GOTTA LOVE URBAN DEER

   

 I live in a small house with my three little dogs, Frodo, Ginger and Eowynn {A-o-wyn}. Most of the time they are great companions. At times they can be annoying, of course. Often it is like having children around.

    I swear, Frodo can tell time. I started taking the dogs for a walk around, or after supper time. It is only a 20 minute walk at the best, but that is more than has been recommended for Frodo’s back not to be strained (he has twice blown a disc). He knows when it is time. He starts whining at me and won’t let up until I get ready and take them out.

    Yesterday it was cold and when we got to the park at the other end of my street, we started into it. This park has a flock of about 80 mallard ducks that winter there. This year there are even more at times. The original group has been breeding and not taught their young to fly south, so the flock has grown. The dogs never bother them. They are leashed and I have taught them to just keep going and not pay attention. I don’t even have to correct them with a tug most of the time.

    However, earlier in the day I had seen 11 or 12 deer go past my house in the direction of the park and yes, there they were at the other end of the park. I have gone past deer with the dogs before and they have behaved much like they have been taught to with the ducks, not paying any attention to them. It can be a little scary though. The deer have attacked the dogs in our yard when I let the dogs out without checking and they felt threatened. I was afraid that the deer may attack even if the dogs didn’t bother them. It is a large group and there is only about 30 feet between the fence and the creek with a path in the middle.

    One of the does had triplets this year, and they were part of the herd, along with a couple of others that were also this year’s early fawns. I thought that the older does might feel a need to defend these younger ones, and several of them were heading directly for us. I turned around and returned home.

    It was a significantly shorter walk than usual, but Frodo was satisfied and settled down once again. As long as he gets put on the leash and is taken out of the yard, he is satisfied.