won a battle, losing the war

This morning I shot a fox on an early morning poultry raiding party. The
chickens had just been let out of the chicken house, and the fox scattered
them everywhere. They flew out in the corn field where the fox party was
last seen. I knew I had to get them back before the rest of the fox pack
caught them. They were probably lurking in the corn cover waiting to see
the outcome of their fellow fox that I just shot, and all the chickens were
out there with them.

So I sent Tuck out in the corn field to herd back up the chickens and bring
them all back across the fence to safety. Tuck knew what to do, and
suddenly I saw him standing there doing nothing. He looked at me, and
wagged his tail expectantly as if to say "well?"
i called him again, he looked at his foot, and wagged all the harder.

I told him (again) to get the rest of the chickens, and he stood there
wagging his *** so hard I thought he was going to fall over, but he
didn't move from his spot. Disobedience is not Tuck's style, so I went to
him, and he was stuck in a trap that I wasn't aware was there. My husband,
knowing I never send the dogs on that side of the fence, had placed a trap
trying to handle the poultry marauders. He caught Tuck instead.
Gosh this is a stoic dog! When he was dying of a perforated stomach, with
strangulated intestines and bowel death, as well as septic peritonitis, he
was full of play, and waggy enthusiasm. He never seems to recognize and/or
react to pain of any kind. I've never seen any dog react so little to pain
stimulus.

Anyway, So I released Tuck, and he took off and finished collecting all the
scattered chickens. After a head count, I realized all chickens, ducks and
goose were safe and accounted for.

Fox 0
Me 1
It was a good morning.
Tuck is totally uninjured and did a good mornings work. Good dog.
We are still behind. Predators in the last few weeks have taken 17 ducks,
one goose and 3 chickens

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