The Day We Got a Guard Dog

Well, we’re down to 17 chickens now.  Another brown one has not returned to the roost for about a week now.  That is fine.  That is life…er…death.  Let me just say, there’s a reason people buy chickens every year.

It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve finally stopped being upset that Lena attacked one of the chickens.  Who could blame her.  I’d almost given up hope for her being my herding/guard dog for them.  She kept begging to come out with me when she knew I was going out to the coop.  I’ve finally let her come with me again like she used to, during that feeding, watering, and observing time after the kiddos are in bed.  It’s like she couldn’t wait for a chance to redeem herself.

So when Lena and I go and check on the chickens, she walks among them…although they scoot away from her pretty quick.  Lena takes no notice, and stares at me the whole time, waiting for any instructions I may have. I haven’t seen her take her focus off me once out there.  I can just see the pleading in her eyes, “I can do this job.  I can protect them.  Give me another chance.”

Those who know Lena knows she loves our kids.  She is pretty lazy except when company is over, and then she’s hyper.  She doesn’t bark.  Although she’s fun for the kids, we got her with the main purpose of having a guard dog.  We know she can bark, but we’ve heard her do it only a handful of times.  Mostly we’ll hear one or two barks after she’s back from spending time with another dog while we’re on vacation or something.  Then she’s back to silence.

It’s been frustrating having a “guard dog” who doesn’t bark.  We want to know when people are here since our doorbell is kind of sketchy.  You’d think a dog would do that.  Not Lena.  She’d rather take a nap most days.  She normally only gets up if someone looks suspicious, or looks like he may play with her.  So far, the UPS man doesn’t fit the bill of either of those 2 descriptions because she’s slept through his deliveries more than once.

She doesn’t mind Solveig investigating the hair between the pads of her paws, or Elias trying to tickle her.  I watch the kids very carefully with her and try to make sure she always has an “out” if she gets overwhelmed. 
It’s crazy to me, though, how completely laid back of a dog she is.  Very little bothers her…ever.

So you can imagine how Knut and I jumped when we heard Lena bark the other night.  All the kids were in bed and Knut and I were doing dishes.  The windows were open to let the breeze in, and Lena started going nuts as she barked and paced as she looked out the kitchen window towards the coop.  It was dark and late.  She must have barked 7 or 8 times (in other words…more than she ever has in previous years put together).  Knut looked outside, and we saw nothing.  We turned the lights on outside, and saw nothing.  There were no cars, no people, and no deer crossing. 

It wasn’t until a little while later when I thought “I wonder if Lena heard something trying to get in the chicken coop.  I wonder if she was trying to protect the chickens.”

Sure enough, the next morning, I saw fresh chew/scratch marks on the door to the coop.  All the chickens inside remained unharmed, since it’s a pretty tough coop to break into.  We’ll have to make sure this door doesn’t get worse, and see if we can’t patch it up.

The following evening while I put some fresh bedding down in the coop and did some other housekeeping, Lena went back in the woods hunting…and “marking.”  I didn’t hear much ruckus, but she came back from there feeling satisfied, sniffing the wind and wagging her tail.  I think she felt it was important to make herself known wherever “whatever” was hanging out.

I’m just so proud of my puppy, and wanted to share how she’s such a good dog.

Thank you, Lena, for doing your job, and finally earning your keep.  I now know that you see those chickens as part of your circle of protection and desire for them to come to no harm.  Next time you bark, we’ll know what to do.