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| There was impetuous pelting |
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| Liberated leaping |
Poor Mack has seen more crate time than I like in recent days for various reasons, so I resolved to take him on a long enough walk to erase all that and tire him out.
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| Tumultuous tearing |
Besides, it was one of those days when I hadn't walked enough myself so I wanted to rack up some steps.
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| Machinery imspections |
Not Mack. He will run and race and rip and tear, but he always comes back. And he has this thing for closeness, as in he will ram into your legs about thirty miles an hour if he can. Kind of a drive by knee capping.
Thus I carry my old shaker stick from cow herding, collie training days....a Mountain Dew bottle with a few stones in it electrical taped to a fiber glass stock stick. Works the nuts. He isn't afraid of it, but he knows it's there.
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| Found some old feed bag |
We discovered all sorts of things. Although a dog can disrupt a birding walk by disrupting the birds, they can also alert you to things you might not see otherwise. Little dog frozen in alert pose staring down the hill in the dim light of dusk....oh, cool, a flock of turkeys slipping silently across the road headed for the roosts....I would have missed them. Thanks, Mack. Mike stood on his hind legs once peering over some weeds into the hedgerow. Twin fawns, one dark, one light, snuggled together in hiding. I would have missed them too. He had no desire to disturb them....just wanted me to know they were there.
And then there were the coyote tracks. We know we have them, but I figured on maybe just a few. Instead, between the spring behind the barn and the 30-Acre Lot the road is completely mashed down by hundreds and hundreds of canine footprints. Some of them are as big as the palm of my hand.
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| Took it on tour |
Are they denning there? The grass is all tracked and stomped in the whole area, but that is where we saw the turkeys. Were they just partying?
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| Coyote tracks were this thick over the ENTIRE road! |
For myself I don't worry too much, but I was a little concerned about the pup. He is a toughy, but very small.
I think I will look for a CO2 pellet pistol and holster....I know, I know, it won't kill one, but it might make it let go and leave. I already have too many things to carry to consider a long gun. Then again, maybe they have been hunted enough to leave people...and tiny, white dogs.... alone.
Anyhow, I was alert every second while walking, which isn't a bad thing to be anyhow. You never know who or what you'll meet back there.
It was a great hike. Well over 10000 steps for me and nearly10 billion for him.
Was he tired at the end? Well, maybe.....
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6 comments:
This was a lot more exciting than any of the walks we take around the hood.
Two fawn? Turkeys? What a great pup. What a good life you share there.
He looks like he would be delightful to walk with. A billion coyote tracks...shudder. I'm not a fan of coyotes....EVER!
Linda
I need me a shaker stick too.....I was so desperate I picked up a willow stick to save my feet and legs. It's too bad we can't get together and exercise them...they'd wear one another out I'm sure and we could have a restful cup of coffee after ;)
Lots of interesting things seen on your walk with Mack.
"...drive by knee capping." LOL!
I once had a dog that was 3/4 beagle, 1/4 doxie and totally nuts! Mike (that was his name) partnered up with the cats to steal defrosting meat off the counter. They would knock it to the floor, he would rip it open, and they would all get a share.
Once Mike went to live with my Mom, he didn't get to go on many long walks, but occasionally the wife and I would take him over to the high school and he would run and run and run...for about 15 minutes. He would race out to the edge of the practice field, turn and zoom back right at my wife and I. Whoosh! He would dart between us and race off in the opposite direction until he reached the edge of the field on that side. Then he would turn and race back at us once more.
He woujld do that three or four times before collapsing at our feet and demanding we carry him back to the car. I blame the three meals a day Mom was feeding him. I mean, corn flakes for breakfast? Really?
Jan, it was great! We did it again last night, with the Boss and Becky. Had to be a bit shorter as it was getting dark, but it was sure a lot of fun.
Cathy, we do. I couldn't believe, back in the day, when Mike found the fawns. He was a young dog, impetuous and often disobedient. That he simply stood on his hind legs, looking over the tall grass so I would see them, and then left them alone, amazed me then and still does. Mack started his first rabbit out on the long lawn this morning. Such enthusiasm!
Linda, I wanted to show the boss and we waled up there again last night, but the rain had washed them all away.
Linda, wouldn't that be cool though! I could learn a lot about training dogs from you. You are doing a stunning job with Miss Mia. The shaker stick works great and I am grateful for it. He goes so fast he could hurt me if he hit me. In fact he has about bowled my feet out from under me a couple of times when I made the mistake of looking through the binoculars instead of at him. lol
Joated, corn flakes? LOL, must have made him flaky or something. We did the same walk last night...or part of it..and the little monster ran right between the boss's legs a couple of times He isn't that great on his feet yet after the accident. Guess I'll have to make another shaker stick for him.
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