Monday, January 28, 2013

Barn Doggies!

So I've been witholding some cute news until I figured out if it was for certain or not...

I got a doggie!

Its been a year since my baby Tonka died and I decided instead of smalldogs, I wanted a medium size dog to come to the barn with me. I've always had dogs and hate being without one. My deluge of bad dog luck has been with me since I moved to MO and I'm hoping this little guy doesn't mysteriously get sick and leave me :(

I had a Chihuahua for 12 years in addition to various barn dogs while growing up. My favorite was a White Golden Retriever named Terra and she was the best thing. She was perfect: she loved being at the barn, loved the horses and always went on rides with me. I even trained her to pull a cart to help me haul water in winter. She's now 11 and lives in Ohio still and it left me wanting for a barn dog when I moved here.  Of course I loved Tonky more than my own life, but when he died it was terrible and I decided I was done with smalldogs.

Baby boy!

 I knew I wanted a herding dog and toyed between an Aussie, a Heeler and a Border Collie. For a really long time I wanted a Corgi, but they have such tiny legs that they could never keep up with a cantering horse on trail rides! I also have friends at the barn who have an Aussie and he is great, but my boyfriend already has an Aussie and she is my lady love. A friend from Ohio has a Heeler and he is literally the best dog in the world. All of my experiences with the herding group has been nothing but positive, and I really loved their loyalty and intelligence.

Since I didn't want to spend outrageous amounts of money, and support breeders, I scoured the shelters and Craigslist for what seems like months. I never really found anything that seemed promising.

I needed a dog that was good in the house (no chewing, barking etc) since I have a night job, and one that would stick around off leash.

A few days ago I found an ad for a Blue Heeler and I pretty much fell in love. I went to see him and took him home the next day. I was supposed to have him on trial for a week but 3 days in he's already attached and I absolutely think he is perfect for a puppy.

Gah, those ears. That face.

At 8 months he already seems like an adult and has yet to put a foot wrong. He needs to be fixed and is currently being treated for worms, but after a little TLC he will be perfectly healthy.

So adorbs. I can't even.

I took him to the barn this morning for the second time, first time off leash, and he never strayed from my side. Didn't bite the horses, stayed out of the way, and minded me when I called him. He is scary smart! On the drive home he totally fell asleep, it was adorable.



He gets distracted around other dogs, so I'm hoping a few trips to the dog park will teach him to listen to me when other doggies are around but I'm pretty happy I've found a little buddy to keep me company.

I know a lot of you have dogs that come to the barn with you. Cairo is my favorite so far that I've seen on the blogsphere (Kate's from Adventure's of Lucy), but what do you guys like/own?

I think a good barn dog is something all equestrians should have :)

15 comments:

  1. Gahhh, I love me a spotty Heeler! Best dogs ever.

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  2. I want a corgi, I'm currently a no dog owner, but I want to be!

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  3. I have a 2 year-old Heeler and she is AWESOME! We do tons of stuff together with and without horses. She is always well behaved, although very protective of me so sometime she barks more than I would like. She is soooo smart, almost manipulative at times :0) We started some agility classes to challenge us both mentally, and she figures it all out so quick. My favorite thing about her are the great expressions she makes and I can see yours also has an expressive face. You are going to have so much fun with him!

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  4. Super cute pup! You two are going to have fun together! :D

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  5. Haha, I used to take my poodle out to the paddock until LBH turned into a dog killer....

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  6. Great choice! I have 2 Aussie Border collie mixes and I just got an 8 month old Heeler! His temperament is identical to this one you have explained. He's a great little barn dog. Absolute love him!

    I also got mine free off kijiji.

    Check out my blog I have many pics of them there.

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  7. As soon as I get out of an apartment building, a dog will be my house warming gift to myself. Grew up with the best dog in the world - a yellow Lab - but I'm not sure what I'll get for my next dog. I will always have Labs in my life but I might get something smaller to east my bf into it as he's never really had his own dog, and the ones that he cared for (ex's, mostly) were small. I'm thinking maybe a JRT... he's fond of French Bulldogs and some of them are really cute but I'm not sold.

    Your pup is super cute! What's his name?

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  8. Oh my gosh, he is SO. FREAKING. CUTE! What's his name??

    My barn dog is a half Corgi/half miniature Daschund named Buttons. She has giant Corgi ears on a Daschund body and is a pretty sweet barn dog- she rides on the Gator, stays out from under the horses' legs, and cleans up any feed I happen to drop. :) The only bad part is I can't take her riding with me because she tries to jump up my horses' legs any time we're stopped.

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  9. I totally want a barn dog but the god that i have got i got off my sister she bought her and then decided she couldn't look after her so I now have a loving house dog, a shih tzu

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  10. Thanks guys :)

    And how could i forget to tell ya'll his name! It's levi :) cuz hes blue. And its adorable just like him.

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  11. Cuteness! And Levi seems like a very fitting name :) I'm hoping my first dog will be a pitbull cross - I've always loved them. I love Dom's Herbie over at The Many Misadventures. But I also want a Golden Retriever and I have a soft spot for corgis too. Pretty much anything with four legs and fur and I love it!

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  12. I Want A Dog!!! But, I have this seriously weird Siamese cat who would be totally offended to have her space invaded by another animal.

    If I could get a dog, it would be an Aussie or Border Collie - although I have mad love going on right now for French Bulldogs...

    My last dog was a Lhasa Apso - not a barn dog - but she was perfect in every other way :)

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  13. I have a beagle and a corgi. The corgi would be an amazing barn dog, but he's really my husband's dog. The beagle? Well, I love his low-functioning-autistic self, but nothing about him is barn safe.

    Levi is adorable! I love herding dogs.

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  14. Levi is ADORABLE!!! I love him! I'm so happy you found a new dog. Life without a dog sucks. :)

    I have a Siberian Husky (definitely NOT an off-leash barn dog lol) and a Mountain Cur/Beagle mix.... he hasn't been tested off leash on trail rides yet. He listens well until he sees/smells deer/rabbits/squirrels/etc. lol. So yeah I don't guess either of mine are really barn dogs.

    What I like/want? Wow... that's a long list lol. I grew up with German Shepherds and I will always love them, but I've always had big dogs and I'm kind of tired of dealing with the difficulties of a large dog. I also love Border Collies, but some days I think they are too smart and energetic for me haha!! Another medium sized dog I like is the Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler), but I really want a small dog because I've never really had one. My number one dog that I really, really want is a Papillon, but a Corgi is a close second.

    Anyway I could go on and on lol. :)

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