Surviving Minnesota!

[aussiegal318]

Sadie is Tennis ball nuts.  Typical labrador retriever nuts on Tennis Balls.  Our First, Alex, was like that.  she'd get it full of saliva and mud and drop it on your white canvas shoes.  Jasmine could give two rats about tennis balls.  She was probably the weirder one of the 3 dogs when it came to fetch.  She liked to fetch hunted birds that was it.  I guess that was all that counted.

Sadie shows us her teeth when we holler at her.  So I was listening to the kids and DH reprimanding her on a good pair of snowmobile/ice fishing gloves.  Or maybe it was my leather gloves for chicken chores...I've went through 3 pairs so far this winter with her.  And I got to thinking that I think she shows her teeth because she is afraid when we scold her and she defends herself.  So I tried some really really soft baby talk with her during the good moments.  Because she really hasn't had many....and I *think* she might be understanding that we don't want to holler at her all the time.  Like if she's good ...she'll get nice baby talk.  I have no idea how to approach this dog.  Because to be honest...in the average family living in a town house say in Minneapolis with say toddlers...this dog would have been taken to the pound.  My son has superficial scratches and scars up and down his arms from her "play" my daughter and son have been scratched and bitten in the back.  She has ZERO respect for my kids.  DH and I-- she listens to.  But she'll even do tactical sneaks and pounces off of me...say when we go down to the coop and back.  I've grabbed her jaw and pressed the teeth to the gums over and over and over again.  It's just not getting the job done.  I think she needs tons and tons of exercise.  When she runs she just doesn't run...she bounds in 6 foot graceful leaps and bounds.  She's an athlete of a dog at 48 pounds.  But Her Head is in a different lane than I've ever seen for a labrador.  We'll never give up on her.  She's not even a year old either...but I just thought she might be "getting" a few things.  You know?

From what I'm reading, she's a smart girl, I would give her some mental exercise as well as physical. An easy one is hide & go seek with the kids. That can start out with a general find any kid to then finding a specific kid. Also the muffin tin game is fun. Another idea is make her work for her meals. I throw the food across the floor for the Rio & in summer I have been know to toss it out in the grass. Training tricks is also fun & can be done on a couple of minutes a few times a day. It would be best if you could get the kids to do trick training so she learns to respect them. Just my opinion.

 

[aussiegal318]

Finally caught up on the reading, this site is super slow on the hospital WiFi.

I'm loving all the fuzzy bottom chick picts and the cow & calf pictures. I really loved the barn pic! Who wouldn't want that!?! How come it doesn't surprise me that people get that obnoxious. Charge triple with a restocking fee for any returns. Good lord it's farm animals we're talking about, not Westminster.

My eyes did glaze over with the genetics but that's because I just don't care with my flock. I just want more blue or green egg layers if I can. It's up to the hens because I'm not doing chicks in the house. If somebody goes broody yea! I'll provide her with what ever she wants. I've been getting about 18 eggs a day with no extra light; what in world is this summer going to bring? I have some buyers, but most I give away. I have some super neighbors that will just show up if they think we could use help.

Coops are nasty right now as I haven't been in there for a couple of weeks to clean. I just keep adding more shavings. Same with the alpacas. My DS has been feeding the critters, but I don't expect him to shovel **it. (He would if I asked, but he has his own family he needs to spend time with.)

Speaking of family, man do I miss the Grands! This just isn't right. Where is the whispers at the bottom of the stairs, "Nana, you there?" I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it when they move out this summer. DD & SIL are building a house in Becker once it thaws.

Holmes how many Buckeyes does Minnie have for you?

I don't think I'm going to do a garden this year, but I said that last year & well, I just tossed a bunch of seeds at the ground & was surprised at how much grew. Ralphie when I do carrot & radish seeds, I mist a long piece of TP & lay them in there then just bring that out to the garden lay it down. The moisture keeps the seeds in place pretty well.

Ok, now that you have been subjected to the ramblings of a bored woman....

