Green Acres Meets the Brady Bunch: Notes From an Inadvertent Dog Farm

Mars, hanging out on a farm road. photos by the author.

Hundreds of thousands of people got pandemic puppies over the past year and a half, and I did, too. Actually, I got two pandemic puppies, on top of a third puppy I’d acquired just before the pandemic hit. All three of my youngsters are female and all come from high drive working lines. Two are Belgian Malinois and one is a feisty little Terrier mix.

Treu is one of the newer members of the farm pack.

In addition to the three girl pups - Arabella, Villanelle, and Emjay - I already had three male dogs. One of the boys is Treu, a year-and-a-half old Rottweiler I’d recently pulled from a shelter because he was clearly a diamond in the rough and wasn’t thriving in the kennel environment. 

This means we had four - count ‘em, four - adolescent dogs under two years of age. My tried and true other two boys, Mars and Laz, are mature adult dogs at five and six years old, respectively. But they, too, are Belgian Shepherds and, therefore, very clever and active. So yep, six dogs total. Warning: Do not try this at home. I am a professional (haha!). 

I’ve loved dogs for as long as I can remember, but I never planned to have so many at once. Over the years I’ve found it’s easiest to have just one or two, which is what I recommend for most people. Yet somehow I’ve wound up with a Brady Bunch of dogs: three boys and three girls.

As you might imagine, this involves a lot of energy and some complex group dynamics. People often ask how I do it. The answer is structure with lots of human engagement and personal play.

Of course, managing my bunch takes some significant time. Not all of my dogs are best friends, and that’s okay. There are a lot of strong personalities in the house, each with his or her own compelling drives and interests. It’s important to me that all my dogs get to express their own characters and their likes and dislikes and that they get to spend some one-on-one time with me and/or my partner on a regular basis. My pups also help me raise and train client dogs and make videos for my students and our online dog training school.

Laz is outstanding in his field.

All of my crew have special activities they like to do. These range from formal sports, to playing scent games, to hiking, swimming, or hunting vermin out in the country. Which brings us to my new, five-acre farmette (cue the Green Acres theme).  

During the Covid lockdowns, I began to crave open spaces and fresh air like never before. While feeling a bit stir crazy last summer, I took the big leap to leave city life behind and pursue my lifelong fantasy to live in the country. My new place was a horse property before I bought it, with a barn and big pastures. Now, almost a year into country living, I’m still working through what to do with so much space. 

At the moment, it’s all for the dogs. Yes, I now have a dog farm! And with our six resident dogs, plus lots of foster and client dogs coming and going, that’s a very good thing indeed.

I spent the first several months securing extra fencing and building a few enclosures to keep the dogs safe. Our property is surrounded by horses, goats, sheep, chickens, and ducks, and I wanted to make sure there were no unintended cross-species incidents. Now, the full five acres is fenced, and I have two additional yards with shade and rain structures as well. 

I also made sure one of the larger paddocks is set to standards that would allow me to house bigger animals, should I choose to do so later on. When I moved in, I promised myself I’d get through a full calendar year before committing to any sort of farm animals. I wanted to work on house projects and take time to get to know the landscape and seasons before adding any new challenges to the mix. I’m glad I’ve waited because just learning how to garden and maintain five acres of fields, trees, flowers, etc., has proven to be plenty for this city girl.

This spring offered an unexpected bounty of delight. The season kicked off with smatterings of buttery yellow daffodils all over the field. Then, our four lilac bushes, two of them so large they seem more like trees, gifted us with air sweetly scented by their gorgeous and abundant blooms. As June approached, I realized I have a peony bush just beyond my bedroom deck. Peonies are my very favorite flower, and I’ve spent the past two weeks absolutely gleeful at the sight of their cotton candy petals every time I step outside. I had a lush curtain of wisteria on my deck at the same time, too. Dreamy! Now, the hydrangeas are about to burst into what looks like a natural fireworks display of purple stars.

 And the fruit! Of course, I have big plans to learn about growing my own produce (I even have a greenhouse), but with all of the other house, fencing, and foster dog projects, I didn’t get around to putting in a garden this year. No matter because some fruit plants were already established. There are blueberries and raspberries coming up soon, and I already have so many strawberries I can barely keep up with harvesting them. Today, as I gathered the latest crop, I shared some with the dogs while they romped, rolled, and sniffed around. They thought the berries were an amazing treat.

 Now, we spend our days playing and training in what amounts to our own private dog park. I have a full sized French Ring Sport field with all of the jumps and necessary equipment for Laz, Ara, and Emjay, and we invite friends over for training days, cookouts, or even camping on site. Villa, my Terrier, has enticing voles to hunt. Mars has plenty of room for nosework searches and playing fetch, and my shelter Rottie is learning to trust again while exploring our wide open spaces. My partner set up an outdoor movie theater near the fire pit so we can watch films while snuggled up, making s’mores under the stars. Mowing grass and trimming is nearly a part-time job these days, but that’s okay. It’s a soothing activity. 

So that’s the report from our inadvertent dog farm. As I prune bushes and watch the pups frolicking in the grass, I’m already pondering the next big question...donkeys or sheep?