[jonesy814]

A couple weeks ago I posted a short story here about a dog, a skunk and me. Here is a link to it
Adventure of a Dog Walker

I thought I would follow up a bit. When she gets wet, and you are real close there is still a bit of a funky smell, but it is very faint. Bandit is up to 100 pounds and strong as an ox. She still goes for a daily mile or 2 run\walk along side my cousins car, rain or shine. He has clocked her at 20 mph. We walk a country road and see & hear a lot of wildlife. I see deer a couple nights a week and have heard coyotes a few times. A neighbor has seen black bear, and rabbits,skunks, racoons, porcupines and possum could be encountered on about any night. Bandit, an American Akita , has a heck of a predator instinct and when she wants something, she intends to get it. She can open the fridge (he had to install a lock), open some doors and just recently figured out the screen door latch. She has a 23 inch neck with legs and chest of solid muscle. She is fearless, and stronger than me. I took this picture tonight

Here is what I take with each night I walk her. I carry my model 60 Pro with 140gr XTP's in a Galco holster. I also take my Kershaw knife and the Ray o vac flashlight.

The light puts out 320 lumens on high beam and 40 on low. It is just right to grip 1 handed or even with a few fingers but will light up objects 50 yards away like daylight. The model 60 is my only gun with a night sight.

A couple more I took tonight

Next time I'll tell you about the possum

 

[Curt360]

Nice set up! One must be prepared for those vicious skunks and other critters that roam the night.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Nice set up! One must be prepared for those vicious skunks and other critters that roam the night.

Whatever you say is good with me. Skunks by nature aren't aggressive but, like their feline cousins, they are curious. We have a family living in the big barn and it's kit time and I'd like nothing better than to capture a kit, have it debagged and make it a house pet. You can litter box train them and they are intelligent enough to be leash trained as well.

I'd sure like to walk down a city street, like in Toledo, with a 'Simon' walking next to me. I bet people would give me a very wide berth.

The only time a skunk can be aggressive is when they have given birth and they are protecting their kits.

They come out every evening and congregate under the bird feeders to grub around for grubs and eat the spilled sunflower seeds. We usually have 4 or 5 under the feeders. Fun to watch. Also fun to watch our cats intermingle with them (never get sprayed either), skunks and cats get along just fine.

One time my wife was feeding the barn cats late and didn't bother turning on the lights. The barn cats were all round the feed dish and my wife was petting them and petted a wood ***** too. She said it 'felt' different and then she realized it wasn't a cat, was a wood *****. She never got sprayed.

 

[Boriqua]

That is a great looking dog!!

Seems like a lot if fire power for skunks though!

Nasty things. Once that smell gets in your nose it seems to stay there for a month!

 

[mrerick]

What an absolutely gorgeous Akita. These are wonderful dogs. Their reputation for loyalty and fierceness is surely justified. It takes a dedicated owner, and you have a loyal friend for life.

100 pounds of what appears to be solid muscle with a little fur to make everything soft and cuddly. All neatly concealing a couple of rows of very useful teeth controlled by 400PSI of bite force.

Until I lost him last September, I walked two Bearded collies through my woods - together about 110 pounds on eight legs. The walks were generally uneventful, with the occasional smelly rock that moves (box turtle) making things interesting. I only once needed a shotgun on these journeys, and that was when my 65 pound male decided he wanted to play with the noisy rattlesnake. It took quite a bit of effort to help him decide not to continue his quest.

A model 60, flashlight and pocket knife are always good companions when away from home.

 

[jonesy814]

What an absolutely gorgeous Akita. These are wonderful dogs. Their reputation for loyalty and fierceness is surely justified. It takes a dedicated owner, and you have a loyal friend for life.

100 pounds of what appears to be solid muscle with a little fur to make everything soft and cuddly. All neatly concealing a couple of rows of very useful teeth controlled by 400PSI of bite force.

Until I lost him last September, I walked two Bearded collies through my woods - together about 110 pounds on eight legs. The walks were generally uneventful, with the occasional smelly rock that moves (box turtle) making things interesting. I only once needed a shotgun on these journeys, and that was when my 65 pound male decided he wanted to play with the noisy rattlesnake. It took quite a bit of effort to help him decide not to continue his quest.

A model 60, flashlight and pocket knife are always good companions when away from home.

She is indeed gorgeous. Hard to believe that on December 30 she only weighed 58 pounds. My cousin says the my wife and I are the only people besides him that can walk in his door and not get barked at. I told him that if he is ever in a situation where he cant keep her that we would take her. He takes Bandit everywhere he goes and had her down to the reservoir on tuesday to see how she would do around water. He said she swims like a fish

 

[mrerick]

Akitas only bark when they can't reach you to deliver their "power projection"... Why alert a target?

 

[WendyZXZ]

Looking great both the dog and the gear!