Crusty, the farm dog, has a habit I wish to modify. Up until now he'd take a shortcut under the house in order to get to the other side in a hurry. And up until now, it was never a problem. But recently I've been making flower beds around the house.
Crusty doesn't understand why I'm objecting to his cutting through the flowerbeds, tromping on plants in his path. "No problem, mom. You're plants aren't a problem. I can still get under the house." Well Crusty-man, it IS a problem. Mom wants flowers.
I needed a barrier effective to block Crusty, but not the cats. You see, at the first sign of danger, the cats bolt for the safety of under the house. I'd like to keep it that way, for their own safety in case a strange dog comes by. So I gave it some thought, looked around the place, and came up with a simple barrier. I have plenty of small ohia poles from thinning out the "junk" trees in the secret garden and livestock pastures. Cut into appropriate lengths, fastened together with a few nails, they turned into barriers fitting for a house in the woods. And once the taro grows up, they will be hardly noticed.
So what does Crusty think about them? He checked all the holes and concluded that it was easier to pick a different spot. He's taking the change in stride and getting on with life.
Hopefully, Crusty will just get into circling around. We had some determined dogs in the past that wanted under a fence - buried chicken wire, wood panels nailed on, even cactus (we lived in the high desert then) were defeated each time. Only after large rocks set in concrete with all gaps cemented, they gave up. Probably would have learned high jumping in time, but we moved again. Crusty just is trying to do his job, so if he tests for a loose ohia stick, well....
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