What makes 5 Dog Farm... 5 Dog Farm?
The answer is: Our 5 Dogs. But you’re a smart bunch and I know you already guessed that!
We are the proud owners of a Great Pyrenees, an American Staffordshire/Lab mix, a Teddy Bear mix, a Pomeranian and a Bolognese.
Yup. 5 Dogs. Come to think of it we have 5 chickens…what is with this 5 thing? Dunno. What I do know is having five dogs was not intentional. No. Intentional is telling yourself you’re just walking into Joann Fabric store to see what they have on sale. Like you’re fooling yourself. The intention is to buy the fabric. Bolts and bolts of fabric… ummm…not that I’ve done that or anything.
Ahem, where was I?
Oh. Dogs. Yes, all our dogs but one are rescues. Gunner our Pyrenees was purchased as an eight week old puppy from a working sheep farm in northern Ohio.
Harley Davidson Dawg
I’d be remiss if I didn’t backtrack and mention our first baby boy Harley. Harley Davidson Dawg to be exact. He was our first rescue. A Bolognese out of California, Harley came to us missing an eye and a tail. No one wanted to adopt him. No one except me. Mr. Bluejeans and I adored him. Sadly, he passed away three years ago. We still miss that little guy.
Gunner the Great Pyrenees
A couple years after we had Harley, we purchased Gunner the Great Pyrenees as a protection dog. You see, Mr. Bluejeans traveled much more in those days and he wanted a dog that was protective and imposing to be my buddy for those times he was gone. Let’s just say when Gunner stands on his back legs he’s almost as tall as Mr. Bluejeans who is an impressive 6′ tall. Plus Gunner weighs 155 pounds. Imposing indeed!
Then the dogs started rolling in. It was like the earth tilted and all things rescue dog fell into our hands. I didn’t go looking for them. Honest.
Well, kinda.
Jazmine the American Staffordshire/Lab mix
Jazmine came to us next all the way from Alaska. She is an American Staffordshire (aka Pit Bull)/Lab mix. She is all muscle and looks somewhat menacing if you don’t know her. BUT, when you do get to know her she’s a 75 pound lap dog. It’s like having Mr. Universe try to curl up in your lap. Not comfortable. This girl has cow eyes and knows how to use them. If you don’t know any better she’ll get you to stare into those sad sack eyes and Ba BAM you’re giving her your last piece of bacon. I say you because bacon and I aren’t easily parted.
Pierre the Prince of Pomerania
After Jazzi arrived Pierre the Pomeranian joined us. He is a Kentucky rescue dog. The poor boy was found wandering in the Daniel Boone National Forest! I still can’t believe my luck in having this little man in my life. Pierre is a complete Mamma’s boy. By choice. He’s my main man. I always wanted a Pomeranian and never thought I’d have one then Pierre magically appeared (while I was working at a shelter and magically brought him home). I’m totally smitten with my Pom Prince♥
Bijoux the Teddy Bear mix
Then Bijoux came into our lives as a California rescue. She is a Teddy Bear mix. Bijoux is bold. Bijoux is smart. Bijoux owns Mr. Bluejeans heart and knows it! I swear she is a person in a dog suit. For example (and there are lots of examples) we can tell her what room we are headed to and she will trot ahead of us to that room. Ya. Scary smart.
Four years after Bijoux joined our family, Harley passed. We took it hard and miss him to this day. Mr. Bluejeans and I decided that his passing was so hard on us that we weren’t going to adopt another dog.
Uh. Huh.
Max the Bolognese
Somehow the following year my fingers found their way onto a computer keyboard and typed in “Bolognese Rescue”. Not many Bolognese out there. I knew it was a long shot but figured if it took a year or more that was fine. We were in no hurry. That was mid June. July 3rd I drove to the Milwaukee airport to pick up our new two year old baby boy Max! It was meant to be. Max is a Bolognese rescue out of an Arkansas puppy mill. The poor guy was caged as a stud for two years and never even ran or played on grass. He had no clue what that ticklish green stuff was. He does now!
