Education
She's a big lovey 400Kilo dog - she wants to be in my lap, with her huge head on my shoulder and it's really sweet but out of my comfort zone for hooved animals.
I'm teaching her her boundaries, such as bumping me with her nose is not allowed, and she can stand close but not force me to move out of her way. Donkeys, so I've read, learn that people and things move out of their way so I've been doing some shoving back to show her I'm not moving - she has to go around me.
I'm teaching her her boundaries, such as bumping me with her nose is not allowed, and she can stand close but not force me to move out of her way. Donkeys, so I've read, learn that people and things move out of their way so I've been doing some shoving back to show her I'm not moving - she has to go around me.
I'm also trying to teach her "back" and "over" and targeting. I think she's slow. Slower than Baasha, who's never been bright. She gets a treat for touching the target, but it's not worth it or something, I don't know what her problem is.
So, thinking that animals can learn from each other, I brought the target over to Baasha who was standing politely a ways away. He loves that game and has it down really well. I can hold it anywhere and he targets fast, so fast I have to be quick. Bellis stood there watching him but she is slow-motion animal - he always got to it first so he got the treat. I had to back away from Baasha to give her a chance again. She's better at it today. I think we'll do a lot of targeting and then move to using the clicker to get her the heck out of my way when I need her to move. She's just so affectionate, and so freaking slow, and has such thick skin my poking and prodding does nothing. It's a joy to go over to Baasha and barely touch him and he swings away precisely as I asked. OK that's 23 years of relationship and I'm spoiled!
She's a big dog in that she puts everything in her mouth first, and asks questions later. Also, she follows me everywhere, very cute. She watches me, leaving her food to just stare at whatever I'm doing out there. She picked up the electrical cord tonight in her mouth and I threw a brush at her - I need to be very careful to not leave anything where she can reach it. She's not exactly low-impact like Baasha. I think this mouthiness will be good for teaching her to pick things up/carry things if I get that far. After the cord thing I gave her a beat up chair cushion to play with and she shredded it. I have to rebuild my halter hooks somewhere out of her reach - she's proven that she'll take them down and chew them up. Agh. Baasha never touched anything that wasn't food with his lips and I've been so spoiled - you all know I had his tack and grooming stuff in his stall with him and it was never an issue.
Living arrangements
Since Bellis is the boss, but a non-threatening one (literally she does not threaten, she just goes where she wants and Baasha gets out of her way), I still separate them a little bit to give Baasha his mash, or if they're out on the big pasture, they won't even bother coming in so I just leave them. I am not letting them on the big pasture constantly because we're trying to grow hay now. The 2 grazing strips are getting very eaten down with full time grazing. So I'm doing a mixture and it's proving well - Bellis respects our fence exactly like Baasha, even with massive temptation of profuse April grass right there. I sure hope this continues!
Previously Baasha would always prefer to come in to his stall and have hay and security - now he is out there grazing which is ideal and what we'd hoped for. I will let them out on the big pasture occassionally to let the strips recover, and try not to worry when they don't come in.
Previously Baasha would always prefer to come in to his stall and have hay and security - now he is out there grazing which is ideal and what we'd hoped for. I will let them out on the big pasture occassionally to let the strips recover, and try not to worry when they don't come in.
Like Kacy did with Wa, I've had to set up watering stations in various locations simply because Baasha is glued to the donkey and if he's thirsty, he will not leave her to go get water. Now there are troughs everywhere so there's no chance of him getting dehydrated for his psychotic attachment.
Psychotic attatchment
It's been exactly 2 weeks and I see an improvement but it's been rough. I cannot stand seeing Baasha stress and he has been doing a lot of it lately, especially when I'm around. He just doesn't trust that the donkey is here to stay, and I cannot blame him. He's lost other companions. He flips out when she moves from her stall to her tiny paddock adjacent to the stall (it's about the same size as the stall). Or when she moves from the paddock back to the stall, he nickers urgently to her to not leave him. It's really pathetic but finally it's better. When they're out at pasture it's no issue - they graze 50 meters apart with no freaking out. But if I come around with a halter, Baasha goes nuts - he thinks I'll separate them. Poor baby, I cannot blame him. He's been doing stress yawning - have you seen a horse do that? They yawn 3 times in a row on purpose to release endorphins and alleviate their own tension. He does this with his head over the divider wall, with Bellis right under his nose. This has been rough for him, but good - and better now. Tonight I was working on him grooming him in his stall, and if Bellis left her side to go chew on her birch tree, he did not freak.
Omax for donkeys*
It's kind of nasty if you are a Star Trek Next Gen fan - but I found how she likes her ears rubbed and it reminds me of those Ferengis - it brings her to bliss. I guess I've never had an animal that loves rubbing *inside* the ears. It's not exactly clean in there but she loves it more than treats so this is a great way to develop our friendship.
