<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> Kevin:   Exactly right….  And why = we’re on the subject.  Every piano tech would benefit from studying dog = behavior (seriously) since clearly this is an issue.    Dogs very often sense our fear of = them, and this is why those of us who get along with them, don’t = understand why others don’t, while they don’t understand how we can like them.  Dogs react very differently to people based on the = person’s like, or fear of the animal.  I own an 80Lb. German Shepherd (a = real live one, bred in Germany</f= ont>) who is a Lab stuck in a shepherd’s body.  He = has never learned aggression, loves small children, other dogs, etc.  But, = his face is black, and he’s a shepherd, so of course he’s scary looking.  Also, Shepherds tend to be very vocal, which can make = them look aggressive.  Well recently we had a friend staying with us, who had been taking a nap = all afternoon.  He had made it known that he was very afraid of dogs, = and didn’t like them.  So I tried to keep “Attila” away.  But = he awoke from his nap, and came out while we were all sitting at the dinner table.  Attila jumped up and barked, being surprised by this man, = and I thought the man was going to become incontinent.  It was clear to me that = the only reason Attila reacted the way he did, was his sense of the other = man’s fear.     It behooves those of us who work = with and around dogs to understand some of their basic body language to know if = it’s friend of foe running towards us.   Just a couple of quick = pointers:   Good signs:   Tail carriage low Slow wag Dog licking his own face/nose  = (this is a common calming signal among dogs, it works if you use it as = well). Dog dropping to elbows and = growling  (“Please play with me!!”)   Bad signs:   Tail Carriage = high Fast, erratic tail = wag Eyes wide open Dog holding = breath Head low, hackles up (the hair = behind the shoulders on the back)   I know it’s off topic, but = thought it might help some of us since we run into at least as many dogs as the = post man! J</fon= t>  (and we can’t carry cayenne pepper spray with = us)     Jonathan Finger = RPT   -----Original = Message----- From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Kevin E. Ramsey Sent: Tuesday, March 04, = 2003 6:52 PM To: Pianotech Subject: Re: Bad = day!   <div> FWIW, I get a whole lot of pleasure from the friendships I've made = with piano owners' pets and children during my visits.  Couldn't = imagine excluding them from my practice. Mike Spalding RPT </div> <div>   </div> <div>     Mike, I = too have fun with people's pets. I've never met a dog that I couldn't have = playing with me and licking my hand within about a minute. I don't know what it is, = I've had people say "He doesn't usually warm up to people like = this."  Clue, they're just big kids, even the little ones. They want someone to = pay attention to them. </div> <div> Kevin </div> </div> </body> </html>