And This Is Why You Don't Make a Pet of a BULL

Talked with Carol today, the bull is a Hereford, polled, and still a pet. Told her I have a steer I'm taking to processor on the 18th and there was room in the trailer for Norman. Can we say, I got a very dirty look. lol

Foolish lady. I got hurt by a steer, was my fault as I didn't let go of the rope. Am used to horses, not so much cows. Anyway, he nearly bit a bullet that day and he was young then. We managed to wait a few more weeks before sending him to freezer camp. He tasted good. I still have problems from the bones he broke. This lady not only has a death wish for herself but for her hubby, too. Does he have any better sense than his wife?

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Any herding breed is good for cow dogs. You could also consider a cur dog...catahoula leopard or blackmouth cur...or a blue lacy. Any of those 3 are good on cows and feral hogs.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Harley is half lab, half Dalmatian, and a heck of a farm dog - Norman was a little bull when he playfully went after me with his horns - I knew I would not make it over the fence, just before impact I see a blur of black and Harley has Norman by the nose pulling him off - no training, pure instinct....Norman lost his horn tips, party favors and got his nose ringed after that, and settled down just fine as a pet...still don't turn my back on him in the pasture tho...Harley has also saved a goat from a miniature stallion - considering she spent the first five years in a dog pen in someones back yard, nothing short of amazing..I don't go out in the pasture without her...

I guess I should amp up the "Don't chase livestock" training so I can have mine off lead in the pasture with me.

My wife and I were handling a Hereford heifer that was probably 300 lbs. and a bit nuts on a lead once, and the heifer managed to get the lead wrapped around my legs and take my feet out from under me causing me to let go of the lead. My wife had a hold of the other lead and as the Hereford took off down the a hill she was dragging my wife along with her. A Highland cow that we have in an adjacent pasture ran up, went over a field fence (she never does that otherwise), and then took her head and horns and repeatedly pushed the heifer into the ground until my wife could recover and I could grab the other lead again. We were at first mad at her for getting in the way, but then realized she was actually helping us.

We've had other instances where she's done things that have helped us herd or catch cows or calves, or actually show signs of protecting us. Her calves have the same docile temperament.

I would be enjoying a nice steak from that bull right about now, and to think that he is probably breeding cows is a really bad idea.

Typically where I'm from (Wyo-Mont) dogs chasing cattle - that aren't your dogs, get shot. If they chase cattle, they'll chase game animals - a HUGE no-no. We sell all bull calves at 600-700lbs, keeping the breeders in a separate pasture.

I turned my back on our bull and he got me. I have learned to wait until he was way out in pasture before going in to feed. He did go to the butchers a couple of months later and boy am I getting my revenge now.

Learned at an early age not to have pet bulls. We bought a young bull calf from an uncle who had raised him as a pet. Bull would come up to you to have his head scratched, another no-no. He would rub his head against your leg to get attention. Not funny when he got up to several hundred pounds. He got sold, never did get old enough to get mean.

Re: dogs chasing game. I could care less if someone's dogs chases the rats with antlers, but here is a dog chasing deer story. Was working on some machinery at the edge of a plowed field close to a creek. Heard dogs barking and getting closer. They came onto the field, a large German Shepard and another medium size dog or two, and a small short legged Beagle. They jumped a doe and 2 half grown fawns, which took off running with the dogs in full cry, the German Shepard in front and the Beagle far in the rear. The noise faded into the distance. A good while later the doe and one fawn came running by me, went to the bottom of the field again where the other fawn, or maybe another one, jumped out and they ran off. Animals that are chased by predators assume the predator can scent them and they will run in a big circle, crossing back on themselves to try to lose the scent. Interesting to track a rabbit in the snow and see his tracks do this. After a while they will break the circle and take off straight. Anyway, a long time later the dogs came trotting by me and went to the bottom of the field, following the scent, and a big buck jumped out and took off with the dogs following. I went down to the bottom of the field, bound the bucks tracks, and paced them off. He was clearing thirty feet each jump.

Dogs get in good shape chasing game like that. Probably do a lot of sleeping the next day.

COWS

I know that this is not really a bovine story but growing up my neighbors had pit bulls. They took on our 2 steers. Thank God the steers were quite a bit taller than they but the dogs really tore up the sweeter tempered steer. I cringe every time when I see people say that pit bulls are sweet. Years later we had one. I would never trust one of those dogs around kids after seeing what they did to our steers and experiencing our family pet just bristling and changing his nature when there was nothing to induce him to do so. Yeah. Ok, 'nuf said about that.

One of the two steers that got in the tangle with the pit bulls decided to take on my mom or was it the other way around?? Needless to say she got away with an 8 inch barbwire gash on her inner thigh and a good heart-cleansing blood rush as she barely outran the steer. Yeah, he was the meaner of the two.

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/app...0dangerous.pdf

There's a very good article about Bottle or Pet raised male animals...

Not to say that I trust any of our bulls, but hand raised ones are basically a ticking time bomb...

We've got a few pet cows around, the kids are in 4H. But those cows are taught respect right from day one, which makes a difference. You don't have to beat them, but a good smack, sometimes with a stick, when it is required goes a long ways.

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It is immoral to keep an animal that endangers your neighbors upon escape. A bull that lacks the normal "flight" response will require harsh physical force against him sooner or later. It's cruel to the poor beasties in the end.