Too good not to share!
A dog I've been helping @waggintailssar with is finally walking confidently into a kennel trap. The amount of skunks, opossum, racoons and local cats helping themselves is mind blowing. But this was a little needed comedic surprise last night.
Stella : "OMG OMG, try to ignore, be cool, don't say anything, just mind your own business"
Stinky racing stripe butt : "umm, excuse me, may I join you?"
Stella "uh, sure." Thinking to self... hold your breath, don't stare, NOW RUN!!
To our surprise, Stella came back moments later after Stinky Butt left!
Stay tuned. Hoping to wrap this girl up soon
The things most never see...
Some dogs are caught quickly, some take a huge amount of time. This is one of those.
Scent plays a huge part in trapping. It can play to our advantage or it can really hinder the efforts. Every dog is different.
I started helping my friend Dawn quite a while back on this boy. He gets around, but it's pretty clear his hind quarters have been introduced to a car bumper at some point. A few weeks back, a few people came to help try to capture him. We were able to apply some pressure from one side to urge him to move towards me. I was able to get a net over him, but he hit the net and rolled it out of my hands.
You can have plan A, B, C, D, and E, but dogs will often teach you that they know the entire alphabet. You think you need three people, you'd better have five!
Conventional traps hadn't yielded any results, between his apprehension to go in, and the fact that many are likely feeding him, we just can't get his belly to override his brain.
A kennel trap was set up at a location where he was being fed. Electronics were installed to close the door once he got to a certain position in the trap. Due to his trust in the feeder, to our surprise, he confidently walked in.
Even after several successful tests, at go time, the system failed. Although disappointing, the lack of anything scary happening when he enters the trap creates a "non-event”. While this delays things, builds confidence in the dog that entering the trap is safe.
Meanwhile, I had to fix the electronic system that was failing. I found a reseller of the necessary components, bought the replacement parts and headed to the location early.
When I arrived on scene just after 6am I wasn't aware that our guy was actually there before me! He was just as surprised as I was.
I wanted to avoid this since anything new, like my presence and scent, can easily put him on even higher alert, thus dragging out the rescue. I completely ignored him as he left th
The moment you realize why boxes say "open other end!" 🤣
I think I need a sign made...
Chicken smells great, but I wonder what that camera tastes like?