Watson Expands His Boundaries

I knew yesterday as nice as it seemed letting Henry and Watson run tether free, it is not a good thing for training nor a hound at any age. Hounds have noses and they are oblivious when they smell a scent they like. Prior to this I have been thinking of what kind of fencing to put up. I want to let the dogs outside and let them be on their own when they want to and ONLY when I am home. So as Walter watched from the patio a little after 5:30am, Watson was going to go right past tethered Henry into the neighbors yard like he did yesterday as we were visiting.

In typical hound fashion he did not acknowledge my calling his name and I didn't expect him to since I could see he was on his first mission. Hounds are like that. I stepped off into the yard, wet by morning dew and went to rescue him from any kind of trouble. Not really trouble, but I cannot let him expand his territory two yards wide. The neighbors are fine with that but with me not allowed to run with my hip, I don't want to spend any time going to other yards to convince a stray bloodhound to come home. Stella was a pro at that even after moving here.

So what I did with Stella this past month at times and what I did with two basset hounds 20 years ago in the small house up north ... I do a double tether with the bigger hound being the one to stretch out the longer cord for the shorter tether to slide along the main tether. It works pretty well until they roll around playing and then I have to go out and unhook them to get them untangled. I would never leave them like this alone just for that reason. Getting tangled up. Nothing more than a temporary fix.

Watson didn't mind it and went to all parts of the yard, and some new territory within his boundary.

 

It wasn't that hot or muggy outside at 5:30am but Walter still prefers air conditioning as much as possible. 

Henry must have been wore out from yesterday because he was low energy this morning. Not a lot of running or sprinting in the yard. A lot of playing while laying on the ground. Right here he was trying to find a spot to relieve himself but Watson had other plans and wanted him to play.

It got a little rough one time and Watson was not happy about it. I think Henry had used his weight to his advantage.

I can see in this photo just how big he is going to be. HUGE. 

See that little tunnel to the right of Watson? He made that the first night he was here and completely disappeared into the jungle. 

The pup might be claimed by Henry as his but Walter is the head of the household, except for tax reasons, and was concerned when he saw Watson in a part of the yard he had not explored. Walter quickly trotted from inside on the patio entrance to the edge of the patio to check out what Watson was doing. He does that if he ever hears Watson yelp while playing with Henry. He has always been the care taker within the house, with Heidi and Stella.

I have to get a fence up and fast for that is just one of the reasons right there, but not the major reason. Watson is trying to chew through the small cord that keeps Henry attached to the anchor out in the yard. I have been thinking of fencing ideas since I moved here and even thought of them before buying the house. One builder lets you go to Google Maps, find your house and outline your different fence ideas for a price estimate. I know I want black aluminum if I have it built but I liked the fence that the breeder had, which I think would look okay for this environment in a rural neighborhood, but I am not sure that is what I want. I cannot picture it clearly in this yard.

Below is the type of fence he had. You can see it in the background and oh by the way ... that is Watson's dad ... Jaxon Sir Mikel Of Frog Island.

Watson had another good night. While I was watching baseball he walked back into the computer room and went to sleep. I moved him into the crate when I was finished watching baseball and he hardly woke up. He was back to sleep within minutes. At 1:30 am I heard that bloodhound puppy howl, he is going to have quite the 'bay' when he is older.  LOL. He ran faster than I could walk to the patio door while I was flipping light switches along the way as we moved to the patio door. He sprinted across the deck and jumped into the yard ... so he knows what he is doing. Pretty amazing for 8 weeks old.

Not a lot of energy this morning by Henry ... he wants to lay down and play.

My friend has not only a post hole digger but a tool to stretch that metal fence tight. He has offered to help me build the fence. Yesterday I looked at three different options of where to put the fence if I didn't fence in the whole backyard. Property lines are basically where we mow, give or take a foot here or there. I will think more today and picture in my head what would look right. I am up for any suggestions in design, material and how much of the yard to fence. Leave your fence ideas in the comment section.

Yes, I have thought of an invisible fence and my friend's son has one that works well with his boxer. I have seen his neighbors invisible fence in action with two large dogs. They didn't go past that boundary. I would prefer that kind of fence most of all so I could keep the open look of the yard. I have been told by bloodhound owners that fence does not always work for these crazy hounds. Also what happens if people get your hounds to cross the invisible boundary, then training starts all over. So I feel a little bit better having a fence installed.

A little before noon, 88° humid, AC and ceiling fans on ... all of us took a mid-day siesta. Watson woke up when he heard me step away to get the camera.

When you have a puppy and the house gets really quiet, bad things have usually happened. But in both cases this afternoon it was only Watson chewing the last layer of a Pork Chomp that Henry let him have. Until the puppy showed up, Henry thought he owned all of them and would take them away from Stella and Walter. Now I hear Walter and Henry playing over one of them in the hallway.

Every time I cannot find Watson in the house, he is usual sitting on the rug in front of the patio door or in one of the bedrooms sound to sleep. The dogs have been shedding a lot more than I remember last year. The vacuum has been getting a daily workout. Luckily I enjoy vacuuming.

I don't live that close to the train tracks but I do hear them when they pass by and I have heard them stopped, idling. This afternoon when I was grilling chicken for dinner (I usually eat early), I heard what I thought was an idling train engine. It sounded to close though. I didn't investigate the noise, I continued to go back and forth from the grill to the kitchen. Finally that train engine sounded like it was just on the other side of the trees.

Here is our first photo of farm equipment in action since our return to Indiana at the end of April.

That is a very nice field and has an easy access from our yard but nothing beats the small 7 acre field we had behind the old house up north, especially for the dog walks. That house has new owners, totally stripped out and remodeled but I am told it is still sitting vacant as it has for almost two years since I left. 

Tempting but no, I did not eat all of them for dinner ...  LOL

Walter and I had or wrestling match so all is good in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.