Our border terrorist is misbehaving again. She has taken advantage of the fact that her owners are nicely distracted by a baby and pigs and has decided to work her way up the pecking order.
Since moving to the new house, she sits at the gate barking at any passersby delighting in her territorial status in the centre of a bustling village. The problem is that in true terrier style, her bark is more of a shrill yap. A few local villagers have remarked on our vocal dog. A polite way of telling us that the petition against the terrorist is being drafted à le Stalbridge Coq.
When we are out walking in the fields, people regularly turn around and scuttle off in the opposite direction when they see us coming. In fact, they are most definitely fearful of our little terrorist so it was time to call in the professionals.
I enrol once more in local dog training classes, as if I have got time on my hands with a new baby and three other starlings to attend to. When I arrive, the dog trainer says she would like a moment to ‘observe’ us. No pressure then. I open the boot slowly. The two dogs come stampeding out barking and jumping up in excitement. Somehow I manage to get leads on to the leaping canines. They ignore my pleas to ‘Sit’ and the Labrador abandons her ‘oh so biddable’ status and chases after the dog trainer’s nearby tabby cat. I was in disgrace.
During the lesson the dog trainer observes the little terrorist and watches her closely with other dogs. At the end, she runs me through her psychological profile. “Your dog needs to be sniffed by as many dogs as possible, she says.” With that she promptly turns the terrorist’s bottom towards the nearest dog and lifts her tail. The terrorist is clearly horrified by this most undignified act.
Since the lesson, I have been scanning the fields for other dogs. When we meet one I leap across to the owner and say, “Morning. Could your dog sniff my dog please?” Clearly they think that we are a little odd to say the least, but to my amazement it is working and her terrorism is improving. So to all my local village dog walkers, please don’t turn the other way when you see us coming. Just come and have a sniff.
