A Shot in the Bark (A Dog Park Mystery) by Carol Ann Newsome

from landing on my ass?"
    "They might."
    "Then enlighten me. Please." He gave her a pathetic look.
    "Okay." She thought for a moment. "You see the corral?"
    "Yeah, I got the whole leash-corral connection."
    "This is something just as important."
    "Do tell."
    "A corral has a gate. A gate is a portal."
    "Okay," Peter replied, unsure where she was going.
    "Dogs guard their space. When they are inside the park, the park becomes their space and the gate is like the front door."
    "And?"
    "What does a dog do when a stranger comes to the door?"
    "They, umm, bark?"
    "Yes, and sometimes they get aggressive."
    "So dogs in the park guard the gate?"
    "Sometimes they do, if they are near it. So it's best to take your dog away from the gate after you enter the park, and don't let them guard. You don't have to worry about Viola with that. But . . ."
    "But?"
    "If you're inside the corral, and dogs inside the park start guarding, there's a chance a fight might break out."
    Peter's expression became intent. "So what can you do?"
    "If a strange dog is guarding the gate and they are acting aggressively, snarling and growling, call their owner over and ask them to remove their dog from the gate. You have an advantage, you can always flip your badge out if you need to."
    "That wouldn't constitute an abuse of power?"
    "I'd say letting your dog be a bully is an abuse of power. You're just calling them on it."
    "Okay, I can buy that. What else?"
    "Don't ever bring food or treats into the park. Some dogs are food aggressive, so it can start a fight."
    "Makes sense."
    "Don't ever put loose treats in your pocket. I think Viola has outgrown chewing the pockets out of pants, but even if she has, your pants will always smell like treats and you're likely to get pestered. So any time you carry treats, keep them in a baggie. Of course, if you're recruiting drug dogs, that would be a way to sniff out the talent."
    "Pun intended?"
    "Of course. One big thing. Dogs are pack animals and they have to either lead or follow, so if you don't lead, they will decide it's their job, and they'll start behaving badly."
    "How do you do that, besides with a leash?"
    Lia pondered for a moment, "It's more about being consistent. Only have a few rules, but make them rules you can and will enforce every time. You can't neglect it even once. You let it go and they know it's not really a rule and they don't have to do it."
    "Sounds harsh."
    "Nah. It just simplifies things. I'm not saying boss her around all the time. Set basic routines around walks and meal times, and when they know what to expect, they'll start doing it automatically."
    "And if I don't?"
    "Say somebody is harping on you to lend them money. If you've never loaned them money, they'll give up pretty quickly. If you used to lend them money and now you're saying no, it's harder to get them to go away, right?"
    "True."
    "Now supposed you spend fifteen minutes saying 'no' and then they wear you down and you say, 'Well, okay, but this is the last time.'"
    "Okay."
    "So what happens next time?"
    Peter scrunched his eyebrows and thought. "He's not going to believe me when I say no."
    "Exactly!" Lia flashed a broad smile at his astute response. "Viola has a couple routines she knows, so it should be easy to get her back into a groove. But once you start with her you can't blow it off."
    "So what are they?"
    "When it's time to go for a walk, have her sit before you clip on her leash. And when you are done, make her sit to unclip." Lia lifted her hand, palm up, and Viola plopped on her butt. "Okay." Viola popped up. "That's the hand signal. Or you can just say, 'Sit!' in a firm voice." Viola sat back down.
    "I haven't been doing that. So what do I do now if she ignores me? "
    "You say 'sit' the first time and if she doesn't do it immediately, say it once more, but this time gently push her butt down. Don't keep repeating the command, then it just becomes noise. Like teachers in school who yell all the time and nobody listens to