A few weeks ago our dog, Maggie was sounding her "snake bark". When I went down in creek below the house where she and Rosie were there was in fact a banded water snake. This past Saturday afternoon she started it again in the same place so I went to see again and instead of a snake a 300# bear stuck her head around a tree on the other side of the creek from where both dogs were. I got them to follow me back home after we ran her off. About an hour later the dogs went back out and headed right back for the creek and started barking again. Again I went back and she was back again. I gathered the dogs again and headed home. This time the dogs were kept in the house for the night.
There only a few reasons she would have come back, food, which there was none available or she had cubs. The next morning the dogs and I went back to investigate and found a large locust with claw marks going up the tree and loose bark around the base.
I don't worry much about Maggie getting in trouble with the wildlife here. She's been dealing with them since we got her 4 years ago and knows to keep her distance but aggravate the bears, and coyotes to run them off which she does all the time.
I don't feed the birds in the summer just to be sure I don't have anything that will attract them to the house but I love knowing they are out there.
To answer Ed's question...bring the bird feeders in at night or they will be back in their search for food.
