Donna has learnt to “parallel park” herself by the side of the wall and stay quietly in her little corner while travelling up and down on the lift. She would still pop her head out to stare at neighbours. Please don’t mind her. She’s just being a dog, a curious one.
Our flat is more than 20 storeys high so taking the lift is an everyday experience for Donna. With approximately 138 households sharing two lifts that take us down and up to and from home and the outside world, there are plenty of opportunities to bump into any one of our neighbours (which logically would number at least 300 people).
We sometimes take the stairs going down, but I don’t think any of the three of us can make it going up. We are obliged to wait for the next lift, should a neighbour be afraid of dogs or be averse to ride in the same lift with a dog for religious reasons. But with at least 300 people sharing two small lifts, which if I may add are particularly prone to breakdowns and lift faults, it sometimes feels like it takes forever just to get on a lift to get home.
So we thought, hey let’s make our scary-looking dog (to some people) look less scary so people are not so averse to sharing the lift with Donna. Obviously, Donna is too heavy for us to carry around like owners with small dogs do when they take the lift. So we practiced with her standing quietly behind us while waiting for the lift, regardless of whether there are people waiting with us for the lift or not. We agree with all the dog-training advice out there that consistency is really the key to making it work.
There were times I tied a piece of frilly fabric around her so she looks more silly than scary. That worked well. I’ve met neighbourhood aunties who went “Oh, is it a girl dog?”
That’s Donna taking up 1/4 of the available floor space in the tiny lift. Doesn’t the frilly thing around her back look silly :P
Lately, I realised that Donna particularly likes to sit right in the middle of the lift. Or when she’s tired, she’ll just spread out like the lift belongs to her grandfather. And she always stares at neighbours with her open mouth grin. I imagine it may be unnerving for some neighbours to have an unfamiliar dog staring unblinkingly at you and grinning at the same time. God knows, sometimes even I think my dog looks like a maniac the way she stares at me (probably thinking about food).
So we started to consistently guide her to “parallel park” by the wall and “stay”. She has started to do that pretty well, though she does need reminders now and then. And we still plant our two legs right in front of her after she has parked herself, not because she is dangerous but just to reassure any neighbours, particularly ladies and families with kids and babies, that they are super safe with our dog.
It’s early days, but most people are kind and do not mind her.
But you know what, if the lift is half-packed with people, sometimes it is just more relaxing to wait for an empty lift. :P
Come :) Follow weliveinaflat.com on
Instagram @weliveinaflat | Facebook donna.weliveinaflat | Youtube Mutt Vlog
Julianne Victoria
You look silly, but cute, in your frilly thing! Wooooowoooooo, Ku
weliveinaflat
Thank you, the human doesn’t think Donna is cute at the moment. Donna got her paw, paw hair and nails filled with poop today! The human is still reeling from the stink~ Donna would have licked her stinky poop paw to make it better except that the human cleaned it. Poop happens, you know?~
Julianne Victoria
It does happen. Try not to step in poop next time! Woooowooooo, Ku
weliveinaflat
;)
Sonel
Awww..she looks so adorable with that frilly fabric and who could ever be scared of the lovely, smiling face. I will just pick her up and carry her around like a handbag like I do with Simba..hahaha. I can promise you I won’t have any religious reasons for not wanting her to ride with me in the lift. LOL! I am still laughing at that one!
Lovely post as usual Mrs P and lots of love & hugs to you and Donna. :) xxx
weliveinaflat
Well, I do have to warn you she is a giant backpack size. And unlike a backpack, she wriggles when carried. :P So good luck with that Sonel. *goes to hide at the side* Lots of hugs for you and treats for Simba ;)
Sonel
LOL! Giant backpack size..heheheh. Too cute! I think then in that case I’d rather just go down on all my fours and walk with her..hahahaha. Wonder what the lift neighbours would say about that? LOL!
Lots of hugs to you and Donna as well Mrs. P and Simba sends treats to Donna too. :D xxx
weliveinaflat
Don’t know what the neighbours will say but I’m sure Simba will have words if you get on all fours and drop the
handbagdog :PSonel
Whahahaha! Oh yeah, forgot about him. LOL! Oops! Sorry! :P
yashikibuta
My goodness this is so funny! “she’ll just spread out like the lift belongs to her grandfather” – almost coughed out my coffee reading this. Good for Donna for learning how to parallel park herself, I still couldn’t for the life of me.
weliveinaflat
*assumes best grandmother voice* Don’t waste that coffee dear *pat pat*. Well sometimes she does get one or two tries before she parallel parks successfully. I can’t fault her when I’m still trying to get a driving license! :P
yashikibuta
hahaha!
