In our new house in Sydney, the garden at the back slopes down from the front ? and so there are some steps by the side of the house, to help you walk down to the path that takes you to the back garden?
?now, I don?t usually have a problem with stairs ? my humans socialised me to stairs when I was a puppy and I even happily go up & down long, steep ones (did you see the picture of me�going down�the big flight of stairs with Paul in my post about my playdate with Boo?)?except?these are SCARY SKELETON STAIRS!!! 
Gulp. Whenever I see these kinds of stairs when we?re out on our walks, I get scared and don?t want to go on them. These stairs have scary Big Holes that might suck my legs into them as I try to climb up or down? I just get stuck ? like a car machine that?s stalled ? and start crying and getting stressy?
My human, Hsin-Yi, will usually help me avoid them but sometimes, she makes me ?just deal with it? ? because she thinks it?s bad to pander too much to ?silly? fears and blow it into a big thing, when it is often just in our mind (unless it?s a real phobia, like doggies who are terrified of thunderstorms).
So those times, she puts on this cheerful, no-nonsense voice and says, ?Honey, don?t be stupid? ? and makes me just do it. Then she gives me lots of praise & treats for being brave?and often I find that when I do it, it IS actually mostly in my mind and it?s not that scary after all. That?s how she helped me learn to be brave & walk on the slippery wooden floors in the house, for example.
When my humans saw this house, they knew that the Scary Skeleton Stairs would be a problem for me ? but it was already the best out of all the houses they?d seen, after many,�many�weeks of househunting in Sydney ? so they decided they couldn?t just give it up because of my silly fears. And Hsin-Yi couldn?t help me avoid�them either ?coz I would need to go up & down them to get to the back garden, to go to my toilet and also to have my breakfast (which I eat outside as it is Raw Meaty Bones, such as chicken wings or lamb brisket)?so she said I would just have to learn to deal with them.
So the first day�I arrived in my new home, I rushed around excitedly exploring in the house ? and then I�went outside to explore the garden?and STOPPED when I saw the stairs. But Hsin-Yi just told me ?Don?t be stupid.? and walked down the stairs and off into the back garden, as if it was no big deal. After a lot of hesitating, I finally followed her.
And after that, I learnt to deal with those Scary Skeleton Stairs, although I still didn?t like them. I didn?t mind going up so much but I hated going down ? where I couldn?t grope with my back feet to feel where the steps were and I was awfully scared�my back legs�would go through those Big Holes. But I?m a very good girl and I always try to please my humans so I tried my best to ?just deal with it?. And I found a clever way to do this when walking down those stairs?by hitching my back legs up, tucked under my tummy, and just lunging down the steps with my front legs. This way, I wouldn?t have to put my back legs on the scary stairs at all! 
Well, I thought this was really clever but actually, every time I lunged, I would land really awkwardly and sometimes twist my hips ? and Hsin-Yi started to get worried as she watched me. She says that I am really lucky not to have any Arthritis Ouchies�yet, as an older doggie, and that?s something that my humans want to try and keep for as long as possible ? but if I keep twisting my hips like this every time I went down those steps, I would certainly start to get some Arthritis Ouchies by the end of our year in Sydney! 
So she decided that we had to do something about those stairs ? and luckily, we could call the lovely Handyman Human from Hire-A-Hubby to help us! Well, first Hsin-Yi thought maybe we could put a big plank of wood on top of the steps, covered with rubber matting ? to turn them into a sort of ?ramp??but the Handyman Human said that it would be too steep and dangerous even for my humans to walk on.
Then my blog friend, Mango the Mastiff (who shares my feelings about scary skeleton stairs), gave us a great tip. He told me I could put ?risers? on the steps ? these are planks that go at the back of each step, to block up the scary Big Holes?.so yay, that?s what we did! 
?and now I can go up & down the steps happily without worrying about scary Big Holes?look, I?m even brave enough to stop in the middle of them:
?and no more bad lunging and twisting my hips! 
Now, you remember last time I was telling you that Muesli had to stay in the house for the first few weeks after we moved, because many kitties try to go back to find their old homes and that is how they get lost?(the ?proper? advice is for 1 month but my humans only managed 2 weeks before with Lemon! 
)�
Anyway, my humans thought 2 weeks would probably be enough because Muesli never leaves our garden. In fact, she is such a shy, scaredy-cat that she won?t even go in the front garden because strangers� walk past the house ? whenever she sees them, she flattens herself to the ground and scurries away to hide in the first�hole she can find ? it is so funny to watch!
She is so different from Lemon, who was such a confident kitty�- Muesli is terrified of all strangers and won?t go up to any other humans, except Hsin-Yi & Paul (unless they are friends who have spent a lot of time with us at home. Whenever we have people visit, Muesli usually runs away to hide under the sofa or something the whole time! 