So that’s our crew. These are the dogs of 5 Dog Farm. Mr. Bluejeans is QUITE aware that I’ve never promised to stick to just five dogs and now that we have our forever homestead…there’s room for more! Hmm, come to think of it there may be more room for fabric too. Win Win!
I love this! So much! Thank you for introducing your animals to us! I did a series about 9 months ago introducing all of our dogs. I might have to do it again as I'm about to hit my one year steemit anniversary!
Do you have any other animals? Cats? Chickens? Sheep? Anything!
We had 5 chickens but had to rehome when we started our little adventure. Our plans include: horses, sheep, llama, chickens, guinea hens, rabbits, pigs, dairy cow, possible steer or two and whatever I pick up along the way. As you can tell... it's a LONG range plan... LOL
Dogs in my opinion definitely help round outhe homestead! I love my fur babies. We have a German Shepherd beagle mix and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. They think they're just big lap dogs. LOL going to be getting a working dog soon to help keep away the Predators. Following you!
I agree! I find it's not just their guarding abilities either. There's nothing better than a cuddle on a tough day from one our our furbabies! Thank you!
Our two girls are rescues! One came from Nunavut when we lived way up North, she was born outside on the ice. The other came from a not so great location in Ontario. We got both of them as very young pups. I would have more ...if I could get away with it. A brother would be nice for them :)
There's just something about rescues. We will always have them. I hope you acquire that brother some day!
Wow, love it!
Fantastic dogs with fantastic back stories! ♥
We only have one dog, Pepper, who was purchased from a breeder. My kids and I wanted a dog. My husband did not. Finally, after much wheedling, he caved, saying we could get a dog, but it needed to be small, non shedding, non stinky, and smart enough to be trained well. Not many dogs fit the bill, but we ended up getting Pepper, the pomapoo. (We scoured shelters first, but after months of searching, could not find a dog that fit the bill...)
Here she is, checking out the ducks.
We also have 4 rescue cats, 2 rescue snakes, 1 purchased snake, 1 wild-caught snake, 2 parakeets, 1 cockatiel, and a bunch of fish, not counting livestock. ;)
Oh she IS adorable! Glad you found your furbaby! Kudos on the snakes... not sure I could do that :p Love the ducks. Can't wait to have our own someday.
Haha, well, I have enjoyed snakes since childhood, and have apparently passed the love on to my kids. They each have their own, I have mine, but my husband does not want one. He likes them okay, but does not want to take care of a pet. :P
These are muscovy ducks, which are fantastic if you want meat ducks. They are quiet, unlike noisy regular ducks, and lay very large eggs, but they do poop a LOT and only lay seasonally. We kept them for a couple years, but then decided to stop raising them as they ate and pooped SO much but didnt produce as well as we had hoped. Chickens were easier for us.
Just so happens that Muscovy ducks are the ones on our list. I had heard they were good for grey water ponds (we will be recycling the grey water from our home) as they won't swim in poor quality water. This could also be bologna but I haven't pursued research on them as of yet. I appreciate the heads up on their... err... habits. Will take that into consideration and start out with just a few to see how they fit into our plans.
How wonderful! We have 3 great Pyrs. and a Bernese mountain dog. Glad to meet you! Saw you on the homesteaders online discord app...following!
Oh thank you! 3 Pyrs!!! Wow! We plan to get more but I have to say that I just can't get over how much they shed. Love them to bits but Sheesh... It's like a snow storm!
Beautiful dogs and farm. Welcome to the Steemit and welcome to the group!
Thank you so very much. I can see I'll be learning a lot here!
Ah I see!! Here is my answer about your name!! 5 dog farm sounds better than 5 chicken farm!!! I miss having dogs, but we are a bit busy and all over the place to get some at thr moment.
LOL! Yes, 5 chicken farm is hilarious! I understand why you are waiting. We have traveled from California to Kentucky to Nevada to Wisconsin and finally... to Tennessee to settle down and buy the land. The "kids" have gone everywhere with us. Hard to rent when you have 5 dogs but we met some amazing landlords who understood we weren't the "usual" renters. Glad to finally be settled!