Maybe You CAN Teach An Old Dog New Tricks!

About 1am last night I was woken by the dog yard and Guardian Dogs on full alert. There is no mistaking that noise from an evening howl and anything similar. Once someone with multiple dogs with high prey drive has heard it, your feet are out of bed and moving before you have even properly woken up.

I flicked on the porch lights to a HORRIBLE sight - a porcupine walking in front of the house with 2 massive Guardian Dogs a half a step behind him. I hollered for Mark as I threw clothes on and grabbed a headlamp.

Five years ago Cricket had a run in with a porcupine. It ended badly for all - with a dead porcupine and an ugly quill removal from Cricket (which took 3 people). In my experience NO dog learns from a porcupine encounter - if fact it usually makes them MORE wild to get one (revenge perhaps).

I flew outside to find no porky and Cricket and Bear casually strolling around. What the.......??? I KNOW I did not imagine that. Mark was not as convinced.

I then noticed three cats in a semi circle staring under the porch. Getting down on my stomach I was able to find the fat prickly beast hiding under the house.

After some consulting it was decided to round up the cats, lock the Guardian Dogs in a pen for the night and see if Quilly Willy couldn't find his own way out of the yard before daylight.

Please, don't think too much of us. I have watched my dogs go through too much pain and spent way too much on vet bills in the past to have any warm and fuzzy feelings for porcupines. Even watching cute videos of them eating watermelon that you all post for me just makes my stomach churn. I don't hate much in life - but I HATE porcupines. The problem was that there was no clean shot on him.

We tucked Cricks and Bear in a pen with a bit of kibble as a reward, quickly rounded up KD, not so quickly caught Tic and chased Bait (who was thinking this was the most fun night of his life) around the yard for way too long.

At 4 am the dog yard hit full alert again. I went out but it appears our visitor had made his break. Good for him.

I suggest he keep moving, as he will be given no mercy should he show up again.

As for Cricket and Bear - I think they might be the SMARTEST Guard Dogs on the planet. I am in awe. I lay in bed last night thinking of the horror it would have been to pack 250 bleeding pounds of stressed, in pain dogs into my van for a 2 am rush to the vet. *shudder*

I'll have nightmares for weeks.