Mandan is one of the five heading to Canada on Friday; Mandan, Arikara, Shawnee, Sioux and Comanche.
I’ll still have hunting dogs Emma Jolene, Osage, Shasta, Blackfoot, Taylor Marianne, Grover and Midnight to care for.
Beau has been ‘roading’ them in the morning when it’s still cool, which means he uses the 4-wheeler with a bar across the front and back, then the dogs are on a chain about 6 feet from the 4-wheeler and they run along beside him. They put on a good 2-3 miles every morning, getting into shape for the season.
Arikara and Shawnee HATE it, so they are running loose with tracking collars on. He’s been alternating them and they put on a good 8-10 miles every day, mostly running with Grover and Senior Beagle, Dolly, which tires EVERYONE out (including me!) for the day. Everyone is getting their exercise for bear hunting in Canada.
Shawnee and Arikara know to stop by the kitchen door for ‘treats’ throughout the day. They were both raised here, so they’re no dummies and know that there is a ‘Soft Touch’ that lives in the house!
ONE TREAT per Customer per Day, though! ;)
Very similar to getting (racing) sled dogs in shape. They are attached to a 4-wheeler & pull it for a couple of miles.
So Midnight is staying?
*** ONE TREAT per Customer per Day, though! ;)***
We walk our neighborhood daily, and bring dog bone medium sized treats with us. We learned that from the mailman and the UPS guy, who got better treatment from certain neighbors’ dogs than we did, until we saw *why* the dogs weren’t hopping mad at them.
So now we toss the treats out if the dogs are out. All of the dogs have become much better behaved, especially a pit bull named Rocky. Now instead of barking as we approach, he sits and poses until his treat is thrown to him.
All of these dogs have invisible fences, but their owners need to keep their collars charged. You can tell when the charge is beginning to weaken.
At any rate, there are always a few dogs being walked in the neighborhood on leashes, and we KNOW they can smell those treats as we get near them. Even if the owner gets the dog to calm down quickly, they peer back us longingly.
If every dog we usually see is out at the same time when we walk, we go through 11 treats a day, so we carry 12 with us, in case we get a newcomer. We know all the dogs’ names, and the owners are becoming friendlier, too. We have Aurora, Lady, Cooper, Whiskey, Gus, Nala, Poppy, Rocky, Luna, Rosie, and Pete who greet us. Quite the group. Lady wants to be petted and a belly rub before she takes her treat. Each dog is so different, but they’re all very lovable.