Meet Farmer. He is the latest addition to High Point Farms. He is a Great Pyrenees puppy.
We got him right after Valentine’s Day. He was locally purchased by a sheep farmer.
He had much to adjust to and learn here on our farm.
Our adult female, Gypsy, was not smitten by him like we were,
in fact, she wanted nothing to do with him.
This was anticipated but it made life a bit challenging at first.
What Farmer learned his first few weeks: goats have horns but sheep do not,
baby goats are sweet by their Moma’s are not, Gypsy does not like me,
there is a huge bell stuck to my collar and it makes it difficult to run,
when Gypsy runs to the field and bark then I should run too, and
when Margie calls my name and whistles, it’s time to run for the barn to be fed.
Yes, I did hook a goat bell to his collar for a couple of weeks. I wanted to make sure that I could find him.
It was so huge that he looked more like a Walking Horse when he ran because
he was trying so hard to run with that dangling bell that he was overstepping his paws.
There are dangers around that poor Farmer knows little about at this young age.
If he were to dig out of the pasture, there are cars around that wouldn’t necessarily
be watching for him. If he got into the backyard with the cows,
I don’t think they would be sympathetic at all to him.
Even a couple of those Moma goats seemed to take it upon themselves to defend the herd.
It’s hard to fully blame them but my goodness, they were little snots for a bit.
Farmer is a smart boy. So much of what he needs to learn comes automatic
within the breed which is nothing short of amazing. But, he is young and both naive and vulnerable.
He is learning the borders of his pasture. He is beginning to soften up Gypsy a bit.
We go for walks “within his territory” and we learn what to do and what not to do. It is important he learns much
as a pup so he can eventually become a livestock guardian
to protect not only our goats, but the other farm animals from preditors.
What Farmer has learned these last couple of weeks:
Gypsy’s food is better than my own, the baby goats are still much nicer than the Moma goats,
if I wait til Gypsy goes to sleep before I lay beside her she won’t notice it till later,
I know what an electric fence is and I don’t want to be near it, I like the Milk Bone treats
that Margie gives me, and I like to take long afternoon naps out in the spring sun.
Margie