I have been waiting and waiting for Julie to bump up this thread. I am perhaps realizing that she is more hesitant now that Phoenix is no longer such a cute puppy and now gets into a bit of trouble.
But first, here is her first bird hunting experience with her mommy. She did amazingly well but didn't have a chance to actually "get the bird" as none were shot.
Phoenix loves being in the car and does very well on the 3 hour trip over to the house in EWA. If she gets really bored, Julie opens the window a bit for her. This is what Julie refers to as letting her check out her "coyote hole."
This message was edited Mar 8, 2010 12:45 PM
But enough of the "cute" stuff. Her is Phoenix in MY front yard entertaining herself.
Oh, dear!!! :( She is a beauty
And here she is enticing my (innocent!) dog Mocha into helping her in her destruction.
And here she is this past weekend, trying to entice our other furry kids into a game of keep-away, tug-of-war.
That's one fine looking hunting dog, allright. I love that she still has her sense of humor.
She's grown into a pretty lady.
She is quite the character. Love the pictures of everyone's dogs. Poor me, no dog to call my own. Maybe we can "share" Phoenix.
I was thinking about you today, Lynn. I think Joey just needs to meet a very cool dog and then his mind will be changed without you having to ask. How do we go about making that happen?
I literally cannot imagine a life without a dog in the home . . .
OK, Lynn, you can have the hose-chewing part. Oops, she is not mine (?) to share. Just sleeps in my garage.
Magic went through $150 of hoses in his 'adolescent' summer and a good number of plastic spray attachments as well. Sighthounds aren't usually big chewers, but he was just different in that way. It took me awhile to figure it out because some just had a couple tiny tooth holes in them.
The good news is that he's past that stage now, so there's hope for you all.
If it doesn't look likely, you might try rubbing liquid soap on the outside of the hoses (that works for my cats and electrical cords) or create a spray mixture of cayenne pepper and water (maybe add something to make it stick) and spray the hoses down and see how that does.
Lynn, Phoenix would be happy to have a third Mommy. I agree with Kathy tho... you need a pup of your own. To quote my favorite saying: "Life is better in the company of dogs!"
Kathy, Thanks for the tips. It is kind of strange... she will leave a nicely rolled hose alone, but if it is kind of splayed out.... or heaven forbid a part of it is in the air... it's fair game. I am hoping that she grows out of this stage soon! It's kind of ironic, because when Mom's shorthairs were pups, it was MY hoses that they chewed.... soaker hoses throughout the garden chewed in several pieces.
Phoenix is a wonderful dog, but in her "teenage" years she is a bit of a handful (as you can see from Mom's front yard). She has an amazing amount of energy, and gets bored easily, and it's these times of boredom that she gets in the most trouble.
She is a wonderful gardening companion (if you ignore the misplaced feet and the swinging tail) and spends her time entertaining herself in whatever area of the yard I am working in. One of her new favorite past times is chasing water bugs. I don't think that she has managed to catch one yet, but when I am working by the big pond, she spends lots of time sticking her muzzle in and blowing bubbles.....
That is so cute. Our first poodle used to love to stick her nose in the water. She would stay under longer than one would think possible.
Was waiting for a tread to pop up, so I didn't have to start one just to say Hi to all of you. And I got a message that I was missed.
Phoenix is a beauty.
I just wanted you all to know I am fine. With all the things going on, I could not keep up with you on the treads and found a place to play other than type LOL "Sorry" I have not forgot you all, think about you all alot. The real funny thing was, I was going to check in then I got a email about a Dmail and there was Phoenix. LOL
Also during all this, which I feel bad that I did not let you all know about (maybe I have been hiding from myself that I'm getting old)
I am a New Great Great Grand Ma. O' MY
Stori Ann was born on the 21st of Dec.
Hugs to all
Very happy to hear from you Tills. Beautiful baby. Don't worry about getting great-grandkids, we have 14. It doesn't hurt a bit. Here's our Audrey and Evan.
I guess after the frist it gets better LOL
Thank Willow
Don't worry about getting great-grandkids, we have 14. It doesn't hurt a bit.
Congrats, Mary. Good to see you here.
Patricia - you have 14 GREAT grand kids? That's a bunch.
Julie, Magic chases bugs, as well. I don't know what he'd do if they were water bugs. But it's such a hoot to watch until they start stepping on your stuff . . . IMHO, the adolescent years are the hardest. Just like with humans. They think they know best, the hormones are raging, they don't hear you, they don't know how they fit in, their bodies are bigger and they don't are their parts under control. Every time you go to love them they step on your foot or knock something over or jump up and bang you in the nose.
And then, just as suddenly as the adolescent showed up, he/she disappears and you can start to see and enjoy that sweet puppy again . . .
