[pyrnet] barking at horses?

[strongheart <ewacker@indiana.edu>]

	Hi all,

	Well, Kara and I finally got our house.  And then we put up a 5'
wire fence, with some help from friends and her family.  And boy am I glad
we went the extra foot above the neighbor farmer's cattle fencing -- our
wonderful adopted 2-year-old Pyrgirl (thanks, Michigan Great Pyr Rescue!) 
Daphne, just went nuts when she saw the horse and mule in the pasture on
the other side of the fence.

	We first took the dogs over on their leashes (pre-fence-building) 
to briefly show them the property, and when she saw the hooved guys next
door she was almost uncontrollable.  (We almost had to put my shoulder
back in its socket!)  She whimpered to be let off the leash (which we
never do, but she still asks, "C'mon, Dad!, Pleeease?") and barked quite a
bit, but we thought that since it was dark out, maybe she couldn't make
them out well, and was curious.  We didn't let this go on long, and took
the girls and left.

	Today, now that the fence is up, we let them run free in our
yard... all the time hoping that 5' was high enough to keep her in when
she saw the horse and mule (it was), or that she wouldn't flip out again. 
(She did.) She must have run the length of that fence back and forth
barking like a maniac for the better part of 20 minutes.  I laughed for
the first 5 or 10 minutes, just because it was so good to see her run free
off leash for the first time (since we got her three months ago) and the
horse and mule seemed to think it was a game, running back and forth with
her.  Sugar (our chow/anatole shep mix) got into it a little bit, but
seemed more interested in the running aspect, as she wasn't barking much,
and paid attention to us when we called her back.  It was as if we didn't
exist for Daphne, though (and she's usually halfway decent about coming
when called -- she'll at least look over to see if you've got a pig ear or
something for her, maybe even just for the attention, for which she is the
BIGGEST mooch.)  But no -- she barked until she about wore out her barker;
started sounding a bit hoarse, and then finally just about collapsed, it
seemed -- she was walking like she had an elephant on her back, and
refused to drink any water for a few minutes, even when we filled up the
kiddy pool... finally, once we shoved her into the pool (she doesn't
normally go into water, even 2 inches deep, without direct encouragement)
and splashed her a little, she drank some.  I was worried for a few
minutes, thought maybe she'd given herself heat stroke or something (it
was 92 degrees, very humid, and she still hasn't blown half her coat, for
some reason.)  But then it all seemed to work itself out -- she went back
for a second session of bark & chase, but when the the horse & mule ambled
far enough away, she was happy to just go and stand in the kiddy pool
again while I washed the last of the dirt off her with the hose (and she
usually hates baths.) 

	Do any other pyr owners on this list have horses for neighbors? 
Do they get used to them?  Is this going to be a bark-and-chasefest along
the fenceline every time?  I'm hoping they get to the point where it's
just "oh yeah, it's the horse again" since I'm afraid the neighbors won't
care for much of this.  (Fortunately, they seemed to be gone today while
this was happening.)  Any good guesses out there as to when that might
happen, or if it will at all?  It's hard work, barking that much, surely
she'll tire of it, won't she? 

	Concerned in the country, and very glad that we put a 2-foot
"no-fly zone" between our fence and the farmer's,

	-Eric & Kara (and Sugar & Daphne)

Sugar: "Mom, when's this big white thing going to stop standing over me?
I'm not a sheep!"  *sigh*

Daphne: "I just know there are pig ears in this house that I haven't
eaten yet, and I just have to smell them out..."  *sniff, sniff, sniff*

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