Hello, stranger dog. Even though Cleo thinks you are neat, Hercules really doesn't like you.
I found out on Saturday morning why Hercules had called battle stations last week. We have a new roaming dog in the neighborhood. He is a sweet, young hound dog that is about the same height as Cleo and about 2/3 her weight. For lack of a known name, I'm calling him Buddy. (As is usual in our neighborhood, Buddy was wearing a collar and no tags.)
It took me about two hours to overcome Buddy's shyness. I finally sat down in the middle of the driveway with Cleo and waited for him to come to me. Once he overcame his initial reluctance, he was a happy puppy with all the self-confidence of a Jellicle Cat. He let me ruffle him and scratch his tummy. He and Cleo ran around the yard, sniffed at the goats, chased sticks and each other, and had a short round of Eat Your Face during their time playing tag. I stuck my head into the house to tell Achaosofkittens about him, and Buddy walked right into the kitchen. Well, hello then.
Hercules was NOT happy about the new dog. The llama called full alarm and battle stations the moment he saw Buddy, and didn't stand down until after I was done with morning chores and was back over by the driveway loading up for the dump. The goats, particularly Scout, were quite unhappy about Buddy's habit of running at the fence, and they had a bit of stampede practice going for those minutes that Cleo and Buddy were at the fence. Jessie didn't stampede, of course. She just stood there calmly, radiating I will end you as though she were half her age and had the whole mafia with her.
In reporting this to him, Achaosofkittens had a good point: Hercules does not like change. Herc won't alarm for foxes or skunks because they are usual things. He will scream at random cats and stranger dogs because they are not the usual inhabitants of the yard.
It took me about two hours to overcome Buddy's shyness. I finally sat down in the middle of the driveway with Cleo and waited for him to come to me. Once he overcame his initial reluctance, he was a happy puppy with all the self-confidence of a Jellicle Cat. He let me ruffle him and scratch his tummy. He and Cleo ran around the yard, sniffed at the goats, chased sticks and each other, and had a short round of Eat Your Face during their time playing tag. I stuck my head into the house to tell Achaosofkittens about him, and Buddy walked right into the kitchen. Well, hello then.
Hercules was NOT happy about the new dog. The llama called full alarm and battle stations the moment he saw Buddy, and didn't stand down until after I was done with morning chores and was back over by the driveway loading up for the dump. The goats, particularly Scout, were quite unhappy about Buddy's habit of running at the fence, and they had a bit of stampede practice going for those minutes that Cleo and Buddy were at the fence. Jessie didn't stampede, of course. She just stood there calmly, radiating I will end you as though she were half her age and had the whole mafia with her.
In reporting this to him, Achaosofkittens had a good point: Hercules does not like change. Herc won't alarm for foxes or skunks because they are usual things. He will scream at random cats and stranger dogs because they are not the usual inhabitants of the yard.