showdown of the century

I'm currently entertaining myself by watching a very interesting situation unfold.

I should give you a little background to get you up to speed.  My dog is quite possibly the most well-behaved dog in history.  It's true.  I wasn't really aware of this fact until I started taking him out in public.  First to a company softball game where he patiently let a coworker's toddler son tug on his fur quite forcefully.  Then to a friend's house where instead of bullying her tiny dogs, he let them chase him around the room before sitting quietly next to me, waiting for them to be disciplined for their bad behavior.  Point is, he's a good boy.  He really is.  

But over the past month or two, he's been developing a really annoying habit.  He's barking.  Indoors!  Now, I'm sure most dog owners would give me a big "Well no shit! He's a dog!" response to this predicament.  But honestly, he's never been like this before.  When we first got him as a puppy, we lived in an apartment.  Then we moved into a townhouse with neighbors on both sides.  He wasn't allowed to get loud because we didn't want to be those people with the noisy dog who never shut up.  Granted, we now live in a fully detached house, but I still don't want him thinking he can just go barking his sweet little head off in order to get attention.  That's not how we roll in this house.

Back to the present.  My dog has been fed, he's gone outside and fully emptied his bladder and, well, the other side.  He has no reason to be barking.  He has no immediate needs that must be taken care of to require such noisy demands. And he's driving me crazy.  

Enter my cat.

In the past fifteen minutes, my cat has taken it upon himself to silence the dog. It's like he finally reached his limit and just could not or would not take it any longer.  So now I get to watch while the cat stalks and hunts the dog.  He hides just outside a doorway and when the dog starts to bark, he jumps around the door frame, hisses and swats him on the nose.  The dog runs and hides for a couple minutes, then slowly and sheepishly starts walking around, looking for the cat.  When he spots him, he keeps his eye on him and gives him a wide berth as he makes his way over to me.  The cat sits there, staring him down, and waits.  Sure enough, before long, the dog gets cocky again and tries barking and walking around like he owns the place.  The cat jumps out at him, hisses and swats him in the nose.  Again.  The dog runs and hides.  Again. Repeat that sequence about five times and you've got some serious hilarity.

Thank you, cat.  You are a very good kitty.  Make sure to keep him under control during LOST tonight, ok?