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Dealing with rabbits...

he's just a big ol' baby....and I love 'em for that...
 
AlabamaJack said:
he's just a big ol' baby....and I love 'em for that...
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Oh, he is a big baby. He follows me everywhere, never lets me out of his sight. Gentle around the kids.
 
Put *mighty* protective.
 
A friend of mine (who has been here a dozen+ times this year) showed up yesterday to help me work on my wife's SUV (damn Fords...).
 
My buddy got out of his car as I was staking a Bhut Jolokia plant up in the Garden.
 
Marley (the Irish Wolfhound) got halfway between me and my buddy, and stood him RIGHT the hell off.  Shakes the ground when he barks and growls. It's intimidating.
 
Anyway I quickly got up and patted him on the head, told him it's OK, to be "buddies", and he went on over and gave my friend a big old smooch.
 
I pity the fool that tries to hurt my family near that dog. They wouldn't live long enough to know what hit them. He's powerful enough to crush a spine if he bit down on someone's neck. 
 
(They bred them to kill wolves.. and hunt big game- that dog breed literally made wolves extinct in England and Ireland)

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I am very familiar with the breed...but for me down here in North Texas, I think it wold be plain unfair to the animal to live here in the summer time with the heat in access of 100 many days in the summer...
 
I have to go with short hair breeds down here like Weim's, my last two have been Weim's...
 
His hair isn't too awful thick but he does start to pant pretty hard after 10 minutes if it's 100F out. Usually, I use that as an excuse to give the stinky dog a dose of the hose. (They can't reach their.. umm. privates, to clean themselves - aren't really flexible enough.. so bathing is a common ritual..)   
 
Or, from another perspective - when you're using a big car-wash sponge and a bucket of dog shampoo suds to clean the underside of the dog, it's MIGHTY embarassing to have the neighbor walk by while you're scrubbing away on the scrotum area. (He still has his 'boys', on the off chance we mate him up someday with another wolfie.)
 
Also - a lesson I learned the hard way. 
 
You don't play tug of war with Irish Wolfhounds.
 
If you don't let go and they get riled up, they'll sock you in the jaw with their paw and knock you the heck out. He's knocked me out 3 times now, on accident. Twice getting home, when he jumped up and caught me under the chin with his paw on accident, and once playing tug of war. Just a white flash and suddenly I'm looking up at the family looking down at me asking if I'm OK.. "he did it again, didn't he?"
 
Organic, free-range, clean protein is hopping right up next to the chiles on your plate.  We who are growing plants to eat might be a little ahead of the pack in recognizing food.
 
AlabamaJack;
 
These other two would be unsuited to texas weather. 
 
Also a good size comparison - Marley vs. Kojak (black) and Neko (white).
 
Kojak is a 65lb Husky/German Shepherd mix. Neko is a pure bred Siberian husky.
 
Neko has a thicker coat than anything I've ever seen, before. We *really* have to watch him in the summer, make sure he's not out for very long. In the winter.. not as big of a concern. :)
 
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The reason these guys are relevant to the discussion, is the rabbits fear their scent. Letting them "do their business" around the garden, my garden was the ONLY one in the neighborhood not cleaned out by rabbits this year. My neighbor tried coyote piss spray, pepper spray, etc, and had 3 plantings of bean sprouts wiped out this spring before he finally gave up.
Got to thinking...
 
One other thing I did differently than my neighbors... I planted marigolds around my garden border.
 
queequeg152 said:
worst thing we have in suburban Houston is creepy ass possums.
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     I don't think I've ever heard a better descriptor for a possum. Those tiny beady eyes, that gross bald tail, and those surprisingly huge teeth. A possum snuck up on me at night once and the urge to kick it was almost unbearable.
 
Oh, I will throw a framing hammer at a possum in a hot second. I hate possums. I wish they would all just go to Australia, Where they belong.
 
Worst comes to worst, grow something they like to eat more... as far away from the peppers as possible.  You could make it something inconspicuous that spreads like crazy like dandelions, though if your neighbors see you watering dandelions they might get suspicious.
 
dash 2 said:
 
     I don't think I've ever heard a better descriptor for a possum. Those tiny beady eyes, that gross bald tail, and those surprisingly huge teeth. A possum snuck up on me at night once and the urge to kick it was almost unbearable.
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Damn hard to kill, too.
 
Possums and Skunks are shot on sight at my place. 
 
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