Tag Archives: Siggy

A special day for Siggy. He’s 3 months old!

*An ongoing farm-dog adventure for children of all ages*

Siggy @ 3 mo

Siggy @ 3 mo

Sylvia looked at Siggy and said to herself, “This little puppy has grown so much in just a few weeks.” She also thought that little puppies and little children are alike in many ways. They both start out very small: a human baby can weigh just six pounds. Puppies can be much smaller, maybe just one pound. Human and dog babies need their moms to feed and protect them. Both kinds of babies also need their moms or dads to teach them important lessons, like what to eat, or how to play nicely with others.

Siggy is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. One day, he will learn how to herd cows and chickens, but right now he’s a growing puppy.
It is June, and Siggy is now three months old. He has been on the farm, Bull Brook Keep, for many weeks now. He has become very good friends with his big dog friends, Chevy and Parker. He has begun to learn how to obey Sylvia when she tells him to “sit,” “stay,” “come,” and “kennel.” But he does not obey all the time. Sylvia has two children. They are all grown up, but she remembered that sometimes little children don’t want to obey their moms and dads. That is naughty and can be very, very dangerous for little children and for little dogs.
Do you know of any times when children have not obeyed their mom or dad?
A big difference between human children and puppies is that puppies grow faster than human babies.
When Siggy was born, he couldn’t hear or see, but he could always find his mom because he could smell and he could crawl to her warm fur. Like human babies, all Siggy did was eat and sleep all day long.
Siggy opened his eyes for the first time when he was about 12 days old. He began walking at about 16 days, and his first teeth showed up when he was about 18 days old. Siggy’s world changed in an important way when his ears opened when he was 20-21 days old. Imagine hearing things for the first time!!
All this while, Siggy was very well taken care of by his mother, and by his human family. The adults and children petted and talked to him every day.
As you can see from these pictures, Siggy came to the farm when he was still a very little guy. You can also see how much he’s changed, now that he’s three months old. He’s still a puppy, but he’s on his way to becoming a real, working farm dog. One day, he’ll be in charge of the farm’s grass-fed beef herd and free-range chickens. Happy growing, Siggy!

Siggy, 2 1/2 wks
Siggy, April 3, 2015
Siggy, first day on the farm, April 19, 2015
Siggy, April 20, 2015
Siggy, 6 wks, April 2015
The tall and short of it
Siggy @ 3 mo

For earlier stories about Siggy, click here.

Dirty, dusty, messy little Siggy

*An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages*
It’s time, thought Sylvia.
She looked down at her little dog and noticed his smudged nose, dirty paws and matted fur. Hmmmm.
Siggy is 10 weeks old and loves his home, Bull Brook Keep. Sylvia and her husband Dave raise beef cows on the farm. The cows eat grass, and only grass, their entire lives. This makes them big and strong and very healthy.
Siggy likes to watch the cows and the new little calves running in the fields.
Siggy also runs and plays every day. He rolls in the wet grass, splashes through muddy puddles, runs on dusty roads, and digs in the dirt. Sylvia looked at Siggy and saw that his fur was covered with dried mud, loose dirt, wood chips, and who-knows-what! Phew!
Sylvia leaned down and petted his little head. “Siggy,” she said, “it’s time to clean up.”
Siggy didn’t know what she meant, but sat and listened as the laundry tub filled with water. When it was about five inches deep, Sylvia gently lifted the young puppy and placed him in the warm water.
Siggy whined. He didn’t know if he liked this at all.
Sylvia gently spoke to Siggy as she bathed him with a very gentle soap and then rinsed him off. Siggy was glad the bath was over. As soon as he was out of the tub, he shook and shook and shook the water from his fur. Sylvia laughed as water drops flew everywhere.


Soon Siggy was dry and comfortable again. He was clean and ready for his next adventure.
Clean and ready to go

Clean and ready to go

For more stories about Siggy, click here.

Oh, my! Where’s Siggy?!

There’s lots of grass on Bull Brook Keep because our BueLingo cattle eat grass – and only grass – their entire lives.

Where's Siggy?

Where’s Siggy?

Knee-high grass is a challenge when your legs are only four inches long!

An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages

Siggy is making progress

Siggy is making progress

Siggy is now nine weeks old. He loves running around with the big boys – Chevy, a nine-year old German Shorthair Pointer, and Parker, the five-year old English Setter. Siggy runs and jumps on them and wants to play with them all the time. Sylvia, Siggy’s master, knows playtime is important for little puppies. She also knows that Siggy must learn some basic lessons so that he will grow to be a useful, obedient and safe worker on the farm.

