# grumpy "old" man



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Perry is a seriously grumpy old (at 5 years old) man who doesn't like anyone having fun. The biggest thing we're working on right now is that. On Mondays and Thursdays his cousin Zadie (standard poodle) comes to visit after work to play with his cousin Finley (scotty) - and they play hard - I'm talking long periods of racing around the whole house (you can circle from the dining room, through part of the living room, through the kitchen, down a hall and back around the dining room). Perry HATES this and will bark hysterically, growling, etc. at them when they do this (he stays on my lap because he would get trampled). 

Once he did get onto the ground when they were doing this and he ran after them and cornered Zadie (who, as a standard poodle, is probably 5 times his size/ weight) and very aggressively barked at her. Luckily for us, she's super chill and just stood there while he did it - but it's definitely something that I don't find acceptable, but am not sure why he's so upset by them running around.

The thing is, once Zadie is just standing there and Perry has a chance to sniff her butt  they are perfectly fine.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

Melissa Brill said:


> Perry is a seriously grumpy old (at 5 years old) man who doesn't like anyone having fun. The biggest thing we're working on right now is that. On Mondays and Thursdays his cousin Zadie (standard poodle) comes to visit after work to play with his cousin Finley (scotty) - and they play hard - I'm talking long periods of racing around the whole house (you can circle from the dining room, through part of the living room, through the kitchen, down a hall and back around the dining room). Perry HATES this and will bark hysterically, growling, etc. at them when they do this (he stays on my lap because he would get trampled).
> 
> Once he did get onto the ground when they were doing this and he ran after them and cornered Zadie (who, as a standard poodle, is probably 5 times his size/ weight) and very aggressively barked at her. Luckily for us, she's super chill and just stood there while he did it - but it's definitely something that I don't find acceptable, but am not sure why he's so upset by them running around.
> 
> The thing is, once Zadie is just standing there and Perry has a chance to sniff her butt  they are perfectly fine.


I agree with Perry! I would hate it. Take all that running and jumping outside and let me chill in the house. 

OTOH - If sniffing Zadie's butt is an enticement why not do it First Thing?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> Perry is a seriously grumpy old (at 5 years old) man who doesn't like anyone having fun. The biggest thing we're working on right now is that. On Mondays and Thursdays his cousin Zadie (standard poodle) comes to visit after work to play with his cousin Finley (scotty) - and they play hard - I'm talking long periods of racing around the whole house (you can circle from the dining room, through part of the living room, through the kitchen, down a hall and back around the dining room). Perry HATES this and will bark hysterically, growling, etc. at them when they do this (he stays on my lap because he would get trampled).
> 
> Once he did get onto the ground when they were doing this and he ran after them and cornered Zadie (who, as a standard poodle, is probably 5 times his size/ weight) and very aggressively barked at her. Luckily for us, she's super chill and just stood there while he did it - but it's definitely something that I don't find acceptable, but am not sure why he's so upset by them running around.
> 
> The thing is, once Zadie is just standing there and Perry has a chance to sniff her butt  they are perfectly fine.


Some dogs just ALWAYS feel like they need to be the "fun police". It's not clear why, but when it's built in, it doesn't seem to go away. Interestingly, it's USUALLY bitches who do it.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Mikki said:


> I agree with Perry! I would hate it. Take all that running and jumping outside and let me chill in the house.
> 
> OTOH - If sniffing Zadie's butt is an enticement why not do it First Thing?


Because she's running around like a loon!  She's just over a year, so still a puppy in a lot of ways, even if she's very well trained and super chill. If I can stop her long enough for it then we're ok (though he does still insist on telling them off when they start running around again.)


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

krandall said:


> Some dogs just ALWAYS feel like they need to be the "fun police". It's not clear why, but when it's built in, it doesn't seem to go away. Interestingly, it's USUALLY bitches who do it.


I feel like it's an energy thing - Perry, as we all know, is super tuned in to everyone's - dog or person - energy level. Hyper/ nervous dogs really bother him. Until Zadie, I hadn't realized that extended not just to their overall energy but to their running around energy.

However, I am also planning an experiment for Thursday. It just hit me that Zadie wears her tags (two of them) on her harness (like Finley had on his collar when Perry had an issue with the sound of the tags) - so I'm very curious to experiment and see if it's them running around that's bothering Perry OR if, like it was with Finley, it's actually the tags.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> However, I am also planning an experiment for Thursday. It just hit me that Zadie wears her tags (two of them) on her harness (like Finley had on his collar when Perry had an issue with the sound of the tags) - so I'm very curious to experiment and see if it's them running around that's bothering Perry OR if, like it was with Finley, it's actually the tags.


That’s a very interesting thought! I’ll be interested to hear how it goes! Where it has happened a number of times, he may have an expectation that it WILL happen at this point. So you might have to continue the experiment for a while. If it works, I know there used to be little nylon “rims” that you could put on tags to keep them from jingling. Maybe something like that would solve the problem on both dogs withot the need to remove the tags each time.

I just looked on Amazon and there are a zillion different types now, including some very cute ones, that completely cover the tag. But these were what I was remembering: https://smile.amazon.com/Slicon-Rubber-Silencers-Military-10pcs/dp/B01N095HJX/ref=sr_1_12?crid=TIREMO8B8UTG&dchild=1&keywords=dog+tag+silencers+for+pets&qid=1617191690&sprefix=Dog+tag+sil,aps,157&sr=8-12


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

krandall said:


> That’s a very interesting thought! I’ll be interested to hear how it goes! Where it has happened a number of times, he may have an expectation that it WILL happen at this point. So you might have to continue the experiment for a while. If it works, I know there used to be little nylon “rims” that you could put on tags to keep them from jingling. Maybe something like that would solve the problem on both dogs withot the need to remove the tags each time.
> 
> I just looked on Amazon and there are a zillion different types now, including some very cute ones, that completely cover the tag. But these were what I was remembering: https://smile.amazon.com/Slicon-Rubber-Silencers-Military-10pcs/dp/B01N095HJX/ref=sr_1_12?crid=TIREMO8B8UTG&dchild=1&keywords=dog+tag+silencers+for+pets&qid=1617191690&sprefix=Dog+tag+sil,aps,157&sr=8-12


Thanks. Taking Finley's off permanently wasn't a big deal - his name tag is separate/ flat on his collar so these were just his license and rabies tag - but he's always with someone so they're not vital to have on him.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> Thanks. Taking Finley's off permanently wasn't a big deal - his name tag is separate/ flat on his collar so these were just his license and rabies tag - but he's always with someone so they're not vital to have on him.


Yeah, our dogs never wear license and rabies tags. we always can produce them if it were ever necessary!


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