) So even when she goes outside, she only ever goes in the back garden which has tall fences/walls all around and she can?t see any strangers and she feels safe.
Well, it?s been a tough 2 weeks�- Muesli just kept crying and complaining and trying to escape out through the door every time it opened?and driving everybody crazy!
But my humans can be very stubborn. Finally, though ? thankfully! ? the 2 weeks were up and we could let Muesli out!
My humans did it in the afternoon so that it would soon be dinnertime and she would be sure to be hungry and come back in?but there was no need: Muesli had remembered all her Recall Training and she came running as soon as Hsin-Yi called her name!
Yup, and just as we thought ? she never leaves our back garden, even though she could easily climb over the fence at the back.
She seems to spend all day stalking and pouncing on stuff in the bit of earth & green of the back garden?Hsin-Yi says she doesn?t know how anyone can find a few clumps of grass so fascinating!!
Still, there must be good pickings in that grass because Muesli has been coming in regularly with skinks & lizards, most missing their tails, and a couple of cockroaches?and a few days ago, she caught her first feather!!
Yup, you heard me right. A feather. She carried it in really proudly to show Hsin-Yi ? and then started batting it with her paws and jumping away from it, like it was some big, scary thing. Pah! A feather! And they call ME a wimp??
Now, I must tell you about our new neighbours. Well, on one side, we have really nice neighbours. They are a family with 2 human pups and a cute�little white doggie.
They wanted us to meet through the fence ? but Hsin-Yi�told them�it?s always better for new doggies to meet on neutral territory ? and especially not over a fence (barrier) where we might be territorial. So we met on the pavement out on the street.
Although we didn?t play (I think he was a bit intimidated by me!), we sniffed noses & bums and wagged our tails at each other ? and after that good first meeting, we now say hello through the fence nicely with no problems.
But if we hadn?t met the first time on neutral territory and had a chance to become friends, it might have been a very different story! That?s why it?s so important to plan & manage doggie meetings ? better to put in a bit of extra time & effort, to get a good result ? rather than rushing in and spoiling things forever after.
This is a really Nice Neighbour Doggie ? he is friendly & sociable and only barks when there is something to bark at (like somebody arriving). He is really cute ? and knows some cool tricks too!
But our neighbours on the other side? 
Well, the human neighbours are nice ? but their doggie is HORRIBLE! He is the complete opposite of Nice Neighbour Doggie. He is a scruffy little black terrier doggie and�Hsin-Yi says�that�- ahem ? he has a Serious Anger Management Problem.
I say he?s a complete psycho.
Psycho Neighbour Doggie spends his whole day running up and down the fence between our properties, barking and lunging and snarling?or running to the front door and barking & snarling at whoever is walking past in the front street.
He is always barking barking barking ?even if my humans just come home and are standing there, unlocking the front door ? he?s behind the fence next to them, barking and snarling at them. I mean, really! Duh! He hears them every day and still hasn?t worked out that they?re just the neighbours??
I mean, terriers are supposed to be much quicker & smarter than us Danes and even I have learnt which noises are just ?the neighbours?. When I first moved into our new home, I barked a few times when I heard our neighbours ? but Hsin-Y just told me, ?No? ? and I quickly learnt to recognise their voices and now I don?t bark at them anymore ? only *real* strangers. But Psycho Neighbour Doggie? He barks at everything and anything and nothing?AAaaarrrrggghhh!! It drives us crazy and gives us terrible head ouchies!!
And the worst thing is if�I try to go out in the garden, he throws himself at the fence, barking & snarling and pushing and digging and trying to come through to kill me (and he goes even more beserk when he hears Muesli!). He does this morning, noon & night ? I can?t even go out to do a wee or have a drink of water in peace! 
And you know I have ? ahem ? a bit of a thing about aggressive doggies behind fences. So sometimes, when I hear Psycho Neighbour Doggie rushing the fence at me, I just can?t help myself ? I start bouncing & lunging too?and then I get a Big Telling Off from my humans!! It?s so unfair!�The whole thing�makes my humans very angry. They say me & Muesli shouldn?t be harassed in our own garden?and they shouldn?t be harassed every time they leave the house or come home!!
It was also quite scary because the fence between our properties is very old and broken (my humans say most Landlord Humans�just never want to spend the money paper until things have crumbled to pieces! ) ? and so there were big gaps in the fence and some of the planks were loose?and Pyscho Neighbour Doggie was pushing�his way through! Hsin-Yi was very worried because he might get through and hurt Muesli (he is only a small terrier so can easily wriggle through if he got the hole big enough) ? and also, if I happen to be in the garden�when he wriggled through, there would be a big dog fight because I am not a pushover, submissive kind of Dane ? I am very confident and I will�not take any crap from other doggies ? if you?re asking for a fight, you?ll get it! And I do NOT take kindly to other doggies invading my territory (especially rude ones!) and you know I certainly don?t allow any doggie to hurt my kitty sister!!!!
