"Good morning dogs! So Toby dog and Abby dog, I must come to accept the fact that one of you is a thief, and nothing makes me angrier than thieves." The speaker's tone was a playful blend of exasperation and affection as they addressed their two livestock guardian dogs. "So here on our farm, we have two livestock Guardian dogs, and those livestock Guardian dogs are working dogs, meaning the dogs on our farm, despite the fact that I love them very much, they all have jobs, and essentially as the farmer, I've hired them to perform those jobs." However, a recent pattern of misbehavior had caught the speaker's attention. "But lately, I've noticed a disturbing trend of theft in the workplace. Hey, don't steal that, Genie! You're not going to want one of those mushrooms. They've gone bad and they're kind of gross and slimy. Trust me, I know you."
The introduction of the canine culprits followed. "So here we have Toby dog, who's our OG livestock Guardian dog. He's about 5 years old. He was the first dog on the farm. And then we have Toby dog sidekick, Abby dog, who's about 3 years old now." A contrast in their personalities was immediately drawn. "And Abby dog has always been a little bit more Mischief than Toby dog. You know, relatively speaking, Toby dog was always easier to train, more well-behaved D, he didn't have any problems like trying to play too rough with the chickens." Despite some early challenges, Abby's integration into farm life had improved. "But despite some of Abby dog's earlier wo, she's actually done pretty good, particularly in the last year and a half, and while she does have some behavioral issues, she actually has settled down pretty good, and she fits into the farm much more so than when she first got here." Yet, a new, cunning form of misbehavior had emerged. "Now, despite the improvements in Abby's Behavior lately, I've noticed that she started to pull off a trick that is quite devilish." The speaker then detailed the dogs' feeding routine. "You see, every night right around Sundown is when I feed the dogs. I only feed the dogs once a day because there's actually a lot of Veterinary advice that suggests that that's the best thing for the dog. And so every evening, I will feed the dogs their bowls of food, which usually consists of a mixture of kibble, and I soak the kibble in the water, and then I'll typically add some sort of topper, whether it be wet dog food or meat or something like an egg, like I'll put it on top just to like give them a little extra special treat and make sure they enjoy their meal."
The history of food-related tension between the dogs was revealed. "Now, despite the fact that Toby dog and Abby dog overall get along pretty well, the one area that they have had a little friction in the past on is around food, where particularly Abby will try to steal Toby's food and like intimidate him and muscle him out." To mitigate this, a specific feeding arrangement was in place. "And so when I feed them, I feed them in two separate parts of the Barnyard, and I really try to actually stick around and make sure that I supervise things." However, Abby had devised a clever, albeit underhanded, tactic. "But recently, I noticed that Abby has started to do the sneakiest thing, and it's a combination of both being awful and Brilliant." The speaker then demonstrated the scenario. "Here's your food. It's for lady Abington. Come on, Mr. Toby dog, come with me. Here you go. That's your food. Yes, that's exactly right." The mechanics of Abby's scheme were then unveiled. "What I have noticed is this: while they're eating and when Abby dog thinks I'm not paying attention, she will start barking somewhere in the back pasture over there, and Toby dog, who's such a good dutiful puppy dog, he hears that barking and thinks that there's danger on the farm, and he feels like he's being called into action." Toby's unwavering dedication to his guardian duties was highlighted. "And if there is trouble Brewing on the farm, Toby dog cannot be taking a dinner break." The predictable outcome of Abby's feigned alarm was then described. "And so Toby will go run down to where Abby was to investigate and see what's going on, and as soon as he does that, Abby dog sneaks back and then starts eating the rest of his food." The speaker's mock reprimand of Abby followed. "You know, Abby dog, that behavior is downright criminal, and I think you owe Toby dog here an apology." Abby's seemingly guilty reaction was noted. "I think she knows that I'm actually scolding her a little bit, and that's why she just put her paw in front of her face. What are you doing there, girl? You know, Miss, I'm talking to you, and I think you know I'm talking about you, and you're trying to act like you're not doing anything wrong, but both Toby dog and I know the truth." The recent installation of cameras confirmed the speaker's suspicions. "And because I set up those cameras last night to see what was going on, you guys know the truth Too! Release the quacken!"
