time to mix teh 2 german pups with some of the sdp last litter- like maybe on puppy hill -- like after 9:00 when megan gets here... just in case we get a battle going...
my options are to start with 2... one of each-- millie and jimminey and tehn terrie and stitch -- if that goers well tehn all 4 under supervision...-- then get millie and tarrie introduced to the in out ( probably take devlin who's slight build migh not get stuck in gthe inout door.)
i did finally find someone who would tackl e our garage door problem-- we really need a "man door" which 3 companies refused to install-- finally one said "if any would do it, it was danvers garage door company.... they are nuts" soundsed like my kind of person.. so mr danvers did come here and after standing around for a bit- suggested a 36" door and a 5 foot typical garage door ... for large items... sounds like a perfect solution... a 5' garage door wii get the smaller tractor in to carry/ lift larfge and heavy which does land there somertimes... like the commercial washer.
now for dog's winter coats-- natural and store bought-
" he's a dog and does not eneed a coat"-- is perfect logic for some dogs- but horrible for others... the worst i know is teh newly rescued greyhound-- with a very fine natural "coat" and no fat -- i have been known to give some of our odd size coats to any shivering greyonnd i see--- lordy-- even a trash bag to cut the wind would help them- the great danes are not too far behind... tehir hair coat is by no means thick-- tehre is no "undercoat" like teh german shephards, or corgi's have.. so if you need a coat, they wilol too if you are gong to be out in the wind for more than a few minutes. and literally a garbage bag artistically cut with a piece of duct tape is a huge help-- best to practice that in the house and explain to t hem that it is just a "jacket?
those whte kitchen trash bags do work-- . i maybe wilol demo sometime at mail call. it should go round without duct tape getting involved with the boy/girl/ nursing mother obsticales.
there are some vey small dogs without much hair either-- probably grocery bag size...
as for teh donkeys--all ours not only grow a heavy winter coat- and fat---- but they have a way of standing rear end up to a tree in such a way that teh tree cuts the draft. so if you don't see them trying to get out of teh wind, then it is not bad enough for them to care...-- there ae some big heaby trees in that pasture-- as long as they don't strip teh bark off them...
and then there is .... water.... i.e. in new england... ice... -- once we get organized it is fine... i have been all sorts of frost free water supply---electric melting- strange concepts.. an i think the safest- most organized is to have a bunch of buckets all teh same shape-- when you water off at 5pm top off 4 or 5 with a bit of warjm water---which givesw teh donks a chance to get a drink before it freezes-- which it will.. so in the morning you take all the buckerts out of the barn-- line them up ... then you take one of teh matching buckets with 1/2 full of hot water and dunk each bucket for 4 seconds-- and immediately tip out the block of ice-- which cleans all teh non ice contents of teh buckets too-- in our situation- it does help to have a stocik tank for dipping to refil... but you must have a dipping bucket which hung and never set on the ground.
and the very best way is to get someone else to do all that..
.-- nearly every year teh watereers go thru a bunch of ways to deal with ice-- and eventually they come back to dunk'n'tip;
