Thou Shalt Not Bark At Bikes

Porque Choppe has mellowed considerably in the time I've owned her. However, she still barks savagely at bicycles. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the person on the bike. It's the bike. Today we were out and about for a while and Porque spotted two boys coming toward us on bikes. She launched a ferocious barking offensive. The boys stopped to ask about her. I took the opportunity to question whether they were in a hurry...they weren't. So I asked if they would mind riding back and forth past my house until Poprque stopped barking. They agreed to do this. I sat on the bottom porch step and held onto Porque's harness. In the other hand I had the end of her little nylon leash and when she refused to hush, I snapped her until she got the idea. After a while she calmed down and watched the bikes quietly. Then I asked the boys to get off the bikes and come over to meet her. She sniffed them suspiciously but wasn't hostile. It was a good first lesson in, "Thou shalt not bark at bikes." The boys promised to come back again soon to help give Porque another lesson. Very nice boys. Very naughty Porque.