 

[KlopKlop]

WE (yes, WE!) managed to get the wagon into the garage with no relationship damaging issues! I did say a few curse words when i broke the shifter on my tractor, but half an hour later i had that patched up and ready to go again. I ended up having to put the wagon in the garage. When i headed for the corn crib i managed to get the front wheels of the wagon about 3 feet off the gravel before they were so rutted in the tractor was stuck! got it turned around and pushed into the garage until the ground firms up in a few weeks. I ran the tractor/loader and DW lined up the tongue. she also doled out handfuls of the corn to the chickens to keep them out of the way they have been so funny today!

I also 'sold' my first hatching eggs today. My aunt was up from iowa and took home 6 rainbow eggs, 3 rainbow/cornish eggs, and 2 dozen 'who knows what that maybe was serviced by conrad' eggs for her incubator. I say 'sold' because this was a return favor for the 5 leghorns and 1 gold comet she gave us when we first started chickening.

Speaking of leghorns, Gloria laid her first white egg in several months since she started molting.

it has been a good day here!

 

[lvie]

BC Your dog is being a naughty dog. Call me Capt. Obvious.

IMHO what she is showing is behavior not allowed in the dog pack even. You need to be more "aggressive with her, but not in a human way, in a dog way.

When she nips at the kids or scratches them, teach the kids to not run from her, that is just an indication of more play in the dog world. Have whoever she nips or scratches "yelp" loud and in a high pitch. That is what a dog does when it gets hurt in play. It teaches the "nipper" she has went a little too far and to back off. The other thing to do if it gets out of hand is push her head to the ground with your hands around her neck, and pin her down, growl and breath right into her ear or eye. Bare your teeth.

DONOT HURT HER, just restrain her until she submits, when she submits let her up and continue playing like it never happened. Watch a mother dog with her pups these are actions she takes. it is the way a dog learns. You are establishing the pecking order, Sadie needs to be reminded she is at the bottom not the top.

Yelling and slapping does not do much for a dog, those are primate actions not canine.

As far as the chewing and socks go, She will out grow that in a couple years. Until them I suggest you take up knitting

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I am in the same spot as Ivie in the dog ownership, even if I am not even close to her age.

. I love dogs, but I am not sure if I will get another or if I am on my last dog. My old white lab is 10, her legs and hips seem to be bothering her, something I can Identify with. I do not know if she will be here next year. Some days I worry she will not be here tomorrow. About 3-4 years ago I had tumor (pre cancer) taken off her, she was given a hysterectomy. I have never had a lab go much over 10.

If I get another dog I will be in my mid 70's when she is 10. There are no guarantees in life and how long it is. I do not want to saddle my kids with having to do something with my dog. It is not fair to the dog or the kids.

My Mother has a cat it is about 10. She worries what will happen to the cat when she goes. I have assured her we will do like the ancient Egyptians and bury the cat with her. I do not want that with my dog. So this could be the last one. BTW Every lab I have had the pleasure of owning has been a great dog after it turns 2.

Gee Ralphie, Thanks. about me being the older, more respectful chickener. I really appreciate your observations. LOL

Scoping out the lay of the land for a new, larger chicken coop and chicken area. Shhhhhh. My next door neighbor comes over and he and I plan together but I don't want the DH to know that the DN (who is younger than my own sons' and I love his wife as my own daughter) is giving me ideas. The DN opens my mind to possibilities. I get excited at the whole idea of using another area of land that is pretty much never used here.

BEAUTIFUL day! Loved being outside.

 

[lvie]

Ahhhhhhh what a face to love. She looks like she is saying "What? What do you want now?"

 

[lvie]

Quote:
ONE of my friends, because I do have many, just had a trainer come into to home to help her with one of her three dogs. She mentioned a really good tip to me as her dogs were wolfing down their food and mine do the same. Freeze the meal into hollow bones so it takes them a while and they have to work to get it. That was a great word of advise and seems to work fairly well with my dogs.

