A Dogs Life on a Family Farm
Kevin Felts 02.06.17
Dogs are called man’s best friend for a reason. Mankind and our best friend have hunted and traveled together for at least 45,000 years. DNA tells us that the modern pooch has a common wolf ancestor. Regardless of how “cute” Fido is, embedded in his DNA are remnants from a prehistoric wolf.
Here on the farm, I see my dogs exhibit a wide range of behaviors. They are not kept in a fence and are allowed to roam free. I do not have any neighbors, so they are a allowed to have a dogs life.
Hunting Dogs
Couple of days ago my dogs and I were walking close to a tree line. They saw something and took off running. It took me a second to see what they were after, but it was a squirrel. The dogs had spotted the squirrel running around on the ground and took off after it.
In rural areas, wild hogs are hunted with dogs. The dogs are outfitted with a vest and collars to protect the dog from the hog tusks.
Besides treeing a squirrel, my dogs will sometimes tree a raccoon. They will sit at the bottom of the tree and bark for hours.
Then there are the rabbits my dogs love to chase and eat.
Security
Dogs do not have to be trained to attack. Barking at a stranger is enough to sound the alarm.
On January 31, 2017 my son, cousin, and a couple of buddies were cutting and splitting firewood. We were preoccupied with the chainsaw, log splitter, and stacking wood. While we were busy, the dogs were keeping a watchful eye out for anything that moved.
My son walked to where we were working, and one of my dogs was barking at him when he was 100 yards away. Anything that moves or makes a sound will get the attention of a dog.
Man’s Best Friend
There is a reason why they are called mans best friend. They are lovable, loyal, can be trained and serve a wide range of purposes.
They have been part of our families for at least 45,000 years, and there is nothing that says that is going to change anytime soon.
