Well, that's not always true. We have 4 dogs (mentioned before in other blogs), two of which are fairly new additions. The two older dogs, Cocoa and Nod, are fairly quiet at night. However, the new comers are hell bent to alert us to anything and everything - that is, if they feel like it.
Lucy and Desi (brother and sister) like to announce when a coconut or mango drops, a tree branch breaks, a boat has/is/will be going by (no matter how far away). They announce the presence of wandering crabs, cows and or horses which occasionally wander onto our property - especially at night. The cows and horses are their favorite "playmates."
When cows or horses enter the dog's domain, they are instantly on alert and begin actively chasing and barking no matter what the hour of day or night. Generally they chase the intruders in the wrong direction - up the hill and to the back of the property where they have no exit due to the barbed wire fence surrounding our lot. The only escape route is back to the beach from wench they came, out into the sea to swim around the fence on either side of our property line and back to their own pastures.
Of course, the invaders usually come at night and the dogs go wild. All this barking, mooing and snickering and neighing wakes us up and disturbs our tranquility! Now, once the dogs have chased the offending animals all around our property, they return to the porch to rest. The horses and/or cows return and graze all around the house while the dogs snooze! It would not be so bad except they graze on my ornamental plants, deposit fertilizer in pathways and run over newly planted plants.
As you see in this photo, there are horses under my clothes line (thankfully there were no clothes hanging up) but not one dog in sight. Yes, while the dogs have disturbed our evening sleep pattern with their carrying on, they are now resting up on the porch. If I get up and run out and start to chase the horses, the dogs immediately react, decide they are no longer tired and give chase!
I wish we could convince the neighbor's workers to keep their fences repaired and gates closed so these animals do not wander over to our yard. But in all the years we've been here - that ain't gonna happen. I love horses, don't get me wrong. Just don't want them in my yard trampling my hard work with landscaping nor stepping in their "deposits", plus I really like to sleep straight through the night. Now, in Paradise, is that too much to ask?
Hi Sharon:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog about the night invasions and barking dogs.
Next time they invade during the day, just hop on and ride em back where they belong.
Love ya,
Linda