Lhasa apsos maybe don't have an interest in guarding fruit trees

 Peppa was sitting at the top of the steps on our back porch the other night, staring at something. I went over to see what it was, and she wandered away.

It was a giant rat, eating our pears on the  tree, so big I thought at first it might be a possum. But the skinny tail gave its identity away. It ran off into some of the bigger trees and along the fence, after I came close. 

Some guard dog. 

And today she sat in the same spot gazing at rainbow lorikeets as they nibbled more of the fruit. 

 

The tree is only a couple of metres high, and right alongside the railing. She could practically have snapped up the rat or the birds without even stretching! (Well, given that the rat was nearly as big as she is, I wouldn't actually want her to try, to be quite honest.)

When I came closer, the birds flew up into another tree and chitterted at me in annoyance until Peppa and I went inside and the cheeky birds could resume eating our pears. 

Hunting a rat and eating a bone

Penny was outside and the humans were inside, and there came a peremptory bark. Just one. The sort of bark that says, 'Come here. Please...'

So out I went. Her tail was lashing from side to side, so I knew she had cornered some unfortunate little creature. Okay, I don't like the rats eating our produce, but neither am I particularly fond of seeing Penny kill another creature. So two humans turned on its side the planter where the rat was hiding and it shot off into the garden.

Penny didn't see it go, so she checked and rechecked for a while.

Hmm, maybe it had gone into the other planter. Nope, not there.

Where could that darned thing be?

Oh, I'll just dig up that old bone I buried a couple of days ago and enjoy that. It doesn't matter that it's covered in dirt and gravel, I'm sure I've earned such a tasty reward.