Dugan the Dog Learns a New Skill!

People who are not familiar with dogs of the giant breeds are surprised to learn that the expected lifespan of these dogs is relatively short compared to the smaller dogs.  Sadly, most Irish Wolfhounds live about 8 years or so.  I have seen some a little older and they really show their age.  Most succumb to heart disease or cancer.  Almost all older Wolfhounds get some joint problems. 

I have noticed that Dugan the Dog is starting to show his age at 5-1/2 years.  Dugan has trouble jumping up into the back of the truck as easily as he used to.  Dugan gets to ride in the back of the truck after his occasional bath.  This allows him to dry off quickly so he won’t get filthy outside while he is wet or smell up the house with his powerful wet dog smell if we were to keep him inside to stay clean while he dries off.  He now seems unsure of himself when trying to jump up there and I am afraid he could seriously injure a leg by banging it on the edge of the trucks tailgate.

So I took some scrap lumber and constructed a ramp so he can walk or run up into the truck bed.  First, I the set the ramp up in the back yard propped up on one end a little with some blocks.  I then would take Dugan by the collar and lead him up the ramp and off of the end as I enticed him with a treat.  He was reluctant to cooperate at first because he could see no sense in it.  After all, he could plainly see perfectly good solid ground on each side of the ramp, so why bother going up a ramp?  After some days he got the hang of it so I raised the end up a higher to make it steeper and we practiced some more. 

Then at last I figured he was ready to graduate to going up the ramp into the truck.  I set the ramp up and tried to get Dugan to go up into the truck as I held his collar.  At first he would get nervous and rear back like a scared horse, but after a little encouragement and some enticement with treats he started going up the ramp like an old pro!  

Who says you cannot teach old dogs new tricks?

Dugan the Dog Chomps A Chicken!

Dugan stands next to the chicken run. He shares the bucket with the chickens, so I tell him he drinks "chicken water".


Well folks, the world is minus one laying hen. Unfortunately she was laying eggs for me. Dugan the Dog has on occasion managed to catch a bird like a sparrow or dove, and he used to eat them. They really give him a major case of the gas! Nowadays he does not make the effort he has in days gone by to catch birds. But the other day he caught his biggest bird yet, one of my chickens!

Dugan is always envious of the chickens because they get almost all the leftover food we would otherwise throw out.


It was entirely my fault. I have been keeping my chickens behind a five foot chain link fence, and that’s not a very tall fence for chickens because they can fly. In order to keep them from flying over the fence I would use scissors to cut the feathers off the tips of their wings. Funny thing, if you cut the feathers off just one wing, they go in tight circles when they try to fly. I like to cut them short on both wings and they can never get off the ground for several months.

Dugan looks longingly at the leftovers the chickens are eating as he gets a cool slurp of "chicken water".


Time really flies and I did not pay attention to how long the wing feathers were getting on my chickens. I was out in the back yard doing some weekly chores when I heard a chicken making the noise frightened chickens make. I looked over to see Dugan chasing one of my chickens in the yard. I hollered at him and started running over in his direction, but I was too late. Dugan has a big mouth, plenty ample enough to clamp down on any average size chicken. Much to my amazement, Dugan chomped down on the chicken with such force that an egg squirted out of her onto the ground! When I got over to Dugan I tried to talk him into letting her go, no luck. I tried pulling his mouth open but I may as well have tried to pull a vise open. I got a look at the chicken in his mouth and there was some vital parts hanging out of her, so I gave up trying to get her away from him.

I immediately took a pair of scissors into the chicken run to trim the remaining chickens’ wings. I had to chase the chickens around in order to catch them one at a time and trim them. It must have been a ridiculous sight. It so excited Dugan to see me take up chicken chasing, he must have thought he inspired me to “go over to the dark side” and start chasing and catching chickens too. Whenever I finally caught one they would squawk like they were being killed. This really excited Dugan, so much so he dropped his catch and ran up and down the chicken run with me.

I cannot blame Dugan, he did what dogs do. But I will praise him for this: Dugan has never in his lifetime ever snarled, growled, or bared his fangs in anger! When I tried to forcibly open his mouth to take his prey from him, he remained the Gentle Giant he has always been. I am just glad I am not a chicken!