Jude the Rescue Hog who Sits on Command
Do you remember how Jude would chase the UPS truck with the dogs, then sit at the drivers door begging for treats!
Well.
He would give the UPS driver a heart attack if he was allowed to chase trucks now.
But he still sits on command.
Obeying the old hand command I taught him almost five years ago.
Jude is fond of mud – me not so much. So I throw in a lot of old hay and straw so we can get purchase in there. (Also when they leave, this will be perfect for planting the pumpkin seeds).
The day has darkened.
The rain is coming.
No more hog training for today.
Aunty Ann, who has been Jude and FreeBees guardian for the last years, was visiting this morning. And much to her delight they ran straight past me to greet her when we walked around the corner.
They love her.
I can smell rain coming.
Time to go in.
Aye FreeBee.
The cows are lying down.
The rain must be rain coming soon.
No-one really knows why cows lie down when there is rain due. I mean. To be fair. Cows lie down a lot. But when rain is due they lie down with a different attitude – calmer almost. Expectant.
Have a lovely Wednesday!
Celi
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Brilliant!
I was wondering if you ever heard anything of Marcel?
No. I have not heard any more about Marcel. Boy that was a long time ago!
Well at least he was a successful rescue …and I never expected to see those happy pigs again!
https://thekitchensgarden.com/2014/02/18/i-am-calling-him-marcel/. For old times sake. PLUS. Nanny Boo at his best!
I shared some of your Marcel & Nanny Boo blogs on facebook. I was so taken with the pair of them & their story. And Marmalade the kitten too. We once had a Husky mix, Bob, who was so kind to all other baby creatures like Boo. He let kittens play all over himself, rescued baby chicks from briar patches & held them between his paws for Mama Hens to come & get them settled with her again. All so special.
Well these pictures really put Jude and FreeBee into perspective on size. Good heavens, I had to look two or three times just to confirm what I was seeing. The UPS driver would not leave the truck if either one of those pigs came running. Neither would I! I hope that it is only rain coming and no cold or snow again.
Yes! They are big boys. But with really lovely attitudes – mainly I think due to Anns wonderful care over the last few years.
Goodness me! It’s the Barbara Woodhouse method.
Did she train using sign? I have a distant memory of her name.
Yes, she did. Dogs mostly. “Walkies!” she’d say, and the infamous “Sss-it!” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Woodhouse
Walkies!! Thank you Misky!!
Ah Marcel, l started following you when Marcel was around. He was a great introduction to you and the farmy.
I used to have a picture of “smiling” Marcel as my screen saver! Glad for Aunty Ann that those pigs were so pleased to see her.
Yes. They raced across to her and it was the best! I was so happy for her.
It is so wonderful to be loved!!!
Brilliant
Happy post! Thanks!
Always welcome!
It’s almost more rewarding to have old animal friends greet you, than old people friends. Because you’ve had contact via letter or phone with people, to keep the memory upfront, with with animals, it’s ‘pure’ somehow😁❤️
The way they leaped up when they heard her voice! So gratifying! It was pure love and brought me almost up tears.
Darn, missed the best opportunity to ask if Aunty Ann might take Nelson as an education bunny. Rain is important in Spring and snow in Winter. But you would appreciate sunshine more right now! (as would i– about 5 inches & still falling here in CO)
What was I thinking!? Nelson could have gone to Chicago with her!
Just so MUCH rain.
Those huge hogs are so amazing. Anita
He is a big one. But awfully kind. Noisy but has a lovely nature.
Spent my day at Topsy Farm on Amherst Island in Lake Ontario not far from Kingston On. This farm was started in 1972 by peace loving hippies. They tried different things and ended up with sheep. I ordered a wool blanket about 7 months ago it just became available in the natural colour that I wanted. The farm lady brought some apple pieces and I fed their 2 long horn cows. We ate our home packed lunch watching the sheep. We enjoyed the ferry ride and found it to be a simple perfect day. I think you would also like and approve of their farm. Enjoyed your pictures and I love your hair.
