| Lighthouse Farm |
The Old Farm DogThe old farm dog has gone to her grave. We obtained her over 12 years ago when we lived on an acre of land, a Golden Retriever. I trained her to know the boundaries of our first property which she followed for the most part. Many times I would find her right on the property line watching the neighbor boy play outside.She was a natural hunter. We allowed her to go into a field once when we were taking a walk and she weaved back and forth to scare up pheasant for us to shoot. She actually did scare one up and looked back at us, waiting for us to do our part. We didn't even own a gun back then. And we never di get around to hunting with her. She was a natural retriever as well. One walk brought us to a pond filled with pond lilies. She immediately jumped in and began to retrieve the lilies one by one, dropping them at our feet. We had to literally drag her away from that pond to get her to stop or she would have cleared out that whole pond. We lived in the city for about 4 years with her. Not a good place for a dog, atleast this dog. She's a farm dog although she managed. She had two litters of 11 puppies each and proved to be an excellent mother. The neighborhood children were enthralled with the puppies. That was the closest any of them had ever come to a farm, visiting a farm dog (misplaced in the city temorarily) with pups. We finally moved to the country once again, 8 acres. She marked the whole territory and patrolled it daily. She was great at keeping animals away. Stray, diseased cats didn't dare venture onto our property. Rabbits and chipmunks were her meals. Raccoons were not a problem around the house. Moles were dug up and killed. Never had a stray dog problem. When we began to aquire farm animals, she learned her place. Her "birdiness" showed as she stalked our chickens. A couple of scoldings was all it took for her to know they are not to be touched. It wasn't long before she allowed them to congregate around her, as she napped and they scratched up the ground around her. She even warmed up to the cats we accumulated to keep down the mice. She allowed them to keep themselves warm next to her and occasionally cleaned them as she used to clean her pups. Moving out to the country convinced us of the importance of a farm dog. She barked at any one and every one who drove into our driveway. Some folks were too scared to get out of their cars and would honk their horns to get our attention. We never had a robber or any vandalizing, although our neighbor did. She was our doorbell before the doorbell. When we were in the milking parlor or out in the garden and heard her barking, we knew we had guests. She was showing her age about a year ago. Although she was as energetic as a puppy, she was quite grey around her face, and a bit stiff in the mornings, especially when she slept on concrete. John bought a puppy in preparation to replace her. We've known the older dogs are effective in training the younger ones. The old dog had some good qualities we wanted to see in her replacement. She taught the pup to bark at any one and every one that pulled into our drive. She taught the pup how to dig up moles. She subdued the pup and taught it to mind us by her example. She tried to teach the pup that cats were no big deal, but never seemed to perfect that lesson. She sustained a back injury prior to our move to Minnesota which aged her considerably. Now, she was no longer energetic and was a bit tempered with the pup. We're not sure if the injury was due to some rough playing with the pup or if she sprained it when she chased (and nearly caught) the huge stray dog that ventured onto our little homestead. Our daughters prayed she would live until our move. They were hoping she would be able to help clear out the wild animals and teach the pup to do so before she passed on. We loaded her onto the back of our pick-up for the big move. She and the pup found a spot somewhere in the piles of stuff that were crammed in there. We made the trip in 15 hours with minimal stops. It was dark once we arrived. We opened the back of the truck and called for the dogs. The pup scrambled out eagerly. We waited for the old farm dog. Nothing. We called her again. Nothing. Just when we thought it was the end of the line for her, we heard some movement and slowly the farm dog emerged, looking very old and stiff. Looks like the Lord agreed with the girls' prayers. She managed to be effective in getting rid of the raccoons around our immediate living area. However, she gradually was growing stiffer and less energetic. Instead of getting up to bark at folks who ventured up our driveway, she barked from her lying-down position. Nearly every night when the coyotes howled and yipped from our south woods, she barked louder in return which silenced them and they never ventured near our living area. In her younger days she would have wandered out to that woods to mark her territory during the day and would have taken the whole pack on when they came at night. But her bark must have been effective for we haven't heard the coyotes these past few weeks. On occasion in the middle of the night, she barked unlike anything we have ever heard. Very ferocious and aggressive. We often wonder if on those nights she was barking away the black bear that has been spotted by a couple of folks in our area. The pup is now 6 months old and is close to full-grown size. She hasn't learned all that she needs to defend our property, but she is on the right track. This past month she has not rough-housed with the old farm dog. The old farm dog rarely got up anymore. Her last night with us, she managed to bark at some predator unkown to us. Her last effort in defending the place. The old farm dog is no longer with us. She's served her purpose now and it's time for the young pup to take over. And such is the way of life. The Farmer's Wife 11:00 - 2006-Jul-24 - post comment
|
Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |