (yes, screams) if another dog looks at her at the dog park. It is the sound you might hear if she was being slaughtered, only she's just been looked at. Of course, it only attracts more unwanted attention, so then other dog parents rush over to see if their dog is attacking mine ("he couldn't be!") Nope, he's not. It's just my drama queen dog.
Sometimes she'll even do it at home if I introduce her to a new friend. We let canine friends come stay at our house for sleepovers on occasion. N.A.S.H.A. Loves to play with friends, but not when they are strangers, so I have to be careful about how I introduce them. Naturally, the new friend is most curious about N.A.S.H.A., so that new friend will follow her around. But if new friend gets too close...she screams. She hasn't even been sniffed, much less touched. The new friend then either backs away in fear of being accused of gory murder (mission accomplished) or becomes so alarmed that he wants to be helpful and pursues the matter further. That's not good, because then the slaughtering sounds get louder. On rare occasion, this actually provokes an attack. The new friend is trying to put her out of her misery, I assume.
And then I wish someone would put me out of mine.
So I'm that pet sitter that can't really take her dog out in public. Well, heck. I never said I was a trainer!
Please don't make me feel alone. Have your pets embarrassed you?
When I was growing up, our little dog, Chipper, loved lights and reflections. I don't even think the pet laser pointer for pets had been thought up, yet. Instead, he had a collection of flashlights in a designated drawer, and he was so obsessed, he would bark in anticipation if we even approached the drawer. Eating dinner was an issue because we had track lighting that bounced light off the silverware. We'd have to take a bite and then quickly bury the silverware under the plate or napkin or food. Nevermind the large serving utensils. Pizza night, with that spatula, was an event.