But of course, if anything happened and Psycho Neighbour Doggie got hurt ? it would still be my fault. It is always the bigger doggies fault. Even though he was the�one who got�into our garden. That?s something that only the big doggies reading this (and their humans!) would understand. Life is awfully unfair to big doggies and there are terrible double standards in what people think of doggies, based on their size? So Hsin-Yi was worried that I would be blamed again for something that wasn?t my fault?
Anyway, so when the Handyman Human came, Hsin-Yi asked him to help us nail up all the loose planks in the fence and block up any holes?
This way at least, he can bark all he wants but Psycho Neighbour Doggie won?t be able to�come through to our garden!
Of course, you?re probably wondering why Psycho Neighbour Doggie?s humans aren?t doing anything about his behaviour. Well, they sort of try ? but they?re not much use. A lot of times, they don?t realise what he?s doing until he?s been barking for ages (he has a door that allows him to go in & out to the garden anytime he likes ? and sometimes they?re not home) ? and then all they do is call his name and say ?Come here!?�- but it?s�not much good�because even if he runs back to them for a moment, he just comes back again in 5mins to start barking & lunging at the fence again? � Hsin-Yi says his humans are�a bit�weak and not really doing much to teach him manners or change his behaviour.
And barking & lunging is a ?self-reinforcing? kind of behaviour, which means that they make him feel good when he does it ? so the more you let him do it, the worse it gets ? like an addiction! That?s why it?s really important to nip this kind of behaviour in the bud from the beginning ? otherwise it just gets worse & worse and spreads to other parts of your life. (eg. a doggie that is allowed to bark uncontrollably & aggressively at one place ? eg. at the fence ? may soon start to do this on leash too and in other places and at people, dogs, cars, everything?)
Anyway, it has been wonderfully, blessedly quiet in the past week because the neighbours went away for Christmas/New Year and took Psycho Neighbour Doggie with them. Ahhhh?the peace!! And me & Muesli could enjoy our garden again! But they?ve come back now so the horrible stuff is going to start all over again?
Note from Hsin-Yi: as a ?dog lover?, I?m ashamed to be saying this but I?m really struggling to find any way to like or sympathise with this dog. Usually, I always try to understand the reasons for their behaviour and to try to be tolerant & understanding?but he really seems to epitomise the phrase ?vicious, little brute?. I understand, of course, that some dogs have stronger guarding & territorial instincts than others and it is natural canine�behaviour to patrol your boundaries and bark at intruders�- but this goes beyond normal territorial behaviour.� Even if you were someone who wanted a good watchdog, what use is a guard dog that barks constantly at EVERYthing?? Like the boy who cried wolf, you would never be able to tell when you can take him seriously.
But as I said, this goes beyond normal guarding behaviour. He is totally out of control and frenziedly aggressive ? towards everything. And the sad thing is that he has been allowed to behave like this, unchecked, for so long, that it will be very hard to change his behaviour now ? not without a LOT of effort & re-training -�something which his owners don?t seem capbable of.� I?ve thought a bit about trying to do some training myself ? through the�fence -�eg. using a clicker to ?mark? when he is silent and reward him for that ? but it is just too hard without corresponding support from his owners and in any case, there isn?t a gap big enough (now!) in the fence for me to give him any treats. Most of all, to be honest, as I said, I?m finding it hard to ?like? this dog ? and so I don?t feel like working with him.
It also really annoys & worries me because, as many of you know, Honey is a�reformed ?fence lungeaholic?. Barking, aggressive dogs behind barriers is her big trigger. We have worked long & hard to overcome this but as I?ve always said, she is ?in remission? rather than cured ? and every so often, when we?re out walking in the street, if we get ?ambushed? by a dog behind a fence, she will have a relapse and require quite a lot of stern verbal reprimands�from me (a.k.a. a lot of Scary Voice and Scary Face! ) to get her back under control. So now every time she goes out into our garden, it is awful as there is this vicious dog there behind the fence, waiting to launch itself at her ? triggering her to react. It?s like putting an ex-alcoholic in a house next to a liquor store?I?m worried now that a year of constant exposure will cause Honey to regress terribly?
Apparently, the previous tenants here had 2 Irish Setters who just ran up & down, reacting to the terrier & fighting with him through the fence all the time�and nobody cared. In fact, the terrier?s owner actually recounted this story to me and told me that her dog had caused the Irish Setters to develop a hatred for all black terriers and desire to attack when they saw one?as if it was something funny!
