Spocksdad
Member
Well, high prey-drive Lola is progressing nicely with the ubiquitous squirrels in our neighborhood. This was a banner year for acorns!
She's learned that by stalking quietly the critters, she can watch them closer and for a longer time.
Unfortunately, Neo, still hasn't learned the same with the buzzards across the street, waiting for the feral cat food.
I wanted to get up close to this one sitting on trash tote but no joy...
She's learned that by stalking quietly the critters, she can watch them closer and for a longer time.
Unfortunately, Neo, still hasn't learned the same with the buzzards across the street, waiting for the feral cat food.
I wanted to get up close to this one sitting on trash tote but no joy...
Looks like so much fun!
What is that silver rod thingy in front?
Looks like something attaches to bike to keep the leash from being over-run?
What maker, where purchased pls?
remy
Active Member
It’s a ton of fun! It’s definitely one of Remy’s favorite things to do.
That is a bike antenna. Mine is from Non-stop Dogwear, the same company his harness is from. It prevents the leash from getting stuck in the front wheel. I imagine that would be more of an issue for slower dogs though, since there would be less tension in the leash.
Here’s a picture that shows the set up.
Thank you! Great photo!
Sunje
Hot Topics Subscriber
That really is creepy to see the vultures hanging around. Is that the same house they've been on? Sure looks like it. I'd wonder what's going on with those people.
Spocksdad
Member
Yes, that's our neighborhood "cat lady" house, who feeds 10-12 feral cats. The vultures gather at mealtimes and eat whatever the cats leave behind. I suggested to her to just stop feeding the cats and they will relocate, plus stop dropping litters. There is a Feral Cat (TNR- Trap, Neuter, Release) Program in area which assists volunteers to catch all the adult cats and get them spayed/neutered and ears notched for no charge. However, to catch some of them you have to NOT FEED for several days so they are hungry enough to enter the special TNR traps. TNR lady was on street for a week but could only catch a few of the feral cats. Our cat lady keeps feeding on regular schedule, unfortunately to hamper trapping.That really is creepy to see the vultures hanging around. Is that the same house they've been on? Sure looks like it. I'd wonder what's going on with those people.
San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition – Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), rescue, and empowering the community to care for outside cats.
Ugh that would make me crazy if we had a close neighbor who did that. Thankfully we don't have any neighbors within at least 1/2 mile so it helps. My cousin who lives half way across the state insists on feeding feral cats on her deck so of course she also has tons of bears, raccoons and other opportunists all the time. I told her that if she stops feeding those cats, they would stop reproducing and it would keep all of the other wild critters off her deck but she feels bad for the cats.
In SoCal urban fringe woodlands and preserves the feral cats are far and away the greatest threat to threatened and endangered birds.
Worse, the cat fleas spread to wild mammals like racoons, possums, and rats that spread it to backyards. Its a big problem in San Diego, where those fleas have developed a resistance to all but the strongest flea medicine.
I'm a big fan of urban coyotes, the best form of feral cat control.
Sunje
Hot Topics Subscriber
Dumbass. Does she realize the impact on the wild bird population? Minus the vultures of course.
We have 2 barn cats. The younger of them, Mac dubh, is a hellacious hunter, and has cleaned out the mice and chipmunks from around the house. They live in the tack room and are shut in at night so they won't get eaten by something bigger and more fierce, and are out during the day. But he manages to drag most everything he catches into the tackroom through the small cat door so he can eat it in there. He has left so many chipmunk tails in there that I told Hubs that if I pinned them all up on the outside of the tack room wall, there would be well over 50 of them every fall. A week ago, he somehow managed to drag a full-grown rabbit in there, left the ass-end of it in the tack room for me to clean up.
That was gross. Occasionally he will get a bird, but his big dent is on the rodent population, which I sure appreciate!
It's all natures cycle to keep thing balanced - if humans would stop trying to intervene, like feeding feral cats. There are going to be deaths in nature regardless but to try to save unwanted animals and letting them reproduce, it throws the natural balance way off.
Sunje
Hot Topics Subscriber
Ah, your trails are superb! That looks like so much fun! How did you teach joring commands to a single dog, esp. the right and left turns? I'm struggling w/ how to teach those.
That's exactly what I was just going to ask with all of the forks in the trails.
Me too!
Do you use traditional commands "Mush! Gee! Haw! Whoa!" Or are there scandihoovian ski types?
So much fun!
remy
Active Member
I actually didn’t teach any commands specifically for bikejoring. From talking walks on the longline and trotting alongside the bike, he picked up “left” and “right” commands overtime. He learned “wait”, “easy”, and “go” the same way. By the time we started bikejoring he understood each command well! Basically, I talk to my dog a lot and he catches on to what I’m saying.
Once I wanted to test how well he’d respond to “left” and “right” in a different context, so I put two rubber feed bowls down on the ground. He knows if I say “touch” it means to put his front feet on the bowl. I would say “touch left” or “touch right” and he went to the correct bowl each time, even when I started him from different positions. I was pretty impressed!
I’m not sure what others do, but what I mentioned worked well enough for us! I think either walking or running (canicross) is a great way to start teaching the different commands before getting started on the bike.
I never had to teach him how to pull. I just hooked him up and off we went lol. Luckily he is a pretty enthusiastic dog and will do just about anything. If anyone has a dog who is a bit unsure, I think it would be really beneficial to have someone on a bike ahead of them. (Or running ahead if you are running.)
