Paper Popper Panic

 

I was bored this past weekend and so were my dogs so I decided I wanted to expose them to some sort of new experience, that way they’re seeing something new and interesting. So I dug through the internet until I found something that caught my eye, and eventually I found what I thought would be perfect. I found a tutorial on how to make a paper popper. Now, if you don’t know what a paper popper is, it’s essentially a piece of origami you can swing that creates a loud noise when you do.

So, I got to work. I spent twenty whole minutes of my life watching a YouTube video on how to create this popper and I did it with relative ease. By the end I had a solid product, the folds looked great and there was only one thing left to do: test the product. So, without any second thought I brought my dogs into the kitchen with me and let it rip. With a thunderous crack, I swung the popper through the air. I expected the dogs to be bewildered, perhaps even a little nervous but I was wrong in that assumption. They went ballistic. It was as if I was holding a live squirrel in my hand after the paper made that noise. They chased me all around the house, barking, begging, doing anything within their power to get the paper away from me. Eventually I ran back to the kitchen table and had my arm over it to prevent the dogs from getting to the paper when Khloe jumped 4 feet into the air onto the table and snatched it from my hand. She then ran away, and I had to chase her down to retrieve the paper.

 I have never seen my dogs so feral for an inanimate object before. I was happy I was able to entertain them, but I did not expect this degree of success in doing so. What is worrisome, however, is that I think I have now conditioned my dogs into having a significant prey drive for paper. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it I guess.