Oh yes! That sounds like the perfect day. Do they have a site that we can visit? I would LOVE a woollen blanket too -(though I imagine it was not cheap it will last you your whole life) – do they weave them there?
You can find them under Topsy Farms Amherst Island. My blanket is a dark grey tweed with white stripes. You are right they are expensive. We bought it as a birthday gift for the two of us. Our birthdays are close together and this is something I will pass down in my will.
I went over to look and I agree! They would be a family heirloom. How wonderful.
I just heard a cbc radio piece (I’m also in Ontario close to Kingston) talking about Topsy farm and one of their blankets was used in the new show The Last of Us! A massive hit show. Apparently that particular blanket from the show sold out.
I attempted to reply to you about topsy farm but I think it put a new comment. It will make sense to no one if not linked to your comment!
Pigs are so smart. I always felt like they were big dogs, really.
I remember Marcel…..we all rooted so hard ……speaking of rooted , huge pigs ……really big. Cows do lie down when it’s going to rain. We believed that in New England for sure..
Hello Celi…I have a question…kind of a conundrum. I retired in 2008, moved into my Mom’s old home, a lovely easy home for an aging gal. Last fall I had to have a lovely, old small dogwood tree cut down in my front yard…it was dead, dead, sad. I had placed a birdhouse in it back in ’08 and every year a sparrow came in March and nested, raised a family there. Now the tree is gone and every morning I hear “him” chirping”, calling for a mate I guess like he always did …now he sits on the roof. I did save his birdhouse from the dead tree but sadly, I have no place to hang it now unless I move it to some of many “backyard trees”. If I do this, I wonder if he would find it? Any ideas? I hate to think I can’t give him his home again. The birdhouse still has some nesting in it…maybe if I move it he would recognize his previous home???
This is an interesting question.
They may already be nesting in your guttering. I would certainly put that house down the back. If he does not find it another bird will. Sparrows are opportunists and I bet they already have a new spot picked out.
How sweet that you recognize him. But I would not worry about him. They are probably hard at work building a new nest.
Let me know- if you see anything!
Thanks,Celi 🙂 I hadn’t thought about the gutter and that may be where he sings from now. I guess I felt a bit bad because the birdbath is there near where the old tree was and his family spent the entire day flying between their house and the bath….such fun to watch from my kitchen windows. 🙂
I love watching birds in the birdbath!
All day as I worked ar the computer I watched a mama and papa sparrow bringing building material into our gutters. I just smile!
So cool that Jude is trained!!! And I have to say you are a great trainer! Over the years you have given me so many tips on how to train our dogs, especially Dolly, the blue heeler. After reading about Ton Ton finding John in the corn fields and who know who else out there, I taught Dolly to ‘see Jack’ and she still does it on command. And your help with hand signals in teaching her has been great. Animals really want to do what you want them to. One just need to show them how so they understand. That’s the tricky part!
Dolly is such a good dog. Those heelers are tough! It was a cow that TonTon found in the tall corn. Daisy when she was very young. I remember that day.
How lovely the pigs remembered Anne and were happy to see you. Animals have the soundest judgement and therefore make the best friends.
It was the sweetest moment. Their ears went up and they galloped to her!
Perhaps your pig can teach my dog to sit. To be fair, Mouse has trouble sitting because he’s a greyhound and has such muscular hindquarters, but he’s also temperamentally disinclined to adopt such a subservient position! He’ll sphinx nicely, though.
My grandmother and great grandmother always said that about the cows laying down when the rain was coming. You saying it here made me smile. I have not heard it from anyone else before.
I love learning about animals and their behavior and this farm is like a university for reading animals.I love it.
If I remember correcting, Marcel was a lamb, right?
Yes. He was a lamb. Who lost his mother and sister at birth. – dreadful day.
I always worried about farm and wild animals out in the weather. Rain is one thing but lightning, tornados and deep snow storms, not to mention fires, sets my worry alarm in high gear. I love that the pigs remember their former care giver. I think most animals remember those that cared for them.