Have you given your farm dog ( or dogs ) some love recently ?
How about a recess from the farm ?
This calendar month has been destine AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Days by the American Kennel Club , and I just finish surf over to read and sign up their AKC Responsible Dog Owner Pet Promise ( like to join me ? Clickhere ) .
As a former zoo keeper and veterinary assistant , I ’ve always pride myself on being a pretty responsible for pet possessor .
Our two dogs , Pippin and Daisy , get a good diet , exercising , veterinary fear and freight of erotic love . They ’re fixed , and we don ’ t rent them roam .
Still , one item on the Pet Promise lean gave me a shamefaced twinge : “ I will socialize my dog via exposure to new people , place and other frankfurter . ”
Of of course , this sort of socialization is vital during puppyhood to change state out a well - set syndicate dearie , and we assay to verify Pippin experienced many dissimilar people , dogs and place as a whelp ( Daisy came to subsist with us as an grownup ) .
But in late years , it seems like we ’ve taken the well-situated style out and allowed both weenie to become farm - body .
Sure , they love it here : sniffing through ley for rodents , treeing squirrels , stealing staff of life from chickens , lazing in the sun . But just like with us , I think it ’s skilful for them to escape from the farm every so often .
Not long ago , for illustration , we train the dogs with us on a tenting slip to the Oregon Coast . Do n’t ask me how , but we oversee to stuff two adults , one teen , a big Coonhound mix , a Terri - Poo , AND our camping gear into our petite Nissan Versa .
Six hours afterward , we untangle ourselves , shudder to hear the roar of the ocean again , breathe in the salty sea air , and see the Umpqua River Lighthouse gleam white against the sky . The weenie were ecstatic .
We visited Grandpa and Grandma , walked around wooded lakes , and climbed a giant sand sand dune to obtain a surreal , lonely desert of undulate dunes stretch to the ocean , a place where the dogs could run , apprehend and roll to their hearts ’ content .
How huge and exciting that worldly concern must have seemed to them after so much prison term spend within the boundaries of our five - Accho farm !
So I ’ve promised my farm dog more off - farm excursions in the future . After all , they ’re part of the family .
I ’d love to hear about what you do to enrich your faithful friend ’s animation 🙂
~ Cherie
