Rialey: Future Farmdog

  So I have to apologize for the lack of posts in the last few weeks, but for the last week or so I think I have a pretty good excuse. A certain puppy, on her first day with us, chewed through the power chord on my laptop in one good chomp. And who is this tiny force of destruction? Let me formally introduce the newest member of our canine pack and our next farmdog extraordinaire....

Meet Rialey! 

  Rialey (pronounced Riley) is a 12 week old English Shepherd who we are very excited to have here on the farm. Our sweet, hard working Luna is going to be 9 years old in the spring, so we figured it was high time we started training her successor. 

 We chose an English Shepherd because I was looking for a farm dog that would be a little bigger than Luna. A dog who would help with herding the poultry and sheep and keep a watchful eye on all the goings on here on the farm. English Shepherds are an american breed that are truly bred to be farm dogs, selectively chosen and trained for performance and temperament over looks (though you have to admit our girl is awful pretty!).

  We were a bit worried at first because the little girl was very spooky when we got her home. It took a few days and there are still some things that throw her for a loop, but she is really coming out of her shell and shaping up to be a great pup. She already has a firm grasp on the basics of sit, down, stay, and loose leash walking as well as a couple of fun puppy tricks. She is also doing very well with our motley crew of cats and dogs. She and Barley are the bestest of best friends, and I'll often catch her looking to Luna when she is not sure how to response to a new situation.  

  I'm sure there will be tons and tons of posts about the raising and training of our newest farmdog, so please stay tuned! 

A possum's tale

 Over on Facebook, I posted a picture of this little guy who decided to join us on our last turkey processing day.

This little possum was obviously very young and confused. I went as far as nudging the little guy with a stick and he didn't move. 

Well, a few days later, I found this in the backyard. I can assure you that this one is not playing possum. She(?) was huge and very dead. I can only assume that this was the mother of the little guy pictured above and that the pups made an orphan of that baby. I disposed of the body and thought we were done with these varmints for a while until I saw Sonny snacking away at something a few days later. Yep, another day, another dead possum.

I guess I can't complain too much. These varmints are pests on the farm who will steal eggs, eat young chicks, and even kill adult birds if given the chance. I just wish the dogs would quit rolling around in the rotting carcasses of their spoils! Yick!!

Barley's Job

Around this place pretty much everyone has a job. The ducks lay eggs, the cats act as pest control, the shelties work as herding dogs and do their best to guard the place as well. Barley? Well, the idea was that Barley would provide some of the muscle. He's a nice sized dog, a mix of breeds known for their pulling power, so we thought it would be a simple thing to have him help move things from time to time. Unfortunately, the first couple times he was hooked up to anything that moved, the dude was completely freaked out. I decided to take a few steps back and start with something simple.....

That's an empty box attached to a leash that is attached to his normal harness. It took a little while and a lot of tasty treats, but eventually he got comfortable with having something dragging behind him. By the end of the training session, he was dragging the box with a couple bricks and chunks of firewood inside with gusto!

So there is hope that the big goof will be useful after all!