There's no comprehending the psychotic geese. So, the dog and I went down to their enclosure to let them out and water/feed them as usual this morning, and, for some strange reason known only to the geese, they let out an alarm cry and flew, low and hard, over to our hillside boundary.
I put water and food into their pen, hoping the idiots would find their way back, but there they were, off in the distance, honking loudly (something like "sh*t, where the heck are we?"). So, I trudged over there to herd them back. I had the dog on the leash because she's not been good about responding lately.
When I got the hillside, I called her attention to the geese, released her, and told her to get them. She bounded up and managed to get Largo down and onto the path headed back toward the shed. But stupid Jemima waddled in the opposite direction. I called Gali back from running after Largo, but before I could leash her again, she ran off after Jemima.
I called several times, but couldn't get her to come back. So I hiked up the hill. There they were...Jemima hunkered down, looking defeated, and Gali prancing around her like some hairy, four-legged jack-in-the-box. She kept licking Jemima on the back, and touching noses with her. Then when I tried to call her off again, she stood over Jemima with a paw on her back. This is classic English Shepherd behavior from what I could glean from the ES e-list - corner your stock and keep them down but not hurt them.
As DH said, after I got back and told him the story, "finally, she does something useful!"
(note regarding the photo: that was when we also had Doodle...an extra male)
"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge." ~ Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)
