Today, when it was time to coax Chloe back from her true home - the Lawn - into her pasture, I put her halter on and asked if she'd care to do a little practice. I asked her to move her hindquarters in each direction, and ditto her shoulders. I only asked for each maneuver once, as the other day she made it quite clear that asking twice was greedy. Then came time to proceed toward the gate to her field. She inched along. And then, all of a sudden, she was standing in a funny way: what on earth is she doing?
Strangely, it only dawned on me later that she was offering to "park out," something she had been trained to do by her previous owner, and which we have not asked her to do, lo, these many years. I should have been more appreciative. However, we did ooh and aah a bit, which perhaps she found gratifying.
I think maybe Chloe might like to practice stuff, as long as I'm very deferential, of course.
When we reached the gate, George was talking to my youngest over the fence. But as soon as we entered, he came over. He was polite for a short while and then lunged at Chloe, causing her to take off with the lead rope attached. No big deal - she didn't go far, and I went over and took the halter off. But it sent me into full passive-aggressive mode, and I refused to talk to George, gave the rest of the treats to Chloe, Rose and Bridget, and harrumphed out of the field.
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