UnSubRocky
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Crocodile Hunter: Origins
Posts: 25067
Rockhampton
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Our family dog would love to come up to me for a pat, whenever I was sitting on the floor watching tv. When I would pat him, he would pretend to fall over on to me, as a rouse to make it seem that I had pulled him towards me, instead of him wanting to lay down voluntarily. It would always be the same growl each time.
By the time he was about 8 or 9 years old, he started to not like it when I pat him. He would sit next to me as I watched television. So, I took it as a sign that he wanted a pat. He would growl a bit louder in these days. So, I assumed that he really did not want to be patted, and I would stop. After a few seconds, he would look up at me and lick his lips to say that he was just kidding, and wanted to be pat. I think that was his attempt at trying to be the dominant animal of the family.
Ginger Cat died, one day. We took her to the vet to determine that she was not able to live much longer, and had to be put down. After a few days of not seeing Ginger Cat, our dog was searching for her everywhere. I took responsibility to tell the dog as best I could that the cat had died. After realising what happened, the dog went into mourning for a while.... and then he decided that because I had told him what happened, that it must have meant that I had killed the cat. I was the villain for a long time.
That long time meant that every time I went to give the dog a pat, he would growl quite fiercely at me. I had a few bites come my way over time. Eventually, I decided that if he wanted to act that way, he was going to be put outside until he learned to behave and respect the humans.
It took the adoption of a stray kitten that changed the dog for the better. He seemed to have a reason to matter to people, because we were helping him look after a kitten. And when I moved out of home, I would visit about once a week. I figure that he was worried that I had passed away, too. Because I was visiting every week, he changed his behaviour back to the way he was years ago.
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