The pond dig has begun!

[CountryEscape]

My sister used to have a wallaby. He got on top of their pool cover (they lived in AZ at the time) and drowned before she realized what happened to him ... just minutes. She was devastated. They do require warm temps ... hope they find it soon!

 

[j.w]

I wonder how high they can jump cuz when I was out today looking for her I wondered if she can jump over horse fences of barbed wire that are maybe 3 or 4 ft high? Someone spotted her foot prints down by the river a few days ago. Showed her big feet and the mark of the tail in the sand.

 

[callingcolleen1]

The red fox is very beautiful and the coyote can be nice to look at in it's natural habitat and they too serve a purpose on this cruel world of eat or be eaten!

But I am not going lie, after my sweet Poppy was attacked, I was very mad, and when I heard that some hunter (people were mad in Redcliff area cause too many dogs went missing) and picked them off, I was happy to see them gone.... but now just a few years later and a new pack of coyotes have moved in.

 

[CountryEscape]

Don't get me wrong, I know there are coyotes that have attacked dogs on chains in yards, trying to get to their food bowls. My former FIL had one that was almost killed on his own property! There have also been packs of wild dogs that end up surviving and they can be extremely mean and gritty, too. It's mean to dump dogs off, especially litters of pups,l as if they survive, they learn to kill to keep on surviving ...

 

[j.w]

I have always felt so sorry for dogs on chains. Would much rather see them in a big fenced yard so they can at least run around free in there. Would be horrible to be chained all your life. A tall fence would keep a coyote out. A chain will not and makes the dog a sitting duck. We need to make sure our pets are safe when they are outdoors and size does matter. The smaller the dog the more likely it will become food for a wild animal. Even a big dog can be attacked and if we let them out w/o precautions to protect them then it is on us what happens to them. We take our chances. Now if I'm out walking my dog or we are out in our yard and a coyote comes lunging at us I would do everything in my power to keep that coyote away from us. I just think we should be out there w/our pets if there is a danger they could be hurt by something. I know some are in the country and it is legal for you to let your dogs run free and it is up to you whether you allow them out alone. Some may be able to fight off invaders but some may not. Just saying we take our chances. Cars too are not our pets friends and we are not allowed to kill people who drive cars if they hit our pets.
My hubby hit a dog once that came running out of the woods and right in front of his car. The lady came running out and said " but he was just a puppy!" She was mad cuz he hit her dog. What the heck? He said he was sorry and did not go into how she should have kept him home if she wanted him to live. Figured maybe she might learn by this terrible accident and kept his mouth shut.

 

[CountryEscape]

All you have said is true, JW. I once had a 9 month old Boston pup I was raising get hit and killed right in front of my house by a truck pulling anhydrous ammonia tanks. I was the only one at fault there. I felt sooooo bad ... not only for the pup, but for the guy that hit him. he didn't even know he ran him over until he turned around and came back after unhooking the tanks. I was sitting on the edge of the road holding my pup and crying my eyes out. My son was here, too. I was embarrassed about crying and moved to the side of the house when I saw the guy coming back. My son went out to tell the guy it was not his fault, and that I didn't blame him. He felt really bad, said he thought the pup was going to stay on the other side of the road. And, the pup did, until the truck went by, but tried to run between the truck and tanks. Such is life of a dog that does not understand vehicles. I had Golden Retrievers that went on walks with me all the time when they were young. They learned to get to the side of the road and in the ditch when a car came by, and as they got older, they ALWAYS did that if they were out by the road. I never worried about them getting hit by cars. Yes, I let my dogs run free, and yes, two of them run off and go gallavanting around the neighborhood (5 mile radius LOL), but that's my choice. They are happy, the neighbors are not complaining so they are not causing problems, and the dogs are happy doing what dogs do ... hunting and roaming. My dogs are fixed, so there won't be any unexpected puppies from them, but the dog they run with is still a male. My Bostons are not allowed to go out of the yard. Once in a great while they will go to the next neighbor to play with their dog, but ever since my female attacked little Dot, I have not allowed her to go "visiting" anymore.
IMO, a dog in a small kennel run (I see them all the time that are 5' wide by maybe 10-15' long) is just as hindered as a dog on a chain. Agree, no dog should be chained out. I have a kennel for my dogs, but my dogs are small, and have an open 15x10 area to run around in. Joe, my BF, has a huge lab and her pen is 10x10 with a large dog house in the middle of it. I just HATE to see dogs in kennels that run in circles all day long. She is a high energy dog, and that's cruel if you ask me. I see bird dogs the same way, also high energy dogs. I guess it's better than being chained up, but just a little. His lab always smells like urine and poop. No wonder, she is running around in it all day long. Most dogs in kennels cannot get away from their messes, so they don't really care where they go potty. And, Joe wonders why she smells all the time. He washes off the kennel concrete a couple of times a month or so, but that just puts all that smelly stuff in the grass right next to the kennel. PU! I've told him there is no way for it to smell good around the kennel unless he scoops up the poop and disposes of it, but he doesn't think it's that bad.
OK, off my soap box! LOL