Mary!! Good to hear from you. What a beautiful baby! You are so lucky to have her.
Yours are cute too, Willow, looking happy and content with their stuffed animals.
I don't know anything about dog teenage-ness, but have plenty of recent experience with the human teenage conflict between the need for independence and still wanting the safe haven of home at one and the same time. I had my dog from the middle age up to the old-age years. We didn't know exactly, but the vet guessed him to be either 16 or 17 by the time he left us. One of my favorite memories is of him spotting a deer 500 feet away and absolutely thundering after it, running full-tilt across the field, to dramatic effect and very effectively protecting his home area from deer ravaging.
This message was edited Mar 8, 2010 9:26 PM
LOL, Holly. I think that, as far as they're concerned, the deer are carnivores with fangs.
Holly, I think that dog teenageness and human teenageness are very similar, but fortunately for those of us who only have dogs, the drama is over in a much shorter period of time!
Isn't it a proud moment when your pup "protects" you and yours from the terrifying deer? I think that Kathy is right in her evaluation of their thinking. The first hunting trip we went on, guess what Phoenix pointed for Momma? A big buck! When it decided to bolt, she went tearing off after it and I heard Phoenix barking after it for what seemed like forever. We were in the deep brush, so I was very concerned that she would not find her way back, but eventually she did and had a "did you see what I did" grin on her face as well. If she keeps the darn things out of my garden, I am pretty proud of her!
The stuffed toys belong to my dogs. The kids were here for a visit on the 28th of Feb. Here's my DH, GD Coralee(their mom), GD Tammy(who has four kids), and their dad, Mike.
This message was edited Mar 9, 2010 11:02 AM
I love that satisfied "did you see what I did" expression after deer chasing exploits.
Nice looking gang there, Patricia.
Nice pic, Willow
Thanks all..
Rarejem, You said something about them "protecting" us!!! have a funny for you.
Last week sitting at my puter, I heard this god awful noise. Sounded like a bunch of kids screaming and running down the road. I went to the door to look out. HD says it was a pack of coyotes. I opened the door and Tyler runs out into the drive. (Now mind you he is only 35lbs and not 18" high) and ready to go get them, I call him back.
The real funny part Is my Ester (a 97lb black lab) did not go out. She sat down right behind me and did not move.
No who was protecting who>>>>>> Love it
Wow, so glad he came back when you called. Glad you are back and hope you stay.
Tilly, Aren't the coyote noises just eerie? Your story cracks me up, but I also am really glad that Tyler came back when you called. Coyotes are a terror when they pack hunt, and even big dogs don't stand much of a chance if they get ganged up on.
It is funny who chooses to guard and who chooses to be guarded.... All of our pups are on the guarding side for the most part. Usually, they will all bark and chase when they feel that something is threatening their people. On the other hand, when it is something BIG... ie. bear or cougar... they still bark and growl... but dispense with the chase scenerio. If I am out working in the yard and they start to make a fuss but don't tear off after what they are smelling/hearing and instead they bark/growl from behind Mom, I know that it is time to go inside.....
That nose they have is priceless; if only they could communicate to us what it is they're smelling. Oh, to be able to know ahead of time what you're up against.
You all know that I'm not much for killing things unless there's a really good reason, but I have to marvel at how many Silkens retain their Borzoi ancestry and are able to course and bring down wolf and coyotes. When the coyote came under the fence and into the yard and killed my cat Willow, I thought Bug would go through the front window trying to get at him/her. And part of me was so tempted to let him have a go at it. OTH, sight hounds often get hit by cars while on the chase as they're not paying attention to anything else. Live to fight again another day.
Julie, I hope you don't have many of those moments when the dogs growl behind you and you have to go back into the house. Yikes!
After I got Tyler back in and close the door, I ran to the bedroom to do a head count on the kitties all but one was there, real worried now. Tilly was missing, I opened the back door and started calling for her. HD yells!!! She is on her way just ran across the front lawn. A sign of relief as she flys into the house with a real worried look. They haven't gone out for days.
I have no problem shooting one if I have to, and I have a gun handy if needed. I will shoot over their heads to get them to go away if they get to close for comfort. I hate them lost to many of my babies to them, funny never on the road.
Phoenix is too cute! Neat to see Phoenix growing up.
Here's my new garden helper, Daisy originally from Mt. Vernon, WA.
Kathy, I can just imagine Bug going crazy trying to get at the intruder, but I'm glad that he didn't get the chance. I know that my dogs would fight tooth and nail for me, but I have also had first hand experience seeing what happens if they take on more than they can handle, and patching up your baby (or heaven forbid worse...) is a horrible thing to have to go through. Fortunately, there are very few times that we have the bark/growl behind Mom happen, but I have seen first hand what is usually out there when they do that and I am a believer.
