Hi

Me back again. Gemma our 16 month old lab has a visitor to her garden last thing at night in the form of a spikey hedghog.

The problem being she is determined to let us know it's there by barking in the deepest tone and bouncing around it - this is quite late on and I don't think the neighbours appreciate it (apart from this she's pretty good and hardly ever barks).

Is there a way we can get her to stop - any form of training for example. She must have initially had her nose spiked due to the fact that she bounces all over the place (I know you who own labs can probably picture the scene). She actually knows when the hedghog has made an appearance as she wines a bit by the kitchen door (obviously her keen sense of smell).

Any advice again would be appreciated to solve the problem of a bouncy lab and a fed up hedghog.

lol
Lesley

[deleted]

Hi Helen

Thanks for your reply. Gemma dosn't try to pick up the hedghog she just bounces around it in circles and barks, we will have to find out where spike is coming in and block his/her entry. (Sorry spike)

Lesley

Hi Lesley
Your post brought back some lovely memories of Missi , my Airedale, who could smell a hedgehog who even only thought about coming into the garden! She would dash outside and insist on trying to pick up the hedgehog with yelps of pain and excited whimpering. Helen is probably right in suggesting a muzzle: either that or you keep Gemma inside and try to distract her, which is what we tried to do with Missi. I have to say it did'nt work. We could never find the hedgehog after we removed Missi. I believe that hedgehogs are supposed to like cat food - perhaps you could use that to find out where Spike is coming from. Of course Gemma might think that's a good idea too!
Sandy

Hi Sandy

I think spike comes into the garden to pick up any remaining bird nuts - we put out wild seed and peanuts for the birds (and a couple of squirrels) and there is some remaining seed on the ground - that is the area we normally find him/her, or rather Gemma finds it - I know what you mean about putting a muzzle on her but I would rather block spikes pathway as she would absolutely hate it, she never goes to pick it up, she probably did the first time she saw it and that's the reason why we have this bouncing barking lab.

I'm glad it bought back some good memories for you - it is comical (even though I shouldn't laugh)watching the scene of this mad lab and spike who seems to be unconcerned about it all, she just seems to want to play while at the same time telling us there is an intruder - I will go on hedghog watch a couple of nights and steer spike in another direction :)

Lesley