[iandwk]

We took in a stray dog of questionable ancestry back in '93. She was mostly some type of bird dog, the vet said, and around 7-10 years old. We owned 5 poultry houses, so I thought I would see how she behaved inside one of the houses with 30,000 noisy chickens. She stayed at my heels and didn't bother the chickens, so it became a routine. When I would get in the truck she would jump in the bed and go with me several times per day. Usually on the first trip of the day. I would walk through each house, once around the inside walls between the feeders and walls, and the next around the inner part of each house. My purpose was to look for chickens who had died, were obviously weak, or somehow deformed. These would be removed from the houses to allow the healthy chickens to remain healthy. After 2 or 3 weeks, the dog, who we had named Reddawg because of her color (we aren't very imaginative) started pointing to the culls (the weak and deformed) that I had overlooked. I thought that was pretty good, since I hadn't trained her to do this. Then one day I said, "Go get it, girl." She ran and picked it up and brought it me unharmed. She had a bird dog's "soft mouth."

We contracted with Tyson, and the representatives who saw this demonstration were amazed. It became routine for them to bring some the visiting higher-ups to watch her do her stuff. She was always a big hit.

Sometime around the year 2000, she got to the point she couldn't jump up into the bed of the truck, so I started letting her ride inside with me. After about another year she got to the point that she could only go through 1 house and then not even that and I had to allow her to retire. She continued to live on the farm until around 2006. She just disappeared one day and we never found her. If the vet was correct, she was around 20-23 years old.

That's the last dog we have owned. Over the years we had other dogs on the farm when she was alive, but they were all outside dogs. She's the only one we allowed in. She smelled like the chicken houses, but so did the rest of the farm, and we didn't mind.

We will never forget her.

[tony]

My old dog, Ralph, could bark his own name.

[iandwk]

Originally Posted by tony

My old dog, Ralph, could bark his own name.

That was funny. Like the dog that could say the name of the greatest baseball player.

[momar]

We had an Australian Shepherd named Harley who was quite a boy! A treat was always mandatory, naturally.
-with him sitting --whatever hand you held out and said "shake" --he would stick out that corresponding paw.
-With both of us sitting--whatever hand I would put up and say "hi 5" --he would "hi 5" with the corresponding paw, or if I put up both hands and say "double hi 5"--he would do likewise.
-If you held a treat above him---he would stand on his hind legs and hop around in a circle.
-he would 'roll over'
-if he was down on the floor and you told him to "crawl" --he would do so.
-we had a piano and if I told him to "go play the piano"-- he would run in that room and hit the keys with his paws (but immediately be back for his treat).
-if he was down on the floor and you pointed your finger at him and said "bang, bang" ---he would roll over on his side and lay motionless for a bit.
- he loved to catch a tennis ball in the air (not easy catches,either)
He was my "best friend".

I used to housesit and petsit two Westies who were a mother and son pair. I did this for 5 years or so.

The dogs were the property of a retired naval officer who routinely got up at 5 a.m. to feed his pets.

They expected to be fed on time. Unless I shut the door to the bedroom I slept in, the son of the pair--Chuck-- would jump in bed with me. Stick his nose to my side and try to roll me out of bed.

This was usually right around the crack of dawn or sometimes before.

These two dogs remind me of the mother and son pair.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pby0YI8FdKc[/ame]

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac

I used to housesit and petsit two Westies who were a mother and son pair. I did this for 5 years or so.

The dogs were the property of a retired naval officer who routinely got up at 5 a.m. to feed his pets.

They expected to be fed on time. Unless I shut the door to the bedroom I slept in, the son of the pair--Chuck-- would jump in bed with me. Stick his nose to my side and try to roll me out of bed.

This was usually right around the crack of dawn or sometimes before.

These two dogs remind me of the mother and son pair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pby0YI8FdKc

What fun! Thanks for sharing. Actually, they remind me of my dog and cat.

[bkcunningham1]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac

I used to housesit and petsit two Westies who were a mother and son pair. I did this for 5 years or so.

The dogs were the property of a retired naval officer who routinely got up at 5 a.m. to feed his pets.

They expected to be fed on time. Unless I shut the door to the bedroom I slept in, the son of the pair--Chuck-- would jump in bed with me. Stick his nose to my side and try to roll me out of bed.

This was usually right around the crack of dawn or sometimes before.

These two dogs remind me of the mother and son pair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pby0YI8FdKc

That is soooo cute. I love that nonchalant, "I'm not looking at you" attack strategy. Very cute. Thanks for the smiles.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac

I used to housesit and petsit two Westies who were a mother and son pair. I did this for 5 years or so.
The dogs were the property of a retired naval officer who routinely got up at 5 a.m. to feed his pets.

They expected to be fed on time. Unless I shut the door to the bedroom I slept in, the son of the pair--Chuck-- would jump in bed with me. Stick his nose to my side and try to roll me out of bed.
This was usually right around the crack of dawn or sometimes before.

These two dogs remind me of the mother and son pair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pby0YI8FdKc

Tal, what a cute clip. You get the award for "Best Video of the week"!

Please see Tony to pick up your prize.

[wmchale]

Originally Posted by tony

My old dog, Ralph, could bark his own name.

Does he know what's on top of a house?

[tony]

Heck, yeah. He knew that word when he was a pup.