Oh! SC! She is eating like crazy. Just the last three days. I cannot keep her crop even a little full. I go back after feeding her an hour later and its already gone. She is starting to eat more on her own when I spread it on the papertowel in the brooder. This is where having the roos help. They start pecking at the feed and she copies them. And she is much stronger. Still working on the posture though.

 

[ejb3810]

Ralphie, I can see why you would stop at the Swan River Truck Stop on the way to Togo. They serve a great breakfast, and the portions are so large that most would not be able to finish it?

I attempted to quiz my friend regarding the Floodwood poultry swap. He was quite vague in his answers, and I got the impression that he was not enthused about foreigners attending. Yours truly being among the foreigners. He did say that a mutual friend had sold animals there in the past and that the event was sponsored by the Floodwood Feed Mill and is across the street from it. He did say that if I wanted more info to call the Floodwood Feed Mill.

Hope all had an enjoyable and productive day. About all I got accomplished was to go up on the roof and clean the chimney for the wood stove and perform some repairs on my wifes ATV plow. I did gift a friend about $2,000 worth of race pigeons. He went to the Mn. State Pigeon Show in Hutchinson last November and brought home some disease which ended up killing most of his birds by the time he got it in check. I felt bad for him and gifted him 6 pairs of breeders.

 

[duluthralphie]

Gee Ralphie, Thanks. about me being the older, more respectful chickener. I really appreciate your observations. LOL

Scoping out the lay of the land for a new, larger chicken coop and chicken area. Shhhhhh. My next door neighbor comes over and he and I plan together but I don't want the DH to know that the DN (who is younger than my own sons' and I love his wife as my own daughter) is giving me ideas. The DN opens my mind to possibilities. I get excited at the whole idea of using another area of land that is pretty much never used here.

BEAUTIFUL day! Loved being outside.

If it is any consolation, you look a lot younger than me..... I think where you live you can now build a 10x20 coop 8 stories high without a permit!

 

[duluthralphie]

Murphys law strikes again.

I moved my CLB's into breeding pens. I have a door open between to coops and two runs. Each run is 6x6 , so 36 sq ft. and each coop is 4x4 or 16 square ft. Giving me a total of 52 square ft per unit. or 104 sq ft for the two combined. I have 7 hens and 2 roosters. Tight but it should work because I have two coops and a wooden panel blocking vision between each half... 10 ft per bird, I am good!!



WRONG... The old rooster decided after living all winter in the other coop and run with the younger rooster that he could not stand the looks of his kid anymore. Today they must have went at it. the younger one is bloody and his comb it all but ripped off..... Stupid birds!

I know have them each locked in their own half. with a few hens each. Tomorrow I will make sure the old hen is with the young rooster just incase that is the pair that makes my White sports. I will keep 4 young hens with the old rooster just incase those make the white sports. I am just going to hope it is not the two young hens I keep with the young rooster.. But knowing Murphys law...



Then I went to gather eggs from the PC's. This morning when I left there was a PC hen on the nest. I said to myself " Self, she almost looks broody" Then said to myself " You just interrupted her at egg laying time she is not broody."


I opened the box about ten minutes ago and the same PC hen was in the same box looking the same broody look. When I moved her to check under her I got the broody growl. Her Wings are spread flat down over her one fake egg, She does not want to move off her egg,,,, IT appears she really is broody? Who ever heard of a hen going broody in Feb in Minnesota? What is wrong with her? Now I have to try and break this. I hate breaking broody hens. EJB want to trade her for another non-broody one?

The SS did not lay an egg today. I wanted to set eggs tonight. Not sure I will Murphy's law has me butt dragging tired, And after the funeral I am just not in the mood. Besides maybe by tomorrow the PC hen will decide she is not broody.

 

[lvie]

Quote:
Too funny. Age is a matter of mind and YOU do not look older - we look the same. LOL. And I think I will need a bigger coop and run - well, I know I do but will the DH agree? Poor Dude. Love Him.