Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Disappointed as I was by Prince's bad behavior, I had yet to see the worst of it.  This occurred when a young friend of my boyfriend's, Kurt, came by for an impromptu visit.  My boyfriend and I both thought it might do Prince some good to play with a fairly young man, not only to tire him out, but also to enable him to see men in a more positive light.  Since Kurt was only uncomfortable around very small dogs, he was more than willing to play with Prince, and I let Prince out into the back yard with him and crossed my fingers.

At first, everything seemed to be going surprisingly well.  Kurt threw a stick for Prince several times, which Prince happily retrieved.  They then played a spirited game of tag, with Prince pursuing Kurt around our picnic table in an enthusiastic manner.  Things took a turn for the worse when Kurt doubled back on his heels in an attempt to excite Prince even more.

At that instant, Prince leaped into the air, his mouth dangerously close to Kurt's face, and snapped, his jaws coming together with a noise reminescent of a steel trap closing.

The most amazing thing, to me, was how Kurt avoided Prince's jaws.  He jerked back in a movement of breathtaking agility, causing Prince to miss him by mere millimeters.  Obviously stunned, he then froze, and I grabbed Prince by the collar and pulled him back.

That was the exact moment that Prince's transformation occurred.

I halfway expected him to turn on me and nip at me in the manner that he had when he was a pup, but instead he instantly calmed down and stood by my side, the picture of good behavior.  It was as if he had changed from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll.

Later, I figured it must have been the countless walks I had taken him on, wherein he knew that he was at least partially under my control, and not able to do exactly what he wanted.  I think, now, this is what had frustrated him so immensely during our first walks, when he had repeatedly attacked my feet, until he accepted my "authority."

It was another turning point in my training of him...or perhaps in his training of me.

Prince doesn't jump on people anymore when they come into the yard, and he never tries to nip anybody.  For a while, I would hold him by the collar, just to be sure, whenever we had a male visitor, but now he will simply say hello to them and then ignore them.

I think this is because he has finally matured.

My boyfriend says it's because he's already tasted everybody we know.