 

[addy1]

Maybe you should keep his lab...............

A lot of people put little dogs like ours in kennels all day while they are work. They say the dog does not mind, yeah right. Ours gets free run of the house. We did have a play pen for her when she was a pup for when we had to leave her alone, for her safety, now she has the run of the house all of the time.

 

[CountryEscape]

His lab would be in my ponds 24/7. LOL She LOVES water, and he lives on a lake. He takes her out daily, or at least I think he does.
My Bostons are crated during the day when I am gone. They could not be left in the house for free run, they would tear things up, and go potty. This works for me. And, I always thought dogs didn't like crates until I started using them. Denali goes in her crate 80% of the time she is "out". Quincy is running around most of the time he is out, lots of energy. The pup has a small pen in the utility room, so she has room to play, and potty pads and her bed and toys and food. The male is starting to pee wherever he smells the females, even if they have not pottied in that area. Pretty sure he will be moved to the kennel full time this spring. Not sure how to cure him of doing that, since he will be left full male. Ho hum .... The kennel will be AC and heated, so he will be happy, and he will be let out to run morning and evening, and brought in the house to socialize as much as he is now, so only difference is he will have more "bedtime" room to play.

 

[j.w]

That's pretty sad about Joe's dog. Too bad there's not a way for Joe to build a fenced area so the dog has more room to run or use an invisible fence. I have one for my cats and it works great. They have a whole acre to prowl. Big dogs need a large area to run daily. You can use an invisible fence around a pond to keep dogs out too. As long as they have that collar on they won't go in the pond. When I'm on my long walks each day I see dogs kept in kennels all day long. All they do is bark and jump and run back and forth. They want to be w/us and they would do anything for us. I know they don't want to be in that kennel all day long. CE your pup gets to come out and be w/you and gets to run and play for scheduled times and even gets to come into the house. He just sleeps mainly out there at night and while you are at work. Too bad he has that peeing problem. Don't know how to fix that one but someone may have some ideas somewhere.

 

[CountryEscape]

The kennel area I have has a 10x15 area and another 10x12 area. No, it's not big enough for serious running, but since my dogs will be allowed out of the pen at least twice daily, and longer periods on the weekends, they will be fine. Joe's dog is obsessed with water. He lives on a lake, it's over 100 acres. So, he would have to put the invisible fence before the lake, and then would have to really work to train her not to go through the fence into the water. She will bring back any toy for you 100 times for you to toss it for her. More energy than any normal dog, that's for sure. She is about 9 years old now. Sweet dog, only barks when we first get there. I just hate to see a big dog circle a pen like that. They need to run full out. When I got Quincy, he was surprised he could run, and once he figured he could run and run, that's exactly what he did, and still does. I can't imagine him never being out of a small kennel and run. Yep, I agree, that's cruelty to animals, but I guess it's better than on a chain with no dog house!

 

[sissy]

My dogs have always had free run of my house .Never penned a dog and I had bigger dogs .Since I worked so close to home I would come home lunch time and let them out .If my sons or hubby was home I never had to worry .I have left king arthur and the chi's in the house for 5 or 6 hours and no mess and no potty in the house yet .There back yard is fenced so when they go out I watch them and I keep it lighted with LED lights for there night potty breaks .The lights stay on dusk to dawn

 

[addy1]

Our little one gets multiple walks a day,yard (sniffing, hunting walk), also a 3-4 mile walk, neighborhood, every day, ow she drives us crazy with energy.

