Just A Little Dab'll Do It! Well, At Least It Did For Me

If I told you how many times I have uttered the words, “Off,” “Down,” or “No, No,” “No,” over the last dozen years, you would wonder why I didn’t give up trying to be a pet owner long ago. There have been days when I wondered that myself.

And, if I told you how many items in my home have actually been ruined, by the several cats and dogs we have adopted over the years, you probably wouldn’t believe me, either.

Even that adorable little wire-haired terrier our family fell in love with changed from terrier to terrorist as soon as she crossed the threshold into our living room, and managed to demolish the fabric on a whole chair before we got her under control. Well, maybe not completely under control, but almost.

I know, some of you are shaking your heads and saying, “What kind of person is this who can’t train a tiny little cat—or dog? Everyone knows that you just need to let him or her know who is boss. Others of you, if you are honest about it, are also shaking your head, but your heads are bobbing up and down, to signify that you have been there, done that, and are about ready to throw in the towel when it comes to training pets.

Seriously, we had come to the conclusion that there would be no more living creatures in our house other than humans ever again when we accidentally stumbled on a simple, practically no cost solution.

The solution --- pepper.

No, I didn’t use pepper spray in my cat’s face; I didn’t put pepper on her tongue when she misbehaved; I didn’t rub it on her paws to teach her a lesson. None of the above.
I accidentally spilled some pepper on the counter when I was making deviled egg sandwiches. The egg smell attracted our cat and she was on the counter in a flash, heading toward the egg platter, accompanied by my usually ineffective screams of,
“No, Snoopy, No!” when all of a sudden she applied the brakes—or whatever it is that cats use to stop in their tracks.

She backed off a few steps, jumped off the counter and then walked away.

Hmm. “No, Snoopy, No,” had never worked before. In fact, it had proved so useless, I wondered why I kept on using it. Hmm, again. It must be the pepper. Oh joy. I grabbed the pepper can and headed to our bedroom where my computer desk and chair both reside.

Snoopy and I had engaged in a long-standing battle about my desk chair. If she even thinks I might be heading in that direction to work, she dashes up the stairs past me, sometimes tripping me on the way, and be zonked out in my chair by the time I arrived.
Before I could use my own chair, I had to drag a protesting cat off and sit quickly before she managed to regain the seat.

Sure enough, there she was, feigning sleep, even though she had been on the kitchen counter only moments before.

We engaged in our usual tussle, which some of you will probably tell me was just the cat’s way of playing with me, but I know better. That cat likes to show her superiority over the lowly humans in this house, and that is exactly what she was doing. But I was ready for her this time. As soon as I took control of the chair, I sprinkled just a tiny bit of pepper on it, one shake, and not even a hard shake either. Then I turned and walked away.

Snoopy was jubilant. She had won the battle. She jumped back on the chair, but before her feet had hardly landed, she was off again and running down the stairs. For two days, she didn’t even come in my bedroom, let alone try to get on the chair. After that, she very cautiously moved across the room and looked at the chair, and eventually took a snooze, on the floor under my chair. Now I was jubilant.

Since then, I have use a sparing dose of pepper on several other items that I really don’t want her on—like the kitchen table. It isn’t really noticeable and I always wash the table before putting a meal on it anyway.

Before you write and accuse me of animal cruelty, I would say that the only thing that seems to be injured is Snoopy’s pride. I try not to put pepper everywhere; just in spots that really matter to me. She still has lots of places she can call her own.

If you are an individual who has really had it with an animal that won’t mind, give pepper a try. It will cost you practically nothing, but remember, “Just a little dab’ll do it.”