Update and relocating questions

[moorethemerrier]

We are officially looking at Canton, TX area with three other families. Doing our research now.

Questions:

How to move a farm dog? Gypsy is a 30 lb Black Lab-Blue Heeler cross. I know that we'll have heartworm to contend with there, any other canine health concerns we should be concerned with? She's not aggressive and great with our kids, very friendly - except for a few questionable characters we had stop by. She's excellent with poultry, pigs and goats and is excellent small predator protection. She has potential to herd - she tries it with the animals and sometimes children - but she's three years old. Worth the training at this age or no? She knows her boundaries on our farm, but a new place - any suggestions?

Foundations - what's common, what's recommended and why.

Concrete homes - anyone in the area have one? Pros, cons, solutions, etc?

Thank you!

[Sawmill Jim]

Wife moves her 120lb German Shepard in the back seat of the car all the time . He tries not to miss a ride .

[Maura]

Three years is a good age to train her. Many trainers prefer a herding dog to be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 because they've got the puppy out of them. She needs to be solid on her obedience. But, I can't say how good of a herder she will be. If you aren't asking a lot of her she may be fine. Best to get in contact with a trainer sooner rather than later.

[moorethemerrier]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Wife moves her 120lb German Shepard in the back seat of the car all the time . He tries not to miss a ride .

Sorry - I meant relocating to a new farm. She loves to take short road trips and I can't imagine that she'd be any worse to haul across country than the four kids. She's a farm/barn dog - even here in WNY she only spends part of the year in front of the wood stove. The rest of the time she's earning her keep outside, and she likes it that way.

Good to know, Maura. She is very obedient to my husband, mostly to me, and completely oblivious to any other person's commands. Is that good or bad? We're not set on her being a herding dog, but she has shown the instinct, so we figured if we can help her develop it it would be fantastic.

[Sparticle]

We've moved cross country twice with lots of dogs and even a pig. They all did fine. They rode in the car. Well the pig rode in a trailer.

We also have a concrete block house we just built for my MIL. It's underground and also sufficiently insulated, but it rocks! It's so warm all winter. she usually just builds one fire a day and that's all it takes, even on the coldest days. I don't care how cold it is outside, I can walk barefoot on the tile floor. Our footers are insulated and the woodstove is next to the concrete wall that is between the bath and woodstove (intentional). We were going to put in radiant floor heat, now I'm glad we didn't waste the money. good design accomplished the same things.