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For all these months I've been concerned about Chi's possible aggression problems. She's never bitten, only growled a few times but is quite fond of barking at and scaring the crap out of people/dogs. It has occurred to me on several occassions that I'm just not "reading" her right. By and large, when she barks at people/dogs the bark is very similar to the one I hear when I'm trying to teach her something new and am not doing a good job of showing her what I want, or if I don't feed her or throw the disc fast enough - she's vocal when she's confused, upset, nervous or excited.
Last night though, I heard a completely different bark and it scared the crap out of even me! At about midnight I took her out back for one last time before bed. I was standing on the patio waiting for her to hurry up and all of a sudden, she dropped her head real low and this growl from the depths of hell came from her. She didn't lunge or hit the end of her leash - she ran right in front of me and barked like she was going to kill something - completely different from all the previous barks, she meant business. I looked up and saw my creepy neighbor's even creepier husband standing in the shadows at the end of the patio watching us. When I saw it was him, I pulled her closer to me and calmed her down (she stopped barking but was not at all relaxed)... He stammered around with some stupid excuse that he thought his dog had gotten out... I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now - If his dog was loose, wouldn't he have been calling for her? Wouldn't he have asked me if I had seen her? I'd think so... He certainly wouldn't be standing at the end of the building, in my yard, staring at us... I don't think I was in danger or anything, other than being creeped out by this guy... But why in the world was he standing in my backyard in the shadows at midnight last night? He had a perfect view inside my living room window - Shades are drawn from now on.
I tell ya what, especially with Mark gone so much these days... I do sleep better at night with Chi in the house. Nobody is coming in this house with her on watch LOL.
What impressed me the most is that when I pulled her to me and told her to calm down - she did. She sat by my side and stopped barking - but you could feel the tension, she was ready to pounce if she needed to...
Last night though, I heard a completely different bark and it scared the crap out of even me! At about midnight I took her out back for one last time before bed. I was standing on the patio waiting for her to hurry up and all of a sudden, she dropped her head real low and this growl from the depths of hell came from her. She didn't lunge or hit the end of her leash - she ran right in front of me and barked like she was going to kill something - completely different from all the previous barks, she meant business. I looked up and saw my creepy neighbor's even creepier husband standing in the shadows at the end of the patio watching us. When I saw it was him, I pulled her closer to me and calmed her down (she stopped barking but was not at all relaxed)... He stammered around with some stupid excuse that he thought his dog had gotten out... I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now - If his dog was loose, wouldn't he have been calling for her? Wouldn't he have asked me if I had seen her? I'd think so... He certainly wouldn't be standing at the end of the building, in my yard, staring at us... I don't think I was in danger or anything, other than being creeped out by this guy... But why in the world was he standing in my backyard in the shadows at midnight last night? He had a perfect view inside my living room window - Shades are drawn from now on.
I tell ya what, especially with Mark gone so much these days... I do sleep better at night with Chi in the house. Nobody is coming in this house with her on watch LOL.
What impressed me the most is that when I pulled her to me and told her to calm down - she did. She sat by my side and stopped barking - but you could feel the tension, she was ready to pounce if she needed to...