Bad Dog! Bad!
Greg and I officially got into trouble last night with one of our neighbors. We were having dinner with a friend so we put Cassie outside so she would not jump in our laps or bother our guest while we tried to eat.
Shortly after dinner we were sitting in the den when one of our neighbors came to the door calling for, "Gregory". I knew that had to be trouble. No one even knows him as Gregory, so I just assumed that she was getting into her, "You are in big trouble" voice. We had not had a chance to say anything more than "hi", when she started on her rant. Just to add to it, Cassie had to bark while our neighbor listed off the offenses, so Greg was sweet enough to bring her in so we could hear everything our neighbor had to say.
It was pretty clear that she was not at all comfortable with coming over. She was very nervous, which I can understand. I mean, Greg and I are such scary people. I am all of 5 feet, two inches, I say hi to neighbors when I see them, try to be friendly and Greg is just as kind of a man as them come, so of course, anyone would be scared to talk to us. Right...
You know when you rehearse in your mind what you are going to say and when you finally say it, it comes out broken, you forget things and then add them completely out of order at the end. Well, that is what our neighbor did here. Apparently she has never had to complain about one of her neighbors- ever. Our dog kept she and her company from watching the Olympics Friday night and apparently our dog is ruining her retirement. There.... What do you say to that. We were embarrassed and dumbfounded. Greg and I just stood there and said nothing, except we were sorry. My mind just kept going back to when I have gone out to get Cassie when she went on a barking fit and I have apologized to our neighbor. She has always said "Oh, that's okay." In her sweetest grandmotherly voice. We have been in the house for a year now and this is the first time we have ever had a complaint. Now, we have become a little slack on making her stop because no one ever says anything. She is in the house for 8 hours every day. We let her out when we get home from work. By that time I would assume our neighbor would be finished in her garden, but it looks like she is not. Our dog is keeping her from everything in her life that she loves. This all seems so harsh and I am not even sure she meant it that way.
After her rant she just turned around and scurried back to her house. No, "Thank you". No, "I appreciate your attention to this matter". Nothing. Just turn and leave us there with our mouths hanging open and a lot of words at the tip of my tongue that I really wanted to say. That is not at all what I want to do though. Greg and I both knew that between the three of us, we needed a day to let that cool off and to allow everyone to feel better. Also, to give us time to buy a muzzle. I am going to talk to her this afternoon when I get home from work. The thing Greg and I want her to understand is that we are not trying to ruin her retirement, we want her to enjoy her garden, we want to even be friendly. We are making our home here too and we want it to be comfortable for everyone around. Hopefully I can use my words in a kind way, but still get across the fact that Greg and I are not thoughtless, young punks who are out to ruin everyone's lives.
The joys of having neighbors...... Does anyone know of any good dog training books or classes? Greg and I have got to deal with our little mop. She is going to turn us into the most hated neighbors around.
Greg and I officially got into trouble last night with one of our neighbors. We were having dinner with a friend so we put Cassie outside so she would not jump in our laps or bother our guest while we tried to eat.
Shortly after dinner we were sitting in the den when one of our neighbors came to the door calling for, "Gregory". I knew that had to be trouble. No one even knows him as Gregory, so I just assumed that she was getting into her, "You are in big trouble" voice. We had not had a chance to say anything more than "hi", when she started on her rant. Just to add to it, Cassie had to bark while our neighbor listed off the offenses, so Greg was sweet enough to bring her in so we could hear everything our neighbor had to say.
It was pretty clear that she was not at all comfortable with coming over. She was very nervous, which I can understand. I mean, Greg and I are such scary people. I am all of 5 feet, two inches, I say hi to neighbors when I see them, try to be friendly and Greg is just as kind of a man as them come, so of course, anyone would be scared to talk to us. Right...
You know when you rehearse in your mind what you are going to say and when you finally say it, it comes out broken, you forget things and then add them completely out of order at the end. Well, that is what our neighbor did here. Apparently she has never had to complain about one of her neighbors- ever. Our dog kept she and her company from watching the Olympics Friday night and apparently our dog is ruining her retirement. There.... What do you say to that. We were embarrassed and dumbfounded. Greg and I just stood there and said nothing, except we were sorry. My mind just kept going back to when I have gone out to get Cassie when she went on a barking fit and I have apologized to our neighbor. She has always said "Oh, that's okay." In her sweetest grandmotherly voice. We have been in the house for a year now and this is the first time we have ever had a complaint. Now, we have become a little slack on making her stop because no one ever says anything. She is in the house for 8 hours every day. We let her out when we get home from work. By that time I would assume our neighbor would be finished in her garden, but it looks like she is not. Our dog is keeping her from everything in her life that she loves. This all seems so harsh and I am not even sure she meant it that way.
After her rant she just turned around and scurried back to her house. No, "Thank you". No, "I appreciate your attention to this matter". Nothing. Just turn and leave us there with our mouths hanging open and a lot of words at the tip of my tongue that I really wanted to say. That is not at all what I want to do though. Greg and I both knew that between the three of us, we needed a day to let that cool off and to allow everyone to feel better. Also, to give us time to buy a muzzle. I am going to talk to her this afternoon when I get home from work. The thing Greg and I want her to understand is that we are not trying to ruin her retirement, we want her to enjoy her garden, we want to even be friendly. We are making our home here too and we want it to be comfortable for everyone around. Hopefully I can use my words in a kind way, but still get across the fact that Greg and I are not thoughtless, young punks who are out to ruin everyone's lives.
The joys of having neighbors...... Does anyone know of any good dog training books or classes? Greg and I have got to deal with our little mop. She is going to turn us into the most hated neighbors around.
posted by Natrc at
12:44 PM
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