Post by farmerkate on Mar 18, 2014 21:42:46 GMT -5
When my Dh inherited our farm, 10 years ago, he went to the humane society and got a dog. Jake was perfect for a single guy who worked at home, and as his family
grew, he accepted each addition and became more perfect. Jake refuses to come in the house, and sleeps on the covered front porch. He has never chased the chickens or ducks, protects the kids when they play outside, and keeps predators away. He follows us when we do chores, and lets us know if anything is wrong. When customers come to our farmstand, he politely greets them. He only barks when a stranger comes to the house, or if he's chasing predators or strange dogs away from the property. When Dh was newly widowed, with 3 boys, ages 2,1 and newborn, when he was doing work that was too dirty or dangerous for the kids to be with him, he would put the baby in a playpen nearby inside the fenced yard, and leave Jake to "babysit". He would even go and get him when someone needed a diaper change! We don't know what kind of dog Jake is...he's about 40-50 pounds, the color of a Chesapeake bay retriever, with upright ears, short dense fur, and a docked tail. Jake is not aging well, he has arthritis in his hindquarters, cataracts, and is getting pretty deaf. We know it is time to let him go, and our vet agrees. But how do you explain that to 3, 4 and 5 year olds that love their Jake? We decided we HAVE to get another dog. But Jake is going to be almost impossible to replace. Weekend before last, we went to the Humane Society, and 95% of them were Pitbulls! We found a nice possibility, who was quite calm, we took him to the exercise yard and spent some time with him, and he seemed great. But it turned out he had been turned in because he was a chicken killer. Last week we contacted PAWS, and they rejected our application. Seems they won't allow dogs to be adopted to any home that wants an outside dog, and consider wanting a dog for predator protection "cruel" to the dog. We have been searching Craigslist, and will go to the local humane society and the nearer counties this weekend.
So my question is, how have all of you found a great family farm dog? Spring is coming, and we will be way too busy for the next six months to even consider a puppy. We are willing to spend up to $1,000. for the right dog, but it seems like we just keep running into dead ends. We are further hindered by the list of breeds that our insurance company refuses to insure...Dobermans, Pitbulls, Rhodesians, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels...there's a few more I don't remember. Any ideas or suggestions?
grew, he accepted each addition and became more perfect. Jake refuses to come in the house, and sleeps on the covered front porch. He has never chased the chickens or ducks, protects the kids when they play outside, and keeps predators away. He follows us when we do chores, and lets us know if anything is wrong. When customers come to our farmstand, he politely greets them. He only barks when a stranger comes to the house, or if he's chasing predators or strange dogs away from the property. When Dh was newly widowed, with 3 boys, ages 2,1 and newborn, when he was doing work that was too dirty or dangerous for the kids to be with him, he would put the baby in a playpen nearby inside the fenced yard, and leave Jake to "babysit". He would even go and get him when someone needed a diaper change! We don't know what kind of dog Jake is...he's about 40-50 pounds, the color of a Chesapeake bay retriever, with upright ears, short dense fur, and a docked tail. Jake is not aging well, he has arthritis in his hindquarters, cataracts, and is getting pretty deaf. We know it is time to let him go, and our vet agrees. But how do you explain that to 3, 4 and 5 year olds that love their Jake? We decided we HAVE to get another dog. But Jake is going to be almost impossible to replace. Weekend before last, we went to the Humane Society, and 95% of them were Pitbulls! We found a nice possibility, who was quite calm, we took him to the exercise yard and spent some time with him, and he seemed great. But it turned out he had been turned in because he was a chicken killer. Last week we contacted PAWS, and they rejected our application. Seems they won't allow dogs to be adopted to any home that wants an outside dog, and consider wanting a dog for predator protection "cruel" to the dog. We have been searching Craigslist, and will go to the local humane society and the nearer counties this weekend.
So my question is, how have all of you found a great family farm dog? Spring is coming, and we will be way too busy for the next six months to even consider a puppy. We are willing to spend up to $1,000. for the right dog, but it seems like we just keep running into dead ends. We are further hindered by the list of breeds that our insurance company refuses to insure...Dobermans, Pitbulls, Rhodesians, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels...there's a few more I don't remember. Any ideas or suggestions?