A shift in the weather was then noted. "It's actually really warming up here today. It's already uh 35° Fahrenheit, and I think the high today is supposed to be in the mid-40s." The visual effect of the warming temperatures on the snow-covered landscape was described. "You can actually look around and see around the farm, it's like eerie and foggy looking because there's so much snow on the ground and it's heated up so much." The resulting icy conditions around the water sources presented a logistical challenge. "It's getting to be so icy over here by the water that I might have to build some like blocks to make the water buckets stand on cuz they keep slipping and sliding everywhere." The difficulty of managing large ice chunks was explained. "When I just pour the water out it's not so bad, but when I have to break up big ice chunks because we were having several days in like Subzero temps, it creates these like big blocks of ice that if I'm not careful actually just kind of freeze in place here." This made a seemingly simple chore more complicated. "It can make watering a little trickier, particularly when I have to keep my water buckets in the same exact spot every time so that my watering system works." The foggy conditions obscured the landscape. "That's what I'm talking about when I say it's so foggy, like if you look back there, you can't even see where the permaculture Orchard is cuz it's all fogged out right now." Kitchen scraps were provided for the birds. "All right, birds have some kitchen scraps." Toby's diligent patrolling of the property was observed. "So you can see Toby dog, he's out there doing his job right now. Anytime he gets access to a place, he'll just kind of wander around and mark his territory. You know, particularly because we have the woods so close to this side, he just wants to make sure his animals stay safe. And so you'll see him in our videos a lot just going around and marking the whole perimeter, smelling all the smells, making sure he recognizes all the smells and making sure his animal stay safe. Isn't that right, buddy?"
A downside of the warmer weather was then discovered. "Oh oh, hey, what's that? Uh-oh, one of the downsides about the weather warming up is it looks like Toby dog has a tick here." The surprising presence of ticks in January was noted. "So yes, you can get ticks in January on a farm. Want you to sit. You're not going to like this, I know. Okay, hang on, hang on, got it. It's a dog tick, and it just clung on to him probably in the last, I don't know, couple of hours." The need for vigilance against ticks even in winter thaws was emphasized. "But even in the dead of winter when you get warm thaws like this, you got to be ready to have ticks around and make sure you can take care of your animals as well as yourself." The speaker's summer routine of regular tick checks was contrasted with their more relaxed winter approach. "You know, in the summer months, I'm so used to like constantly checking myself for ticks and doing a full body check every 12 hours just to make sure I don't catch something like Lyme disease, and I got to admit that typically in the winter months I'm a little bit LAX in that behavior." The tick on Toby served as a reminder. "But I think this little tick here that I got off a Toby dog is a good reminder that you got to be careful still. Hey buddy, don't eat me, please." The speaker then checked on the "weirdos," a group of chickens. "Come on, how's my weirdos doing this morning? Huh? What are you doing there, lavender? Something over there, huh?" Jenny Barn Cat's cozy nesting spot was observed. "Hey, Jenny Barn cat, have you made like a little nest for yourself? Is that what's going on here? Both you and Pablo love sleeping in the goat hay. I've noticed it's become a regular Trend here, you know. Oh, you're such a sweetheart, you know that." Jenny's affectionate nature was highlighted. "Yes, it's Jenny Barn Cat, the aggressively friendly Barn cat here at Gold Shaw Farm. I love you, sweetheart." Abby's attempt to get attention was rebuffed. "Oh, Abby, are you looking for attention because Jenny's getting attention? Well, no, you're not getting any. You have to learn to live without that attention, Abby. This right here is Jenny bar cat's time to sh." The soothing effect of interacting with animals was mentioned. "Yeah, there's just something so soothing about petting and interacting with animals. I'm convinced it's very good for your soul." The speaker then moved on to goat-feeding duties. "You're messing up the hey, I got to go feed the goats now. Come on."
