ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area I fought the dog.........

roger that, the "dog lovers "need to detain there animals when workmen are present, they say," he want bite" i have been there,... he did bite. i keep a can of dog spray with me just in case.

I can just picture the conversation now...

"What did you just do to my dog?"

"Keep it up, and you'll be next..."

Seriously, though! One shouldn't have to be concerned for his or her own personal safety due to the owners' pets. It's bad enough you have to look out for previous poor workmanship, etc. so as not to become injured.

The U. S. Postal Service letter carriers do carry spray due to the number of injuries from pets. In fact, they can refuse to deliver mail due to "lack of access" or some such wording, if an animal prevents them from safely delivering the mail.

[This message has been edited by ThinkGood (edited 12-30-2002).]

Ron F:

True story from a retired police officer I know.

He was assigned a radio call for a lady with a bat in her house. (The flying kind, not the baseball kind.)

He asked her for a broom, and proceeded to take a swing at the bat. She realized what he was doing, and started to complain that it would make a mess on her draperies!

He put down the broom, and told her that he'd be more than happy to leave if she isn't happy with this "service" which technically a pest-control company should be providing.

She got the picture. All that was needed next was a dust pan to transport the flat bat outside.

H'mmm... I think there's some merit to the theory that dogs only bite you when you think they're going to. I've been stuffed into many situations involving unfamiliar pets (including the ones where the owners say "don't worry, he WILL bite") and haven't been bit yet. Nine times out of ten the dog runs at me barking, sniffs a bit, and walks off. On the rare occasion it'll stand there barking incessantly, running back and forth, or engaging in some other demonstration of peculiar behavior. Most dogs like me. The rest seem afraid of me. Works well.

A friend's dog bites everyone - including its owners. The first time I was there, it was calmly sitting on the floor next to me within 5 minutes.

All that bullcrap about dogs sensing your fear isn't bullcrap, I don't think.

Note to pet owners:

If you claim to be an "animal lover" then PLEASE keep your pet away from people working with tools.

The animal can, and will, get hurt playing with a screwdriver, wire cutter or anything else with sharp edges.

Would you let a 4-year old child play with a screwdriver or a blowtorch (if it's a plumber coming in to do some work)?

I wouldn't. And I wouldn't let a dog go near one either.

Just another argument to present to those who insist on not keeping "Fluffy" away from people working with tools.

First of all I have to say that anytime someone is working on the house I put the dogs in the garage. Even if someone is working outside one of them gets real nervous and will bark. This proably annoys me more than the person doing the work. So in the garage they will go. I could never imagine having someone work on the house and leave the dogs inside. Inconceivable.

However there was a time about 8 years ago where the wife was gone and I had some friends over. Of course some beers were drunk and they crashed at my place. The next morning one of my friends said that he woke up and had to answer the call of nature. He said that one of the dogs would not let him off the sofa, evertime he would try Sam would growl at him. Finally his bladder was full enough that he made a break for it and made it to the bathroom.

Maybe not a funny story in the context of this posting, but if you know what a real chicken Sam is you would understand it better. He will growl at someone but as soon as that person tries to pet Sam his back legs start to tremble and he runs away.

Scott

A short story, I was working in a house years ago and this litle @#$%^&*()_ mexican hairless dog would follow me all around biting my ankles. Every time I turned around to get him, he would take off. The lady who was from the south in a typical southern drawl said, "Oh don't worry about Poncho, Harold, You have your big boots on. He can't hurt you." I wanted to drop kick that little dog from NJ back to Mexico. Never could catch him though.

Harold,
Did the little dog say "Yo quiero Inspector Bell"?
Worse than dogs, I've had customers that let their little toddlers follow me all around the house. ("Oh, he's just a curious little fellow").
The tikes don't bite (usually), but I carry lots of not-kid-safe tools, they get underfoot, and I think they may be learning things from me that aren't in their own best interest.

When the electricians worked in the appartment above us, they had the tenant's cat sitting on the ladder and curiously watching all their actions.

Um, that wasn't the local AHJ was it?
TW