They're hee-ere...

[Guest Anonymous]

My mom's online friends (I posted about their visit a while back) are arriving... 16 are supposed to be coming here by tomorrow, 3 are here now. So far, they woke me up by their LOUD conversation (they were all the way out in the kitchen, but they were STILL loud enough to wake me from a sound sleep :roll: ) after I had only had 4 hrs of sleep. Then Goo and I had the top of a cabinet pushed over on us when one of them knocked it over trying to climb across the gate we had to put up to keep their puppy away from our dogs (they brought along their 9 week old lab pup). Annie has been humped, play-bitten, and otherwise harassed by the pup while I was playing catch with her in the yard. They were worried about the puppy hurting her (then why did they keep letting it run over to her???), but Annie took care of that right quick :wink: :lol: and the puppy was much more respectful afterwards. Then the one woman's husband (him and her are the two who visited last summer) walked up to me and Goo while we were sitting in the backyard and tried to insist on petting her (this is after they've been told umpteen times that Goo's afraid of strangers, and not to bother her), saying "she's fine, she's wagging her tail", as Goo's eyes grew wide as saucers and she pressed up against me, in a pathetic attempt at hiding from him. I had to tell him to leave her alone (wasn't too friendly about it either :-? ), it felt like I was trying to reason with a 5 yr old. And this is only the beginning. By tomorrow, there's going to be 10-15 more people milling around the house/yard, for their cookout. All the dogs will be put up for that, Casey and Joey in the downstairs apartment, Haley gated in the office, Annie and Goo in my room. Th one bright point of the morning was when I caught a tiny about 2" from tip to tip of shell hardcrab, brought him up to the house, and let him loose on the kitchen floor to "visit" with everyone :lol: Anyway, I'll be sure to update on any new disasters and the like :roll: (BTW, this thing isn't letting me log in at ALL now :-? which is why I'm simply "gooey")

[courtnek]

I would say, loudly and FIRMLY - Goo is afraid of strangers. If you INSIST
on trying to pet her and you get bitten, it's your own fault and you're on your own. Consider yourself warned. This is the ONLY warning you will get.

One of my sons friends got in an argument with him (over a girl, of course.... :) ) and he started yelling at Kyle. Freebee jumped up and snarled at him (even tho he's 6'2" and weighs about 200 lbs)

and she wouldnt back down. Every time he ordered her to sit, she would snarl louder, and she kept approaching him close and closer, and looking angrier by the minute. I walked in just then, and basically told him to
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. Then told him if Freebee bit him, I would file an assault charge against him for threatening my son (who is 5' 7" and
about 140 lbs) and HE would end up in trouble, not Freebee.....

Sometimes you just have to let 'em have it....

:evilbat:

[Guest Anonymous]

I agree that sometimes you just have to be abrupt and try to scare some sense into people, but I don't think that approach would work with this guy. About 2 hrs after his failed attempt at petting Goo, he asked if the neighbor's lab was friendly. I answered back "the lab is usually ok, but he does get snappy sometimes; the other dog will bite though, so you'd better leave them alone if they come over here". As I walked up to the house, I glanced over my shoulder to see the guy walking over INTO the neighbors yard, to pet his dogs, which were (for once) gated on their porch (huge porch, goes almost all the way around their house). Both dogs were carrying on like crazy, the lab barking half defensively, half excitedly, wagging his tail here and there, the Pei in full out defense mode, growling, snarling, barking, and the like. Yet this guy wandered right up to them, and was trying to pet the lab through the bars on the deck. Someone like this isn't going to heed a warning about a dog being aggressive, or a dog being fearful (if anything, that will only egg them on further, because they'll feel more powerful). I've had to deal with a few people like this, and the only thing that keeps them at bay (little pun for you and Laurel :wink: ) is if I make it clear to them that I will NOT tolerate them acting like that. It doesn't matter whether my dog (any of them) is wagging her tail or not (BTW, Goo's tail was wagging in excitement because the neighbors' dogs were carrying on, not in happiness), if I say to leave her alone, they had better stop where they are and head in some other direction. I don't think that Goo would react with aggression in a situation like what happened today, but at the same time, it's not good for her, and I've worked too hard to get her to the point she's at to let someone undo it trying to boost their own egos.

Things are going pretty well for Goo, otherwise. So far today, we've visited her "granmudder and granfadder" 3 or 4 times, spent about 2 hrs total outside, and she's spent about another 3-4 hrs tagging along leashed to my waist in the house. Only a couple hrs shut in my room. Haley of course is loving all these visitors, and carries on everytime one of them comes in the house, like they're a long lost friend :roll: :lol: