Naaah marlingardener, That's only one very mean dog in "de shies" laying in front of a mirror to appear "double de vicious". 8)
No,no opossums but yes to the foxes and neighbourhood kitties that sometimes dare to set foot in our garden -not that they stay long when spotted by Buddy or Nyla. In the picture Buddy was very asleep as his ears didn't move when I switched on the camera,but Nyla's did so I knew she was faking it They certainly are the smartest breed I have come across.
Yup I know all about those fake sleepers from experience. Back in 1965 we had adopted a female black lab from some people we had lived near. I loved Tar, and she me. Before we got her I use to go over there and take her for walks. With never any problems. She and I were inseparable. But she had one personality flaw. She hated men and boys! She had been teased a lot when she had been living in an outdoor kennel before we got her. She was fine with my little brother, my Mom's brother, and the guy where we boarded her. Or if someone would come into the house she would settle down after they were there for a while. But we always kept on eye on her so she couldn't bite anyone. Well one night my mom's insurance man came over to discuss something with her. After he came in Tar settled down in front of the couch and looked like she was sleeping. Ya, right. My mom, I, and the insurance man where sitting around the dining room table. My mom on his right and I on his left. He was explaining I don't know what when he made the mistake of quickly bending over to reach in his briefcase to retrieve something. Tar immediately sprang to her feet and came charging and snarling at the insurance man. It all happened so fast that my mom just sat there with a stunned look on her face. The insurance man must have pooped his pants and was going to jump up on the dinning room table to get away from the crazed dog. I jumped up and headed off Tar who was ready to rip him limb from limb. She must have thought he was going to hurt one of us. So while I removed Tar to by bedroom and closed the door with her still barking. The insurance man picked up his briefcase and said in a rather calm voice. From now on you will have to come to my office to discuss your policy and left. I can look back on it now, and laugh at the scene it must have been. But that was no laughing matter. All the time we owned her we never gave her an opportunity to bite anyone. Plus she was a perfectly well behaved dog once on a leash.
Your Tar sounds quite like our first dog,Claude.She was a friend to everyone and just wanted to be fussed.One day,when we were looking for a company to install some double-glazed windows,I invited a salesman in to do a survey and give us a quote.Now,I already knew the reputation of the company but hadn't been prepared for quite how rude he turned out to be. My emotions must have been perfectly clear to Claude who never left my side from the time he arrived until the time I told him to leave as I wasn't prepared to be talked to in the way he had been. . The moment he was out the door Claude was back to her normal,happy self.Needless to say that company didn't get the business.It went to the company with the boss who fussed and loved Claude the first instant that they met and did a much less expensive job as well.
Tooty, that sounds like the dog my sis had....and she raised him with 4 toddler to preteen children all over him and he was never a problem for them, but the day that they were all in the back yard playing in the swimming pool and the UPS man walked around the house to deliver a package, my nephew just happened to be out of the water and his quick reflex caught the dog as he started to go for the man...not the excitement I would want as a deliveryman. After that he was told to "honk when he got there. The dog doesn't seem to like men" for some unknown reason. The Schwans man was told to not come back. When that man came she thought he was going to go through the glass door for the man. scary! Any other time he looked like Kiasmun,s realistically life like stuffed dogs. .
Kaismun well my Tar was like your Claude in that she would never leave my side. But not like your Claude in allowing anyone to fuss over her. If any strangers came into the yard or house we better have a good hold of her collar or she would have chewed them up in and an instant. I even had to shut her in my bedroom when my little brother who was about 13 would bring his friends into the house. He always would come in the house first and see if Tar had been shut up in my bedroom. Men and boys where on her hit list so to say. Carolyn Tar was great with our family just like your sisters dog. But like you said just let a delivery man come into the yard or even knock on the door they where seen as an enemy to be destroyed. Thank God we had a fenced in backyard so any postman or delivery man that came to the side door didn't have to go near Tar. When I was a kid our electric meter was in our basement. So the meter man would have to come in the house to read it. He was so scared of Tar that he would only open up the back door about an inch and yell meter man. Tar upon hearing him would charge threw the house like a buffalo. Tear down the landing steps to the back door and jump on it with her front feet. All the time snarling and growling. The door had a window that was about 5 ft off the ground. Tar would jump up and down to look out the window at the meter man again snarling and growling up a storm. She was a terror to behold I'm sure.
