Theo & Arabelle

 

Chapter Two: The Perfect Farm Dog

My very first dog was a Dalmatian named Scrubs. My husband got him for me right after the doctor told us we probably would never have children. He purposefully picked out the most high-energy, high-maintenance, biggest piece-of-work dog he could. 

 

(We would go on to have four children in five years after his arrival. But of course, that's another story entirely and will have to be a different chapter in this book.)

Scrubs moved with us from Eglin AFB in the panhandle of Florida to Turkey to the Azores to Middle TN before finally helping us settle on this farm in Bulls Gap, TN that we have called home since 2015. 

 

In 2016, at nine years old, he decided his work was done, and we burried him at the hairpin -- a tight turn on the back road -- halfway between our house and my in-laws' house. Right smack between the people he most loved.

We knew we had to get another dog. We knew that our six-year-old Sidge, especially, needed another dog, and that the grief would be too intense for him without a new animal to pour into.

We decided that with a farm overrunning with chickens and geese and ducks and sheep, we needed to make sure we had good dogs. They had to be trainable. We couldn't risk having to get rid of a dog because he refused to not dine on peasant. Or lamb chops. I mean what would we do if he had a lamb chop addiction?

 

We researched extensively, and we decided to get an Australian Shepherd. But because they were expensive dogs, especially when purchased from the high-level breeder we were looking at, we decided to get two of them. (That makes sense, doesn't it?) But the two was so that we could breed them and make back some of the money we spent.

 

And that's the story of how Bauernhof Kitsteiner came to be a farm that raised Aussies. And that is how we ended up having Ritter and Arabelle.

 

Ritter is the big Daddy. He's over 60 pounds. A red-merle. And a huge pile of loving fluff. He has very few needs other than belly scratches. And he's yet to meet a person he does not like. While Sidge likes to claim Ritter as his own, he really does belong to all of us.

But Arabelle? Her black-tri-self is my dog. I didn't set out to make her that way. She just chose me. She was born a farm dog. Today, after dropping my daughters off at church camp, I went for a walk/run on the track that circles the hospital my husband works for. Arabelle ran next to me off-leash. She stays in a heel when I tell her, and runs free when I let her. Half a dozen people stopped me to comment on her impeccable behavior as I let her run off-leash next to a busy road and tons of people.

But that's Arabelle. She lives to serve me and to be out with me on our farm. John captured the video of her jumping over one of our electric lines today. She does this often. If I give her the command, she jumps. If I tell her to stay, she will. Her hardest responsibility is when I ask her to leave me. She hates that.

I'd like to pretend that I am a professional trainer, and I simply conquered this dog with my impeccable training techniques, but that would be a mighty large lie. She honestly, nearly completely, trained herself. She often looks at me as if to say: "C'mon human. If you could get your act together, I'd be able to do a whole lot more."

I never dreamed any dog could replace my Scrubby. But Arabelle has nestled herself deep within my heart. I'd like to say I'm a two-dog woman, but as I look around these acres, I know that I will most likely always have a dog by my side. 

They are made for these hills.

Homesteading Mama: Field trip with the littles

On Mondays, the "littles" come over to my house while Aunt Hannah schools "the bigs." Last Monday, I decided to take a field trip to our local Amish store: Yoders with them. I gave them each a ziplock bag with change so that they could pay for their own "peppermint sticks." It was super cute, and they did a great job. I think they were the highlight of all the employee's morning. 

We took Arabelle to Yoder's with us. More and more, each time I leave the house, this dog gives me the most pitiful eyes, and I feel talked into taking her with us. She is an "okay" car traveler, but she is a SUPER good listener, so when one of the kids called her into their seat, she decided to come as you can see in the video below.

I was doing a Marco Polo video with my wonderful friend, Debbie, when all chaos took over. I had to pull over to deal with the situation. It was QUITE funny. You have to watch Eoin's face nearly smashed by the Arabelle:

We Bought a Farm: Waiting for Babies

"Happiness is a warm puppy" 
Charles M. Schulz

FYI: we are waiting for new life here in a BIG way.

1. Puppies! (Arabelle's due date is TODAY!)
2. Lambs! (We have a bunch of Mamas waiting to burst!)
3. Baby Theo!  (Hannah Kotysnki's sixth baby!)

JB had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off, and I was sure that SOMEBODY would have a baby (or babies!) during that time. But it is 5:40pm on a Friday evening, and we got NADA.

John is about to go back in for a three-day run. 

BUMMER!!!!

We We Bought a Farm: The story of a very old dead rabbit, a dog, and the husband who saved the day

I have a story to tell about one female Aussie dog who got a hold of a dead rabbit this morning. She ate the dead rabbit. We didn't know it. But we found out when she upchucked the rabbit in our inside dog kennel.

Here is a video I took right after discovering the incredibly stinky dead rabbit.


In all of my years of dogs and babies, have never met a bodily fluid I have not be able to tackle.

Until this morning.

This throw-up defeated me. 

It was beyond stinky. And it was in a little confined place. I absolutely could not do it. 

I considered bribing the kids, but while I joked about it in the video above, to be honest, the mess was too tricky for any of them to clean up. 

So I called in reinforcements.

I called in my Doctor Husband. 

The first time he walked through the living room, and I told him about the upchucking, he said jokingly: "Well, you are the one who made them indoor dogs."

(This is true. They were supposed to be outdoor dogs. I own this decision.)

But after I tried for a second time to go into the kennel and clean it up and nearly lost my own lunch, I went to him again and asked him, and he agreed to clean it up.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. I mean I deal with really gross stuff at work. I am experienced at how to breathe through my mouth."

Honestly: I am not sure a fancy dinner or an expensive night away at a hotel would have meant more to me than hearing the words: 

"I'll clean up the very old dead rabbit that your dog just threw up in a small confined place."

Music to my ears,

We Bought a Farm: The Doggies

Our two dogs are completely different creatures. Arabelle is with us on the farm all ... the ... time. Wherever we are (and specifically wherever, I am), Arabelle is there ...

Ritter on the other hand is always in the house, laying down, waiting for his belly to be scratched by anyone. You could be a complete stranger. He doesn't care. It's all he lives for. Truly:

Hello from the Ritter dog!

Hi my name is Ritter. I am the Daddy dog around these parts.

This is my main squeeze. Her name is Arabelle. Here's a picture of she and I showing off our best sides:

And here is both of us wrestling with our friend Cali. We love all the kids around these parts and have tons of fun with them:

We even talk them into hanging with us in our kennel if we are super sweet:

Or taking naps with us in random places:

We know we aren't allowed to get on the sofa, but we sure like to push it as much as we can:

Lately, my main gal, Arabelle, has been lying around quite a bit. Here she is out in the garden, just resting, while everyone is doing work. (That's Kari who went over to check on her.):

Rumor has it, she is lying around because she's got puppies in her belly. The family took her to the vet yesterday and found out how many puppies were in her belly. The vet wasn't "positive" because it was a little blurry still, but looks like 9 or 10 puppies will be coming in just under two weeks:

Joni and the Pups

"Dogs are not our whole life, 

but they make our lives whole." Roger Caras

Joni is a big-time dog-person. She's owned quite a few, but when her Andre passed a few months back, she decided that that's the last dog for her. She travels too much and finding care for her dog is too hard. 

But Ritter and Arabelle have definitely adopted her. She's one of their favorite people for sure.

We Bought a Farm: Planting Trees (with the family and Arabelle)

JB and I went out planting trees with the kids and Anni. 

She caught me and Arabelle funning around. 

I love this dog.