Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Toast's the target for mooching Molly

Toast's the target for mooching Molly

It's easy to forget that with animals, ongoing training is necessary. Not because they are deliberately being disobedient or difficult, but because the training we give them often runs counter to what they would do when behaving as animals and not as pets fitting into a human world.
Molly, the nervous mongrel, had settled well until the turmoil of the last year or so and the weirdness of the lockdown. Until recently, family, even those we only saw every few years, were welcomed as if they had never been away.

Utility workers were eyed carefully, but no longer treated as if they offered a threat and, out walking, Molly watched passing vehicles and cyclists warily, but no longer prepared herself for flight.

But the limited contact with people over the past year has brought out her fears, so she once again moves away from all but immediate family and barks at passing cars and unexpected sounds, as if warning them away.

But she is now back in school, as she started a behavior we corrected very quickly when we first adopted her - mooching or scrounging for food.

Hanging around when humans are eating, sniffing under the table and chairs, sniffing our hands and clothes, as if hoping to find food.

It's behavior we always correct, as while the dogs and cats might get the occasional piece of food a human eats, they are only given it in their own food bowls.

The cats might get steamed or baked fish and all the dogs love the scraps of chicken or turkey left from a roast. Sassoon, elderly ex-building site mongrel, is very partial to leftover rice and Molly's all-time favorite is toast.

So while they might get some of the more natural foods that we eat, they have never been allowed to beg or scrounge while we are eating, whether we are sitting at a table or eating walking around the room.

For some reason though, these days we only have to walk into a room with a plate of toast and Molly is there, sniffing the air, watching each mouthful we take, licking her lips, as if anticipating her share.

So it's back to school for Molly, until she follows the other dogs and remains sleeping, or at least uninterested, as we eat our breakfast in peace.

Georgina Noyce is an equestrian judge, and has a menagerie of adopted four-legged waifs and strays.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×