Tuesday, June 16, 2009

old faithful..... or not?

We had to put an invisible fence up for Sheila. After we moved I was really hoping that she would behave better. She always comes when she is called. But she is REALLY protective of me and the kids. If the neighbor is out she will be aggressive and run up to him. And it is typically the guys. Then she started running out to the road and barking and chasing bicyclists. SO we finally had to surrender and put the invisible fence back up. This fence will warn her audibly with a beeb and then give her a little shock if she tries to go over. ( I have tried it. Its really not that bad. But apparently dogs really don't like it) I don't think that she would ever really bite a person, but she nips at them to try and herd them. She is a herding dog. It is her instinct. So when my nephews come I have to put her in a kennel or something so that she doesn't try to herd them. I do it because that is what a good owner does. I don't like that I have to 'protect' my nephews. Really it mostly scares everybody because she is so aggressive looking and sounding. I'm really not sure to the extent that she would go. Although it does make me feel better knowing that if I or the kids was ever in real danger she would be there to protect me or the kids.

This was put to the test last week. Pilot had the kids on our boardwalk that literally goes 500ft through some marshiness and out to our dock. He had taken them for a boat ride and was on his way back. Sheila was uber pissed because she could not go past the invisible line and had been barking the whole time. BAB decided that she was going to jump to a board prolly 4 feet away. I'm still not sure how or why she thought this could happen! Either way I prolly don't have to say that she fell in the marsh. While Pilot was avidly pulling her out and paying all attention to her, he did not notice that Sheila had run through the invisible wall to save her child. And that is why I keep her. I know my kids will be safe with her around.

No comments: