Dealing With Menacing Dogs
Another round of story telling last night involved details about how people who work in residential areas have dealt with unfriendly dogs. I have heard Hiromi tell before about his meter-reading days, and his mace spray can (standard issue equipment from the electric company), and his bicycle chain belt. The belt was especially for the fierce little yapping dogs he feared most, and the two Dobermans that lived in one of the yards he needed to enter. Taking off the belt and rattling it worked pretty well when the mace failed to impress sufficiently.
What I found really interesting was the metal tape measure solution to dog problems. This is apparently a trick that PHI employees have been using for decades, and Sturdi-Bilt employees have put to use as well. Others may have known all about this for a long time, but it was new to me.
When a menacing dog approaches, you take tape in hand and begin to feed out length directly toward the dog. Usually he gets fixated on the approaching menace and doesn't come closer to the person who is holding the tape. When you've fed out a safe and sufficient length, and the dog is all tensed up with the effort of focusing, you rattle the tape back and forth vigorously. For some reason, that is completely terrifying to most dogs. They flee and usually don't come back.
David once did this to a neighbor's dog that came over repeatedly and threatened him in his own yard. The dog did not stop charging as most dogs do, and when he was about ten feet away, David threw down the tape and fled. The dog did an abrupt about-face and never came back.
When workmen have had to co-exist peaceably indoors with territorial dogs, having the owners gone for the day is a convenience. Fast pet getaways on slick floors provide some great entertainment, as do skidding stops after surprise encounters. When pets come upon a second workman in the exact spot they've rushed to in an effort to get away from the first tape-measure-wielding workman, their astonished reaction is a pleasure to see.
John N. may be the originator of another menacing dog remedy. He stopped in once to contact a sewing machine customer in western Kansas. No one was home when he arrived, but a vicious dog came after him every time he did so much as crack open the door to his vehicle.
John had decided to leave a note on the door of the residence, but he couldn't get to the front door safely, so he looked around inside the vehicle for something he might be able to use as a deterrent to the dog. His eyes fell on his fire extinguisher. He opened the door a crack again and aimed the extinguisher at the dog who was keeping a close-range vigil. The dog abandoned his post in a hurry and ran into the barn.
The next time John stopped in, someone was home. He made it to the front door without seeing the dog. Oh no. Maybe the fire extinguisher spray killed him. But while he was there, the dog came rushing up from the barn. All at once he saw John and screeched to a halt. He did another about-face and ran to hide in the barn.
"That's strange," the customer said. "He's never done that before."
John didn't say a word.
What I found really interesting was the metal tape measure solution to dog problems. This is apparently a trick that PHI employees have been using for decades, and Sturdi-Bilt employees have put to use as well. Others may have known all about this for a long time, but it was new to me.
When a menacing dog approaches, you take tape in hand and begin to feed out length directly toward the dog. Usually he gets fixated on the approaching menace and doesn't come closer to the person who is holding the tape. When you've fed out a safe and sufficient length, and the dog is all tensed up with the effort of focusing, you rattle the tape back and forth vigorously. For some reason, that is completely terrifying to most dogs. They flee and usually don't come back.
David once did this to a neighbor's dog that came over repeatedly and threatened him in his own yard. The dog did not stop charging as most dogs do, and when he was about ten feet away, David threw down the tape and fled. The dog did an abrupt about-face and never came back.
When workmen have had to co-exist peaceably indoors with territorial dogs, having the owners gone for the day is a convenience. Fast pet getaways on slick floors provide some great entertainment, as do skidding stops after surprise encounters. When pets come upon a second workman in the exact spot they've rushed to in an effort to get away from the first tape-measure-wielding workman, their astonished reaction is a pleasure to see.
John N. may be the originator of another menacing dog remedy. He stopped in once to contact a sewing machine customer in western Kansas. No one was home when he arrived, but a vicious dog came after him every time he did so much as crack open the door to his vehicle.
John had decided to leave a note on the door of the residence, but he couldn't get to the front door safely, so he looked around inside the vehicle for something he might be able to use as a deterrent to the dog. His eyes fell on his fire extinguisher. He opened the door a crack again and aimed the extinguisher at the dog who was keeping a close-range vigil. The dog abandoned his post in a hurry and ran into the barn.
The next time John stopped in, someone was home. He made it to the front door without seeing the dog. Oh no. Maybe the fire extinguisher spray killed him. But while he was there, the dog came rushing up from the barn. All at once he saw John and screeched to a halt. He did another about-face and ran to hide in the barn.
"That's strange," the customer said. "He's never done that before."
John didn't say a word.
posted by Mrs. I at
2:19 PM
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