Linda Trunell
Such a nice, polite girl you are, Donna! I would ride in the lift with you any time :)
weliveinaflat
That’s because you are an awesome dog person already Linda! :P Welcome to the lift!
bluebeadpublications
Our dogs have the same coloring. Mine would not hurt a fly, but some people run from her convinced she will bite them. She could not be bothered.
weliveinaflat
Awesome, black and tan is a pretty common coat isn’t it, and yet it is so distinctive as well. Fear is sometimes unreasonable I guess. Donna panics in some situations too, so we can totally understand when some people start screaming or skirt around when they see her. Although it does get frustrating when we are in a rush for time and need to get on the lift :P Maybe our dogs should wear “we won’t even hurt a fly” t-shirts, just kidding. :P *sending virtual treats to your sweet dog* Thanks for sharing :)
mithriluna
Great post! If she were in the lift with me, we would be having a little conversation. She looks like such an intelligent dog. :)
weliveinaflat
Thank you! She is very smart! :) Have a good day today with your family!
Linda Arthur Tejera
You are a very polite and considerate pet owner. Of course, if it was me getting on the lift with her, we’d become instant pals! :)
weliveinaflat
Welcome to the lift instant pal! :P
Photography Journal Blog
I don’t have a religious aversion to dogs (that made me laugh by the way) but I do have an irrational fear of them. So, I really do appreciate you taking the time to train your dog, and I appreciate Donna’s patience in putting up with silly little outfits too. I have to say also, that if your dog was making me nervous, I could always take the stairs. I mean if Donna isn’t acting out of line, it really is my problem isn’t it?
weliveinaflat
Realistically speaking, we humans are almost always in a rush and may not necessarily think that we need to give way to a dog. And I guess, rather than to change the world, it is just more efficient to adapt to it.
To further contextualise it for you, we are not allowed to keep cats, and mongrels or dogs more than 15kg in public housing in Singapore. It is a rule, although one can seek approval. But the approval process is not transparent, and should one attempt and not get approved, one would be forced to rehouse the dog or cat. What this means is, we effectively have a fair amount of households with pets with no approval. It would also be fair to say that the housing authority keeps a blind eye to it, unless somebody (usually a neighbour) decides that your pet is a problem to him/her and complains. Unfortunately, the human wins in these cases regardless of whether the animal is out of line or no.
And I actually state religious aversion as a statement of fact and not a joke :P Dogs are perceived to be “impure” in Islam and its followers usually avoid contact with dogs.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment even though you have a fear of dogs :) I appreciate it very much!
Photography Journal Blog
Wow, I have a lot to learn obviously! I could start with the fact that I had no idea that dogs were considered/perceived to be impure in Islam.
weliveinaflat
Neither did I until I got a dog! :P
weliveinaflat
Yesterday. A lady with two young children got on the lift as we were going down. They huddled against the lift door as Donna and I plastered ourselves to the back of the lift. The lady reassured her kids repeatedly, “don’t be scared”. As usual Donna popped her head out stared at them, sniffing the air. All of a sudden she sneezed. A huge sneeze and I could feel mucous splattering on my legs. Not sure if it reached the little girls. I apologised for her sneezing, embarassed and awkward and everybody laughed :P
Bess the Kraken
That’s pretty impressive. I don’t know that I would have thought to de-scareify such a cutie. We were lucky with Thor (for the whole week and a half we had him) because at 17lbs, he was smaller than just about anyone we came across.
weliveinaflat
Donna is 33 pounds thereabouts. Big enough to most people considering before we had a dog, I seldom if ever saw a dog or had close contact with one myself. :P So I can understand why most people, especially those with kids may be apprehensive.
I hadn’t realise Thor was so small! :P
Bess the Kraken
Yeah, he had this weird thing where he photographs big. Fiance was nervous about meeting him (he’d never had a dog before) because he looked so big in his pictures. :)
Donna’s parallel-parking is precious! I love y’all’s posts.
weliveinaflat
He does! I went back to your blog and he still looks big :P Small dog with huge presence bwahahahaha! I’m glad the posts amused you :3