Huw Le Lytle answers all your questions in his column of wit and wisdom, For the Asking!

Huw’s for the asking!

BY Huw Le Lytle

In today’s questions …

Tricks, Treats, Tinsel, Toys, and Troublemakers

Q: Hi Huwie! Which movies should I watch at Halloween and Christmas? Also what is your favourite toy and what is the best way to ignore negative comments from people
– Kay, Warwickshire, UK

A: Dear Kay, these are such good questions. I don’t think I have any favourite Halloween movies, although I do tend to favour those featuring a dog as a central protagonist. It is best not to watch scary ones with Human, however, because the spontaneous screams are simply too much for my delicate disposition. So I think at the top of my list might be It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. There is also a lesser-known movie, what I like to think has achieved cult status among my dog pals … The Dog Who Saved Halloween. This movie was only ever released straight to television, but I think that’s because dogs aren’t allowed in movie theatres and have to watch movies at home. So, of course, straight to television it was! And then I would probably also recommend The Lost Boys. This movie is both a veritable classic as well as a dog movie, with at least two dogs featuring as major stars – Thorn, the video store dog, and Nanook, the Malamute.

And for Christmas movies, I have a lot of favourites. Again, those featuring dogs are at the top of my list. So The Dog Who Saved Christmas is of course right up there. But some other favourites are: A Dog Walker’s Christmas Tale, A Belle for Christmas, 12 Dog Days Till Christmas, Nine Dog Christmas (now there’s a number to aim for!), A Dog Named Christmas, A Doggone Christmas, Santa Buddies, the whole Santa Paws series … and Elf.

What’s my favourite toy? That’s an easy one. My favourite toy is any toy that someone else is already playing with first.

And your last question is a very important one. Sadly, a lot of people forget to see the good and just focus on the negative. And if they keep doing that it can be very unfair and demoralising for you. Some experts say it is because those people are trying to compensate for their own lack of confidence. But other experts have said more recently that it is actually because those people are just plain mean. So let’s think about the mean ones first. The most important thing is not to let them see that their comments affect you, because it is your reaction they want. Or at least, it is your reaction that moves everything up to the next level. It is like if an angry dog starts barking and carrying on at me. I always just keep going on my way, and usually that is then the end of it. But suppose (completely out of character, of course) I turned around and started barking back. Then it would get us all nowhere. We would all start barking and getting more and more upset. But even then, I don’t blame the angry dog. The difference between dogs and humans, as I see it, is that humans can be malicious for no good reason. As the scientists say, Humans can be just plain mean. But in my view, dogs do everything for good sense, not bad measure. Sometimes good dogs get shown the wrong thing, and so they act badly. So the secret is to show them what makes good sense. So, thinking about those humans who might be insecure, you could try this with them. For those who are being mean out of their own insecurities and fears, think of ways that you can make them see good sense. Ask them questions about their negative comments, such as how to improve, or what to change. Or just smile and agree. It is amazing how that disarms angry people. In other words, give them a metaphorical pat (I would never recommend actually patting a human, however, ha ha!), tell them everything is going to be ok, and interact again when everyone is relaxed. And if that still doesn’t work, just keep your distance if you can, and play in another part of the dog park with the pals who matter. Life is too short and precious for pointless scrapping.

If you would like your questions answered by Huw, please send them to woof@bethatdog.com or use the form below. He’s Huw for the asking!