A Herding Afghan Hound

     I am a lucky girl.  I live on a farm.  I get to play with the cows.  When "Mom" & "Dad" want the cows to move, I run behind and make them.  If any try to run the wrong way, I run around them and make them go back.  Sometimes, the newborn calves won't go through the gate.  You really can't blame them, they've never seen one before.  You can't believe how fast a newborn calf can run (not faster than ME though).  Before I helped, Mom & Dad used to chase them all day sometimes.  Now I get to go after them.  I can make them go through a gate lickety-split - I'm faster than anything!  I have a great INSTINCT, whatever that is.

     The first time I ever did that, I was only 10 months old.  Mom wasn't sure what I'd do, but when 2 calves ran away from the gate and up the hill in two different directions, she let me go.  I caught one half way up the hill, headed it, coursed across the hill and headed the other one, and back and forth a few times, and made BOTH of those baby beefs run through that gate in about a half a minute.  My mom was so surprised she almost fell on her behind trying to get out of our way!  It is SOOO much FUN!

      Sometimes we go to Middle Tennessee Stockdog Association meetings and I get to herd sheep.  I really love that, and I'm bigger than some of them.  Though  I don't herd like some of the other herding breeds (I don't do "down" or commands), my mom and I are trying to learn.  We love to watch the other herding dogs, too.  These people have been VERY nice to us, and we have a great time.

      A few weeks ago, we visited a nice neighbor lady.  She had these strange things I'd never seen before.  She called them "goats", and she let me play with them.  I rounded them all up out of some woods, and drove the lead nanny out of a pond.  She tried to stand me off, but I persuaded her.  I drove them all up a hill and put them in the lady's barn.  A few days later, the lady called Mom and THANKED HER FOR BRINGING ME.  Her goats used to give her and her retriever mixed breed a very hard time.  After I came over and gave them a good run, they got right in line for the lady's dog.  She told my mom, "they're not sure about dogs anymore."  My mom is SURE  PROUD  of  ME!   THE END  Go to the NEXT PAGE and see my show photos.

CONFESSIONS OF A WORKING GIRL

By Delilah Sings Hosanna - with assistance from her 'human mom', Lynda Farley

     Hi!  I am an Afghan Hound, and because I am special, I have my own pages.  Afghan Hounds are beautiful, elegant show dogs.  I am those things too, but I have other talents.

     We live on a farm in the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky.  Because we have cows, I get to work -  I herd.  Many people don't seem to realize that in Afghanistan (where my ancestors came from) the Afghan Hounds are mostly working dogs.  Most of them hunt, but many were also used for guard dogs - my "human mom"" says my dad, Alf, is the best watch dog she ever had.  A few were used to herd sheep and goats, too.

       My "human mom", Lynda Farley, helped me write my story, and did this page for me.   There are lots of pictures, including a couple of my "baby" pictures, and also a couple just for fun.  We hope you enjoy it!

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E-Mail - jlfarley@scrtc.com

Lynda & John Farley

532 Farley Road

Edmonton, Kentucky, 42129

(270)432-7272