Monday, January 23, 2012

Crazy Night

I've been having a bit of trouble with something lately. I've been seeing plenty of animals, but only at night when I can't get any reasonable pictures of them. I've seen rabbits, opossums, too many feral cats to count, and now I think I've seen a skunk.

A big part of the problem is that I was up all night Saturday, so I ended up sleeping in the morning. In the morning is when the birds and many other animals like to come around here. So I wasn't exactly conscious when all the animals were out having a good time in the morning Sun.

Now before I continue, and before you think it's my own fault for missing these animals after staying up too late, I'd like to say that it wasn't my fault. I have somebody else to blame, and a little story of why. And who is that somebody?

I came up with a good idea to give myself a rest from walking Isabella multiple times a night. I parked my truck out of the way in the garage and let Isabella out on the chain instead of walking her. It gives her all the time she wants out there, and I get to stay inside where it's warm. It was working wonderfully until about the third time she was out.

She had been out for quite some time when I went to the front door to check on her. I found her there out in the cold sitting in the snow. I thought that maybe she had frozen herself as I noticed her sitting there staring out into the darkness. So I went and forced her to come back inside. And I mean forced, because she didn't want to come.

It was only a little over an hour later that I let her back out after she pestered me the whole time. This time when I checked on her she was laying in the snow intently staring off into the same area of the darkness. After a few seconds she began creeping in that same low down pose towards something. She was stalking it like a cat, but she seemed like she didn't want to get too close to whatever it was.

It was then that I noticed the strange sounds coming from the direction she was looking. It was the grunting sounds of a wild animal. I thought maybe it was a raccoon or a possum, but then I saw something white moving around down the road in the direction of the sounds. That was the dog's target, but she didn't seem to want to get very close to it.

I quickly dragged Isabella back into the house and went to the computer to find out what might be making those sounds. After checking several animals of the right size I came to the sounds a skunk makes. It matched perfectly. Not only that, Isabella then came running! She stood there turning her head from side to side while she stood there shaking and staring at the computer. I tried some other animals sounds, but she was only interested in the skunk sounds. That was my confirmation.

I decided to keep her inside for the rest of the night, especially since it was long past my bedtime. But the rotten dog wouldn't let me sleep! She was running back and forth in a frenzy. She kept walking over and pushing her head into the side of my bed. And if that didn't work, she would bark at me and loudly scratch on the walls. She was going completely crazy. This lasted all night long.

I finally looked at the window and noticed the sky was considerably lighter than before. The Sun was about to come up. I got up knowing I would get no sleep until I gave in. So figuring the skunk was long gone, I finally let Isabella back out. I smartly keep the end f her chain right at the door so I don't have to go out.

After she went running out I saw that I was right. She ran back and forth investigating everything until she began to slow with disappointment. She finally realized her enemy was truly gone. Now that she knew everything was safe she finally decided to come back inside.

When she got back in she immediately went over to her doggy blanket and went to sleep. I decided to get some sleep myself. This time it finally worked.


Nature Center Magazine - A snowboarding crow? You'll have to see it to believe it!

29 comments:

  1. Isabellas sharp eyes and her adventurous spirit cannot miss anything even during night. I can understand her restlessness when she found the enemy moving around and she couldn't do anything which made her to keep you also up all the night. And its good that she finally let you sleep once she made sure everything was fine.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. @Elvirah
      I'm happy to say that Isabella has now finally calmed down, and going outside by herself is just routine to her now.

      Delete
  2. Dogs can be funny creatures at times. I wonder why Isabella though the skunk was such a threat....maybe it was the tone of which it made the noises which made her skittish. It's a shame you couldn't get and pictures of the animals and I' afraid to hope that you might encounter it again in case that means another sleepless night for you!!

    On the plus side...I'm sure Isabella was just watching out for you so don't be too hard on her.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. @allotments4you
      I'd love to get a picture of a skunk one day, but I never want to be close enough to get it.

