My old lady, Clarissa barks at everyone who comes in and really intimidates some people. Her bark is normal, but when she takes a breath, she "growls" the air in and it sounds rather vicious. Yet, the tail is wagging and when the gate is opened, she dances around with joy at having a visitor. Clarissa is truly the sweetest of the sweet, but she does scare some people with that growly intake of air.
Misinterpretation is a frequent problem with novice dog owners. I had a neighbor who had a cute toy poodle male who was so very sweet. He smiled all the time showing most of his teeth. One day, I was asked to baby sit him for an hour or so, which I agreed to do. My neighbor had her grandchildren visiting and didn't want to leave the dog with them unsupervised while she went to the store because she said he might bite them. When I reached to take him from her, he gave me a big smile at which his owner said, "You see? He does that to the children and I must punish him. Please, just hit him on the nose when he shows his teeth (smiles). Poor little guy. I tried to explain than it was not a sign of viciousness, but rather a friendly and probably somewhat submissive display. She did not care to listen and kept telling him how bad he was. She loved her little dog but sadly, was certainly not reading his emotions very well. Pat ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
