THE UNLIKELY APPLICANTS:
Name– Bumble Bear
Age– 8 years old
Previous Job– Racer. Spent 23 hours a day for nearly 3 years in a kennel, raced in the meantime. Won 5 races, didn’t finish the rest. How he won, I’ll never know. I don’t think he knew he was chasing anything. He was just running with everyone else. He runs into the occasional wall, not great coordination, really cute. Rescued, has lived on this couch ever since. A bit doofy, but awfully sweet. A great family dog.
Farm dog– He does like to sit on his lawn chair outside and watch the chickens. He chases off any intruders; squirrels, cats, coyotes, deer, foxes, raccoons. If they don’t run, he can’t do much else. When the terrible tragedy of the evil four year old and his dog occurred (they were in the chicken coop killing chickens), he could not find a vicious bone in his body to frighten them off and proceeded to pout on the couch for 12 hours, too afraid to go back outside. Since he does want to chase everything away, and all said intruders come by at night, we are up every night to let him out to chase. He does not have enough fur to stay outside and would be very upset without his couch. (We cannot have a dog door as we have nine indoor cats. If you only want cats for two weeks around here, let them out. Coyotes, foxes, and semis will make quick work of them….no dog door.)
Name– Windsor Wizzer (never had a great bladder)
Age– Old as dirt (17)
Previous Job– Children’s toy, doll clothes model, companion on long walks. Retired. Sleeps on big cushion most of the day.
Farm Dog– Blind and deaf, thinks he is a cat. Enough said?
So, now you understand my help wanted sign. Bumble can hold down the fort here because it is a small enough area and I guess I don’t need to sleep through the night. But on the next homestead, I plan to have more land as well as alpacas, goats, and sheep. I know that donkeys and llamas make great guard animals, but a farm dog is very nearly a necessity if for nothing else but they complete the quintessential farm view and we like dogs. I need a dog that can be a family dog and a guard dog and not eat small children. A furry kid that can sleep in the mud room with a dog door so that they can scare off fuzzy intruders without getting me up. Assuming we stay in Colorado that means he/she has to have enough fur and warmth to withstand single digit temperatures as well as high 90’s in the summer. They should not under any circumstances eat the chickens and they should not be a runner (Huskies are out). They should be a herding dog so to help me with moving animals. But not so bored that they nip at my heels all day. With those requirements in mind, does anyone have any ideas about what breeds we should look at? I would rather rescue and feel like we need to get a puppy in order to get them used to all the animals already here. Your input is most welcome….
Farmgirl School 
We’re big fans of Rhodesian Ridgebacks. If you want a rescue, you probably won’t find a full blood Ridgeback. Rescues are typically found mixed with Boxer, but with your list, that would probably be a great combo! Both breeds are great family dogs, loyal, and Ridgebacks were bred to hunt/chase. Could be a good solution.
Thank you Laura! I treat a bunch of ridgebacks and they are very special dogs.
Well I can’t really give you an idea for a dog because my dog Annie was adopted from the Humane Society and looks EXACTLY like Windsor!! She hates cats and thinks she is a human. Loves chickens and plays with sheep. Be careful of boxer breeds if they have a smooshed face. They have trouble breathing in hot weather and need a coat in cold weather. They are awesome dogs though. I bred them for 5 years.
Boxers are wonderful dogs, aren’t they. So cute!
Australian shepards and blue heelers are both good breeds to meet your needs. A lot of folk out here on the eastern plains have them, or a mixed breed of both. They are loyal, loving and hard working dogs. Medium in size. A room mate of mine a long time ago had a female Australian sheppard…I brought a kitten home.. she snuggled it between her forelegs and rested her head over it during naps. They can withstand the temperatures of summer and winter as well.
Thank you Paula!
We got a great pyrenees when coyotes kept getting our chickens. We haven’t lost a chicken since. Our lovely boy lives outside full time and couldn’t be happier with the arrangement, pyrenees are bred to live in high mountain altitudes protecting herds of sheep without any human help. Our boy is a lover of all people and barks all night to keep the predators away. He’s fabulous, I recommend his breed for yard protection to anyone who lives out and won’t have neighbors complaining about the barking.
Alice, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Great Pyranees. They are a breed I looked at! A little floofier (that is a word, isn’t it?) than Greyhounds!
I have sheep, chickens and cats. I got a Great Pyrenees to guard them as we too have coyotes, bear and mountain lions here in the Ozarks. She did great protecting everyone. I have not lost a chicken since we got her. We have had to remove her for the sheep after she start chasing them. She is still to playful and I don’t want pregnant sheep getting so excited. She does her job patrolling the farm and barking to keep all predators away. Barking is a problem with them. I was told that Maremas (sp?) were a good flock guardian who stays close by and doesn’t bark as much.
Thanks for the advice. I also thought of Great Pyrenees but they are prone to hip problems and it is awefully cold here! Have you run into that? I also just met a wonderful pair of dogs that are Ackbosh (I hope that is how you spell it!), they were great on their farm. I adore malamutes and huskies, I sure wish they were better farm dogs! haha!
[…] just went to check on them, as they were much too quiet, and they are curled up near Bumble, the farm dog. Our dream is coming true before our eyes. And somebody peed on the […]
Have you looked at the Corgi? I have a Borgi which is a cross between Border Collie and Corgi …she is more corgi in nature but looks like a mini Border. They are great family dogs.
Doug loves corgis! They are so cute.