Post by haecklers on Oct 28, 2014 4:58:28 GMT -5
I thought we wanted a dog that would bark at stuff at night. I thought he would alert the big guard dog to problems so he could chase off the raccoons and possums that were killing our chickens and eating our corn, keep the coyotes at bay, etc.
But little Nico is on bark overdrive. He barks all. night. long. Non-stop. Rex ignores him and tries to sleep through it. The wildlife has gotten used to the constant noise, and I'm wondering how much longer it will deter them since he never leaves the porch (by the bedroom window).
Some tidbits of new research have started circulating that the pheromone that is in boar taint for some reason keeps dogs from barking.
We had a young boar that I was pretty sure would have boar taint - he was a stinky piglet when stressed. Skunk stinky. I've heard that's a reliable predictor. That you can smell the taint on them if they have it. We've had other pigs that didn't stink and the meat on the uncastrated males was delicious, no taint.
Since we're trying to breed pigs that don't have taint so they don't need to be castrated, making them homesteader friendlier, this is an issue of some importance to me. We didn't want the stinky piglet to breed any of our sows. So even tho he's only 6 months old and only 40 lbs (mother was kids' pet mini pot belly) we decided to butcher him (and we offered a class since we knew we probably wouldn't eat the meat anyways so I didn't care if a newby accidentally got manure on the meat or anything - and it worked out really cool, made some new friends and a photography student from Mountain Workshops (mountainworkshops.org) came to photograph it so we may be part of something pretty cool). So it worked out the little pig gave his life at 40 lbs but taught people home butchering skills, got to be a part of a college student's final project, is going to be in a BOOK, and the next bit...
I gave the dogs each a big chunk of meat last night before bedtime. Like 1/2 lb each. I don't think Nico barked the whole night! This morning he only did a few quiet barks, not the continuous "Why doesn't he lose his voice?" kind of barking. Further testing is needed, but this is looking pretty hopeful! Not sure how good the actual research is, tho. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140824213155.htm "Pig pheromone proves useful in curtailing bad behavior in dogs"
But little Nico is on bark overdrive. He barks all. night. long. Non-stop. Rex ignores him and tries to sleep through it. The wildlife has gotten used to the constant noise, and I'm wondering how much longer it will deter them since he never leaves the porch (by the bedroom window).
Some tidbits of new research have started circulating that the pheromone that is in boar taint for some reason keeps dogs from barking.
We had a young boar that I was pretty sure would have boar taint - he was a stinky piglet when stressed. Skunk stinky. I've heard that's a reliable predictor. That you can smell the taint on them if they have it. We've had other pigs that didn't stink and the meat on the uncastrated males was delicious, no taint.
Since we're trying to breed pigs that don't have taint so they don't need to be castrated, making them homesteader friendlier, this is an issue of some importance to me. We didn't want the stinky piglet to breed any of our sows. So even tho he's only 6 months old and only 40 lbs (mother was kids' pet mini pot belly) we decided to butcher him (and we offered a class since we knew we probably wouldn't eat the meat anyways so I didn't care if a newby accidentally got manure on the meat or anything - and it worked out really cool, made some new friends and a photography student from Mountain Workshops (mountainworkshops.org) came to photograph it so we may be part of something pretty cool). So it worked out the little pig gave his life at 40 lbs but taught people home butchering skills, got to be a part of a college student's final project, is going to be in a BOOK, and the next bit...
I gave the dogs each a big chunk of meat last night before bedtime. Like 1/2 lb each. I don't think Nico barked the whole night! This morning he only did a few quiet barks, not the continuous "Why doesn't he lose his voice?" kind of barking. Further testing is needed, but this is looking pretty hopeful! Not sure how good the actual research is, tho. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140824213155.htm "Pig pheromone proves useful in curtailing bad behavior in dogs"
You would need to try feeding large chunks of the good stuff and see if you don't get the same results. IMO
