Dogs and Bolivia

Bolivia has a different relationship with dogs.  Fact.  There are lots of street dogs.  They are generally viewed as a nusience nuisence nuisance or potential danger.  But they generally don’t bother people.  Going for a run is a different story…once I enter their “territory” they will bark at and possible also chase me (usually for a few strides until I’ve left their territory.  Like in those adventure video games.)  But for the occasions where dogs actually continue the chase (often in groups) the only way to get rid of them (I’ve tried others) is to bend down and mimic picking up a rock and throwing said imaginary rock at the dogs.  This almost always works, except for once or twice where the dog noticed that I was not actually throwing a real rock.  At that point I picked up a real rock and threw it in the dog’s general direction, and it backed down.  I’m not sure how I feel about this.  Maybe it makes me feel a little superior, that dogs know not to mess with me.  After all, it’s not like I actually hit them with rocks, right?  But the thing is, the only way they’d react like that was if someone actually had hit them with rocks.  And that makes me sad.

So on to another dog-related theme.  I have 2 dogs in my house here.  Coco is the “well-behaved” dog who nonetheless barks at everything if he’s outside.  Lukas is the dog my family found on the street, who has bad manners and bites everything, but just wants to befriend the stray dogs that go by.  I have decided to teach Lukas “manners,” starting with “sit” and “down,” but now including “leave it” which I think will help him behave better.  I’ve enlisted my host sister to help me, and we’re really excited because Lukas is a fast learner.  He also loves food, so that helps him learn better.  But in the 2 ½ weeks (WHAT?!?!) that I have here, I think we can get Lukas to be much better behaved!  So there's my legacy to leave with my host family.  Ayni!