Farm Fresh Blog

Monday, November 01 2010

Melody in Oklahoma sent me this hilarious story regarding Livestock Guardian Dogs and their choice of chew toys. I begged her to let me share it.

I can certainly sympathize with you and the "ugh" factor over Briar's stinky new Possum Chew Toy. Around here, when we find ourselves with a body to dispose of, we have a large ditch at the top of the hill, a result of a previous owner's attempt at terracing gone horribly wrong. (it's big enough to put a house in, several, actually, though the previous owner used it for "ditching" recently expired cattle & his household trash) Anyway, since we've been here, the "crack of doom" as we call it has become the semi-final resting place of quite a few animals including various armadillos, pack rats and opossums that met an untimely demise, along with chickens, goats, sheep, and not one, but two very old horses. I say semi final because once the buzzards start to circle, and the LGDs realize that "Hey, there's probably something good up there...", the dogs tend to treat the CoD like a personal larder. Every chance they can, while the goats browse nearby, they'll slip away looking for a little snack they can bring with them to work. Just a few weeks ago, we lost a chicken, a very old goat(16 yrs) and alas, Old General(12 yrs), a wonderful Komondorok LGD, all within 24 hours.

When his time came, even General went into the ditch; partly because it seemed fitting as it was a place he had spent many happy hours, but mostly because I didn't want to try to bury a dog that was almost as big as me. (I'm 4'11")

LSS, this afternoon as they came up to the house, I noticed the Anatolian and Fila/Anatolian cross had the unmistakable aroma that comes from canine treasure hunting in the CoD. I figured one of them would be proudly brandishing leg of goat, but no, there were no delightfully stinky treats. Instead, as they got closer, I recognized the long white tuft of hair snagged on one dog's collar as having belonged to the Komondorok. (I guess it's the doggy style equivalent of taking a carnation from the gravesite after a funeral and putting it in your lapel.) Apparently, having discovered their old Teacher and friend, they couldn't leave without having a good roll to capture that special Essence of General.

(note to self: keep the goats and dogs confined close to the house for the next couple of weeks...)

Meanwhile, back @ the farm...

http://eieio.org/

Thank you, Melody! That certainly puts Briar's possum in perspective!

Posted by: forensicfarmgirl AT 08:21 am | Permalink | 3 Comments | Email

Comments:

I guess having a CoD beats digging a hole in the dead of winter in OK. Briar would never roll in a dead buddy. She's too ladylike for that. Or not. :)

Posted by CeeCee on 11/01/2010 - 02:38 PM

I bury mine under large bags of free wood shavings and pin it all down with chicken wire so the foxes can't get them. After a couple of months bones can be buried under their new tree in the animal wood. Blossom the Pyr is gettig a "ginko" tree. Have found that American walnut was the best for odour free. I get it from a furniture place as garden mulch, chicken and goat pen flooring. Dog paddock has heaps they use as armchairs.

Posted by Liz (Vic Aust.) on 11/01/2010 - 10:05 PM

We have a cemetery garden outside my kitchen window. Kona, Penny, Pippy, Navarre, and Frio are buried there.

Posted by forensicfarmgirl on 11/02/2010 - 05:09 PM