I Am Mama Bear, Hear Me Roar
Ok, I didn't roar. But I did stare down a normally persistent stray (?) dog into leaving me (and, more importantly, Snoopy) alone this morning. There's this small dog that sometimes roams our neighborhood. It probably isn't stray because it's not always outside and but it has been outside off and on for months now, but it doesn't wear a collar and it usually looks at least a little dirty. The dog will often try to approach, cautiously but persistently. This was true this morning as well.
However, this morning, rather than just waving my arms and stamping at the dog, which gets it to move away briefly then come right back, I stood there. And stared. And stared some more. The dog had NO IDEA what to make of that, other than it was pretty sure I wasn't happy. So it backed off a little, then started to come back. And I glared. It stopped, and backed off. I pointed away and told it to go. It backed up more, tail (what it had of a tail) between its legs. It turned and looked, but didn't advance. I stared some more, putting "get the hell away from me and my daughter" into that stare. It grumbled a little...it may have been a growl, but I think it was more from being unhappy than aggression. I pointed again and said "GO". It went to the sidewalk, up the neighbor's stairs and sat on the porch, never taking its eyes off of me. That dog has never, ever retreated that far or that fast in all the times I've tried to shoo it away with a loud voice and stamping on the ground.
Snoopy and I got into the house without further incident.
I know some of you reading this may find my attitude toward this dog to be a little extreme. However, I view all stray/unleashed dogs I encounter outside as potential threats because even if they appear gentle and friendly, they do have teeth and a mind of their own. I know nothing about where this dog came from, whether or not it has an owner, whether it has any diseases, etc. etc. The last thing I want is for it to get anywhere near my kids. So yes, I treat stray animals as active threats, especially when my kids are around.
However, this morning, rather than just waving my arms and stamping at the dog, which gets it to move away briefly then come right back, I stood there. And stared. And stared some more. The dog had NO IDEA what to make of that, other than it was pretty sure I wasn't happy. So it backed off a little, then started to come back. And I glared. It stopped, and backed off. I pointed away and told it to go. It backed up more, tail (what it had of a tail) between its legs. It turned and looked, but didn't advance. I stared some more, putting "get the hell away from me and my daughter" into that stare. It grumbled a little...it may have been a growl, but I think it was more from being unhappy than aggression. I pointed again and said "GO". It went to the sidewalk, up the neighbor's stairs and sat on the porch, never taking its eyes off of me. That dog has never, ever retreated that far or that fast in all the times I've tried to shoo it away with a loud voice and stamping on the ground.
Snoopy and I got into the house without further incident.
I know some of you reading this may find my attitude toward this dog to be a little extreme. However, I view all stray/unleashed dogs I encounter outside as potential threats because even if they appear gentle and friendly, they do have teeth and a mind of their own. I know nothing about where this dog came from, whether or not it has an owner, whether it has any diseases, etc. etc. The last thing I want is for it to get anywhere near my kids. So yes, I treat stray animals as active threats, especially when my kids are around.