PUPPY WEEKEND

It's been almost a month since I last posted. That wouldn't matter except that it indicates my lack of tracking practice. Bad me!

Fun weekend: Surprise! I met a man not far from my home who has puppies. He called them English Sheepdog. Knowing that people don't always name dog breeds the way CKC and AKC do, I thought there might be a chance that they were English Shepherds. Well ... guess what? They weren't either! I'd call them Bearded Collies.

Anyway, after seeing the pups and talking about them, I decided to take one home to see if he would be any use as a rodent killer. (Saturday)

While Terri played fetch with her Kong, he walked politely behind me and flopped down whenever I stopped. This is ultra lazy to me. After Terri & I played for some time, I took her inside and did a hunting test.

He didn't pay much attention to the mole tunnels & entrance holes. He did trot along behind me very nicely when I walked to a hidden entrance to the field behind. Lots of holes and tunnels above ground and under the grass. There must be field mice there, at least. He was attentive to those holes but didn't find anything.

You might think I'd set out traps in the tunnels in my yard. A dog would also get rid of rats and mice that come into my yard. (You can see where this is going ... a good excuse for another dog!)

On Sunday, after the puppy had had a good long sleep, I took him to hunt again. The one hour walk/hunt test through the fields and near holes & tunnels in my yard produced nothing. He was amazed at the 3 mares in the next field but didn't approach them.

His owner had phoned while we were outside so I returned the call and took him home. I told Claude that the pup would be a wonderful addition for a family that doesn't want a fast, noisy, destructive dog like a Belgian Shepherd. I hope a very nice family is found for him -- he's a real sweetheart.