A surprising discovery in the goat yard then occurred. "Whoa, whoa, Wella, would you look at that? Looks like we got a brand new goat here on the farm. It's a little black one right there in the corner. You see it?" The speaker expressed confusion about the goat's presence. "How the heck did this little goat get into my goat yard with all my other goats? I just don't understand what happened here." The goat seemed content, but a relocation was planned. "She seems pretty content, but I'll probably have to grab her and move her back to where the other goats like her live and not have her living with these goats. Come on, gosis, come with me. Come on, come on. Here's some pellets. Give you some more hay. Also got to change out the goat water, just giving you fresh water." An unsuccessful attempt to catch the errant goat followed. "Hang on. Ah, couldn't catch her. I'll keep working on it." Greetings were exchanged with other goats. "How you doing, laen? Good to see you, buddy. Lauren and I always seem to match when I'm wearing my winter coat. Yeah, isn't that right, pal? How's it going, Telemachus? Good to see you, buddy. Barracus is dropping some raisinets. What you doing there, man? You're making a mess. I'm going to have to come in and clean it up again. Yeah, you boys are good." The need for a fishing net to catch the chicken goat was identified. "Of course, if I want to rescue that chicken, I think I'm going to need to get my fishing net, which is usually the easiest way to catch a bird is by using like a large fishing net." The speaker then realized they couldn't locate the net. "Just remembering where I last put my fishing net. This might be a problem. Don't let anybody tell you that there isn't a downside to being a disorganized ADHD mess sometimes, and I think this right here might be one of them." The usual storage location was inaccessible due to snow. "I usually keep it like right here cuz it's usually the place where I most likely need to catch birds, but we've had so much snow and that Snow's falling down and now it's piled in there. I wonder if I can get it out. I feel like I'm removing Excalibur from the stone. Nope, that's not going anywhere." Patience was deemed necessary. "I'm might have to wait a little bit for that to thaw some more before I can get to it because I'm worried if I pull it too hard it's just going to snap right off." The chicken goat's temporary living arrangement was acknowledged. "So I think at least for the next couple of days our chicken goat is going to need to remain a chicken goat until maybe she gets a little hungry and tries to come back over here." Abby's barking resumed, attributed to a crow. "Abby just started barking again. I think it was like a crow that just flew over, but a lot of times the birds flying overhead will get the dog's attention too." The connection between Abby's barking and her food theft strategy was reiterated. "While Toby dog is the one who seems to take his job most seriously, Abby is usually the first to bark, and so when it comes to things like the food theft, I think she's taking advantage of that and using it in a mischievous way. And just know that Abby dog is a very intelligent dog, and so yes, I truly believe she is intentionally trying to trick Toby dog in order to steal food. Animal behaviorists can fight me in the comments on that one, but I'm pretty sure I'm right."
The focus then shifted to watering the cattle. "All right, now it is time to start pumping water for the cattle. There we go. Okay, you guys want to see your cows? Come on inside." The benefits of thaws for removing built-up ice were explained. "Another important thing to do when you get thaws like this is take advantage of them. You know, when we have a deep freeze like we had last week, you have this situation where the ice really builds up in a significant way. As much as you might try to break it up and remove it or melt it, it's still going to be there. It's not till you get a good thaw like this, you can take all of those big hunks of ice and like pull them out." The speaker checked on the cattle. "How's the crew Deo doing this morning? I know it's getting a little muddy in here. Even I don't know, I should probably feed you some fresh hay by the end of the day, but otherwise you guys look like you're doing pretty good. Hey Buffy the Vampire Slayer, how's it going there, sweetie?" Interaction with Amilia the charolais continued the effort to build trust. "Abby, are you behaving around the coups? Looks like you are. Hey Amilia, can I pet you more? Working on trying to get the charlet more comfortable with me by basically just staying in their space and like having them around me and having them see that there's no reason to panic around me. Yeah, so far so good. We're also kind of getting used to Abby too, even though Abby, be careful, I don't want you getting kicked. I don't want a vet bill for that, please. And believe me, that's something I could easily see happening." The overall well-being of the herd was confirmed. "But yeah, the whole herd's good today." The relative ease of winter cattle chores was contrasted with the more time-consuming summer routines. "I don't know, there isn't too much to see or do right now, but when I talk about winter Farm chores being really easy, you know, I could easily spend 20, 30 minutes each morning just moving my main herd of cattle in the summer months. Sometimes it's even longer than that can spend like an hour up there. Here it's like takes 15 minutes to fill that up, and I don't even need to be here while it's filling up. I just set a timer and then I can turn off the water. And yeah, like every 3 or 4 days I'll feed them. Hey hey hey hey!"