Dexter's first close encounter with a deer :)
 

This deer was just standing in our backyard grazing, such an awesome sight! It didn't pay me any mind and it wasn't until Dexter ran up barking that it stopped eating. They stared each other down for a moment and then it was gone with the flick of a tail in just a few graceful bounds. Had to share...They're so beautiful :)

That's an amazing pic! Thanks for posting it! Glad it was you taking the picture Around here deer do a crazy amount of damage to plants. I exclusively use natives for my landscape, but can't keep a witchhazel, Rosa, or Rhododendron species in my front yard since it's not fenced. The fence around my backyard won't keep deer out, but it does keep my dog in. Slightly different situation if such an encounter happened here. My dog is around the same size as the deer, and very protective of his territory. I think of deer similarly to Bulbos that stink. Both are definitely beautiful. At your house! Except deer probably taste better. Never having tasted a Bulbo I can only speculate.

:rofl:
Oh that made me laugh!

Luckily my 2 big dogs (Great Dane and English Mastiff) were both safely behind a gate on the deck. They're very well trained but will wander if they catch a scent and I'm not watching to call them back. At the time my daughter was here and the 2 youngest grandkids were running around so I figured I had enough to keep my eyes on. I still can't believe the noise of the boys running around playing didn't seem to bother it at all, if I hadn't walked around the hedge to pick up dog doo I never would have even known it was there. Just between us I screamed a little :blushing: and still it stood there cropping grass while I fumbled for my phone and got this pic. It wasn't until Dexter sighted it and ran up barking that it even acknowledged that it had company. My daughter and the boys all had time to run over and see it. My 5 year old grandson was particularly delighted :biggrin:

Sounds like you have what we call "park deer". When they live someplace without hunting pressure they lose much of their fear of humans. They're not stupid, but they tolerate much closer human proximity than deer which are hunted.

Dexter's first close encounter with a deer :)
 

Last Saturday, I took our miniature long-haired dachshund, Hobbes (he's a mini mini at just under ten pounds) out into the back yard one last time before going out to dinner, and he started to walk to the back of the yard, into the woods. Up pops this doe, on the other side of the fence, and rather than bolting, which we've seen hundreds of times in the 25 years we've lived here, she jumped over the fence, runs at him and starts stomping on him with her front hooves.
I freaked and ran at her, screaming and yelling, and she ran away, snorting and huffing. I suspect, but did not see, a fawn nearby.
Hobbes spent three days at the emergency vet, after having surgery to push his spleen back into his body cavity, and he has one hell of a hoof-shaped bruise on this side, and a cut on the other, but he's happy to be home and healing.
That could have gone a whole different way...
I am far less tolerant of deer in my yard than I used to be.


Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com

Yes, we actually live in a pretty well populated area, I guess it could be considered the suburbs but there are a lot of high traffic roads here. There just happens to be about 14 acres of undeveloped land behind us. Zero chance of being shot at so they have probably developed a certain level of comfort.

Love the picture. Ray I am so sorry about Hobbes, glad he is going to be alright. The white tail can get pretty aggressive, mule deer not so much. And they stay out of towns better. Someone in our town lost there dog in there yard a couple of years ago. It jumped into there back yard and gored it. It was not protecting it's baby. It was a buck.

Oh Ray! Im so sorry for your poor little man, so glad he's going to be ok! <3

Thank you so much for the warning, I never would have thought of it. It can be easy to forget that they're wild animals and should be respected as such. I will be much more aware of their potential danger now. Dexter is about 13 pounds but he has the heart of a lion...what other breed has the nerves of steel required to hunt badgers? Theyre vicious creatures. Bravery doesn't always equal brains unfortunately tho. Tell Hobbes that Dexter and the rest of our gang wish him a speedy recovery <3

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How terrible! I will definitely be more aware and diligent with the dogs now. Thank you for sharing the story.

You bet, but it's still a cute picture. I liked seeing it.

That's terrible, and I'm glad your little guy will be ok. May I suggest you switch him to one of the venison based foods? That behavior is not unusual for a doe nursing a fawn, or a buck during the rut in the early autumn. That snorting sound is not to be taken slightly!