A Doggone It Month!!!

In the past couple months it's been difficult to get anything accomplished on the homestead because of our dogs! First came Herbie who was attacked by coyotes and died. In a lot of ways we both are still mourning his loss. Until Thanksgiving, I'd look and call for him when I went out to do morning chores. With mini crashes of emotion, I realize he's gone. Mel hollered his name when she saw a rat without thinking a couple of times before it hit her that he wouldn't be coming. Yes, we really miss him.

Eleven-month old Kassity had her first, full fledged heat just a week before Thanksgiving. We knew it was coming. For a couple of days prior she whimpered when she moved and she laid almost underneath the wood stove. It reminded us of our bloating and cramping before our human cycles. We could definitely relate and extremely thankful those days are behind us. I've always let my dogs go through their first full heat and after that I've spayed my ladies. Her appointment with the vet for just that is in January. We were hoping it would settle her down some. She's just so active, goofy, and huge that she's hard to train.

Although we were told that she was a Pit bull mixed with German Shepherd/Labrador, we have a real suspicion that she's a pit bull/Great Dane mix. Her paws and body as she walks has a loping plop with each step. There's no fluidity of motion you expects with a German Shepherd. She's also not aware of her size. She tries to get under the dining room table without ducking her body down. She ends up knocking her head on the table more times than not.

On the two occasions she jumped onto my twin sized bed with me, it was either she or me that scrunched up or be knocked off the bed. It's my bed so she lost. She's finally learned not to even attempt it. But that doesn't stop her from trying to crawl into my lap while I'm seated on the couch. When I allow her to jump up on me, she can crook her elbows on my shoulders and she's a head taller than my 5' frame. AND, she's not fully grown yet!!

After Herbie's death, we started losing our free range chickens. First we lost Lil Sis, our gimpy New Hampshire Red hen. She was the sister to Gimpy, aka Broody, who survived a predator attack two winters ago. They were the last of  the hatchlings Mel did before I moved here. They held a special place in our hearts. The next day, Baby Girl, Black Butt's baby, went missing. I looked for these two hens all over the place to no avail. The third day was Houdini, aka Hoo-de-hoo our Buff Orpington rooster, but unlike the other two hens we found evidence in feathers and his body. He put up a heck of a fight.

Now we knew what was attacking our chickens. It wasn't a run of the mill predator. Only two animals kill for the sport of it...man and dogs. So we became diligent about listening to our birds. It wasn't hard because the hens took to the safety of the bunny/chicken hoop barn. They rarely came out to free range. Only Lil Red, our Rhode Island Red rooster, came out to forage, but roosted with his ladies at night. On that Wednesday, we heard a ruckus. Then I heard Mel yell, "NO, bad dog!"

Kassity had Lil Red pinned onto the ground with her mouth around his throat. She released him when Mel screamed at her. The next day, she did it again. This time she took off running away from Mel with the rooster in her mouth. She dropped him a couple hundred feet away. Lil Red was put in the hoop barn and was badly traumatized. He was bleeding from where Kassity's canine teeth punctured his neck and back. We left him in the barn to either recover or die. An hour later I went to do my late afternoon rounds, Lil Red was up with his ladies singing to them. He no longer free ranges, but stays with the hens. Twice was enough for him. We started looking for a new home without chickens for Kassity.

Two days later, we found a kitten with its throat tore open. We have abundance of strays around. But this was Kassity's final straw. She's got to go unless Mel trains the dickens out of her. But in my experience, once a dog kills for fun, they always will.They are better off destroyed. As much as I don't relish putting a well placed bullet in Kassity's skull, I will. Of course, Mel will have to dig the hole to bury her in.

So we are left with Nnyus. Nnyus tends to take her aggression out on Lila (the Rotti mixed female) and Shasha the white, female German Shepherd up the drive. She's always getting into spats with them. Most times she's the instigator by her going up there and egging them on. A few times, they've down down the drive to start trouble. Mind you it's not very often, but they will all come away bloody and torn. All the females are spayed, they are all older (over 10 years old) and it's only two or three times a year. Eventually, the owners would  pull them apart and treat their wounds. Other times, these females will get  along fine. Not play together, mind you, but ignore each other.

Now Nnyus is a pit bull mix also, but she doesn't show her aggressive side except to these two dogs and predators. She won't harm our rabbits (wild rabbits are a different story), or cats. She will occasionally tear up a squirrel, but usually she left the small stuff to Herbie. Squirrels have to really tease her for her to go after them.

Of course this being a Doggone-It month, she had to pick this month to pick a fight with Lila. You could almost feel sorry for her if she hadn't done it to herself. This time, except for assorted bite marks and skin tears, she actually unseated her left canine tooth. It was at a weird angle in her mouth as we wiped the blood away to survey the damage. Mel pushed it back in its socket. It'll either reseat itself or she'll lose it. The damage this time wasn't so great. She was really sore and stiff.

Her soft brown eyes had the look of "don't you feel sorry for me?" in them as she looks up from her blanket. Yes, we did, but she did it to herself so very little pity and consoling was given to her by us. We made sure she was warm and comfortable. We gave her aspirin for the pain and let her be. I did soften her dry dog food with beef broth to make it easier to eat for a few days. But, her tears and bites are healing fine. She's still protecting the property even though she's moving a bit slower than usual.

A homestead needs a dog. That's a fact. With Nnyus' health issues (hip dysplasia and heart worms), we've got to get another dog. So far, we've had no luck and we're running out of time. Dog gone it, we need a break.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo