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  1. #1
    Member Mic's Avatar
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    Added my pad,sleeping with feral dogs!

    It's starting to get cooler here in NC, Fall is just around the corner. I sleep out back in my SLD 11' double layer each night. The last 3-4 nights I've slept in sweatpants and sweatshirt and been perfectly comfortable. I noticed that I could start to feel the material's coolness so it's time to insert my pad between the layers. First night with pad I carried my sweat pants and hung them on a whoopie sling and wore my sweatshirt. Lows have been low 60s and I have a bug screen made from a curtain shear that actually helps keep in some heat. I had to get up and remove my sweatshirt and ended up sleeping in a short sleeve shirt and my skivvies. It's amazing how much heat you retain when laying on a pad. Now on to my feral dogs. I guess you can say I own them or at least take care of them inasmuch as they will not come within 10' of me. My brother-in-law found some puppies living under a tree in Sparta NC. He bought them home and I ended up taking two as at the time I was dogless(Is that a word?) One is a blue merle with cracked eyes an the other black wit a white patch. They were just a few months old and I kept them penned for a few weeks. They were never aggressive but would get as far back in their dog house as possible and I would lay on the ground and reach in and pet or rub them. After a time I let them out as I was afraid they'd hurt themselves as all they did was walk the fence and try to find a way out. I live a quarter mile off a sparsely used highway on 29 acres with my house in the middle of the land so I can let my dogs run loose as they don't wander from my property and are nothing but big pets. Anyway that was the last time I touched these dogs except I was able to entrap the female after feeding them in the dog lot and have her spayed. I've had dogs all my life but never seen anything like these two. I did some research and the closest thing I could find was the Mississippi state dog, the Catahoula Cur. Further research I found that there was once a wild dog in NC called the Carolina cur which is thought to be extinct. I believe these dogs are wild Carolina curs as I've had them or better said coexisted with them for close to a year and a half. I feed them each day and they love Milk bones as a treat each day but they won't come within 10 feet of me but will sleep on the ground a few feet from my hammock each night. If I get up to answer natures call they won't move as long as I don't walk in their direction. All in all I feel a little safer with them near as though I've never spotted a bear on my property I've seen them less than a mile away so I know they're there. So between my feral friends and my 50# lab mix which has to jump up and sleep with me in my hammock on occasion stretching the total weight to close to 300#,boy that Amsteele is strong, I hope to not be surprised by unwanted critters each night.
    There's no excuse for laziness...

    but, if you find one, let me know.

  2. #2
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    Great post about the dogs. I have had dogs that did not want me to touch them but would stay close to me if given a chance but nothing quite like what you a describing. Thanks for sharing.
    Deb
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    "The older I get, the more I appreciate my rural childhood. I spent a lot of time outdoors, unsupervised, which is a blessing." Barbara Kingsolver

  3. #3
    joe_guilbeau's Avatar
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    ...dem apples don't fall far from dat tree...Feral

  4. #4
    Member Mic's Avatar
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    These dogs are like nothing I've ever seen. In the morning they whine and dance waiting for their food. When they eat it's like watching a couple of deer eat, one eats while the other checks surroundings and if they both put their noses in the bowls their eyes are always scanning. If I run a hose through the front yard to wash my car it takes them 30 minutes of checking it out before they'll cross it to eat "It's a trap!!!!". They seem loving and not aggressive interacting,playing, with my other dogs but require no human interaction. I'm hoping someday they'll come around but it's been close to 18 months and no discernible improvement. After eating in the morning they wait several hours for their Milkbone treat then retire to the woods beside my house for the rest of the day come out to eat in evening then will sleep with me close to my hammock. They are an enigma but I do feel safer at night knowing they're close.
    There's no excuse for laziness...

    but, if you find one, let me know.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    I had a dog trainer tell me once that you need to make sure your scent is on their food every time you feed them.He ran his hands thru the dogs kibble etc before feeding him.Eventually he would cage the dog and take the food away until the dog's hunger overcame it's fear and then the dog would eat from his hand.Could be where the term "eating out of my hand" originated since we all know a dog will "never bite the hand that feeds him"(not always true btw!)If your dogs don't have their own beds you could get them one and make sure to put old shirts of yours on it.I believe they will totally trust you eventually if you are willing to work on them.For the dog's on good you should because they need to be handled to get rabies vaccines and other health care,no?

  6. #6
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    Very cool story Mic! I'm off in the woods also and sleep hang in the woods every night. After my last dog died about 3 years ago, I've been dogless. And surprise surprise I've been having some bear problems. Breaking through the window screens onto the closed in front porch. Guess it's about time I found me a couple of new dogs.

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