Dogs

I'm not a doggie person. We had dogs at home, when I was little. OK, stop laughing. When I was young. They were fine, but other people's dogs, hmmm. My first doggy encounter (don't even crack a smile) was when I was four and a puppy chased me in the street, turning around to see if it had gone I ran into a lamp post and while swaying on the spot, seeing stars, the puppy peed up my leg. When I was about 10, mum asked me to take her pools coupon around to Mrs Whoever and to use the back door. Which was through a gate into their back yard. So I went into the darkened yard and out of the blackness a German Shepherd flew at me and pinned me to a wall with its paws on my shoulder and its face in my face and I wasn't a happy bunny. The following year my parents went to visit some friends who owned pub and next door a garage/sweetie shop, with their flat over the premises. They thought it would be a great idea to leave me with the dog to look after me while they went to the pub, saying I could have as many sweets from downstairs as I wanted. So downstairs I trotted, when they'd been gone about 5 mins, in the darkness- I didn't put a light on just in case they came back and saw me and hadn't really meant it, -I helped myself to a goodie bag full of sweeties. However, when I attempted to open the door of the shop to go back upstairs the spotty dog, ahhh, Dalmatian, decided I was a prowler and growled and barked and left me quivering, snotty nosed, crying and imprisoned in that room for the next two hours. Of course the bright sparks that had left me, had also expected me to let them in again. On their eventual return, finally understanding what had happened, they had to entice the dog to the door while someone hooked a finger under it's collar, through the letter box, so I could open the door. Then, the first time my husband had to have a night away from home on business, which unnerved me, a friend loaned me her dog ... to keep me company. I sat there with the Westie beside me and every bloody little noise it heard it barked at. I petted it to keep it quiet and then when I stopped petting it it barked and growled at me! At 1am I was on friend's doorstep with dog and basket pleading with them to take it back. Visiting the Oxford Naturist Club one day, which is in a wood, via a farmers field with a sign 'beware of dog', Hubby, driving, asked me to get out and open the gate to the field. As I stood waiting for him to drive through one of those big black dogs with pointy ears and tan bit on it (Dobermann), raced at me out of the blue, cannoning down on me. I did notice at the last minute that it was muzzled but that made the experience no less frightening. The farmer's wife was yelling something unintelligble at the dog (or me?) but since it was in Dutch, it transpired, I had no idea what she was saying. I turned away as the dog hit me and spun me around, scratching my thigh (through trousers!). She said I should have shouted at it. I don't speak Dutch though. I might have said Kill unwittingly! Then (are you still awake .. Bill????) walking through a twitchell one day (a narrow passage), coming down some steps, toward me, was a man with a Great Dane running ahead of him. It ran toward me and the guy shouted at it "Kill, Kill" which was worrying, to say the least, then "Kiltie, come here." Stupid bloody name for a dog. I was telling this story to a couple who had a Great Dane (I thought it appropriate), which was a rescue dog, and in the room at the same. When I shouted KILL it jumped up and ran at me. I've decided not to tell that story again when there are any dogs around. At the home of one person I worked for, he had a bull dog and a westie and there was also a Rottweiler. I always steered clear of the bulldog anyway but going into the back yard one morning, carrying a bag, the rottweiler came bounding toward me and decided to be playful (apparently that's what it was) and gripped the bag I was carrying between it's teeth. Naturally, since it was my bag, I tugged back. Big mistake. I didn't realise there are so many breeds of dog .. I've just been having a shuftie at this site, PetPlanet. It's very interesting. Have you ever seen a Labradoodle???