In January, five irrepressible dogs stood with their silent, nervous owners for Day 1 of Growly Dog Class. Despite careful partitions preventing the dogs from seeing each other, all four-footed creatures were nonetheless growling.
The only human unperturbed by the canine cacophony was Annie Phenix, the formidable instructor and founder of Growly Dog Class.
“Whenever they want to growl at something – dog, human, air – we’re going to make chicken fall from the sky,” she cheerfully bellowed over the barks.
On Phenix’s orders, the owners released food onto the ground and clicked a clicker whenever their dogs started growling, forcing the dogs to break eye contact with perceived aggressors – which, apparently, were everywhere.