That naughty pet for my wife and I happens to be a Rottweiler afflicted with ADD (attention deficit disorder) and hyper-activity thrown in for good measure. It all began when my daughter acquired two kittens, followed by the arrival two weeks later of our Rotty pup, Baxter. Soon Baxter realized that he had a size advantage over the kittens and followed his instinct to chase and tease the kittens relentlessly, causing my wife and daughter to react with squealing panic. Baxter loved the resultant confusion, understanding it to be encouragement.
My cure for the situation, as proposed by some experts, was to ignore the situation. The animals would sort themselves out. The pup had teeth but the kittens had claws with which they were very fast on the draw. The thing to do to defuse such a situation is to turn your back and leave the room. With the attention gone, the pup will more than likely lose interest and follow.
My wife has a habit of having her evening meal in the lounge while watching her favourite soapy. Baxter loves this and makes it clear that he should have what is on her plate. Her raised voice and waving hands again serve as encouragement. He is an animal and reacts as such. He does not understand plain English.
The answer is a mild reaction to most situations and to keep a level headed disposition. I have practiced this and to a large part Baxter never bothers me. If he tries it with me I turn my head or walk away, and it works. My wife is almost always the target as it is not in her nature to give a cool reaction.
The secret is to under-react, not over-react resulting in a calmer household, where you will not feel as if you are ‘living with an alien’, a book by Pam Whyte.
