What not to wear?!

[powerfulgazelle]

Our DD, age 5 1/2, has been growing her little wedge cut out for the last year...with the goal of being able to wear a ponytail, "like the big girls" at her gymnastics gym.

 

Finally, after what seems like ages of hairbands, and mornings when she looks more like an Old English Sheepdog than a little girl, we spent an idle evening tonight fiddling with putting her hair up.

 

End result: hair pulled back from her face with little bands, and a little, maybe 4 inch, ponytail in a scrunchie. Looks very fetching.

 

Enter Kip, who caught one look at the little ponytail bobbing at the back of her head, and acted like she had a live squirrel dangling from her head. Laser Border Collie Vision switched on, and he tracked her all around the bedroom, up onto the bed, staring at the ponytail (not the rest of her) and trying to get close enough to stuff his snout INTO the ponytail, including a stunt he SO knows better than to do---putting his feet up on humans.

 

We experimented. Take the ponytail out---Kip goes back to ignoring DD. Put the ponytail in---and not even the cat can draw his attention away.

 

Kip has never been particularly interested in or bothered by little kids. But ponytails are evidently something else entirely.

 

(And, fear not, Kip knows "leave it", and DD has always had large dogs about her, is quite sensible, and always supervised with the dogs.)

[haleigh]

LOL this kind of happened to me once before with our malinois. This was before my whole band shirt, tight pants, eye liner phase when I actually took the time to make myself look pretty. I had my hair up and pulled back into a ribbon. I was sitting on the floor talking to mum when darling Knoxy walked in and started staring at my pony tail. I went to turn away to light the fire place or something like that, when Knox grabbed a hold of my hair and started tugging. Knox just tugged and tugged and tugged and wouldn't let go, and I had to leave for school in 10 minutes! My mom was laughing, yelling and trying to pull him off of me at the same time, and I'm on all fours trying to escape the evil mali.

 

So, I ended up retrieving my hair, and went to school looking like a poodle. Dog saliva must be the secret ingredient in super hold hair spray. I couldn't get my hair un poofed

[Bo Peep]

That is so funny. I never had a dog react to a hairstyle, but they are border collies and they are quirky.

I have had in my life 2 dogs that fetched rubber bands. My first dog and now Usher. My first BC could find a rubber band in our hayfield. I told everyone that if "Gumby" is ever missing, she'll track him.

So, maybe the fascination is with the rubber bands- try it and see. Just a suggestion.

[ErinKate]

You have painted the picture of him not being a threat, and I believe you 100% that he isn't a bad dog. But please don't be fooled. Stalking the pony tail is stalking your child. If he were to get bold and try to grab that pony tail, you wouldn't want to risk an accidental bite to the face, or an ear removed. Remember it is your precious DD. I can remember the story of the family dog who would carefully remove scrunchies from the children. They laughed at how gentle the dog would slide the scrunchies from their heads, then slink off to the dog bed with the prize. Until one day the dog became possesive and bit the child's arm when she went to grab her head. And who could forget the beloved family dog that liked to chase the kids with their scarves that one day strangled and drug the small child to her death.

 

I say nip that habit ASAP. Congrats on finally getting a ponytail though! lol