Many a times I have chatted about what it is like to be part of a family farm. My family is really important part of my life. My family, like many of yours, consists of the Dad, the kids, Me (the mum) and the Dogs. I am really lucky that I can bring my Dogs with me to work everyday.
And they think they are really lucky as well. I work on the farm with my Dad, and he also has 2 dogs. So along with my 3 dogs, our little farm most days has 5 dogs running around protecting the farm from all types of evils. Like falling leaves, weird sounds, and random bursts of wind. They do let us know when some calls in to pick up their turf, which is great. But they are the type of dogs that wag their tail so much when they see you they nearly fall over.
They really do have important roles to play on the farm. Firstly the 3 girl Kelpies are there to keep the Ducks away. Ducks are mean to turf. They love to get their beaks in rip holes in the paddocks. Really not helpful at all. So The Girls run around and mostly chase each other, but keep the ducks at bay. And the noisy miners too. They are however very frightened of the Magpies and the Willy Wag tails. My Dad’s girl is the brown Kelpie, Jessie, and mine are the lying down Kelpie cross, Millicent or Millie and her mother, Ethel; the Hyper Olive Kelpie in the background. I swear I have never seen Ethel stay still. Even in her sleep she runs. Millie though is quite happy to take a nap anywhere. Inside Tractors included.
The old Black boy is my Dads dog, Indy. He was our original farm dog. Blindly loyal back then, now at nearly 15 years old just nearly blind. But he loves to come down the farm, show The Girls he is still boss, and occasionally eat our lunch before we get to it.
The big yellow man is Keith. He is our office Dog. He comes inside during summer to enjoy the air-conditioning and in the winter for the warmth. He is a large Labrador cross (crossed with something even more hunger than a Labrador! ) He is loving and cuddly. Big but not very brave. And Keith is our mental health dog. I am a big believer in the studies showing that even by patting a dog your stress levels go down. And saying your problems out load to a dog is great mental health. They never judge, never reply with “that was stupid” just look at you lovingly and expect a cuddle.
So often down the farm or in the trucks we are alone with our thoughts; this can be a great thing, and sometimes a destructive thing. But when you have a dog with you , you are never alone. Our dogs love attention and really do make us all feel better about our day. They also love a customer cuddle as well.
So our family of fur babies is made up of a wide cross section. Our fur babies are also our test subjects. We watch they use consistently the turf. Being creatures of habit they usually run the same way every day. And we can see which varieties can handle the wear and tear of the dogs. So we can help you know which turf would be best for your yard with any type of dog you have. Be they fast and energetic, slow and slightly large (ok fine I know Keith is fat but that is part of his charm) or more relaxed.
Get your Turf from the people who grow it and know it.
Chat soon, I have a dog to cuddle and save my lunch from….
Sare