      I went very easy on Isabella the whole time, knowing that it was her first night out by herself and anticipating some anxiety involved.

      Delete
  3. A cable would let the dogs chain travel longer even.There are more feral cats in Iowa than people. Sad people let their pets go.

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    1. @Out on the prairie
      Actually that's exactly what I have for her. she has a good dog run out there that gives her enough room to roam very far. It's an ideal situation for any dog, especially a big one like Isabella.

      Delete
  4. Isabella is doing a good job of taking care of you. I'm pleased she never encountered a skunk!

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    1. @Don't unplug your hub
      I was a little worried about her there for awhile, but she seemed smart enough to keep her distance from the skunk.

      Delete
  5. Good thing Isabella didn't get too close to that skunk and I'm glad you both ended up getting some sleep even if it did have to wait until daylight

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    1. @Ann
      I was extra glad to finally get a little bit of sleep, and happy that she had finally calmed down.

      Delete
  6. Oh yes, the tyranny of a dog whose owner won't do exactly what she wants. Groan.

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    1. @Sharkbytes
      Isabella is one of the most willful dogs I've had, and it doesn't help that she's as big as she is. she'll eventually learn that I'm the boss though.

      Delete
  7. Keep plenty of tomato juice handy if either of you has a too close encounter with Mr.Skunk. It is still the best wash for that door around.

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    1. @thepowmill
      Lucky for me that I do indeed have a lot of tomato juice around here.

      Delete
  8. A skunked dog is no fun,so you were smart to keep the dog contained until it was safe. If it ever does get skunked use a product called "Skunk off". It works way better than any of the home remedies. It chemically neutralizes the odor.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. @WildBill
      I'll definitely look into Skunk off. Skunks may end up being a problem if Isabella gets too brave.

      Delete
  9. oh, Isabella must be curious, but glad she was spared from skunk, and glad both of you were able to sleep :)

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    1. @betchai
      I'm glad she was smart enough not to try to get too close to that skunk.

      Delete
  10. It does sound like you have skunks nearby, that would account for Isabella's reactions. Like has been mentioned above get some tomato juice of skunk off just in case. We have a couple of skunks that show up in our yard at night sometimes. As long as they aren't threatened no worries.

    I enlarged your photos and in the third one down I see a glint of light. It looks like when I catch eyes on our trail cam. The light doesn't always make two eyes visible, sometimes only one. I have gotten sequences where it went from one to two and back to one as the head turns or is obscured by brush.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. @SquirrelQueen
      I'll definitely be keeping stocked up on some skunk smell neutralizer.

      The light may be from a far off light near the highway. It sometimes shines through the trees in that area.

      Delete
  11. A dog without skunked means fun & more fun. Other than tomato juice you can use following that I read on animal related site.

    "Take 1 quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid hand soap. Mix and immediately apply to the stinky pet. Then rinse thoroughly with tap water"

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    1. @Honeymoon Bed Breakfast
      I'll try that if I don't ave any of the other. Anything to get rid of skunk smell is helpful.

      Delete
  12. It is a good thing Isabella did not come face-to-face with that skunk! The dog here has been skunked on several occasions - she never learns! - and it is not a fun experience, either for the dog or the human who has to try to get the smell out.

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    1. @Sparkle
      My sister's dog constantly gets skunked too. She takes her somewhere to get rid of the smell. I hope I never have to deal with it.

      Delete
  13. good one!!

    nice article!!




    http://goo.gl/eueun

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  14. Isabella keeps you busy day and night, Ratty! Glad she is smart enough to keep away from that skunk!

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    1. @Icy BC
      Isabella is a very active dog, full of energy. It has been a lot of work teaching her to calm down sometimes.

      Delete
  15. That was a tough night but would have been much worse if she'd have encountered a skunk.

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    1. @Country Mouse Studio
      I'm sure glad she's smart enough to stay back from things like skunks.

      Delete