Chapter Thirty-Three: Force Analysis

If Da Hu were a small dog, Zhang Congwen might have recommended trying this method, but unfortunately, Da Hu was a large dog. Large dogs tend to be far more confident than small ones, so this approach might not be effective. In fact, it could even backfire. Not to mention whether Xie Julie and Xie Caizhe had the strength to do what their father did—merely attempting it would be an open challenge to Da Hu’s authority, given the established hierarchy in Da Hu’s eyes. And with Da Hu’s sensitive and unstable temperament, this could easily lead to violent conflict.

At this moment, Da Hu had already gotten off Xie Caizhe and was circling the yard, as if patrolling his territory.

Zhang Congwen called Xie Caizhe over and said, “Caizhe, from now on, you and your sister should avoid contact with Da Hu as much as possible. Leave all care for Da Hu to your father. This is for your own safety.”

Xie Caizhe hadn’t expected Zhang Congwen to say this and felt a bit displeased, but in the end, he nodded obediently.

Then Zhang Congwen gathered his thoughts and spoke to Mr. Xie: “Going forward, you’ll need to set aside more time to look after Da Hu, whether it’s feeding, housing, or walking him. Only you can take responsibility for all of it. I know this will require you to sacrifice a lot of your time…”

Before Zhang Congwen could finish, Mr. Xie laughed and said, “No problem.”

“Huh?”

Zhang Congwen was momentarily stunned.

Although dogs like Da Hu are difficult to handle, the training methods themselves aren’t complicated. Zhang Congwen’s difficulty lay in persuading Mr. Xie to commit more time to caring for the dog. After all, he could see that Mr. Xie was a very busy man, and he’d anticipated a tough time convincing him to devote so much energy to a single dog.

The previous day, Zhang Congwen had taken Song Jiawei home early, hoping to consult this master of interpersonal communication on how to get Mr. Xie’s approval. But once home, Song Jiawei was glued to his phone, grinning like a fool, with no intention of helping.

So Zhang Congwen had locked himself in his room early, steeling himself to figure out how to approach the conversation with Mr. Xie. He hadn’t expected that after all his careful preparations, Mr. Xie would agree so easily before he even had a chance to use them.

This left Zhang Congwen feeling a little disappointed. He had spent an entire night racking his brains, only for his efforts to go unused—a waste of precious time.

What Zhang Congwen didn’t know was that Song Jiawei had seen through his intentions from the start. From Song Jiawei’s perspective, Zhang Congwen’s ability to interact with people was almost hopeless; it would be easier to handle the matter himself than try to strategize with Zhang. So last night, he had Xie Julie and Xie Caizhe work together to talk to their father. Thanks to the combined efforts of the three, Mr. Xie agreed so readily today.

Nor did Zhang Congwen realize that his efforts the previous night were not wasted. Many times in the future, his ability to communicate smoothly with others would stem from what he gained last night.

“Was I wrong to agree so quickly?” Mr. Xie said half-jokingly, noticing Zhang Congwen’s surprise.

“That’s not what I meant,” Zhang Congwen explained at once.

Mr. Xie sighed helplessly. “Last night, Ali and Caizhe both talked to me. They made a lot of sense. To be honest, I’ve regretted getting a dog with so many issues for my first time as a pet owner. But since we have him, I have to take responsibility. Since Da Hu still has a chance to change, we should give him that chance. After all, he’s a living creature. So you don’t need to give me a lecture—just tell me how to train him.”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Just then, Da Hu suddenly started barking. Before Zhang Congwen could react, Mr. Xie darted over like the wind, grabbed his leash, and forcibly led him to a corner of the yard.

Watching the smooth, practiced way he did it, Zhang Congwen was certain that Mr. Xie had handled this kind of thing many times before.

Zhang Congwen glanced outside the villa and saw several workers approaching in a group. It was obvious they were here to install a dog kennel for the Xie family.

Even before the workers got close, Da Hu was already straining to lunge at them, and even with Mr. Xie holding him back, it took considerable effort.

Before the workers arrived, Zhang Congwen quickly moved over near Mr. Xie and explained several important points.

“When you keep Da Hu in the kennel, minimize his contact with others. If he’s in the yard and senses strangers approaching, the first thing you must do is control the leash and prevent him from running wild. The second thing is to block his line of sight—try not to let him see strangers outside. These two steps are to prevent Da Hu from being overstimulated,” Zhang Congwen instructed.

Mr. Xie nodded and began following his instructions.

Yet Da Hu still wouldn’t calm down, continuing to bark at the outside.

Seeing this, Zhang Congwen had Mr. Xie tie Da Hu to the tree again and attach another leash to his collar.

Once this was done, Zhang Congwen took hold of the second leash, leaving Mr. Xie still holding the iron chain as the primary lead. He told Mr. Xie that whenever Da Hu tried to dash out, he should pull back hard on the leash.

At first, Mr. Xie misunderstood Zhang Congwen’s meaning. As soon as Da Hu barked, he dragged the iron chain backward, pulling Da Hu behind him. Zhang Congwen quickly intervened and demonstrated personally. Only then did Mr. Xie understand.

What Zhang Congwen meant was to give a quick tug, not to drag Da Hu away—just enough to stop him from charging, not to move him from his spot.

Once Mr. Xie understood completely, Zhang Congwen resumed trying the method with him.

Mr. Xie caught on quickly; whenever Da Hu tried to lunge, he was immediately checked by a sharp tug. At first, Da Hu only looked back at Mr. Xie a few times, but after several attempts, he grew angry and lunged at Mr. Xie.

Seeing this, Zhang Congwen pulled his own leash tight, preventing Da Hu from reaching Mr. Xie. Da Hu, seeing this man once again thwarting him, immediately turned his attention and lunged at Zhang Congwen instead.

Mr. Xie, now more cautious than ever, also tightened his grip on the iron chain. The two men stood on either side, pulling the leashes taut like a tug-of-war, pinning Da Hu in the middle. Even with two adults straining against him, Da Hu’s struggles dragged them both side to side.

Suddenly, Zhang Congwen had an idea. He quickly instructed the workers, who had already been led into the yard by Xie Caizhe, not to look their way.

The workers, though curious, knew better than to offend their client. Upon hearing Zhang Congwen’s request, they immediately busied themselves with their work and stopped glancing over.

Yet still, Da Hu refused to settle down and continued to tug frantically against both men.

Oftentimes, two people are no more effective than one, and this was one of those instances. At this moment, Zhang Congwen wanted nothing more than to have Xie Caizhe analyze the forces at play between the two men and the dog, but he had no energy left for such jokes.

Seeing that Da Hu showed no sign of calming down, Zhang Congwen had a sudden inspiration. He wound the leash several times around the tree where Da Hu had previously been tethered, then gave a strong pull, hauling Da Hu beneath the tree and confining his movement to a very small area.