Life and times of a new farmer/homesteader
On Polly... {
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Friday, January 5, 2007
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My Austrilian shepherd / border collie mix pup.:I knew when I wanted a farm, and started researching, I would want a farm dog. Preferably a herder. I knew I would want a mixed pup, because I have dealt with the issues of purebred animals before. They inherit diseases, and they don't live very long. ( I told you I don't spell well.) But I wanted a puppy that would live well with livestock. I wanted a puppy that would live well on a farm. I want pigs, and goats, and cows, and I already have chickens. I wanted a dog that would do well with them. When I first met an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix, she was a puppy being trained for work with the blind. I learned about clicker training, and service dogs, and especially Border Collies from her. Ok, as an aside, I have always been allergic to dogs. I grew up in a house where I could not breath. My family raised Gordon Setters, and Golden Retrievers. Througout my life I couldn't breath when I was inside. I used several medical treatments to help with this, but I never did very well. I have never had a puppy of my own. Until Polly. I knew, if I was going to have a farm, I would have to have a farm dog, especially if I do it myself. My allergies, and my somewhat but not completely overcome fear of dogs, I needed to find the EXACTLY RIGHT dog. I needed a puppy that could understand me and that I could understand. The woman who taught me about clicker training, she's a sculptor in PDX. A truly wonderful woman, who truly loves dogs. She taught me so much. She was training an Australian shepherd/border collie mix when I met her, while working for my mother in her hardware store on Hawthorne in Portland. I learned much there. I also learned alot from her dog. Ok, I was working for mom, this woman was a good customer. I moved here in mid/ late September, after putting in a bid in June. I knew some of what I needed, and I knew I needed a dog. I figured, if i'm going to do this alone, I need at least one partner, and S/He might as well be a dog. I have never been fond of dogs. I have known two in my life I have been impressed with. There were a few more I loved, but only two I was impressed with. One was a Golden Reteiver/Pit Bull mix named Sabbath. He was the most intelligent, beautiful, and intimidating dog I have ever met. Only one was smarter, and it was the Austrlian Shepherd/Border Collie mix I met through the sculptor I met at my mothers hardware store. I really wanted an Austrailian shepherd/Border Collie mix. They were smart, and they were bred for what I wanted. Plus, as a mix breed, they would live longer and healthier. So I moved here. I really didn't think much more of it. I got my property, my homestead, and I needed to meet the locals. So I went to the local Bar/Restaraunt in town. I was eating the Friday special, of Prime Rib, when a woman came in to post a "puppies for good home" post on the community bulletin board. They were the pups of a papered Australian Shepherd, fathered by a Border Collie. I told her I wanted a female and thought no more of it. A week later, I ran into her again (hey, it's a small town,) and she told me she had one female left. I went to her house, and I fell in love. I've mentioned it before. I never had a puppy. In fact, I was allergic. But here was this little lump of fur, a black, white, and brown beauty, a little bundle of joy, and the exact breed and puppy I wanted for my farm. The herder, the working dog I was looking for. I don't know, I think it was kizmet. She has a left hand L on her neck in white on black. It's how I picked her out, She's mostly black, with stripes of white, and brown patches, including her eyebrows and her knees. I take mullein daily for my allegies. I pick up, clean up, and wipe up after my puppy, my Polly. It's much like having a child. You won't feel any more precious a love, but you wont clean up anything more disgusting either. The whole thing is something of a trip. But isn't everything? I don't know if I will ever have another dog. Polly has been a challenge, but worth it. She does well with the chickens. There have been times I could not have collected my chickens if it had not been for her. I have never tried to train a dog that was so easy to train. She wants to learn. My Uncle (Barry Raymond, my opposite,) told me that she was probably smarter than me. I have passed IQ tests that rate me as being above the top five percent of humans in intellect. Somehow, I still believe him. I can't imagine a more perfect dog for me. We try to respect each other, although it can be a challenge. As I have stated, I have never owned a puppy of my own. We have a lot to learn from each other. Granted, she's hyper, and I'm really chill. She's a herder, so what do you expect. I asked (at one time) God for patience. With a hyper puppy, one will learn paience. I read that dogs could live as long as twenty four years. That would make me sixty two years old when my Polly dies. I hope and pray it's that long. I love this pup. Raymond { Last Page } { Page 143 of 181 } { Next Page } |
