Hedgehogs.

Our prickly friends seem to be coming to life after their winter hibernation and are now back feeding in our gardens. Like many, I have rather a soft spot for them but would rather keep them at arms length due to the parasites that they seem to carry with them. The dogs on the blog have no qualms about taking them on however, and there was a notable confrontation involving a large specimen of the species in the garden the other night. Its funny how dogs do not seem to realise that the spikes on a hedgehog are there for defensive purposes. You might have thought that many thousands of years of encounters with the spiky animals might have taught them this.

There is also the fact that, in general, when it comes to canine v hedgehog confrontations, humans may well take the side of the hedgehogs, as indeed happened in this case.

The dogs were forced to beat a hasty retreat.