*The Ferengi: The Ferengi were the from the planet Ferenginar. They had prominent ears which were also their main erogenous zones. Foreplay for Frengi was called "omax" which is the stroking or massaging of the Frengi ear lobes. To call male Ferengi chauvinistic pigs is to be kind. Female Ferengi's didn't have life so good--they were forbidden by law to wear clothes and had few if any rights.
OMG the Braying
This occurs 1-2 times per day, up to 3. It's really bad. If you've never heard a donkey bray, trust me, you don't want to. It's a horrific sound of death/torture. She brays between 7 and 8 to get us up, and she brays in the evening to say "Are you home from work yet lytha, come on out here and rub my ears!"
I apologized to the terrier lady today, I'm so sorry about the braying, and she said, "What? It's nothing? I haven't even heard it - no worries, we live in the country!" Whew.
I will not respond to this bray, and if she does it as I open the house door, I will just go back inside. If anyone has any tips about quieting a donkey, please tell me. I do think it will get better with time as she fits in here and as she is no longer separated. If she has complete freedom of movement and as much food as she wants, there is hopefully no need to break our eardrums.
Baasha's mental state
Baasha is coming back to me mentally, but he certainly doesn't look at me like he used to. I hope that comes back. It's best for his best friend to be an animal, but I miss his calm. He'll get it back, in time.
The best thing of all is that she doesn't attack him outright, and she's only dominant because he's acting like such a baby. When that changes, things might change.
Baasha is so angelic, so statuesque in comparison to this rough wild animal, Bellis. It's so odd to go from grooming her rough coat to Baasha's sleek summer coat. I cannot get over it: )
Baasha is so angelic, so statuesque in comparison to this rough wild animal, Bellis. It's so odd to go from grooming her rough coat to Baasha's sleek summer coat. I cannot get over it: )
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12 comments:
How lovely to catch up on what has been happening. The photos are delightful. There are donkeys in a field I take human past. They bray...as you say a horrific noise.
I like the inside of my ears rubbed. Preferably with a stiff brush. I go all wibbly wobbly it's heavenly.
Rub her ears instead of offering treats for tricks. Obviously treats (at least the ones you've tried) aren't high value enough. I doubt she's dumb, you just haven't interested her enough yet ;)
I'm so glad it's working out so well for yall!
She has been a spoiled donkey! LOL
As in she hasnt been taught manners!
Baasha is so pretty! He does sound like a big baby! LOL LOL
Glad they are getting along good!
So, are you glad she is there? Or if you could do it all over, would you still take her? It's wonderful that she is so affectionate. Don't worry about the braying, especially if whe doesn't bray very often. She has to talk sometimes. . . I really hope that this works out for you and Baasha.
It seems this has been quite a learning curve for you (and Baasha and Bellis, too, I guess)! I suppose at the times you get discouraged, or just confused, it would be important to remember your goal was for Baasha to have a companion, and that seems to be working out...
Gosh, Scout loves to have the inside of his ears bubbed with a terry cloth rag or with a soft body brush...is that wierd?
Good on you for teaching him good manners and making him respect your space :)
So many people don't do that.
Good that it's (mostly) working out. Baasha: grow a spine you big weeniebutt. Okay,not gonna happen, but when Bellis doesn't leave him and doesn't leave him, I hope he will relax a bit!
Glad they are getting along and Im sure he will become "normal" again once he realizes she is here to stay. My horse loves it when i rub in her ears and its so icky in there I hate to do it, but she loves it so much I do, the things we do for animals.
Pippin takes the halters and lead ropes off the hooks from his stall, but luckily he just throws them on the ground - doesn't eat them!
What a fun learning experience!
As someone who has owned donkeys and raised mules, I don't think your donkey is "slow" at all. In fact, I think she's smart enough to not want to play the games. One has to remember that donkeys (and mules) think completely differently than horses do. They are less likely to play games because they just don't see the point - even if there are treats involved.
As far as the bray.....that comes with the animal. I would actually tell someone not to own a donkey (or mule) if they weren't prepared to deal with the bray. In all honestly, the more the donkey gets to know you and her new environment you may find that she brays more. It is how she communicates after all.
Whoa!! How did I not know you already use clicker training? Have you mentioned it before? Or maybe I missed it or forgot? LOL! I'm excited now. If she isn't treat motivated though I don't know how effective it will be. Maybe you need a treat she likes more? Or find her itchy spots (like her ears since she likes it so much). The rewards don't have to be food (so I've heard, I've been blessed with piggy horses and dogs in my life lol).
Wow, Baasha has spoiled you!! If I leave anything in the pasture it gets destroyed lol. :D Learning to cope with stress is good for all living creatures, but it is hard to see I agree. It sounds like he's doing well though. Reading about Baasha's attachement makes me soooo happy Chrome is so independent. :)
Aww I love the braying. :) I guess I'm just weird that way. I think you're doing everything right for keeping her quieter so don't stress over it. She will quiet down as she gets more settled in.
Baasha will get back to normal. He's just had his world totally rocked and it takes time to adjust. Try not to worry too much. :) I really think the donkey is going to be a good thing over all. Hang in there!
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