Yesterday I was in the park doing my usual exercise routine that combines footy-boules, karate katas, juggling and stretching. I was juggling when all of a sudden a Scottish terrier takes it upon himself to get involved. At first, I wasn't having any of it so I kept the balls in my hands and backed away from the excitable mutt. The problem was, this served to make him even more excitable and he started jumping on me. Now, I'm not a pet person and I really don't like dogs jumping on me especially when the grass still has its morning dew.
The owner was trying to call the dog off, but the dog wasn't having any of it - I kept backpedalling in circles with the balls out of sight in my hands behind my back. The owner catches up with me and advises me to stand still which I do and immediately regret it. The dog, now emboldened continues to jump up at me while baring its teeth. Reluctant to call the dog's bluff, I threw the balls on the ground whereupon the dog triumphantly fastened its jaw around one of the balls and ran off. For the next 5 minutes, the owner used all sorts of tricks to get the dog to hand over the ball, but the dog wasn't having any of it. Eventually the dog obeyed a lie down command and reluctantly agreed to give up the ball in exchange for a treat. The owner who up until now had not been able to get close to the dog because he kept running off, quickly put a leash on the dog, wiped the ball down several times and handed it over to me sheepishly saying, "that's the first time he's ever done that".
Does anybody know how I can dog-proof my juggling balls?
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