Good dog Kodi. Good dog.

The longer we go without losing a chicken or duck to some predator, the more relaxed we become about letting the poultry free range in the yard – and beyond. It has now been quite a long time, nearly a year, since we’ve had a loss and as usual we have become quite cavalier about the threat. However, in the last week or so there have been a couple of signs that there may be danger lurking in the woods out back. We’ve told ourselves to be careful, but it is such a pleasure to see the birds rush out of their cage to the lawn and pond that we can’t resist letting them go.

We’ve had Kodi for about four months now. She’s about six years old and came to us from a shelter. She’s a real sweetheart of a dog. She has no bad habits regarding people. She is patient with children. One of her first accomplishments was to help our four year old grandson get over his fear of dogs. She gives about two barks if a stranger comes in the front gate. That is just about right as far as we are concerned. Someone gave her good training. She is very well house broken. She comes. She sits. She heels. She lies down on command. She does these, that is, as long as she wants to. If she doesn’t want to then she’s not quite so good on the commands. And alas neither is she so good with other dogs.

Kodi has just finished a six week course called Rowdy Rover at which we hoped she would learn to be more polite in the company of her own kind. At the end of the fifth week the instructor announced that she felt she had a handle on each of the dogs in the class and proceeded to go down the list saying this or that about each one. She saved Kodi for last. What she said was, “As for Kodi, I think she just doesn’t like other dogs.” We took that to mean there’s not much chance ol’ Kodi is going to learn to be good with dogs. In fact she gets after cats, squirrels, and moles as well. Happily she mostly ignores the chickens and ducks, although a couple of times she has given them, and us, a little start by making a faux pass at them.

This afternoon I was occupied in the back of our house getting ready for a new furnace that is coming next week. The poultry were free in the side yard, scratching, pecking, dust bathing or pond bathing according to their likes. Kodi was secured in the front. At a certain point I heard sustained barking and at first thought it must be Toby the dog two houses to the south. As I listened more closely the sound seemed more to be coming from in front where Kodi was. I had never heard her bark so long and steadily so I thought I’d better see what was up. Upon entering at the north end of the front yard I saw Kodi across in the southwest corner, poised in an aggressive stance, barking into a thick rhododendron about three feet in front of her. When I called her name she ignored me. I hurried to her side. Expecting to see a squirrel, I peered into the bush where all Kodi’s attention was concentrated. It took a moment, but then I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me from behind a white mask. Kodi had treed a raccoon and she wasn’t letting it go.

Cute though they be, raccoons are the principal predators of our poultry. They are also pretty tough and I wasn’t at all sure how Kodi would fare if the two actually got together. Kodi seemed to have no such reservations. After a moment’s reflection I went and chased the birds into their pen. I decided there was really no point in trying to capture or kill the raccoon. I hoped his encounter with Kodi would be enough to keep him away from here in the future. Kodi continued to ignore my calling. I went to the kitchen to get some special food that might draw her away and finally chose some cheddar cheese. When I got back to the rhody, Kodi had moved in under the shrub and was snarling and barking. I couldn’t see the coon. Finally after about ten minutes Kodi emerged from the bushes and slowly eased over to the cheese where it lay on the grass. I slipped the leash onto her collar and with many strokes of her beautiful coat I gently led her into the house.

Without Kodi would the raccoon have gotten a duck or chicken? I can’t say for sure, but they certainly have in the past. Good dog Kodi. Good dog.





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