The Hushing and Shushing did not work for Misty going outside tonight.
But then there were three deer just the other side of the fence. And they did not retreat all that far either.
About
The life and thoughts of Freda Marshall, a retired Church of Scotland minister living amongst the mountains and glens of Argyll.Pages
 HUSH & SHUSH!!! ((by Miss T Marshall)
I sometimes wonder what my humans think I am and what my role in life really is.
The reason I have this conundrum is that the latest words to come my way are Hush and Shush. These are mostly hissed at me early in the morning or last thing at night, both of which are my own special times. You see, as I understand it my role in life is to make sure my house, garden and humans are protected from all comers which includes four legged ones. To do this properly requires a patrol first thing and last thing in the day.
Let me explain –
Where we live we have fields , a forest and houses near to us. I know the sounds which come from the houses must be accepted, people can come and go at all hours and unless something really unusual happens I pay no attention. However, in my book this does not apply to other sounds or sightings.
First thing in the morning when I go out, if it is really early, I sometimes see Red Deer coming out of the forest and I hurl a quick series of barks at them to make them turn about and go back in to their forest. Other than that all I usually see or hear are cats which have come to annoy Fox (our cat and my friend). I really don’t think I am out of order barking to keep the garden free from them.
I really love when I go out last thing at night – this is when I patrol the whole garden area for the creatures of the night – foxes, cats and deer. The Red Deer don’t often come out at this time but Roe Deer roam in the fields in front of the house. Now Roe Deer sometimes actually come in to the garden so I consider I should prevent this. and they are just so much fun to bark at. I can run backwards and forwards along the fence barking my head off and they just stand there watching me. This is like a red rag to a bull for me – how dare they stand there while I am barking at them to go away. I raise my bark to a much higher and louder one. Then – all I hear is Hush & Shush being hissed at me by one of my humans coming out of the house towards me. Mostly I just ignore this, after all Hushing and Shushing is no fun.
As I say – I just can’t understand why I cannot fulfil my role in life as the household guardian without these new words being directed at me!
Thank you for your story and observations Miss T Marshall