Farm Dogs

[NH Homesteader]

One of my dogs is scared of guns and fireworks but not thunder. The other one is scared of thunder but not guns.... Weird dogs.

My parents use a thundershirt with their dog. It helps but he's still nervous, just not panicky. My husband had a dog as a kid that would go to the cabinet his anxiety meds were stored in and bark... About 20 minutes later, without fail, a thunderstorm would roll in.

 

[tortoise]

There is a way back. Get a dog training thunderstorm audio CD and you play it as quietly as possible while AWESOME things happen. It should be so quiet that he doesn't mind at all. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, then turn it up a TINY bit. Repeat about a hundred million times and turn it up a tiny bit.

It may take months or years, but counter conditioning can be done. Just don't rush it. The sooner you start, the better your chances.

 

[samssimonsays]

Good Gracie!

Stella woke me up one night basically jumping on me and so on. Got up and looked out the window she kept running to that overlooked the goats pen and there was something wrong. All goats but the herd queen at the time were in their shelter and she was at full alert. I got a flashlight and boots on and went out with Stella. She ran down and circled the pen and barn without a peep marking all around it and then stopped between fence and wood line and stared with her hair on end and tail flagged. No noises. Once she felt things were ok she turned around and bumped noses with the goat and she headed back to the shelter as Stella marked one more time and then followed me up to the house again.

 

[baymule]

More Paris.

This one didn't get away.

Killing a snake.

Stalking a copperhead. She was barking like mad so I went to investigate. DH killed the copperhead, but she killed it again and again. LOL

 

[Mini Horses]

Congrats & hope the thunder shirt keeps helping.

I'll bet your dog eventually accepts the lounge shed you built him. It's great, really.

Now, that pile Bay has left -- I think Paris still gets under there to annoy you! Not a status symbol Heck, even your hogs didn't to that kind of damage!! You really PO'd her!

 

[Hinotori]

Everyone is scared of my german shepherd, but unless you threaten me I don't think she'd go after anyone. It's the aussie/heeler cross that's half her size that views everyone with suspicion and has threatening body language to strangers on the property.

 

[baymule]

Parker loves to ride in the Kawasaki mule and helps unload feed.

He plays King of the Mountain

He got real sick, was throwing up and clearly felt terrible. We took him to the vet. The vet had to operate to remove a hickory but lodged in his intestine.

On 9-1-2017 we received the gift of grand daughter #3. She crawls straight to Parker. He is delighted. I love this picture of him giving her a gentle lick on her forehead.

Big hugs. What's not to love about Parker?

 

[goatgurl]

poor emma, when she was a youngster everyone told me she was the ugliest dog around and truth be told she did have a face that only a mother could love but that big happy personality of hers won everyone over. she is a much loved gal. and she is a hard worker around here. JJ is my major protector. nothing can come around here with out her knowing it and telling. she listens to me and obeys immediately where emma may take a while to decide listen. a good farm dog is worth its weight in gold.

 

[baymule]

Polly left us yesterday September 22, 2017. We are heart broken.

I stopped in Shepherd, Texas one afternoon in 2007 for gas. I went inside to pay for it and the ladies working there were making a FREE DOG poster. There was a picture of a blue merle Australian Shepherd, laying on the floor, looking at the camera. And her eyes were looking right at me from that picture. My finger went down on the picture, "Tell me about this dog!"

One of the lady's MIL had the dog. She was just too much dog, too active for the 82 year old lady and she wanted to find a good home for her. I called my husband and told him about the dog. "NO! NO! NO HELL NO! We don't need another dog!" I let him rant for a moment then said, "But her eyes are talking to me! And she is beautiful." He sighed, already beaten and he knew it and said to go see the dog.

I called the lady with the dog and went to her house. Her name was Billie. Billie had wanted a small lap dog and sent her daughter in law (that worked at the gas station/store) to a well known pet store chain in Houston to adopt her one. Billie's DIL saw Polly, it was her last day before being euthanized, so she adopted Polly instead of a small lap dog. Polly had been found wandering around after Hurricane Rita and was estimated to be 6 months old. A 6 month old Australian Shepherd was no lap dog, but Billie was as tenderhearted as her DIL, so she kept her for 2 years, hoping that Polly would settle down. Polly was a ricochet rabbit, boing! boing! boing! running and playing. In the meanwhile, Billie had got a small lap dog and wanted to find Polly a good home.

When I walked in, Polly came straight to me and sat down. Billie was amazed, saying, "She never does that!" As Billie and I talked, Polly stayed at my side. Billie decided that I would be a good Mommy for Polly and said I could take her, but that she didn't like men, she was afraid of them. I said that we could work on that and promised a good home for Polly. I looked down at Polly and told her, "If you want to go home with me, go say goodbye." Polly got right up, walked to Billie, got petted and she came back to me. When I got home with her, this "afraid of men" dog bounded in the house and right up in my husband's lap, delighted to see him. Polly was home.

