Homesteading and farming are similar, but different. Friends of mine are homesteaders, which is like farmers on steroids, and have a whole slew of dogs. I thought today I’d show y’all what a homesteading dog really looks like.
Homesteading Dog and Livestock
My homesteading friends have about a million dogs. Okay, they probably have seven or eight dogs, with four or five being outdoor guardians. They’re Great Pyrenees and Anatolian, I think. Gorgeous creatures, with thick fur around their necks to protect them when they’re fighting coyotes. Coyotes are a big deal in Oklahoma. They kill a lot of livestock, and when your livestock is how you survive, you need a big guardian dog.
How you survive? Homesteaders survive on what they produce. Unlike farmers, who sell most of their crop, the homesteader cans, freezes, dries, smokes, saves seeds, uses most of what they grow, from animals to crops. My homesteading friends keep chickens, rabbits, bees, turkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, a cow, and horses, in addition to growing food crops. The animals provide meat, milk, honey, wool and a little income when there’s excess. Their homemade Greek yogurt? To die for!!
My homesteading friends, who blog here (opens in a new window), make their own everything, from corn meal and flour, to bread, to soap, life is about making it yourself.
A Homesteading Dog Only LOOKS Lazy
Homesteading dogs only look lazy. When you arrive at my friend’s homestead, the guardian dogs all greet you while you’re still in the car. And you don’t really want to get out of the car until the parents come to call them off. Their bark is loud. They take guarding seriously. But once they have mom or dad’s blessing and have sniffed you all over, they wander away and lay down. And do nothing. It’s hard work, doing nothing.
Actually, homesteading dogs sleep most of the day and are awake at night. The predators roam and destroy at night, so the dogs are awake and working then. During the day they’re conserving their strength. The dogs are all quite friendly once they know you’re approved by the family, but they definitely have jobs to do. It just doesn’t look like it.
Homesteading Dogs Love Jones Natural Chews
Do I really need to say this? Homesteading dogs love Jones Natural Chews! They know who I am, now, when I get out of my car. They sniff me, and especially my purse, looking for their treats. I bring them big bones and pizzles, so they know the good stuff is hidden somewhere on my person.
They don’t run up to me looking for the treats. Running for treats is beneath these gorgeous dogs. But they do make their presence known, and they do tell each other what’s theirs. All of the bones and pizzles are spoken for and disappear. I love these dogs. They’re not hyper. They don’t beg for attention. They’re regal. And they know what they like. They like Jones Natural Chews. And a shady spot under a tree in summer.
And the Giveaway …
Before I forget, y’all head over to the Bow Wow Boo Bucket giveaway and enter to win! The treat is a cute trick or treat bucket filled with nine Jones Natural Chews that your small to medium size dog will love!
Until I write again …
Flea
