Meet “Little One”.

(Ok…so that’s not her real name. She has a Korean one – I just don’t know what it is.)

She’s our custodian’s dog & this was the look she would give me & Maggie when we first arrived in Korea 2 months ago – distant, cold, calculating.

She’s an outside dog, never groomed, full of mats, caked fur under her eyes – the typical Korean dog.

But as the custodian’s dog, she has the complete run of the complex & has been the alpha female for some time now.

So when Maggie arrived – more than 10 times her size – she had a lot of “proving” to do. Every time we went for our walk she would glare, growl & snarl with just a bit of snapping thrown in for good measure.

But soon the distance & suspicion turned into cautious observation…with just a slight snarl.

She was still unsure of Maggie and Maggie, unfortunately, wasn’t helping the situation.

Maggie would try to race up to the Little One everytime to try to play with her. And the Little One would  retreat under a bench to snap & snarl some more.

So I decided that every day for Maggie’s walk (since we have to go right past her to get out the complex) that I would make Maggie sit a good 15 feet away, walk-over & give the Little One a dog treat & then walk back & give Maggie a treat.

It would show Maggie she had to be still around the little dog – while showing the litle dog that we weren’t so bad after all.

And it didn’t take long…

This is the face we’re greeted with now. Running, happy, smiling. Thrilled to see the American who gives her real dog treats (not left-over rice) and her over-grown dog.

She’s no fool. She’s got us pegged now.

“Silly Americans…all I have to do is walk up & smile and you give me a treat. What a bunch of suckers…”

But how could you resist this face?…

I’m not the only silly American who will give her a treat. Eric’s a push-over, too.

She’s also figured out what car we drive so she can run up to meet us as we park.

So let’s see… if you count Eric going to & from work, plus me & Maggie walking past everyday – that’s 3 dog treats a day.

She’s one happy puppy now.