Lyka was a girl. So while she didn't feel the need to mark her territory everywhere, when heat season came around we had to watch her like a hawk and Dad would arm himself with a stick to ward off all potential suitors when taking her for walks. It usually never got very bad and we would make it through without any mishap. But we experienced a new and annoying phenomenon when we moved into our old house.
I was in class 10 at the time and it was exam season. My room on the first floor faced the road and I was in the habit of waking up at insane hours to study. So one night, soon after I'd gone to sleep, I heard loud barking right outside my window. When I woke up to find out what was causing the din, there was a line up of the male dogs of the colony outside our front door, yowling away. After some yelling at them, they went away only to return after a couple of hours. Clearly my method wasn't working. So I decided to throw cold water on their plans. Literally.
I got a mug full of water and poured it out the window on their heads. They didn't know what hit them and ran away. But they weren't to be deterred. Back for attempt three, I again gave them a free bath. And like this it continued for the rest of the night. Lyka had of course slept through the whole thing, blissfully unaware that I was muttering curses the next morning being bleary eyed and irritated at the lack of sleep.
The next night I was prepared. I placed a whole bucket of water next to my window and this time, drenched the canines right through. That seemed to teach them a lesson and they didn't return the next few days. But this little routine was to be repeated every time and by the time I left for college, I had perfected it down to an art.