Polly was sweet dog, she loved us and we loved her. She made instant friends with Danny, our black Lab. She was my constant companion, making every step I did. She must have been kicked and mistreated before Billie adopted her, for a mere touch sent Polly on her feet, escaping from danger, before realizing it was me or DH. She laid in the kitchen floor watching me cook supper and I tried stepping over her, but she did her panic jump, scrambling out of the way. It took several years for her to get over that so I could step over her without her reacting.

Our daughter and son in law had a baby girl and when she started crawling, she made a bee line for Polly. Polly sat still, letting the baby maul her. The baby laced tiny fingers in that luxuriant fur and used Polly to pull up and stand. Polly never flinched, even when handfuls of fur got yanked out. She was so patient.

Everybody loved Polly. Our son in law tried repeatedly to talk us out of Polly, but nothing doing. Polly wasn't my dog, she didn't belong to me. I was her human, I belonged to her. She was utterly devoted to me, she loved me so much, it was humbling. What did I do to deserve so much love?

Our grand daughter would come spend the weekend with us and Polly was always in the middle of what ever we were doing.

Our Grand Daughter loved watching Doc McStuffins on the Disney channel and got a Doc McStuffins doctor kit for Christmas. Polly was her willing patient.

She got her shots.

Her blood pressure was checked.

Polly was the perfect dog for a little girl.

When we went to see them for the weekend, we always took Polly with us. She knew when we got to Jacksonville and would start barking at us. Just past Jacksonville was Love's Lookout, a park and rest stop. We always stopped there for a potty break and she loved to go sniff around. One weekend, we decided to go to Tyler to eat with our DD and family before we went home. It was hot weather and we couldn't leave Polly in the truck. They were coming to see us the following weekend, so we left Polly there. She was in a panic all week, they had to keep a very close eye on her so she didn't get away trying to find me. We never did that again.

My Mom had a stroke at 88 years of age. She went from an active and independent lifestyle to unable to do the things she enjoyed. She had to sell her home and move in with us. We did all we could to make her feel loved and needed, but it was Polly that gave Mom something to live for. Mom fell and fractured her pelvis and it was back to rehab for her. The day I got her out of the hospital and settled her in a room in rehab, I went home and got Polly. Polly knew she was needed and jumped in Mom's bed for special hugs.

Polly made it her job to love Mom and keep her engaged. She nuzzled Mom, lifting her arm or hand, saying, "Pet me!" And Mom did, stroking Polly's soft fur over and over. Mom wasn't even a dog person, but she loved Polly.

On 9-23-2014, we closed on a doublewide on 8 acres just 7 miles from our daughter, her husband and our precious grand daughter. Mom was in steady decline and we made the difficult decision to put her in assisted living. I ran back and forth between our old house and new house, working on the new house. I painted, pulled up carpet and vinyl, laying new flooring and getting it ready for us to move. Polly went with me.

On 2-11-2015 we welcomed our second grand daughter's birth. Three days later we were moving. Our son is a crane operator and travels the country, working. His job had ended and he came to help us move. He left the door of the U-Haul open and Polly jumped in. She wouldn't get out. She had a pretty good idea where we were going and she was making sure that we didn't leave her behind.

Polly was a city dog. When the grass was wet with dew or rain, she walked down the sidewalk to the gutter and down the gutter to a suitable spot to potty. Then she would edge over on the grass, do her business and run back to the house. Once inside, she licked her dainty white paws clean, wiping her ears like a cat. How would she take country life? She plunged right in. On 2-23-2015, nine days after moving, it snowed. Polly, Parker, and Trip the puppy, reveled in the snow, playing. She came back to the house, wet, dirty, and happy.

It wasn't long before Grand Daughter #2 was crawling to Polly, yanking wads of fur and pulling up, standing next to the dog with love in her heart and patience for babies.

Whatever we did on our farm, Polly was part of it. We bought sheep, we added pigs and she took it all in stride. She followed the tractor, she watched us build things, she helped in the garden, she was always with us. She chased rabbits, rolled in the dirt, ate chicken poop and June bugs and had a good life.

On September 1, 2016 we were blessed with another Grand Daughter. We moved here because we were missing watching our #1 Grand Daughter grow up and now we have 3 Grand Daughters! Life is good. And yes, Grand Daughter #3 just recently crawled to Polly and pulled up on her.

Polly is woven in the threads of the tapestry of our lives. She slept on the floor next to my side of the bed since I brought her home. She followed me to the bathroom. She followed me from room to room as I did laundry, cooked our meals, cleaned the house, bringing to life the old expression, "Dogging my every footstep."

 

[baymule]

I just had to post more pics of Parker. Gosh we love this dog!

Tonight the 1 year old played with an empty gatorade bottle. She gave it to Parker, he politely took it and dropped it. She picked it up, offered it to Parker, he politely took it and dropped it. They played the bottle game a long time.