8 State Hurricane Kate

I woke up early this morning to the sound of gunshots. Actually, I woke to the sound of Chase barking at gunshots. He heard them before I did. Apparently deer hunting season has begun. This must be one of the two weekends per year that they allow a controlled hunt in the state park in our backyard. For Chase, who is sensitive to loud noises, it could be a very long weekend. He’s the boy who barks at thunder and doesn’t quite believe me when I tell him it’s ok. He looks like a cattle dog-collie mix and has that shrill Collie bark. I’ll be using Rescue Remedy and TTouch techniques to help calm him down (might need those myself, for the shrill bark!). Most of the gunshots usually come near dawn and dusk, so maybe most of the day will be quiet. I can only hope!

I stopped at Fleet Farm today to get some orange vests for the dogs. Although hunters aren’t supposed to shoot toward or enter the private property adjacent to the park, it’s not the good, responsible hunters that I’m concerned about! It’s the trigger happy guy who can’t wait to bag his first deer. And the guy who got off a wounding shot and decides that he needs to track a bloody deer through my property to finish it off. Since Bandit has a white tail and some hunters trigger off of movement, I didn’t want to take any chances that one of the dogs would be mistaken for wildlife, even in our own yard.

I must be doing something right. This week, whenever I got out the training bag and Cay’s leash and training collar to practice our obedience exercises, Cay jumped up and down! Literally. I don’t think it’s just about the treats either. She is really excited to learn and to get the individual attention. She has come a long way since that April day that Becky and I had to pry her out of the crate. She is starting to pay attention more and concentrate on what is asked of her. She is learning to sit still for more than 2 seconds, and to wait while I go through the door first. She genuinely wants to please me, although her natural rambunctious personality sometimes makes it hard for her to settle down. Today she came over to me and gently placed her head in my lap to be petted–and stayed still for a while. That’s a change from the girl who used to run by and smack her hard head on my leg, who just couldn’t stay still. Cay is evolving!