Dog Man: For Whom The Ball Rolls: Petey and Maddie

Chapter 2: Behavioral Modification Therapy

"King me!"

Dog Man was walking home. Inside, Lil' Petey, 80-HD, and Maddie were playing checkers. The three turned their heads when they saw the dog headed cop enter.

"Oh, hi Dog Man," Lil' Petey greeted.

"What's wrong?" Maddie asked, walking over upon noticing Dog Man's frown. "Did another bad guy escape because you got distracted?"

Dog Man nodded his head and Lil' Petey and 80-HD walked over. "Was it a ball or a squirrel this time?" Lil' Petey asked. Dog Man used his index fingers and thumbs to form a ball shape.

"Come on, 80-HD," Lil' Petey said to his robot buddy. "We gotta help Dog Man."

Maddie, 80-HD, and Lil' Petey took pieces of paper, scissors, pencils, and crayons. They started to make red flash cards out of them. They both whispered to 80-HD before turning to Dog Man.

"Alright, Dog Man, 80-HD, Maddie, and I are gonna teach you how to focus," Lil' Petey told Dog Man. "We'll use these flash cards we made. Every time you stay focused, you get a treat."

Dog Man smiled upon hearing that good part. "But if you mess up, there's a penalty," Maddie told him. "You'll have to take a bath."

Dog Man froze when he saw 80-HD carrying a big bath tub. "I know you hate baths, Dog Man, but don't worry," Maddie assured Dog Man. "You'll learn quickly."

"Okay, let's start with an easy one," Lil' Petey said, pulling out a card with Chief drawn on it. Dog Man smiled and licked the card.

"Okay, good," Maddie said, before reaching into her deck of cards. "Now, focus, focus...focus..."

Maddie pulled out a card with a squirrel on it. Dog Man growled, jumping with the card in his mouth and began to rip it to shreds. 80-HD grabbed Dog Man by the back of his cop uniform and dropped him into the tub. He scrubbed, rinsed, and washed Dog Man before placing him back in front of Lil' Petey and Maddie.

"Let's try again," Maddie said. "This might be a hard one."

Maddie pulled out a card with Petey drawn on it. Dog Man growled at the card. "No, Dog Man!" Maddie said, causing Dog Man to stop growling. "Petey's my friend and Lil' Petey's papa. He's a good guy. You have to give him a chance, okay?"

Dog Man started to lick the card on Maddie and Lil' Petey's behalf. "That's better," Lil' Petey said before pulling out another card. "Okay, now it's time to focus. Focus... Focus..."

A smile appeared on Dog Man's face as Lil' Petey pulled out a card with a ball. Dog Man couldn't it as he then pounced on the card. Every time Dog Man would pounce on a card, he'd ended up getting a bath. It went off like this for hours.

"This is taking a lot longer than I thought it would," Maddie said. "But we can't give up, Dog Man. We always gotta keep trying."

It went on for more. Maddie and Lil' Petey tried to teach their friend how to control himself. They worked and worked. More baths were brought up.