Introducing our correspondent
I'm Denise Smith and I grew up in Plymouth, training as a nurse before joining the pharmaceutical industry as sales representative, then training manager. We moved to a Grade II listed building set in two acres of rural South Gloucestershire 14 years ago, when Colin left the Royal Navy.
This home I share with Colin, my husband of 26 years who balances being a full time engineer and a bee keeper, son Austen, 17, daughter Bryony, 15, and two springer spaniels, Nutmeg, who we have had from a puppy and who is now five, and Paddi, who we rescued a year ago when he was three.
Being a ‘housewife’ for me involves juggling a single shift as a staff nurse with maintaining the home and garden, running the onsite holiday let, caring for the dogs and a flock of approximately 50 chickens. To relax I attend one lesson of tap dancing and as a student of taekwondo manage to fit in at least two hours of training a week. Denise Smith 2011
Denise writes:
Strikes me dogs are genetically programmed to fill their bellies with food, licking anything remotely edible which often leads them into conflict with us humans.
Emptying the contents of bins and scattering the contents or foraging in your neighbour’s food waste bucket is guaranteed to cause trouble.
So my dynamic duo had somehow to learn to leave these things alone for their safety and my blood pressure. Tin rattling combined with a stern ‘No!’ seemed to do the trick indoors but outside was a much greater challenge.
Early on dark mornings the last thing you want to be doing is retrieving your animals whilst clearing up rotting food. A few worrying episodes of onion ingestion led to the instigation of an elaborate strategy of recall and putting on leads to circumvent the opportunity to get at the leftovers.
This seemed to be working until the attraction of the food bin was surpassed by the lure of pheasant, pigeon, rabbit and various parts of deer courtesy of local poachers according to my neighbour as bona fide deer hunters do not as a rule leave off cuts.
The evidence of such people that clearly have been out and about with guns at night so close to home is a little disconcerting.
Paddi was more attracted to these titbits as being that bit faster on his paws he tends to find them first where upon he scoffs the lot so fast he invariably is then sick. Nutmeg rapidly lost interest in this as soon as she twigged she had the perfect opportunity to renew her passion for coprophagia.
So now I had one careering off in search of field fodder and one loitering behind to feast on young calf poo. The dog training books focus mainly on nipping these types of issues in the bud when they were puppies but none really cover those which re emerge or develop in later l life.
Concluding Nutmeg’s behaviour was a form of attention seeking I decided to wait until all vestiges of calf poo had been washed away before commencing heel work for high value treats. Whilst I may not have totally quashed her interest in eating poo she is back to being her more responsive self when called.
Paddi meanwhile was not about to give up his new spoils and became quite growly on approach.
As prising it out of his jaws was at this stage was not an option some creative thinking was called for that was a little high risk in that I planned to exploit his fear of being exiled from the pack. Having displayed to him my displeasure I turned and strode for home purposefully to which he responded by following me, deer head in mouth until we reached the garden.
Having secured the garden I then gave a performance worthy of a Bafta ward with much gesturing and grumpy noises which culminated in me going inside and shutting the door. From my window I watched as he let the deer head go with a look of surprise and shock. At that moment I opened the door and called him with his food bowl in hand. He had seconds to choose between the head and inclusion in the pack. I have never seen him move so fast. Once inside I praised him and whilst he ate his tea I was able to remove the offending item.
Later snuggled up together they looked the picture of ‘innocence’ I gazed on them lovingly wondering what mischief they are planning for tomorrow!
See also:
Read more from our Countryside bloggers here.
No comments have been made.