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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Hunter

Intrepid

I have always somewhat disrespected Daisy....not that I wasn't fond of her or anything....but..... 

We got her because of the cute factor...and because she had eaten some turkeys that were off limits and was facing eviction from her premises....

For the two years that she has lived here I have tended her faithfully. Tending faithfully is in a farmer's heart.... I found dog food she can eat and a way she can eat it.

Never saw such a dog for digestive difficulties. For two years, twice a day, a third of can of minced chicken Pedigree mixed with ample water has been served...it usually works...she is generally okay. Her housebreaking is pretty shaky. No biggie...she is small and so are her "accidents". She is however, confined to the kitchen.

After half a lifetime with herding dogs....they live to serve and protect and be partners...her independence was a barrier to us being buddies of the heart. I didn't blame her a bit. She had no reason to trust a stranger...me....and hounds tend to go their own way anyhow.

Not that I haven't always liked her, quite a lot in fact...I'm a doggy person, and she is certainly a dog, albeit in a pretty small package...but she was never quite a border collie. With a border collie there is an intense sensation of minds that are tied together...an invisible bond of cooperation and love and the will to work..I haven't found it with any other dogs, but if you have BCs you know what I mean. You can feel their brains there, reaching out to link with yours...a bond like no other. I still want another one....

Then one day she convinced us to let her get the mouse in the dining room. Ten minutes and it was dispatched and delivered.

Second mouse. Ditto.

The plague of chipmunks and bunnies on the porches and the garden was next. She made them her life's work right after I pointed them out to her.

 I don't think she has caught any yet, but not for lack of effort.

I am proud of her. She weighs about ten pounds and isn't much more than a hand and a half high at the withers.

She is eight, and has many health problems related to a hard life and being a double dapple dachshund with all that implies. She can barely see out of her too-small blue eyes.

That does not stop her from being a hunter.

This morning she was out, slowly making her way up the big back lawn to where the deer are eating Liz's garden. I think she is kind of tired after an insane cracker dog session last night when I was making much of her, and it is hot...but she is still game.

This is not a place where dogs can run unsupervised. Besides the Thruway, the state highway, the coyotes, owls, and foxes, there are leash laws. However, I suspect that if I did just let her run, the chipmunks and bunnies would be forced to take their business elsewhere.

I never expected to have a hunting dog, but I do. Good girl, Daisy.




4 comments:

jan said...

I think most non herding dogs are hunting dogs. Misty the alpha Poodle has all of the hunting instincts of her long ago ancestors and I have had Chihuahuas that killed more mice than cats do. I'm sure Daisy would clear out a lot of burrows if she could.

Terry and Linda said...

For awhile there I was afraid you were going to tell us she had traveled over the rainbow bridge. WHEW! I'm glad she is still there.

On the bright side of things...what a good doggie! You go get'm Daisy!

(As for BC's....I miss Fuzzy like that...we were so bonded.)

Maybe someday I'll get a bc...sure would like one again.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

ADorable and say, she is your angel and you are her angel...she looks very etherial too, like she knows something deep and soul filling in there, so hey, let us give her the halo she deserves.....Love your writing...soo good!!! I can just see her doing her own thing..and so looking proud of it...love her face...wow. I am so happy she got you for a family and you letting her do something purposeful too... precious times...thanks for sharing them ..Love Merri

Does she get treats??? well the dog food is probably enough of one hey?? ha ha

threecollie said...

Jan, she sure wants to! She loves to hunt. Yesterday she hunted down and captured a chicken feather that blew into the flower bed. She was very proud of herself!

Linda, I worry that one morning I will get up and find her gone. She is not the healthiest....between genetic issues, age, and other situations left over from before....

Merri, it took us so long to really bond, but now we have fun. Can't give her much in the way of treats...a little meat now and then...and I do mean little...whatever Peggy tosses off her high chair tray...but it doesn't take much to make her sick, alas.