The Farm Dogs



Hunting mice

I've mentioned the dogs often, but haven't properly introduced them yet.  We have two dogs, Floyd and Charlie.  Floyd is a handsome blue merle mutt.  Charlie is a Border Collie cross.  They're both great dogs, but in very different ways.

We got Floyd as a puppy.  His mother was an Australian Shepherd/Black Lab cross and his father a Rottweiler/Doberman.  Everyone loves him and he loves everyone.  He has us almost completely trained to take him along wherever we go.  In town, people will often greet him by name before greeting us, and he's welcome in quite a few businesses, because he's so polite.  He likes to show off his knowledge of the right way to behave, which makes up for the fact that he doesn't like to be told what to do.  he doesn't herd the animals, or do much guard work, or any work at all, really.  He's simply a companion.

Floyd

Charlie only came to live with us last year, when a neighbour couldn't keep him because of illness.  Our farm is his fourth home (that we know of), and he was abused at some point in his youth.  He's shy, dislikes loud noises, and is afraid of enclosed spaces.  His Border Collie blood shows in his absolute devotion to the farm animals, and he's so happy to be living with us now.  Since we've had him, he's overcome his fears to a great extent and gained a lot of confidence.  Charles (my husband, not the dog--note the difference in their names) is always kind, but he's noisy and likes to rough-house with the animals; this has helped Charlie get over his nervousness.  Charlie takes care of the place while Floyd is off gallivanting with us.

Charlie