Ghost the Misguidedly Aggressive

Ghost has two aggressive modes. When he goes down to the meadow and barks, I don't pay it much mind; he's very possessive of his territory (a virtue in a watchdog) and sometimes feels the need to express his ownership to the neighboring critters. There may or may not be a specific reason for this; if the coyotes start singing, he's certain to put on a show but sometimes he does it for no discernible cause.

But then sometimes he shoots himself like an arrow, without making a sound other than the drumming of paws. This means he's going into battle, and that as a proper nanny I'd damned well better gun up and find out what he's getting himself into.

Often it's just cattle. Cattle used to be a problem, because he'd lead the whole pack into battle against the invading hordes and somebody could get hurt. If the cattle didn't do it, the rancher damned well might if he happened to see or hear it. They may by law and will by inclination shoot cattle-chasing dogs. While in my heart I don't really blame them for this, it is imperative that they don't take it into their heads to shoot MY dogs. So when I see bad stuff going down, I really need to get my elderly ass down off the ridge and head off trouble.

This morning I happened to be in a position to see the whole thing go down. We were headed from the barn to the Interim Lair. Ghost saw a couple of cattle in the little triangle of meadow across the road, maybe 300 yards away. He went into Instant Hyperdrive. I swore in irritation, looked again harder, and then started running as best I could. There were three cattle down there, and one was a calf. Momma cows act completely different when there's a calf involved.

Sure enough, instead of heading off or ignoring the whole brouhaha, as they usually do, a big black cow turned and started heading right at Ghost. Okay, that one's the mother. Now: Will Ghost have sense enough to realize how much he just bit off? Alternately, can I get within pistol range before he becomes a moist spot on the meadow? Dammit, why didn't I grab my rifle? This is why I keep it handy.

As it turned out, Ghost had no intention of either giving in to the (now very motivated) cow or getting stomped into a tortilla by her. He was in heaven, dodging and dancing around her while she worked herself into a slobbering, stamping mass of pissed-off beef. If she'd had two brain cells and a synapse hidden somewhere in that thick skull she might have figured out that Ghost wasn't paying any attention to her baby at all; he was just having fun getting a rise out of her. That wouldn't stop him from becoming an ex-dog if she got her way, but by that time I and the two BIG dogs were obviously approaching. That was enough opposition to get through to her: She and the second cow bumped the terrified calf and headed for the wash. Ghost ignored my shouts enough to follow, though he didn't chase. He'd had his fun, and finally came at my call and we went for a walk in the other direction.

Little shithead.