Bee~ Journal of then...

[Beekissed]

Poor Lucy has courage and the noise but, sadly, her teeth are about worn off. She still can put the hurt on other dogs, though. Jake? He's a little scary...... Never hardly barks and when he does, its only two barks and you can be sure its something bigger than he is out there in the dark. That's why he has more kills than Lucy....they can't hear him coming and he is dark brown. He can snatch a bird out of the air, he is so quick.

That dog will consume about anything....I would love to make him a proper all round hunting dog. I bet he would do very well foraging in the woods.

Big, soft babies with us and other humans they know......lethal, hungry for blood wolves towards anything that dares to challenge their territory!

 

[lorihadams]

We tried to take Maggie(our chocolate lab) goose and duck hunting.....yeah, right! Every time you lay in on the call she starts howling like it is hurting her ears, little couch potato princess. When we caught the possum and the coon this week she got kind of close to the cage and then tucked tail and ran!!! Maybe a guinea would be better!

 

[big brown horse]

Our two hounds were unwanted too. One is full fledged St. Bernard who was a stray. She is old and deaf now, but used to be an awesome athlete. The "baby" is 1/2 pier and 1/2 St. Bernard. She is our LGD and kick's A outside. She sounds like your brown dog. She needs a tee shirt that says "MY YARD, MY RULES". We call her the yard bouncer. If you arent on the list you arent allowed in the yard.

She was turned into a high kill shelter in Houston as a 10 month old puppy as just a bag of bones. It took her forever to bond with us and anybody else would have given up on her again. It wasn't easy, but the pay off is there for us.

 

[Farmfresh]

Your have said it all about a good dog Bee. My guardian when I was a kid with chickens was Tramp. He was half German Shepherd and half Siberian Husky cinnamon and white in color. We NEVER worried about our livestock. No need. Chickens free ranged, cats and little dog and horses never a worry in the world. Anything out of place and we knew about it, because he would either "take care" of the problem or come get us (for example a horse with a leg stuck in a fence).

I have posted elsewhere about my Modern Game hen Hoppy, that had a damaged leg and hopped everywhere - well Tramp was her special caretaker. He would even share his food with her. I have seen her take a piece of bread out of his mouth!

As for stray dogs, I have never seen a better dog fighter. As a (bad) kid I used to sic him on packs of dogs - just to watch him whip them all. When he got so old and arthritic he could hardly even walk I saw him take a 120 or so pound young strong German Shepard that came on to our property. He sat shifted back in a "humility" pose whining and blinking his old near blind eyes until just the moment, then he shifted like lightning and caught the young dog by the jugular, nearly killing him before I could get him to release.

Kind as a nurse maid to children and guests. Ever vigilant against a would be trespasser. And an adopted stray as well. He set the bar so high I have never found a dog to better him.

 

[Beekissed]

Now don't flay me alive, people, but I think a dog that lives indoors most of the time kind of loses their natural doggy instincts when it comes to these things. Even the dogs who live in a pen or on a chain seem to lose their natural tendencies to hunt, kill, guard a boundary.

My sis has 13 dogs, 4 of which live in her house and go outside only when she goes. The others live in a pen right outside her front door.

The woman has free ranged 3 different flocks of mixed birds including turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese. These flocks were approx. 50-60 strong.

Her dogs will stand beside her on the porch and watch a fox kill a bird right within 20 yards of the porch and never even bark. She will be screaming at the fox and run towards it and the dog will watch her and do nothing.....she has all breeds of dogs. The dog in question on that day is a blue heeler and very aggressive towards humans and other dogs in the family.....just not towards what he should be aggressive towards.

She has fed approx. 125 mixed birds to the local wildlife.....isn't that generous and sweet of her? All those dogs and not a one fit for life outdoors and as a guardian.

I think dogs who have an established boundary or "hunting grounds" are more likely to be brave in the attempt to guard it. This means being able to use senses that are not dulled by household smells and sounds and an appetite not assuaged by a continuous feeder.

Just my 2 cents, really, from years of observing the differences between outside dogs, fenced dogs, chained dogs, inside dogs, etc.

 

[Beekissed]

Kind as a nurse maid to children and guests. Ever vigilant against a would be trespasser. And an adopted stray as well. He set the bar so high I have never found a dog to better him

Farm, you described our first dog to a T. He looked like Old Yeller, acted like him, was versatile like him and I can't ever look at another dog again without measuring it against our dog, Jim. We weren't the only ones who felt that way about him.....when he died our whole town mourned, even my dad cried and made him a headstone and my heart broke in a way that has never healed.

Poor Lucy and Jake could never evoke that feeling in me but I love them very much......they just aren't Jim.

 

[punkin]

You must have never had dauschunds, right? We have 3 in the house that come and go as they please. They have about 1/2 acre fenced in yard.

Sometimes I wish they would loose some of their natural prey insctincts. But, they are high prey animals.

So far, in my house I have found 1/2 chipmunk, 3 kittens, 2 lizards, several birds that have fallen from the nest, countless grubs, a few large grasshoppers, 1 mole and probably 2 or 3 other things I have forgotten about. :/

Oh, and no one comes on my porch without being invited.

 

[Farmfresh]

Still makes me tear up thinking about Tramp. We had him about 14 years! The vet said he was ancient, because he was an adult when he came to our door hungry.

I also think a dog knows when he is saved by his people. They go above and beyond to pay you back.

 

[Beekissed]

You must have never had dauschunds, right? We have 3 in the house that come and go as they please. They have about 1/2 acre fenced in yard.

Sometimes I wish they would loose some of their natural prey insctincts. But, they are high prey animals.

So far, in my house I have found 1/2 chipmunk, 3 kittens, 2 lizards, several birds that have fallen from the nest, countless grubs, a few large grasshoppers, 1 mole and probably 2 or 3 other things I have forgotten about. :/

Oh, and no one comes on my porch without being invited.

Punkin, my sister's raise doxies! They are vicious in a pack! My one sis had a pack, usually in breeding pens, who got out and killed her baby goat, all her chickens and ducks and ate her cats! She couldn't have any cats because, if they got in the dog pens, the dogs ate them! These are dogs with continuous feeders....

Yeah, doxies are a breed apart!

Exceptions to every thought, of course!

 

[Farmfresh]

Remember... they were badger hounds!

High prey dogs are a lot of work.

I personally love Siberian Huskys. They however, will kill everything that moves if they get a chance. Our dog Sasha used to hide in the shadows near her dog food bowl. She would leave food in it on purpose - I swear! When a bird would come to taste the food she would catch it between her front paws in mid air, kill it, stash it and wait for the next one!