Tills, Glad that all the kitties were safe too. My DB who lives below me had the same experience as Kathy with watching the coyotes get their cat. Unfortunately, his young children saw it as well. As much as I love all animals, I am with you in protecting what I love, and if it was one of my furries or a coyote.... bye bye coyote....
Growin, Daisy is beautiful! And I just love the "watcha doin?" expression on her face! It would be wonderful if they could speak to us, but sometimes the facial expressions are worth more than words.
Mary, I'm glad Tilly was okay. That must have been scary.
Mike, great picture of Daisy. How's she doing? Helping you in the garden? LOL
Fortunately we don't have any packs of coyotes around here, just a single or a pair of wild dogs or coyotes. Unfortunately, because it's quasi residential, they've learned to adapt and just aren't that afraid of us. Of course I live on a greenbelt, so I may see more than most. On the OTH, I'd take coyote or bear any day over a cougar like they have on the plateau . . .
Growin - is Daisy part Ridgeback?
Kathy - we have all 3 near me. Another good reason for a fence. And the Cougar I saw last year was too big for a dog to mess with. I know they used Ridgebacks to flush the larger cats up in Skagit county, but that Cougar was huge. I would bet thar Ruby would not back down - she elevates to Guardian of All in a split second. Wonder how a Coyote pack responds to a cougar?
rarejem
I love the growing up pictures of the newest addition to your family.
I especially love the older dog Lexy, what a sweetie too. How old is Lexy?
I just lost my heart collie and her daughter last February, but I still have my memories and another daughter and her 3 kids.
Life is grand when there are four legged ones with ya.
Janet
Katye - Daisy definitely has Ridgeback in her. The pic above was in response to, "Hungry?" I got her on Craigslist for free and was supposedly spayed and pure Ridgeback without a ridge, so she's a "back". She's not spayed, as I recently found out, and she has an odd black tuft of hair on the end of her tail with braiding up close to the body. She's very feminine and about 65lbs so quite different from my dear Astro who was registered and 125lbs. We're still getting to know one another and I was told she had atleast 3 previous owners in her supposed 1 year. It'd be fun to see Phoenix & Daisy do a run-around in a garden. So far she's only chased a raccoon in the front yard. I'm expecting her to get in trouble when the weather warms up.
Yeah, Kate. It's probably good to have a Ridgeback when there are Cougar around. I always look for them when driving out to your place. We had a sighting of one here last year, but it's generally not to frequent.
I think that Daisy is Ridgeback. I think Mike's a big Ridgeback lover - he lost his his heart dog last year.
MW - so sorry about you losing your pup. I am finding, though, that I have had my heart stolen in so many different ways by so many different dogs. They each have their charms, don't they? And thank goodness for that.
Katye, We learned after a dog/cougar encounter on our hill why the use certain dogs to flush/hunt the cats. Dogs that bay as they chase will keep a cat on the run and allow hunters/trappers to follow. Breeds that chase silently (like my dobies did) will cause the cat to turn and challenge it's hunters. My dobes were both large and strong, and both came home cut to the bone in several places... one came within a half inch of losing his eye. It was a learning experience, and let me tell you.... my babies are protected now if I feel that there is a true danger...whether they like it or not.
Meadowyck, I feel for your loss. I actually lost Miss Lexy last summer...she was around 16 (I got her "used" so never knew exactly", and I still miss her terribly. The love that they share while they are with you definitely counteracts the pain when they leave you.
Growin, Sounds like you may have your hands full this summer, but after losing a furry, there is nothing that is a better balm than getting to know/love another. I bet Daisy and Phoenix would have a heyday tearing around together!
Kathy, You are right... they each have their charms (and downsides...). I am amazed at the different personalities, and love each of my furries in a different way.
Rarejem,
after seeing how that your thread was started last year and the age of your sweet Lexy I wondered. Sorry to hear she has crossed the rainbow bridge, but you are so right the love that we are bless with from them, helps when the pain of their loss overwhelms us at time.... gotta stop as tears are keeping me from seeing the screen. My sweet Acacia was everything to me.
I hope you will continue to post pictures as it is so enjoyable to see what your crew are up to.
Janet
Julie - that is very interesting about the cougar-hunting dogs. I wonder how that compares to the big cat hunting Rhodesians do in Africa. I have a very Disney-esque desire to see the lion lay down with the lamb, as it were, but I'm awed and impressed by how Mother Nature selects have learned to mimic that.
Janet, please post pictures of Acacia. I'd love to be able to picture the beloved dogs you're talking about. I feel for our ancestors, who didn't have the option of going back to look at pictures of their loved ones who had passed.
Here are two of mine. Silken Windhounds - sighthounds - DEFINITELY the silent hunter-type:
