So, what is it about dogs?  Bill and I are not “dog people” If you don’t know what I mean by that you probably are one, no offense intended, we just prefer to keep our “awwww, cutsey wootsies” to ourselves.  We do appreciate having a good dog around.  To us a good dog is one that can follow us while doing chores but not get in the way.  A dog that knows he belongs outside but respectfully appreciates the times when he’s allowed in the house.  A good dog barks at strange vehicles coming in the driveway but never at the resident vehicles.  He will approach a strange vehicle barking the whole way but give a friendly sniff (and not in the inappropriate place) when the occupant comes out.  Most of all, a good dog is loyal, sees the place as his property to guard and doesn’t run off. 

 

When Bill and I got married we had a good dog, no, an awesome dog.  Shelly was a cross between a lab and a golden retriever and possessed the best traits of both breeds.  She was smart, loyal and listened well.  Our farm was her home and there she stayed.  She was a great hunter but not so crazy about it as to turn dumb when in the field.  Her one vise was bathing in stinky mud holes or sloppy cattle lots then expecting to get petted.  Shelly lived a good hard life as a farm dog and finally passed away about five years ago.

 

Shelly’s companion dog was Gus, a black lab.  Gus and I didn’t get along and since he is now dead I try not to talk too bad about him.   He was a good dog too (for Bill) but he liked to go visit the in-laws down the road.  They didn’t appreciate it much but are now paying us back with occasional visits from their horse of a dog, Shep.  We lost Gus about two years ago to an infection that eventually made him go blind.  He too lived a good, hard life.

 

After Gus died we were dogless for a while and I missed the warning barks when visitors came.  Stray cats started moving in and raccoons were no longer cautious about venturing close to the house.  Every farm needs a dog, especially every farm with a hunter on it.  We tried a few other dogs after Gus, older dogs, puppies a couple different breeds, nothing worked out.  Finally, a friend realized our situation and gave us Sunny our yellow lab.  She has been such a wonderful dog, friendly, awesome hunter, protective.  She is very much like Shelly was.

 

This spring we discovered that Sunny also has a vice, any time she can find a friend, she goes exploring.  She doesn’t just explore the farm, she explores the neighborhood which lead to the problem of the puppies.  (And yes, that will be permanently fixed two weeks from now.)  Don’t get me wrong, Sunny gave us some fine puppies.  We decided to keep one to train as Sunny’s replacement as the day will inevitably come when Sunny can no longer perform her farm dog duties. 

 

We kept a sweet little girl, Della.  Della is learning how to be a great farm dog, she’s such a sweet heart, a good little puppy.  One big problem, now that Sunny has a resident buddy, they take off to explore anytime we leave them alone together!  What’s up with this?

 

We’re beginning to realize that sometimes if you want a good dog you can only have one dog.  Any time we’ve tried to put two dogs together it seems as if they share each other’s worst habits and become absolutely useless as farm dogs.  So Bill and I made a tough decision this week, Della needs to go.  We want to keep her in the worst way but we know that if we do both dogs will be worthless to us and a burden to the neighbors.  In order to keep Sunny we have to part with Della.

 

 

So now the search begins again.  We’re looking for a great home for our little girl.  If you’re interested or know of someone who is, please let us know.

 

 

 

I enjoyed your blog on farm dogs. Our old dog Miss Scarlett is always by my side out doing chores. She loved to find a nice shady spot near my work all summer. Yesterday she was laying between the okra rows when I was cutting a mess for supper. She too loves to roll in everything you don't want her too...and then still wants to be petted. We too saved a pup from her litter of puppies a few years ago. They too went on adventures and got into mischief a little too much. The pup finally had to find a new home when he began taking too much of an interest in my poultry. I dread the day when we have to look for a new farm dog. Miss Scarlett we've noticed seems to find a way into all the pictures we take around the farm. We're glad she's there to look after us all.