the Flock Master: JXK 5000

Allow me to introduce to you our newest addition to the Willow Homestead, our ferocious guard dog extraordinaire, the flock master . . . JXK 5000!  Because everyone knows that the 3500 model is sooo outdated.

Okay, so that's what my husband wanted to name him.  But the kids and I wielded our collective power and officially secured the name, Bosley.  Bosley is much easier to yell at bedtime than JXK 5000.  :)  What we looked for in choosing a new puppy was (1) the bigger, the better; (2) a mellow personality bordering on dormant; and (3) a dog that would bark at strangers and coyotes.  I think we did good.

Bosley is Great Pyrenees with perhaps a bit of Newfoundland mixed in, seeing as he has webbed toes and black patches.  He is two months old now and settling in quite nicely to the daily routine of chores.  Mostly he just lumbers along behind me and tries to nip my heels.  Luckily he doesn't nip at the chickens or cats.  But pretty much anything else that comes into contact with his sharky-shark mouth is fair game.  Shoes, toys, butterfly nets, picnic table legs, car tires, you name it.  He's all puppy.

Although for being all puppy, he's seems pretty low-key and certainly enjoys his nap times.  We're hoping that within the next 9 months or so we'll have to wake him up to feed him.  We're also hoping he'll stop being scared of the sheep.  We prematurely took him in the pasture, and he plastered himself up against the barn door (see Photo #1).  So now I just set up visitations through the fence.  He's not meant to be a herding dog, but his main job here is to protect and serve.  Our previous dog kept our yard completely free (and I mean completely) of all woodland creatures.  No squirrels, no rabbits, no deer dared step foot on our dandelion-infested lawn.  Bosley has big shoes to fill!

It really is fun to have a puppy on the farm again.  I'll be sure to keep you updated on how the Master of the Flock grows into his position, both literally and figuratively. 

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