Chapter Nine: The Reversal

“Auntie, there’s no rush,” Zhang Congwen said with a smile.

He observed the bichon for a while, and only after confirming that its state had fully stabilized did he begin to ask Liu Mei some questions.

Liu Mei sighed, a hint of complaint in her tone. “That’s exactly it. Ever since we got Tuantuan, every little noise outside sets her off barking, and the neighbors have come knocking more than once. We know her barking disturbs people, but there’s nothing we can do. After all, it’s a dog’s instinct to guard the house. If there’s a commotion outside, she’s just doing what comes naturally.”

Zhu Qingyan nodded in agreement from the side, clearly feeling the same way.

What Liu Mei said was not without reason, and Zhang Congwen agreed. Dogs are territorial animals; guarding the house is in their nature, and in the past, this was even considered a virtue.

But now, society is becoming more and more urbanized. Unlike before, when most people lived in villages, today neighbors live much closer together. The virtues of a guard dog have now become a nuisance. Still, since this behavior is innate, the blame can’t be placed entirely on the dog—it’s simply that this virtue no longer suits modern life.

“Have you ever tried stopping Tuantuan from barking before?” Zhang Congwen asked, understanding her dilemma.

“I have.” Liu Mei replied. “I’ve scolded her, given her treats when she barked, even tried soothing her. I’ve tried everything I could think of except hitting her, but nothing works.”

Just as Zhang Congwen suspected, all the methods Liu Mei had used were counterproductive.

These days, more and more people keep dogs, but most don’t know how to raise them properly. Some manage to raise a good dog without knowing what they’re doing, but that’s mostly luck—ending up with a dog with a naturally stable temperament. If those same people tried again, there’s no guarantee they'd get the same result.

Some owners, even with a dog of gentle disposition, will still end up with behavior problems if they use the wrong methods.

In Zhu Qingyan’s family’s case, they already had a dog whose temperament wasn’t especially stable, and with improper training over time, all sorts of problems were inevitable.

After talking a while longer with Liu Mei, Zhang Congwen received a message full of complaints from Song Jiawei, who had been waiting downstairs: “Are you done yet? I’ve been wandering around downstairs forever. The way people look at me, they must think I’m casing the place to rob it.”

“I almost forgot about you. Come up—apartment 1301, just knock,” Zhang Congwen replied. Of course he hadn’t really forgotten; he just needed to understand the situation before letting him in.

“Damn!” Song Jiawei shot back, voicing his displeasure.

Zhang Congwen didn’t bother to explain, and continued his conversation with Liu Mei, not mentioning to her that someone else would be coming upstairs.

Woof woof woof!

Before any of them heard a sound, the bichon had already sensed someone approaching. She ran to the entryway not far from the door and began barking toward the hallway outside.

Small dogs usually have sharp, piercing barks that are far more grating than the deep barks of larger breeds. In the confined space of a living room, it was especially jarring.

Zhang Congwen noticed that the bichon would look back at Liu Mei after every few barks.

Knock knock knock!

There was a knock at the door.

Liu Mei, puzzled, wondered aloud, “Who could that be?” As she spoke, she scooped up the bichon to calm her, and reached out to open the door.

The moment Liu Mei picked her up, the bichon seemed to gain confidence, barking even louder and more frequently.

“And you are?” Liu Mei was taken aback when she opened the door, not recognizing the man before her. Song Jiawei, likewise, was surprised—it hadn’t occurred to him that neither Zhu Qingyan nor Zhang Congwen would answer.

“Uh…” For a moment, Song Jiawei didn’t know what to say. After a brief pause, he finally explained, “Hello, Auntie, I’m here to see Zhang Congwen.”

“Oh, you’re a friend of Xiao Zhang’s! Come in, come in.” Upon learning he was a friend, Liu Mei immediately went to welcome him in.

Just then, Zhang Congwen stood up and intervened, “It’s all right, Auntie, there’s no need to let him in. He’s my assistant—I called him here to help train Tuantuan.”

Turning to Song Jiawei, he added, “Go back downstairs for now. I’ll call you up when I need you.”

No one quite understood, especially not Song Jiawei, who had just been invited upstairs but was now being sent back down.

What’s going on? Is he messing with me?

Under normal circumstances, Song Jiawei would have started cursing, but with strangers present, he restrained himself and played along, shooting Zhang Congwen a look of disdain before heading back to the elevator. Still, he sent a message: “Are you screwing with me?”

Zhang Congwen quickly replied, “Just go along with me for now. I’ll explain everything when we’re done.”

“If you don’t explain clearly, I’ll beat some sense into you,” came Song Jiawei’s threat.

Zhang Congwen ignored this last message.

“Xiao Zhang, why didn’t you let your friend come in and sit?” Liu Mei asked, confused, after Song Jiawei had left.

Zhang Congwen explained, “I wanted to see how you usually handle things when a stranger comes to the door. In a moment, I’ll teach you a few things. When my friend comes up again, just do as I say.”

“All right. I’m listening.” Liu Mei still looked puzzled but was very cooperative. After all, she had already seen how Tuantuan had changed, and had no doubts about Zhang Congwen’s abilities.

“When my friend knocks on the door again, just ignore Tuantuan—act as if she’s not there. Put your body between her and the door so she can’t see out, then open the door. Make sure you’re relaxed—don’t act tense at all. You can even yawn at Tuantuan before opening the door. Once you open up, greet my friend warmly, maybe pat him on the shoulder or something. If it’s one of your own friends visiting, you can show them around the house, let them look at your rooms, that kind of thing. The point is to let Tuantuan feel that you’re relaxed and friendly with the visitor.”

“Why do it that way?” Zhu Qingyan blinked, clearly puzzled.

Zhang Congwen explained, “Tuantuan barks whenever there’s a noise outside because she believes someone is invading her territory—she sees people outside as a threat.”

Zhu Qingyan nodded, finding this easy to understand.

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Congwen continued, “Normally, when someone comes, Auntie, your first reaction is to comfort Tuantuan. Of all the methods you’ve tried, like scolding her—Tuantuan thinks that the visitor caused her to be scolded, which just makes her more hostile toward strangers. So she keeps barking to drive them away, and scolding only reinforces the behavior.”

A look of confusion deepened in Zhu Qingyan’s eyes. “But when my mom switched to giving her treats or soothing her, why didn’t that help?”

Zhang Congwen gave a helpless smile. “Those two methods don’t just fail—they actually make things worse.”