Had a bit of excitement this morning...

...or at least the boys did.

Ghost's got a few different "trespasser" modes. When he stands and barks, he's just telling the world - and maybe a few passing scent molecules - who owns his ridge. When he barks and charges off the ridge to the meadow, he's got a specific trespasser in mind but doesn't really plan to do anything but mark territory. But when he growls and disappears like he's shot from a gun - then he's clearing the decks for action. That's what happened this morning. My first notice of this was when Little Bear went crazy. LB was cabled up in the yard and very unhappy at missing the fun, which told me Ghost was chasing something specific and unusual. I was pretty unhappy myself - Ghost used to do this sort of thing from time to time, but then he had a pack of big dogs behind him. Ghost was the most aggressive of the old pack but also the smallest, and I saw more than one creature willing to mix it up with him who changed their minds when they saw the mastodon herd galloping along behind. The last time, it was a big cat. I don't mean a housecat.

And I wondered, as I searched the distant junipers for sight of him: Should I unleash Little Bear? He really wants to go. But I don't trust him to behave sensibly - or to come back promptly afterward.

I returned that shock collar I borrowed quite some time ago. It was a useful experiment, but LB's been so good about staying in the yard lately as long as I'm vigilant. Maybe I should get him a collar and let him off the cable more. He's two years old now, still an idiot but maybe I'm coddling him too much. Ghost could probably have used some backup this morning.