Chevy and Parker are also working dogs – they help David hunt for pheasants, grouse, and woodcock. David spent many, many months training Chevy and Parking to do their jobs well. Both dogs come to David when he says “here,” and they stop moving when they hear the word “whoa.” When David says “heel,” both dogs will walk close to David’s left leg. They do not run ahead of David, nor do they trail behind him. This is important because it means David can prevent the dogs from running into traffic, or from being distracted from their job – hunting.
Right now, because he is very young, Siggy has not learned to obey Sylvia’s commands. In fact, Sylvia knows Siggy is very independent and can be a very stubborn little dog! He will not always come to her when Sylvia says “here.” This is a problem because Sylvia wants to keep Siggy safe from traffic and from large animals that can hurt little dogs. He must also learn the very basic commands before he can begin to learn to be a herding dog that will work with the free-range chickens, and perhaps, the grass-fed BueLingo cows as well.
Sylvia wondered, “What can I do to train Siggy better?” She asked her friend Claire for some advise.
Claire knows all about training puppies. She told Sylvia, “Don’t put Siggy’s food in a bowl any more. Instead, feed Siggy from your hand, and only give him some food after he obeys your commands.”
Sylvia thanked Claire and began to do this several times every day. For example, early in the morning, Sylvia brings Siggy to a quiet spot and gives him a command. She says “sit,” “here,” or “stay.” When Siggy obeys her command, Sylvia feeds him some of his puppy food directly from her hand. Siggy is learning to obey!!
Sylvia knows that there are many, many months of training ahead, but now Siggy is making progress.

For all story installments, click here.

Siggy meets the chickens

An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages.

Today’s the day, thought Sylvia. Today, Siggy, her little Corgi puppy, would meet the chickens on Bull Brook Keep.

Chickens spend the night in their safe and snug coop.

Chickens spend the night in their safe and snug coop.

The chickens live in a chicken coop not far from the farm house. David, Sylvia’s husband, built the chicken coop so that the birds would stay safe from foxes and raccoon, weasels and snakes, and wandering dogs.
The chickens on the farm are now a year old. The hens weigh about eight pounds and the rooster weighs more than 12 pounds. He’s very big indeed. And to think, they started out as tiny little yellow chicks that could fit in your hand.

Taking a look before stepping out into the new day

Taking a look before stepping out into the new day

The rooster was not only big, he was very protective of the hens. He guarded them from anyone or any animal that might come near. He would do this by jumping up and trying to scratch with his back claws, or talons. He could also peck and hurt your hand. Despite this, the chickens were very useful on the farm. They provided eggs, and meat, and they ate insects that would bother people and cattle. They would eat ticks!
Next year, if he learned his lessons well, Siggy would be in charge of the chickens. Sylvia would give him a command – “Round them up, Siggy” – and Siggy would herd the chickens into their coop area. But right now, Siggy is a little puppy with a lot to learn.
So today, Siggy took a first step.

Siggy surveys the birds

Siggy surveys the birds


Sylvia stood close by as Siggy met the chickens for the first time. Sylvia stayed near because the rooster might want to peck at the little puppy.
When Siggy got near the chickens, he did not bark. That’s good because Sylvia and David don’t want their herding dog to scare the animals they have to work with.
It was a good first meeting.
Soon, Siggy will meet the biggest animals on the farm – the BueLingo beef cows.

For earlier Siggy stories, click here.

Siggy meets the big, big dogs

Siggy is a little puppy. He’s little because he’s young – under two months old. And he’s little because he’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi – a breed that only get’s to be about 14 inches high.
Siggy is so low to the ground that his belly brushes against the grass as he walks across the fields. His legs are so short, he needs to jump when he climbs steps.
He is learning to climb smalls hills and jump over rocks. Siggy is curious about everything!

Siggy is just 6 inches high at the shoulder and less than a foot to the tips of his ears

Siggy is just 6 inches high at the shoulder and less than a foot to the tips of his ears

There are so many new sounds and smells for this little dog. And most of what he sees is very close to the ground. After all, Siggy is just six inches high at the tops of his shoulders.
Siggy is so much shorter than his new pack-mates, Chevy and Parker. Chevy is a German Shorthair Pointer. He’s nine years old and very strong. He’s also a valuable worker on the farm. Chevy’s human master, Dave, spent many, many months training Chevy to be a good hunting dog. Every fall, Dave and Chevy hunt pheasants, grouse, and woodcock. Chevy has lots of energy.Siggy plays with Chevy
Siggy meets Chevy, our German Shorthair Pointer

Siggy meets Chevy, our German Shorthair Pointer

Siggy meets Parker, our English Setter

Siggy meets Parker, our English Setter


Siggy also met Parker, an English Setter with a very waggy tail. Parker is five years old and is also a hunting dog. Parker works with Chevy and Dave when they walk the woods hunting for game birds. Parker and Siggy
Now Chevy and Parker are older, bigger and stronger dogs than little Siggy. They are tall dogs with long legs. They love to run and play roughly with each other, as you can see in this short video,Big dogs play rough Although Siggy would love to run and play with Chevy and Parker all the time, Siggy’s master – his human Sylvia – has to watch very carefully because Siggy is still a small baby. Chevy and Parker don’t want to hurt Siggy, but because they are so much bigger, they might step on him or scratch him by accident.
The dogs will learn to live and play with one another over the months and years. They will work with Sylvia and David to make the farm work well.
Soon Siggy will meet the other animals on the farm.

Meet Siggy – our newest farm baby

Siggy, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy

Siggy, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy

With spring comes new life on any farm. For Bull Brook Keep, it means the birth of new BueLingo calves, and a call from the local post office announcing the arrival of our chicks.

This April brought yet another baby to our farm – Siggy, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy. Hardly bigger than a fat gray rabbit, Siggy is a little dog that thinks he’s as big as a lab. To be sure, I’ve high hopes that Siggy will grow to be an important member of our working farm.

I invite you to follow Siggy’s adventures. I’ll be sharing them every week or so in the form of a children’s story. Let me know what you think. Here’s the link to our first installment.