Dog Gone

       Robbie and Gerrie had a Jack Russell Terrier. Folks who have them find them immensely entertaining and love them. They are active dogs and Robbie’s certainly was, both fat and hyper. When folks came  to see the place, he went bananas and would not let anyone alone with his insistence upon getting all their attention.  The way they handled this was to put him up on a high stool. They had learned that he was afraid to jump off the stool; his paws would slip on the smooth surface and he didn’t want to risk a fall. So if one the stool, he  would not bother anyone any longer by jumping  up and down on them.

       The dog was smart. He couldn’t jump up now, but he could still bark – and bark he did. You couldn’t carry on a conversation. So Robbie or Gerrie would toss him outside once everyone got in. Now his barking would not be so loud. Knowing that, the dog began to scratch at the door. That of course pissed off Robbie and Gerrie and they’d bring him in and the cycle would start over. Customer after customer. I suggested tieing him up outside, but there was some reason why they thought this wouldn’t work.  This dog RULED.
       A couple of weeks before the closing, Robbie and Gerrie invited us over for a meal. We sat in the living room before eating, chatting. The dog decided he needed to be in my wife’s lap and he sailed through the air, to the landing strip. Janet loves dogs, but in their place and this dog’s place was not in her lap, not at this point. Sternly, she told him to “Get down!” He did. And Robbie looked at Gerrie with a “Did you see what I just saw?” look.”
       Five minutes later, the dog tried again. (hope spring eternal within the canine chest – they are the most hopeful of creatures), got the same treatment from Janet and again went back down to the floor. This time Robbie could contain himself no longer: “How come he listens to you? He never does what we say!”  The reason of course was because they never enforced their rules. Like I said, the dog was smart: he could tell who was going to make him do what they said and who wouldn’t. Janet found a tactful way to say this. Later on,  to show she wasn’t mad at him if he behaved, she invited him over for a scratching. That’s“over”, not “up”. He loved that. No more problems with us and the dog that night. But I’ll bet he stopped behaving after we left. He knew he’d be the boss again once the higher authority left.