Around here, my most valued dogs are the ones who listen well and listen now. Especially in a high-drive scenario. Those are the dogs who are the most useful to me, and the ones I trust the most. They are the dogs I select from and breed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liberty has been going over to feed the goats with me every morning for about two weeks now. Through a fence, he pays close attention to them and takes an inventory of their abilities and behaviors. We\u2019ve even been inside the fence with the goats a few times, where he\u2019s done well in practice by helping me push them around the perimeter of the fence. For stock management, I think he will be every bit as good as Sugar<\/a> or maybe even more so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This morning, Liberty passed a critical test in his development as a farm dog.\u00a0 We were out hiking in the woods just after dawn.\u00a0 I rotate which dog goes with me first in the morning.\u00a0 The first dog is mostly likely to encounter wildlife.\u00a0 That was the case this morning.\u00a0 Liberty\u2019s first close-up encounter with was a big possum.\u00a0 He saw her before I did, and he took a few steps towards her.\u00a0 \u00a0But at 17 weeks old, he\u2019s still too young to get into a skirmish, so I called him off.\u00a0 He thought about it for a second, but in the end, he made the right choice.\u00a0 He came back to me and left the critter alone.\u00a0 The big possum waddled off to home, and we took a different trail.\u00a0 For a dog I want helping with moving my livestock, that was the perfect response.\u00a0 He was amply rewarded on the spot, and he\u2019s enjoying an extra chicken-stuffed Kong this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Natchez Trace Liberty comes out of my Josie x Rustie Jr. Fall 2020 litter<\/a>. His DNA lab work is clear of breed specific diseases tested for by Embark. He is showing a propensity to work stock, and has a good handle on him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Around here, my most valued dogs are the ones who listen well and listen now. Especially in a high-drive scenario. Those are the dogs who are the most useful to me, and the ones I trust the most. They are the dogs I select from and breed. Liberty has been going over to feed the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[55],"class_list":["post-1782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-dogs","tag-liberty"],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1611591167:1"],"_thumbnail_id":["1783"],"_edit_last":["1"],"wp_featherlight_disable":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["6"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["2"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["This morning, Liberty passed a critical test in his development as a farm dog."],"_better_yourls_short_link":["http:\/\/esbt.us\/a6"],"_oembed_0db7e581d2867c7cf3964a94a190eade":["Farm Puppy Owner’s Manual<\/a><\/blockquote>