At 3 a.m. this morning I heard Vega purr. Well, at least it was a sound that reminded me of purring, just not as friendly. Was she dreaming?
Apparently not. Because next, she walked to the window and let out a definite growl. As she worked on "Superman-staring" her way through the closed blinds, the serious barking began.
I pulled up the blinds to see what we might see. Since there was a full moon, I had no problem confirming there was no cat, raccoon, possum or other critter, and fortunately no strange human being, in the yard. But Vega would not give up. I scanned further. That's when I finally spotted two deer in the neighbor's front yard. To a German Shepherd, that is definitely something worth barking about.
Okay. Deer. I got it.
But what I didn't get was how did Vega know there were deer out there? She was sleeping. She wasn't lying next to the window. And no matter what, it was impossible to see out with the blinds down and closed tight.
At a more reasonable hour, I did a little research about a dog's senses. It seems Vega's nose was likely the sense at work. The scent of the deer actually woke her up and triggered her prey drive which set off her fierce barking. Really.
Here's what I learned: The average dog's nose is tens of thousands of times as sensitive to odors as yours or mine. That's because they possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, while we only have about six million. Plus the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is 40 times greater than ours.
One dog scientist describes it like this -- a dog's sense of smell is so acute it's like having the ability to catch a whiff of one rotten apple in two million barrels.
So, 3 a.m. this morning. Lights off, windows shut, blinds drawn. Vega smells deer. If you're a dog, the nose knows.
I've been debating whether or not to fence the yard. Truth is, I have a fence already, but it's invisible. That is to say the Invisible Fence, described in promotional materials as an electronic pet containment system.
In my opinion, it has lots of advantages over traditional fences. For one, the dog has the run of the entire yard, front and back. There's no unsightly boundary between properties. And since I live in a wooded area, an Invisible Fence preserves the look of wide open spaces. It's also less expensive, lower maintenance and longer lasting than the visible variety.
As for my Invisible Fence, I can attest to its effectiveness - at least for the three Boxers I've owned. The first two boys learned quickly not to get too close to the property boundaries for fear of getting a correction - in other words, zapped! Of course, Reacher, being the problem puppy that he was, was more resistant to the rules.
For weeks, being zapped meant nothing to Reacher. It was totally worth it to chase a neighbor pedaling a bike down the street or a dog walker strolling past the house. But Reacher too, finally agreed to stay in the yard. In fact, he never crosses the line to chase a bike, a dog or any kind of wildlife including squirrels, cats or deer.
The question is, what would Vega do with the Invisible Fence?
Yes, she is much more compliant than Reacher, generally speaking. And I'm certain she would recognize the property lines after minimal training. But being the prey-driven canine that she is, would she respect the Invisible Fence when tempted by Bambi and company who wander the woods, yards and streets like any other neighbors?
And being super protective of home and family, how many people would suffer heart failure when she switched from her sweet self to killer mode, warning all passersby not to come a step closer to her domain? As for any other dogs that might venture onto the property, I'm certain Vega would consider them fair game.
So, what to do?
If asked, I believe Reacher would say, "Don't fence me in."
But if I consider all the dog walkers, bike riders and joggers who pass the house on a regular basis, they would probably agree with poet Robert Frost who wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors."
