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I knew my wife and I would have some adjustments in our move to the wilderness, but never thought much about how it would affect the dogs. I thought having wide open spaces to run would be great for them. It has been good in many ways, but there has also been challenges.

Last night while reclining on the front porch on an unusually warm January evening, for the first time since moving to the new house, I noticed a change in our dogs. Our previous house was on a major highway and always had traffic going by. When we were able to move to the farm, two or three cars go by per day and the road is almost a quarter of a mile away. The dogs now bark at anything that goes on our road. They feel the need to protect a much larger area than they did in the past. At the old house, noise from the road was just noise to them. Now, road noise is either an immanent threat or someone coming to visit and pet them.

We currently have two dogs. Duke is a mastiff that was rescued, and Coty is a Lab that I bought for my wife as a Christmas present several years ago. Coty was cute and fuzzy as a puppy but has since grown to be a huge hairy beast that will love a person clear to the ground if they are not careful. Duke was just a pup at 120 pounds when we got him. He was totally out of control and that is a lot of dog to be uncontrollable. He has since grown considerably and has learned a few manners. He is very protective of my wife and me, as well as everything he considers his property. He has a problem with strangers such as the mail man if he drives all the way to the house to deliver a package. For having a large dog stand flat footed, reach in the window, grab him by the arm and try to pull him out of his vehicle, Randy, our mail man, was remarkably understanding.

There was some concern about how the dogs would react to wildlife. I was worried they might chase deer, which can be a real problem. Dogs can get themselves in a lot of trouble if they start chasing. Deer are not a problem. It took two or three days for Duke and Coty to find out they could not catch a deer. With a quick sprint after them, the deer left them in the dust. They soon decided it was not worth the chase. Now, when a deer wanders by or is jumped on a walk, they look but let them go without an attempt. They can wander the farm, watching the wildlife, and not bother with so much as chasing a squirrel. Mice, maybe, but not squirrels. Mice can be caught and snacked on like popcorn, but they can be vicious little animals. Duke prefers to let Coty do the dirty work and he will enjoy the meal.

Night time is an entirely different story. There are scary things out there in the dark. We thought the dogs would enjoy being out at night, but that is not the case. For some reason, neither dog will go to his pen unless told to do so. If they are not in their pens, they are afraid lions, or tigers, or bears might get them. I do not have to lock them up at night, I just have to put them in their pens and tuck them in. Apparently, coyotes and other terrible things that roam the night will not get them, even with an open gate, if I have put them to bed.

It has been a transition for my wife and I but moving into the wilderness is also quite an adjustment for our animals.



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