TONGUE IN CHEEK
Dakota belongs to a catch and release program. I discovered this yesterday. My husband took him out and while he was sniffing around the yard, my husband went to the garden to pick some tomatoes. When he turned around, there sat Dakota, proudly holding a gopher in his mouth. My husband, not being a dog expert on anything, of course, yelled for me. In the meantime Dakota thought it would be nice to bring the creature to show mom.
I learned years ago when my darling Springer used to pride herself in catching rabbits, that she was not about to drop her catch of the day when asked to. Dakota was not about to part with his new found friend. I went for a treat, hoping that might entice him to respond to my continued commands. Nope, that didn't work. He was not happy that I was not happy. Somehow my husband managed to get it out of his mouth and took it to the side yard where he dropped it and planned on getting rid of it later. Much to his surprise, the gopher ran off into the sunset.
Nature obviously trains little creatures to play "dead" when caught by a larger animal. Goldens, unlike my Springer, have a soft mouth and Dakota being Dakota wouldn't hurt anything. Last summer we went through a family of shrews under our new tree. They were not so lucky.
I was sure Goldie Gopher would not return. WRONG! This morning's routine was the same as always. I let Dakota out when we came downstairs and set about making coffee and getting Dakota's bowl for his breakfast. I was surprised that he hadn't come back into the house. I usually leave the door open for him. That part of the routine will have to change. I went to the back door and saw the "Golden Hunter" proudly sitting out in the yard with the obviously stupid gopher in his mouth. I quickly closed the screen door behind me and went out on the deck as Dakota came loping up to me with his newly acquired friend. Luckily I had put a treat by the back door and grabbed it on my way out. However, no amount of praise, coaxing, or pressure would make him drop the gopher. I left him sitting on the deck and dashed into the house, making sure to close the screen behind me, and called for my husband. I have never had a problem with snakes, spiders, and cockroaches. I even got used to geckos in the Pacific but gophers are not on my list.
When I was growing up and we'd spend the summer at our cabin that was inundated with gophers, my father routinely would push a hose down one hole, with my cousin standing at the other end. Gophers have two holes to their homes with a pile of dirt at each hole. My cousin would hold a bat high over his head and when the drenched gopher would appear - well, you know the rest of the story.
By the time my husband got downstairs Dakota was wandering around the yard continuing his morning sniffing. He must have dropped the gopher as we could not find him. So, I have a Golden Retriever with a soft mouth that hunts small game creatures. It wouldn't have been my first choice. However, neither my husband or I are hunters, so we will accept small critters as the game of choice for Dakota. In thinking about it, gophers are better than bunny rabbits even though we have enough of them around the yard and garden this year to start farm. Dakota doesn't seem to mind them and lazily chases them off if he's so inclined.
As I sat with him on the deck before dinner I wondered if he was born in Dakota and if he ever went hunting for those Prairie Dogs. I guess he's just tired of fetching his toys and wants to diversify. What a boy.
I learned years ago when my darling Springer used to pride herself in catching rabbits, that she was not about to drop her catch of the day when asked to. Dakota was not about to part with his new found friend. I went for a treat, hoping that might entice him to respond to my continued commands. Nope, that didn't work. He was not happy that I was not happy. Somehow my husband managed to get it out of his mouth and took it to the side yard where he dropped it and planned on getting rid of it later. Much to his surprise, the gopher ran off into the sunset.
Nature obviously trains little creatures to play "dead" when caught by a larger animal. Goldens, unlike my Springer, have a soft mouth and Dakota being Dakota wouldn't hurt anything. Last summer we went through a family of shrews under our new tree. They were not so lucky.
I was sure Goldie Gopher would not return. WRONG! This morning's routine was the same as always. I let Dakota out when we came downstairs and set about making coffee and getting Dakota's bowl for his breakfast. I was surprised that he hadn't come back into the house. I usually leave the door open for him. That part of the routine will have to change. I went to the back door and saw the "Golden Hunter" proudly sitting out in the yard with the obviously stupid gopher in his mouth. I quickly closed the screen door behind me and went out on the deck as Dakota came loping up to me with his newly acquired friend. Luckily I had put a treat by the back door and grabbed it on my way out. However, no amount of praise, coaxing, or pressure would make him drop the gopher. I left him sitting on the deck and dashed into the house, making sure to close the screen behind me, and called for my husband. I have never had a problem with snakes, spiders, and cockroaches. I even got used to geckos in the Pacific but gophers are not on my list.
When I was growing up and we'd spend the summer at our cabin that was inundated with gophers, my father routinely would push a hose down one hole, with my cousin standing at the other end. Gophers have two holes to their homes with a pile of dirt at each hole. My cousin would hold a bat high over his head and when the drenched gopher would appear - well, you know the rest of the story.
By the time my husband got downstairs Dakota was wandering around the yard continuing his morning sniffing. He must have dropped the gopher as we could not find him. So, I have a Golden Retriever with a soft mouth that hunts small game creatures. It wouldn't have been my first choice. However, neither my husband or I are hunters, so we will accept small critters as the game of choice for Dakota. In thinking about it, gophers are better than bunny rabbits even though we have enough of them around the yard and garden this year to start farm. Dakota doesn't seem to mind them and lazily chases them off if he's so inclined.
As I sat with him on the deck before dinner I wondered if he was born in Dakota and if he ever went hunting for those Prairie Dogs. I guess he's just tired of fetching his toys and wants to diversify. What a boy.
posted by Katie | 9:46 AM
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