Probably a lot of you (especially our American friends! ) are wondering why we aren?t just marching next door to confront our neighbours and demand that they do something to control him ? well, for several reasons: Neither Paul nor I are the confrontational type and we just don?t like to use hostility to solve things; besides which I know from experience that we?re no good at confrontations ? we always end up being too nice & polite to make much impact?Also, as you can imagine from the size of our house, we live in VERY close proximity with our neighbours ? we?re wedged right up against each other and you can practically hear conversations through the walls sometimes! -�so we don?t want to create a situation which can lead to a lot of unpleasantness. We are only going to be here for 1 year and ultimately, when you live this close together, you need to try to get on with your neighbours.
Also ? to be fair, the neighbours do seem to make SOME attempts to restrain him. But what they?re doing just seems to be a bit weak & useless. Calling his name softly and telling him to ?Come here? (which he often ignores anyway) just does nothing to teach him�to stop his inappropriate barking & aggressive behaviour.�He just comes racing back after a few minutes. Even if they manage to finally call him & shut him�away, it does nothing to change anything in the long term and tomorrow, he?s back at the fence again.
I don?t know?I wonder if this is yet another classic case of an ?uneducated? dog owner taking on more dog than they can handle (and this has nothing to do with size but rather to do with personality) ? this dog needed firm authority & consistent guidance from Day 1 as a puppy to temper�his�personality and is the last kind of dog for uneducated, weak owners ? but I doubt if they?ve made much effort to train or control him �- and now that the bad behaviour has become ingrained, they would be even less equipped to deal with it. �(And I don?t know how regularly they walk him either ? regular exercise & some mental challenges would probably help to take the edge off him a bit. But some pet owners have *strange* attitudes ? even the other neighbours with the Nice Neighbour Doggie told�us very knowledgeably�that they don?t need to walk him every day because ?he is a house dog and he is happy inside? ?er, so what? And what does that make Honey?) They?re not bad people but just a bit�weak�& ineffective?and it?s a very frustrating situation for us.
And for those who are wondering ? no, I don?t feel like going over to offer to help them with re-training him. If it was a small issue, I might politely suggest some tips but this is serious behavioural modification�- it wouldn?t be fixed overnight but would take months of consistent repetition, reinforcement & management�of his environment -�and I�don?t feel, from�conversations I?ve had with them (like the one I?ve described above!), that they are the type of dog owner who could work successfully with me to�overcome this. I don?t know how to explain this ? but you?ve probably all met that kind of dog owner who�says the most ridiculous things that you just shake your head and can?t even be bothered to correct them.�Yes, I know we were all ?uneducated? once and�you could argue that it?s my duty to educate & help them but I feel it would be a thankless, unrewarding job and I don?t want to waste my precious time on something that would probably achieve very little.
Sigh. Those of you who know me well, will�know that ?yappy dogs? are my pet peeve -�I just CANNOT STAND dogs that are noisy for no good reason. There are times when I?ve been out in the garden with Honey and after 10mins of enduring constant barking & snarling behind the fence�- and I?ve had to really restrain myself from yelling, ?For God?s sake, SHUT UP!?�
It must be Fate playing some kind of sick joke on me that every time we move, we end up in a house next to noisy dogs. In Brisbane, it was those 2 Labradors who were kept as outside dogs in a dirt garden and never walked ? they literally howled & barked all day, until several neighbours complained and Animal Control came visiting, after which the owners started taking them out for walks every day ? which did make things a little better. But we were just relieved to leave that place?only to end up in Newcastle, where our neighbour also had a little dog that was loved but hardly walked and often left alone all day ? and then again, all night as the neighbours went out to socialise ? and so she howled & barked as well?while I gritted my teeth next door?and finally now here in Sydney, where not only do we have to put up with a noisy dog but one that?s a complete psycho as well!! I?ve told Paul that whever we settle, the one condition will be that we do not live next door to ANY dogs! I?m just not taking any more chances!!
Well, enough yucky stuff!
Before I go, I want to�tell you something nice?I got a parcel! It was from my blog friend, Ruthie, and it was for winning Ruthie?s Hallowe?en Trick contest?remember, when I showed my ?Nasty!? trick?�:P 
I won a really cool hedghog stuffie that makes the�funniest grunty noises! I love it. See, squeakers don?t do anything for me ? but this noise is different & exciting! And Ruthie was so nice ? she included some little mouse toys for Muesli too?and a lovely card from her, Otis & Buddy!
Thank you so much Ruthie for my great prize!
Source: http://bighoneydog.com/2012/01/scarystairs-psychoneighbours/
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