Training
With Wolfie
By Karen Singer
Chapter 2
– Part 2 of 2
It was about twenty minutes later when she
heard her door bell ringing. Wolf, with
his keen hearing heard it too and made a mad dash toward the porch, barking
ferociously all the way. “No Wolf! No!” she shouted sternly. “Stay!” she ordered while she cautiously
opened her back door only wide enough to allow her to get through. She quickly closed the door again keeping
Wolf outside. The big dog began barking
ferociously again. Rosa quickly walked
through to her front door and let her friend inside.
“Where’s the monster?” Connie asked,
glancing around nervously. “I hear him
somewhere.”
Rosa smiled. “Out back. Let’s go see him.”
Connie knew Wolf very well, but she still
preferred staying away from him. “Can’t
we just stay in here?”
“Not if you want to know what I’m up to,”
Rosa replied with a hint of amusement.
She led the way to her back door and opened it cautiously. “Stay!” she ordered Wolf. “And be quiet!” Wolf settled down, but not by much.
Connie cautiously came through the
door. “Stay down!” she ordered the big
dog, remembering very well the way he used to jump all over her. But Wolf didn’t jump on her at all. Once he had sniffed her and knew who she was,
he mostly ignored her.
Rosa sat
back on her swing and invited Connie to sit with her. As they did so, Brian was just walking up the
back steps. Connie sat down next to Rosa, but her eyes were on Brain all the way.
Connie, this is Brian. He’s my tenant who lives next door.
“Hi Brain,” Connie said politely,
wondering if he was Rosa’s new interest.
“Go play again,” Rosa said to Brian. “Get Wolfie out of here so we can talk.”
Brian turned around and ran down the steps
which attracted Wolf’s attention. “Come
on boy, let’s go. He took off at a run
back out into the yard, and naturally, Wolf followed.
“So what’s going on?” Connie asked. “I suspect it has something to do with him?”
“You suspect right!” Rosa
replied. She then spent a few minutes
explaining how spineless her young tenant was and what she had in mind to do
with him. “So basically, my plan is to
slowly push him more and more to see if he ever develops a backbone and stands
up for himself.”
“And
if he doesn’t?” Connie asked.
“Then he’s in for a very unusual summer!”
“And how far have you gotten with him?”
“I’ve just barely started, but I’ll show
you.” She looked out into the yard. “Brian!
Wolf! Come!” She watched as the two stopped their playing
and Wolf made a mad dash toward the porch.
Brain came, but much, much slower.
“Sit!” she ordered Wolf as soon as he reached the porch. She was happy to see him sit right where he
was. As soon as Brain reached the top of
the steps, she ordered him to sit too.
Brain walked over to his usual seat and sat down.
Rosa pulled a treat out of her box. “Speak!” she commanded to Wolf. The big dog barked loudly and she gave him a
treat. She walked over to stand in front
of Brain.
Brian was suddenly very
uncomfortable. They weren’t alone
anymore. This strange woman was
there. And yet, it still looked like she
was going to order him to bark like a dog again – right in front of her!
Rosa sensed his hesitation, but knew that
this was just going to have to be another part of Brian’s training. “Speak!” she commanded, looking him squarely
in the eyes as if daring him not to do as she commanded.
Brain cowered under her intense gaze. He absolutely couldn’t believe she would ask
him to do this.
“Speak!” Rosa
ordered again, more firmly this time.
More than a bit fearful of her, Brian
finally let out a small bark. He
immediately looked shyly over at the other woman. But she was just smiling and watching as if
everything was perfectly normal for her.
“That was a rather poor effort!” Rosa complained.
“I would hardly call that a bark at all!
Now do it right! Speak!”
Brain tried it again, a little
louder. But mostly, he was still
bothered by the strange woman with them.
“Not good enough!” Rosa
said sternly. “Stop looking at her and
pay attention to me! Now do it
better. Put more force into it! Speak!”
Brain
turned his eyes back to only Rosa and again attempted a better bark.
“I want better!” Rosa
complained. “More force! Now…speak!”
Rosa’s continuing dominance over him felt
like a huge increasing pressure against his brain that Brian couldn’t
ignore. He finally let out a louder more
forceful bark, sounding much more like a real dog this time.
Rosa was finally pleased. “Better,” she replied as she dug into her box
and pulled out a dog treat. She pressed
it up against his mouth and was pleased to see him eat it immediately. She never took her eyes off of him though
until he had finished it.
Connie sat on the swing and just watched,
fascinated by the whole process. But she
was too much of a professional to make any comment or even show any outward
signs of anything she was thinking.
Rosa walked back over to Wolf. She knelt down in front of him. “Shake,” she said as she held out her
hand. Wolf immediately raised his paw
and she shook it. Then she dropped it
and gave him a treat. She walked back
over to Brian and knelt down in front of him too. “Shake,” she said. It was hesitant, but Brian finally extended
his hand. She pumped it up and down a
few times, then she gave him a treat and watched until he had finished it. She stood back up. “Now go play again,” she said as she sat back
on her swing. Neither Rosa nor Connie
said anything until the two were once again back out into the yard.
“You know you’re crazy,” Connie finally
said.
“I know,” Rosa replied. “But I just got this idea into my head and I
can’t get it out. You know how it is.”
“Yeah,” Connie admitted. “I know.
So exactly what do you have planned for him for the future?”
“I don’t really know,” Rosa
admitted. “I’ll just keep plugging
along, turning him more and more into a dog, and we’ll just have to see where
it goes.”
The two women talked for a while as they
watched Brian and Wolf playing. Finally,
they saw Brian sit down and Wolf laid down with his head in Brian’s lap. Brian rubbed the dog’s thick fur. “I think they’re both ready for a drink,” Rosa decided.
“Want to give me a hand?”
“Sure,” Connie replied as
she got up from the swing.
Rosa led the way into her kitchen where
she got three glasses and filled them with tea.
Then she picked up Wolf’s water bowl from the corner of her kitchen and
filled it with water. She turned to
Connie. “Why don’t you get our drinks
while I carry this out.”
Connie grabbed all three glasses and
followed Rosa back out to the porch where Rosa set Wolf’s water bowl down not
far from the top of the steps. Then Rosa grabbed one of the glasses from Connie. “Wolfie!
Brian!” Rosa called. “Come get a drink.”
Wolf got up from Brian’s lap and headed
toward her at a trot, but once he reached the steps, he bounded straight up to
the top and quickly dunked most of his head into the deep water bowl as he
drank greedily. Brian, of course, was
much slower. Wolf was finally finished
drinking by the time Brian got to the bottom of the steps. “Sit!” Rosa
ordered as she pointed at Wolf, and watched as the big dog sat right where he
was like he was supposed to. She waited
until Brian reached the top of the steps.
“Sit!” she ordered as she again pointed with her finger. As usual, Brian headed for his usual
chair. “Stop right there!” Rosa ordered.
Brian turned around, totally clueless.
“I said sit! When I tell you to
sit, you better learn to do it immediately, right where I want you to. Now sit!”
“But…” Brian started to protest.
But Rosa wasn’t about to let him complain
or even question her orders – not unless he really did develop the backbone to
stop her. “I didn’t tell you to ask any
questions!” she yelled. “When I tell you
to do something, you just do it! And
fast!” She pointed her finger at the
floor. Her voice dropped in
intensity. “Now it would really help
with Wolf’s training if you were down at his level when we do this. So…sit!”
Brian gulped. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Rosa and her commanding ways. What was going on? Why was she making him do this? And in front of her guest no less! He didn’t really understand her logic about
being down at Wolf’s level. What did
that have to do with Wolf’s training? But she obviously wasn’t taking no for an
answer, so he sat down on the porch floor, where her finger was still
pointing. Besides, she still frightened
him a bit…in fact, now more than ever.
Rosa smiled at him. “That’s better. Good boy.”
She actually reached out and patted his head for a moment.” Brian felt more awkward and embarrassed than
ever as she did it. Rosa
was still looking at him. “Now…shake,”
she commanded as she held out her hand.
Hesitantly again, Brian
extended his hand and let her pump it up and down a few times.
“Good boy,” Rosa crooned. Then she handed him his glass of
iced-tea. Rosa
sat down on the swing again next to her friend to enjoy her own drink. Since Brain was really thirsty from playing
with Wolf, and was also anxious to get away, he drank much faster than the
women.
“I hear you do substitute teaching,”
Connie said to Brian as she enjoyed her drink.
“Yeah, I do,” Brian replied between sips
of cool liquid.
“What grades do you like to work with the
most?”
Brain shrugged. “Anything I can get! But I really prefer the younger kids. The younger the better! The older kids can be really awful.”
“I’ll bet,” Connie replied.
Brian finished his drink and started to
get up. “Just stay there,” Rosa ordered. “I’ll
get your glass.” She got up from the
swing and took his glass from him. Wolf
was lying down and appeared to be asleep.
“Wolfie is napping. Why don’t you
go over next to him and take a little nap too.”
“But…” Brian started to protest again.
“Did I ask for your opinion?” Rosa
snapped. “Now go lay down!”
Still bewildered about what was going on,
Brian got up and went over by Wolf where he laid down next to the big dog. Wolf half-woke up and looked over at him
briefly before laying his big head back down on the porch and closing his eyes
again. Brian stared at the porch
ceiling. He was tired, but he wasn’t
about to take a nap!
Rosa and Connie continued to talk quietly,
mostly about Connie’s house, but they never once mentioned what was going on
with Brian.
A little while later, Brain realized he
had a small problem. He had to pee. He started to get up from where he was laying
next to Wolf. “Mrs. Murphy,” he
said. “I’ve got to go home for a few
minutes.”
“What for Brian?” Rosa
asked.
Brian was a bit embarrassed about telling
her, but he didn’t have much choice.
“Um… I’ve really got to go to the bathroom.”
“No problem,” Rosa replied. “In fact, why don’t you just use the bathroom
in my house? That way you don’t have to
go all the way back home again.”
Actually, Brian was more than ready to go
home and just stay there, but he reluctantly agreed to Rosa’s suggestion.
While he was inside, Connie commented,
“I’m surprised you didn’t just make him go outside in the yard like Wolf does.”
Rosa smiled. “Give it a few days. He’s not ready for that yet. But very soon.”
When Brian came back out again, he started
to head for his usual corner chair.
“Ah-ah! Brian,” Rosa said, stopping him
in his tracks. She pointed back toward
Wolf, and Brian immediately went back over to lay down next to him again, still
wondering why.
Brian almost fell asleep as he listened to
Wolf breathing heavily on one side of him while the two women talked aimlessly
about this and that on his other side.
But suddenly, Wolf woke up and Brian’s face got very wet as the big dog
started licking him. Brian could only
laugh. “Stop wolf! Stop!” he complained lightheartedly as Wolf
continued to lick him. He pushed the dog
away, but Wolf continued to pester him.
Seeing the two of them awake again, Rosa
grabbed her box of treats and went over to them. She pointed at Wolf. “Sit!” and watched as
the big dog sat. She pointed at Brian. “Sit!” Brian pulled his body from a laying
position to a sitting one on the floor.
“Good boys,” Rosa crooned approvingly.
She looked at Wolf as she raised her box of treats. “Speak!”
The big dog barked. “Shake,” she
continued, still looking only at Wolf.
The dog raised his paw and she shook it.
Finally, she reached into her box and brought out a dog treat which the
dog gobbled very quickly.
She looked over at Brian. “Speak!”
Brian, knowing what was coming, barked –
fairly well.
“Shake,” Rosa continued as she held out
her hand.
Brian put his hand out, palm down for her
and let her shake it up and down a few times.
Then he accepted the dog treat she held out for him. This time, she only watched him chewing on it
a few moments before she got back up and went to her seat on the swing. “Good boys,” she crooned as she sat back down
and saw both Wolf and Brian watching her intently. “Now go back out and play for a bit.”
Brian got back to his feet and gratefully
left the porch, thinking all the way about how “odd” she was being toward him
today.
“I noticed you’re not telling him what’s
going on,” Connie commented as Brian and Wolf walked slowly out to the
backyard.
“No.
He’ll figure it out soon enough,” Rosa
replied. “I don’t want to scare him off
too soon.”
Rosa let Brian and Wolf play for a while
more together. She called them both up
to the porch one more time and made them each sit on the floor, speak, and
shake hands. Then she finally told Brian
that he could go home again – if he wanted to.
Brian gratefully accepted. He was tired of playing with Wolf now.
“I’ll see you again tomorrow,” Rosa
replied. “And let me know if you don’t
have any classes again.”
Brian fervently hoped that he would get
called to teach again. Now more than
ever!
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