Pepper has been adjusting to his new boundaries, with the assistance of Mr. Zapper. Mr. Zapper packs a stronger punch than Mr. Shocky, who was used to train little Jack not to chase the neighbors' horses. Mr. Shocky was controlled by hand. Funny how the boys also tested Mr. Shocky on themselves, before deciding on a setting for Jack. I'd put the collar on him when I started my driveway walks.
Juno and Jack loved those outings, and would rove up and down the driveway with me, wrestling each other. Then Jack might make a dash across the road into the horse field when we got to the end. I'd yell, "JACK! NO!" If he continued into the horse field, I pushed the button to give him a "reminder." It only took a week of walks for Jack to completely stop his chasing.
Mr. Zapper will not be ignored! After the unfortunate SilverRedO incident, Pepper has only received that shock four times. The last was two days ago, and the squirrel-hunter breach was two days before that. Pepper hasn't even gotten the turn-back at the warning track notification for two days.
The last breach was on Monday morning. It was down on the other end of our property, in an area with cedars where Farmer H keeps the grass mowed. Not in the woods, not on the gravel road. Just the property line where The Pony has set the fence. Over the weekend, Pepper had been in that cedar area, barking. It's past the Freight Container Garage. Pepper had also spend a lot of time over by the BARn. We could see him on our app, and he would come running from that direction to greet me at the driveway. We didn't know what the attraction was over there.
I think I know!
When I came home Tuesday afternoon, I saw what I thought were turkeys on the gravel road by that lower section of our land. Getting closer, I saw they were TURKEY BUZZARDS! As big as turkeys, but with that rubbery red head. They grudgingly moved out of my way. Not flying, mind you. Just kind of walk/hopping. As I went by, I saw why there were there.
On the edge of the gravel, barely over on the neighbor's side, was a dead armadillo! It was so fresh that the gaping hole in its side was bright blood red. I don't know if it was dead or dying when the turkey buzzards hacked through that hard armor-ish shell.
I wonder if that's what Pepper had been fascinated with in that area. We found a dead armadillo out by the carport weeks ago. Farmer H says that when he's outside, sometimes the dogs are obsessed with something under one of his Shackytown Boulevard structures. So maybe that armadillo has been living here, and Pepper stalking it. Probably chasing it when he breached the fence over there on Monday.
I don't know if maybe Pepper got ahold of it and injured it, then it crawled across the road. Or if another animal like a fox or coyote got it. I don't know if their mouth is even big enough to do damage to that shell. Pepper's mouth is pretty big.
That's just my theory. I think the other armadillo was already dead when they drug it behind the carport. It didn't show any sign of trauma.
