Stories Of London

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Casanova/Puppy had been well-trained as a puppy.  He does not jump-up at people, he does not tear things up, he does not beg for food while others are eating  and he is house-trained …… in other words, he is a wonderful dog!

When he first came to live with me, there was only one problem with him  ….. if I may call it that ….. and this was one that perhaps reflected his excitement.

The problem centred round his eagerness to pass through an open door.  For example, when the front door was opened for him to go outside, he would literally push anyone out of the way who was in his way in order to get through the door as quickly as possible.

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In the past whenever I visited Casanova/Puppy’s previous home, I had often been subject to his pushing me to one side.  Should I leave the house by the front door, and should he be close by, he would rush to the door, treading on my toes and whacking me with his tail, in his bid to get outside before me!  He reminded me of a bulldozer, ready to knock down anything in his way!

Once it was decided that he would come to live with me, I was of the mind to help him change his behaviour and turn him into a little gentleman!

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I am English and was raised to believe in the old adage, Manners maketh man.  As a child, I was brought up:

• to open doors and hold them to allow for both women and men to go through;
• to give up my seat on buses to women (even those without children or who were not pregnant) and to older people;
• to stand up when a woman was either leaving or coming to the table;
• to always say please and thank you; and
• to treat others kindly.

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Of course, we live in a different age today and treating others in any of these ways is no longer the norm in our society and such behaviour is often misconstrued.  Our present society is such that many men will no longer offer seats on buses or hold doors for women etc etc from fear of having an ugly ulterior motive.  However there are still some who value good manners and believe that Chivalry is not dead and that manners still maketh man.  Of note to some readers is the fact that this expression is generally attributed to Bishop William of Wykeham (~1320-1404).

Bishop William of Wykeham

Despite the changing ways of our society, I still try to be as polite as possible and so it is not surprising that I was somewhat disturbed by Casanova/Puppy’s manner of pushing me and others out of the way when he wanted to pass through an open door and was determined to help him modify it.

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A Knight & His Lady Fair

Of course I was not expecting Casnanova/Puppy to become a totally chivalrous creature like a knight from the past who would dash off at the drop-of-a-hat to save a Fair Lady and fight mythical beasts, but I thought that he was capable of learning not to push and shove.

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Casanova/Puppy soon proved himself to be a clever dog and learned quickly not to push his way to the front, but rather to wait until he was invited to go through an open door!

I was especially proud of his ability to learn since, I had been told that at nine-years-of-age, it might prove difficult to teach him something new.  Visitors to my home were impressed when they saw how he waited at an open door until told that he was permitted to go through.  I have to admit that I added a little bow and a wave of my hand when telling him that he might enter or exit!  Adding such a gesture greatly amuses visitors!

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