The Dogs and the Herd

Today I want to talk about the neighbor’s dogs. There are about five shepherd dogs that take care of the goats, and sometimes the neighbor lets them roam free to guard the herd.

When I pass through the short path to the center of Zhelen, they are very often aggressive and bark at me. The first few times I was really scared, but I pass through this path so often that it has become part of my lifestyle.

Some days I use pepper spray, other days I scream at them and throw sticks, and other days I throw small noise bombs to scare them away. Anyway, now I’m not that scared anymore, especially because I know that the worst thing I can do in this situation is run.

Putting that aside, I know these are not bad dogs — they are just doing their job. Still, experiences like this can be very frightening for people. So here’s a tip: if you hear the bells of the goats, don’t go there if you don’t have pepper spray and if you don’t have experience with these dogs. They are much more aggressive when they are close to the herd.

Mila ^^