Robin's Outdoors

Four feet and drool. That’s what my evenings have become. Ava and Scooter have a lot of pent up energy from not being outside enough. Ava brings me the tennis balls and we play. We play until Scooter is bored and Ava is tired and drooling.

Ava’s doing well. She’s still timid with new people. She knows who likes her and who doesn’t almost immediately. In a previous life she had to have been a mountain goat. I caught her on the verge of climbing the long tunnel while I was pulling snow down Saturday. She was doing her fox hop thing (the way a fox hops/pounces on mice in a field) up the snow bank against the tunnel. I turned to see what she was doing just before she got to the top of the bank. She doesn’t do it when the tunnels are clear, only when they’re snowy. I wish I knew what she’s thinking.

We had Ava spayed two weeks ago. Surgery went well but healing has been delayed because she’s such a busy body. She was supposed to stay on a leash but Steve forgot to put the leash in the Jeep. I didn’t know it until I was at the vet’s office. I hoped she would go from the Jeep to the house (hahahaha) but of course, that didn’t happen. She went to the barn to see her ducks. Another morning she howled at the door because I left her in. When Steve opened the door she slipped by him and dashed to the barn to see her ducks. I was on my way to the hen house by then so she left the barn and ran down the path to me. She’s not going to stay put unless she’s sleeping or watching tv. She’s done a few things since then that make me kind of sad that she’s not passing her great genes on to pups, but it’s for the best. We’ve had two litters totaling 18 puppies and had a great time with them, but I don’t want the responsibility again. Spaying was the right choice.

The fence around the duck pen has two low points from me leaning over to get their pool. We have enough snow now to cover the low points. The ducks take advantage of the opportunity to roam the snow-covered garden and check out the edge of the woods. The exercise is good for them and the dogs are out to keep them safe. A few days ago I wanted the ducks in the barn. I took Ava out back, told her to bring the ducks in and left her to figure it out on her own. I know a lot of herding dogs are trained to specific commands but I just don’t have the patience for formal training. “Bring the ducks in” works for me. She went over the fence, to the ducks, gathered them into a small group, circled behind them and tried to lead them back to the barn. When she looked behind her she realized they hadn’t followed her. She went over the fence, to the ducks, gathered them into a small group, circled behind them and tried to lead them back to the barn. Again, they didn’t follow her. She went over the fence, to the ducks, gathered them into a small group, circled them until she was behind them again, and herded them to the fence. They missed the low spot and waddled off into the woods.

On the fourth try, Ava gathered the ducks, stayed behind them and herded them into the pen and the barn. Once the door was closed I praised her and made a big fuss about her. She’s a seven month old high-energy pup that doesn’t have great recall yet. It took a lot of faith to stay out of sight, be quiet and let her do her own thing. Like every other working dog I’ve had, we’re learning together. Dogs are individuals, not cookie cut or molded. As long as they do a job well I don’t care how they do it.

Scooter is the dominant dog for now. He pushed ahead of Maggie. Ava has started asserting herself with Scooter and Seb. She snapped and growled at Seb when she thought he was getting a mouse she wanted. (There wasn’t a mouse.) He couldn’t care less about being the boss. She growled a slight warning at Scooter and pushed him out of the way over the weekend. A week ago she wouldn’t have gone after the tennis ball if it landed between Scooter and the wall. She pays attention to his growl and goes for the ball now. I won’t let them fight but I am letting them work this out on their own. Their encounters last a second or two, nothing serious. Bo was tested by Maggie, Maggie by Scooter and now Scooter by Ava. It’s the way it goes in the canine world…and my living room.