Comments on: Tug-o-war

By: funny dogs pics

funny dogs pics — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 05:07:25 +0000

You may want to find out these dogs! They are funny! Click this link: Funniest Dogs

By: Reyes Banda

Reyes Banda — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:47:39 +0000

hey i love to read your blog i was wondering how many animals do you have in total. i want a tiny farm too but mostly for animals any tips??

By: Fox Jones

Fox Jones — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:52:19 +0000

Becky,
That’s a great question and one I’m sure every homesteader has faced at one point or another. Whether it’s my childhood teddy-bear or a real-live chicken, the importance of curbing this behaviour immediately is obvious (and the latter is certainly more serious), and one we’ve tackled with various methods that you won’t see on the Dog Whisperer.
I’m afraid the speculation that your pup is just bored is beside the point. Giving her more space won’t cure her of “playful” behaviours, though she will soon grow out her puppy stage. It’s important though that you address these behaviours now so she doesn’t carry them with her into adulthood.
There is never any need or excuse to resort to physical violence when reprimanding your pet and/or guardian dog, and will likely yield undesired results anyway, like creating a timid and fearful animal that’ll always be running away from you.
The key here is swift and firm action. You need to catch them in the act or very shortly after so that they associate their firm scolding with their unacceptable behaviour. You really need to communicate the seriousness of their actions here, so take your dog by the scruff, and the chicken, and in a loud and disapproving voice, tell them that this is very, very bad. Don’t be afraid to shout a little (a lot) here. This doesn’t have to go on forever, just tell them loud and clear, in your meanest voice three or four times that this is “very, very baaaad” (and like Cesar says, never use your dog’s name when reprimanding them. You don’t want them have negative associations with their name, otherwise they won’t come when you call them). You want to be holding your dog and the chicken while doing this.
Preemptively, to train your dog before incident occurs, you can put your dog and a few chickens in a large pen under observation, and holler loudly every time you see her chase, lunge, or even sniff in the chickens direction. Don’t leave them unattended, but let your dog think you might not be watching a few times to see if she’s getting the point. If not, jump out and shout again.
Now, if this doesn’t work, and you find you’ve gone through a few chickens, then this next step may seem a little gruesome, cruel and unusual (it is). Remember, your ‘guardian’ dog is killing your livestock, and this calls for extreme measures. This is an old farmers trick, and it really works.
Tether or pen your dog, and tie the dead chicken around their neck so that they can’t get away from it. Even the dog will find this repulsive, especially in the hot summer sun for a few hours. You don’t have to leave them tied up like this for days, hopefully an afternoon of this ‘scarlet letter’ treatment will be enough to severely embarrass and abolish them of their abhorrent behaviours forevermore.
Lastly, if you don’t think you can stomach the public humiliation method, get a remote controlled shock-collar and follow them around for a day or two, zapping whenever they display an inkling toward ‘playing’ with one of your prized poultry. I prefer the old farmers trick to a shock-collar any day, so this really is a last resort, and not to be confused with a bark-activated collar (which i think really is pretty cruel. besides, they’re supposed to bark, it keeps the coyotes away. but that’s another post…)
Best of luck and happy farming,
Fox Jones,
Wholearth Farm

By: becky

becky — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:18:13 +0000

so tonight I was just musing about homesteading. As my husband and are venturing out on that track. We live in the city with less than a third of an acre with 14 chickens a garden and none other than yours truly a Great Pyrenees. Thats actually what caught my eye on the blog. I have so far only read this article… to read more. So the post is… how did you encourage the dog not to “play” with the chickens? Ours is 8 months old 2 months ago we had to start keeping her tied up because she “played” with a chicken too much and …. oops. My speculation is she does not have enough to do around here, she needs more work. We are hoping to buy 5-10 acres in the beginning of next year. ** I am sure this will make her feel more accomplished therefore leaving them alone. And I am sure her being a pup doesn’t help. Thanks.

By: Laura @ Getting There

Laura @ Getting There — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:14:06 +0000

LOL, thanks for telling us it was a stuffed animal they were tugging on there…at first I thought it was a real chicken. :)

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:13:19 +0000

Hi, Your farm sounds wonderful. I have always wanted to live on a farm. I have to settle for a small backyard garden. There are not many/any organic farms around here. Your dogs are so cute.....animals are so entertaining. Have a wonderful day. ~Sue~

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:32:19 +0000

Great picture. Lovely to see them playing. Need to wait till fencing done in my garden until my 3 can play like that or they are off out around the village. Mind you here in France, everyone else just lets their dogs roam free. Smallholdings for sale

By: butik ciftlik

butik ciftlik — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:50:43 +0000

Hi,Tiny!
I’m Figen.My blog is name,butik çiftlik(butique farm).My farm in Turkey.I following your blog and this very beatiful.
P.S.Im speak English is bad.Sorry.

By: the inadvertent farmer

the inadvertent farmer — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 03:39:55 +0000

I was raised with just those lovely white big loves…oh you will love having Great Pyrenees! Kim

By: Teresa

Teresa — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:56:43 +0000

What a lot of doggie personalities to manage. It looks like they have a lot of fun, but I’m not so sure about the stuffed animal–not near as much fun for it. My two dogs have a lot of fun together too, but usually just chasing each other.