News Hounds Ady & Flo www.sunlive.co.nz

This pup's horizons were broadened when the boss packed up the wagon and we headed out of town this week.

We had some work to do, down country. After a very long drive we arrived in the dark at a farm near Wanganui, which is supposed to have an H in it, but it couldn't get over the cattle stop. Neither could I.

Cattle dog stop

That was my first tough lesson on the farm. The cattle stop is supposed to keep the sheep and cows in but allow the dogs to run over the top. That's all very fine if you know how to do it. I was tearing around with Lucy the black lab, who lives on the farm, and she knows exactly how to cross a cattle stop. I quickly found myself up to my armpits in cold steel; cast like a fat ewe on a hillside.

Luckily the boss woman was nearby and plucked me to safety. I won't be trying that again in a hurry. It rates right up there on the Scary Experiences Scale, along with electric fences and bolshie rams.

Me and Lucy had a good time on the farm, chasing rabbits and parries and making daring sorties through the ram paddock to visit the tough working dogs.

They get to live outside and work on the farm, rounding up sheep. Didn't look like much fun to me, penned up for a lot of the day. But they were nice guys and showed me how to get really mucky in the puddles and races. That didn't help my chances of getting a cosy place in front of the fire at night, however. There was talk of me spending the night in the pen, which nearly rated on the Scary Scale, but I knew they were only joking. Weren't they?

Colourful commands

We learnt some interesting dog commands too. Like: Get away back. Stand. Come-bye. That'll do. Get the f*** out of the f**** you useless f******.

Thanks to Auntie Lois and Lucy for a great time and to Auntie Em and terriers Bart and Ollie for putting us up in Marton on the way home.

Time for me to get in behind. - Flo.