This is about an incident in October 2021 that I wrote about before but did not publish here.
I’ve been walking Clara every day in my neighborhood since April [2021]. Now, remember that as a wild puppy he was introduced to the presence of people other than me very slowly. My trainer and I often met at an outdoor mall where we could control the distance. Clara is a difficult case. It was a slow process, but he got to where he could walk through crowds of people happily, as long as no one tried to interact with him, and I could stop that or walk away.
At the mall, Clara is exposed to more types of people than many “normal” dogs see in their lifetime. He remained blasé about accessories, hats, sunglasses, carry-ons, large families, children, children, children riding on their fathers’ shoulders, big hair, flowing costumes, uniforms, people on ladders and roofs, people doing construction work, bicycles and scooters, people moving fast—all of it. Which is great.
On our walks through the neighborhood, he maintained an indifference to a vast array of people. They predict a treat from me if he likes it, but otherwise may be ignored. We recently walked by a guy practicing with his fly fishing rod in his yard! That’s good.
Social distancing is great, because he’s good with strangers, even if they look at him, as close as about eight feet. So I can even stop chatting with someone if I need to.
Now, finally, he saw someone he didn’t like.
There was a small old man wearing black jogging clothes. He walked slowly. He was smack in the middle of the street, and he was obviously (to me) looking at his front from different angles. So he doesn’t “walk with purpose,” a behavior Clara recognizes, or “stand around,” either alone or with a group, which is another familiar behavior. Or jogging, or sitting, or working in his yard. He stops and starts (unsteady) and peeps. We were between one and two houses when Clara saw him. I already was paying close attention to both him and her since it would be hard to get by him at a comfortable distance.
“Grrrr,” said Clara. This dog that barely whines.
I initiated an immediate U-turn and we went our separate ways. Yes, I must have negatively amplified the whining. This extraordinary response from him was better than any worsening behavior.
I thought it was interesting that this would be the one person over the months that would bother him, and probably the only person he ever pissed off as an adult. And at that distance!
It took us a while to find someone whose appearance and behavior Clara didn’t know what a “normal person” does in the middle of the southern US, but we found him! I wish I had taken a picture.
Back to 2024. I walked Clara almost every day from April 2021 until her last night on earth in late September 2024. She never growled at a human again.
His walk became his favorite part of the day. None of that would have happened without the great training he had as a youngster. But he took a solid foundation and grew into an amazing dog. I am very proud of him. And I think about the moment when someone finally steps too far outside the boundaries. It took so long to get that response from him!
What’s the weirdest thing your dog has ever experienced, whether or not they reacted?
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Copyright 2024 Eileen Anderson