 

[MitchM]

I have always felt so sorry for dogs on chains. Would much rather see them in a big fenced yard so they can at least run around free in there. Would be horrible to be chained all your life. A tall fence would keep a coyote out. A chain will not and makes the dog a sitting duck. We need to make sure our pets are safe when they are outdoors and size does matter. The smaller the dog the more likely it will become food for a wild animal. Even a big dog can be attacked and if we let them out w/o precautions to protect them then it is on us what happens to them. We take our chances. Now if I'm out walking my dog or we are out in our yard and a coyote comes lunging at us I would do everything in my power to keep that coyote away from us. I just think we should be out there w/our pets if there is a danger they could be hurt by something. I know some are in the country and it is legal for you to let your dogs run free and it is up to you whether you allow them out alone. Some may be able to fight off invaders but some may not. Just saying we take our chances. Cars too are not our pets friends and we are not allowed to kill people who drive cars if they hit our pets.
My hubby hit a dog once that came running out of the woods and right in front of his car. The lady came running out and said " but he was just a puppy!" She was mad cuz he hit her dog. What the heck? He said he was sorry and did not go into how she should have kept him home if she wanted him to live. Figured maybe she might learn by this terrible accident and kept his mouth shut.

So true, jw.

When we lost one of our dogs to a cougar, neither my wife nor I felt any animosity towards it. It was my fault entirely for letting our domesticated animals out to run free.
We have a dog door that lets our dogs out to a 20 x 20 gravel pen so they can go out and relieve themselves, bark at noises, smell an interesting smell, or cool themselves off. Sometimes the door will stick open from ice when it's really cold outside, but otherwise the dog door is the best thing I could have put in for them.
With my work I'm home 24/7 except for maybe 1 day a month when I go into town and I think that really calms the dogs down.
We live at the end of a remote dead end road, so they don't really know about vehicles, other than in the driveway.

 

[CountryEscape]

The road I live on now is 3 houses. Pretty much know when every vehicle will come down this road during the week, since we all work or the kids go to school. On the weekends and during farming seasons that all changes, so I have to be more careful. Smokey, my beagle, chases cars. I know that's a terrible habit, but he came with the habit. Yukon learned from Smokey, but Yukon runs in the ditch, I call it racing the cars, instead of chasing. He just likes to run fast, and cars give him competition, since he is really fast. LOL The neighbor past me that moved there over a year ago have a house dog rat or fox terrier, and their other 2 dogs are pit bulls, and those dogs don't welcome any other dog into their yard, which I like! Keeps my dogs out of their yard. The Bostons are outside when I am out there with them. You would think that since Denali is 4, I could leave her in the house loose all day, but nope, can't do that. She ALWAYS will pee and/or poop while I am gone. Never does in her crate. I live too far from work to come home on lunch hour to relieve them, so that's why I use the crates. It would take my whole lunch hour EVERY DAY, not to mention the cost in gas, to not have to crate them. Quincy is still learning to be a house dog, but he's just 6 months old. So, once the weather warms up, instead of crating them during the day, they will be out in the kennel pens. Then they can run inside and outside and have room to play. Next winter, my plan is to have the kennel shed insulated this summer, and then running a heater out there for them. I also have a small AC unit I bought but have never yet installed, so can use that during really hot spells in the summer. They will have it made! Still will bring them inside evenings and mornings for my social time with them.

 

[sissy]

Some of the people here just leave there pets out all the time to run the neighborhood and it causes real problems .Some have electric fences .The ones next door are the worst ,dog is skinny not fed and left loose all the time and has a card board box as a house under the deck .He chases cars and destroys my gardens and has gotten into my waterfall area of my pond and was all muddy and dirty and pond was a mess .I always have to chase him .He got in my basement when i left the door open last summer while i made lunch for hubby and ripped up a filter for my pond and quilt batting in the bag yet .Every once in awhile my 1 neighbors collie runs through the electric fence but she does not bother any thing and I just yell Lady go home and she goes home with her head down .She knows she is bad .When I take king for a walk I always take here a biscuit i throw to her .Asked owners first if it was alright .I guess she figures if she is bad no more biscuits .She loves the veggie kind .