More kite scares

[Michael Romanos]

Earlier this week, Taylor, my 3 year old Pem and I were at the fields of the Pinehaven Reserve mucking around when he suddenly stopped about 20 metres from me. I looked at Taylor. He was looking at a fellow and his little daughter some distance away, who was flying a fairly small but spectacular kite and the kite was way up in the sky. Taylor eyes went from the kite flyers and travelled upwards to witness the kite trailing and whisking around somewhat gently in the blue yonder. That was enough for Taylor. He looked up and down a couple of times, digested the horror scene before him and, I knew it, he turned and headed quickly for the nearest track up into the bush/forest which would be the quickest route home. I followed in pursuit. My calls meant nothing to a Corgi who is terrified of kites. This is a Corgi who is not anymore frightened of balloons, who loves watching planes, helicopters, machinery in action, jet boats. You name it, apart from fireworks and thunder - it's ok to him. Kites make no noise(at least the ones he's encountered don't). It is something mysteriously whizzing around in the sky and held tentatively by a piece of string, usually by young children. Is a kite a UFO - no, is it a rocket about to explode - no, has a kite ever collided with a dog - no (well. probably no).
And just like Taylor's only other episode with a child's kite (at the same park about a year ago), I finally managed to slow this "I must get safely home' Corgi so I could latch onto him and tell him everything is alright, the world is not about to spin out of control and so let's go home together. And that is probably it - to Taylor a kite is out of control being subject to the vagaries of the wind and the manouvering of the person holding the string. However if I conducted a major poll on is your dog frightened out of his/her wits by kites in motion, I don't think many would respond with a yes.

[darci]

poor Taylor....
Its just pitiful to see the frightful look on their little faces.

[Michael Romanos]

Taylor doesn't display a 'frightened' look. It's more like he widens his eyes as he says to himself " I'd better get outta here fast - that thing up there could do anything. It has got those people captured under its spell and groping at thin air."

[Jane Austen]

Michael, Have you ever considered getting a kite and showing it to Taylor while it was safely on the ground and then letting it flutter a little in the air? If he observes the kite from the ground to the air he may not be so afraid when he sees one up above him.
I wonder if he will have the same reaction that Duchess got when she saw a large kite/parasail fluttering on the shore? She wanted to attack it.

[Michael Romanos]

I think that's the answer, Jane. I was discussing with my wife kust before Christmas about buying a kite. What do you want a kite for, she asked. Now I know why - apart from giving some pleasure to my youngest son and myself. It wouldn't be a paper, tape and string thing, I will get something that is a little up-market. As you probably know, kite flying is very popular in many of the so-called South East Asian countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore etc and there are international events and world champs organised.

My feelings of Taylor being around when the kite iis having it's first launch, is that he will be most unhappy and he will need to be attached to a leash - but not the kite, eh.

Taylor is not an attacker so it is not in his mind to attack anything as a form of defence. I know there are a lot of Corgis who 'attack' things they don't like or understand. Having siad that, I have a permanent large dot on the back of the wrist of one of my hands which was the result of my interferring with a snapping Taylor, when Taylor didn't appreciate the attention I was giving a Labrador inside our property. Instead of the Lab receiving a warning bite, I took the brunt of it. That was three years ago. Ben the Lab and Taylor have been the best of mates ever since, though Ben did keep his distance from Taylor for a short time just in case.