This is the time of year we like to put out bird and wildlife feeders. When finding the right place to hang your feeder, have you ever stopped to think how it will affect Fido?

Good placement will give him hours of entertainment, but a bad choice can lead to excessive barking and unhappy neighbors.

Most people only think of birds feasting on the feeder, but other wildlife, such as squirrels may frequent the buffet.

Fido will respond in one of three ways to a bird feeder: he will either show no interest at all, he may be fascinated by watching it, or he may suffer from over stimulation leading to unwanted behavior. Before you place a feeder in a permanent location, it is a good idea to give it a temporary test run to see how your pooch will act.

Many sporting breeds naturally find bird feeders fascinating. Place a feeder within eyesight and most will happily watch it for hours, occupying their time while you’re at work or out running errands.

Most dogs are satisfied with just watching silently, but problems may arise if you move your furniture disrupting Fido’s view.

Some dogs can be quite persistent about regaining his view and may destroy anything in his path.

A dog’s response to a squirrel feeder is more individual and less predictable.

Very few dogs show no interest in squirrels. Fido will most likely show a high interest, often high enough to cause problem behavior. If your dog barks every time a squirrel comes into sight, the last thing you want is a squirrel feeder.

You may have an entertained and occupied dog, but you probably will have some less than amused neighbors.

Also, your dog will probably will want to get to the feeder as soon as possible when he is let outside. This can mean trampled plants or trampled anything in his direct path to the feeder.

You may think, “Hey, if it don’t work out- I’ll just take it down.” Wildlife comes to depend on winter feeders and just taking them down can have major consequences on their well being.

So, when choosing a feeder, keep in mind your dog’s possible response and choose a location accordingly.

Remember, every dog deserves to be treated like a show dog.

Tony Barker

The BARKer Shop