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["Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>]

On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:28 PM, Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:

>
> On Sep 6, 2008, at 9:28 AM, Lisa K.V. Perry,
> or perhaps we should say, Wine Drinkin' Woman, wrote:
>

That would be me.

> We're looking into a paint or bb gun to ward off the deer, the female
>> Border Collie will chase after them but only if she knows
>> we're watching.
>>
> When a dog acts protective of their master's property but does so
> looking back or only when the master is in attendance, it is likely
> that the dog is intimidated by the aggressor/trespasser. Border
> collies are typically exceptional dogs. I think you need one more, to
> back her up and give her more courage.


We have two, ours are just not exceptionally talented. Sweet Pea is a female
4.5 year old BC who chases the deer, sometimes. She has quite the bark.
Jack, the male BC, will be 11 on Christmas. He has a pedigree bloodline
going back to Scotland and came with the farm. Jack moves slowly these days
and is not the dominant dog. When we bought the place, Jack and Flop, a
female BC, came with the farm. She passed on 18 months after we moved in.
Flop was also dominant. Jack apparently has 'issues' and needs to see a
therapist, but we love him as he is.

What we might need is a third dog, but we don't relish the idea of a hyper
puppy any time soon. We know Jack has limited time or at least he acts like
he does.

Oldest son worked with a Vet last summer (a year ago), she trains BCs and
owns several. She told Spencer that since BCs are natural herding dogs it
goes against their instinct to chase. Makes sense. Our dog would prefer to
invite the deer for dinner or for another free snack of
peaches/apples/pears/berries. Time and again, Sweet Pea will chase and stop
20-30 ft short of the deer then trot back to the house. Job done. The deer
bounds off or doesn't. If the deer moved at all or to the edge of the
field/woods, half the time it watches the dog come back and then meanders up
for another round.

You should have seen me earlier this summer, calling my dog as I chased the
deer. When she finally joined me and did something, I gave her a dog
biscuit.

Most of the time it seems like we're developing a petting zoo. They stroll
through our yard completely at peace. I didn't mind the deer until they ate
half my garden and hurt the trees inside the garden. Now we mind.

Our hardest working pet is Hobbes, the miniature golden tiger (stray cat).
No small beast is safe in his range, in fact, we are grooming him to go
after the deer.

Lisa