T.T.: Good Dogs

A few nights ago, just as we were about to get ready for bed, I heard both dogs barking frantically outside. Jasper barks at everything, so I don't pay too much attention to him, but when Odin joins in, it's a safe bet there really is something notable going on outside.

Jasper is the canine equivalent of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The Dog Who Barks Coyote? Sure.

So I went out with the big spotlight to see what was happening.

I found that both dogs had launched themselves over our five-foot perimeter fence and were circling a patch of weeds on the side of the road about fifty yards from our house.

It was a raccoon.

This is the first raccoon we've seen here--they prefer places with more trees--and I can't say I've missed them. We had raccoons around alll the time at Blackrock, constantly trying to get at our chickens. That's what this raccoon was doing, too. Cubby had noticed just that afternoon that our rooster was missing his long tail feathers, and we found a dead hen in the chicken coop.

And now we knew the culprit.

Raccoons are nasty creatures, very aggressive and well able to badly injure dogs. So I called in The Man with the Gun, and that was the end of the raccoon.

All of this got me to thinking how much we have depended on our dogs over the years. At Blackrock, our pack of collies was constantly on the alert for raccoons, woodchucks, deer, coyotes, and possums. 

Here, Jasper and Odin are our alert system for snakes, ringtails, coyotes, bears, and apparently raccoons. They also let us know when the horses and sheep are somewhere they are not supposed to be, and will actually herd the animals into a corner and keep them there until we take care of the situation.

Always alert.

We need fierce dogs, and we have them. But we also need dogs that we can trust with children--both our own and other people's--and our domestic animals. It's no good having dogs that will attack a raccoon but will also attack a chicken, or one of our children's friends. 

Which brings me to a tip!

It is very, very important to choose a dog that will fit your life. Maybe that means you need a dog that is happy hanging out in your house and taking one walk a day. Maybe that means a dog that loves running long miles. Maybe that means a dog that will bark. Or one that won't.

A dog that isn't a good fit for your life will cause constant problems. I can't imagine our dogs, for instance, living in a suburb. They--and whoever they lived with--would be miserable. They're very good dogs for us, but they wouldn't be good dogs for everyone.

And, well, that's all. I should have a clever closing here, but I'll just leave it there.