Dig Dogs, Dig - The Adventures of Red and Barkley

      
Ground Squirrels.  They are a different creature than our tree-hugging squirrels in Houston.  They tunnel underground.  Barkley, being the terrier that he is, cannot allow these vermin to be in HIS yard.  He has trained Red (Red previously ignored squirrels and rarely dug...unless he needed to hide a toy) to identify where the squirrels are, and then they dig, dig, dig to excavate these elaborate tunnels.  And, since we have no grass, it's not too much of an issue....unless they get too close to the fence.  To be fair to the puppies, they really haven't displaced too much dirt, just exposed the underground hollows that were already there. But, this has made our yard a tripping hazard.  I've already filled in about 240 lbs of dirt.

Thankfully, the squirrels seemed to have moved on.  They torture Barkley and build new tunnels just outside the fence.  But at least we don't have a terrier that is jumping fences anymore.  These squirrels stick to the ground,  and so does Barkley....mostly.  Except for that one day when he ended up in the neighbors yard (still a mystery).  Maybe he jumped in and didn't know he could jump out?  I don't know.  I wasn't there. It's just a theory.

           
Look at these innocent faces!  Do they LOOK like diggers?  No.  They are PERFECT inside dogs...but outside they get into mischief.  But at least it's manageable mischief.  We can't really complain too much. They are good dogs. Mostly.

They have a pretty sweet life.  These puppies are loving their new, giant backyard.  And they are enjoying the cool, crisp mornings...barking at deer, and at any trucks that dare speed down our road. I don't know if they will every be able to go back to neighborhood life.  We've turned them into country dogs! No turning back.

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