By Nancy Brannon
Sometimes a very special dog comes along, endears her owners, and becomes a part of the family, as well as a working farm dog. That’s the case with DD, the Australian Shepherd at Sonny and Carla Gould’s place in Moscow, Tenn.
Sonny Gould thought he really didn’t want or need a dog. He certainly didn’t want a dog in the house or in his truck. But his wife Carla had always had dogs and thought they needed a dog. They would go to horse shows where somebody would inevitably have a litter of puppies. Carla would comment on how cute they were, but Sonny always said they didn’t need any dang dog.
However, Carla’s niece Teresa used to raise Aussies. She and her husband help manage the Drummond Ranch in Pawhuska, Oklahoma - home of “The Pioneer Woman.”
Finally, the desires of his wife for a dog soon overcame Sonny’s resistance to dogs, so eight years ago he bought her one as a Christmas gift. “I got you a Christmas gift, but it hasn’t arrived yet,” he told her.
So that following January, Sonny and Carla made a trip to Pawhuska to attend a funeral and, while there, visited with Teresa. Teresa showed Carla the two puppies she had left from the latest litter and, of course, Carla loved them. She picked out one in particular as her favorite. Teresa asked Carla what she was going to name the 11-week-old puppy. Carla said she really couldn’t go out and call for the Dang Dog, so she settled on DD. Carla says “DD arrived in grand fashion” to the Gould household and right away became a part of the Gould family.
But that’s only the first part of the story. DD has become quite a fixture around the Gould arena. At first, Sonny insisted on DD staying outside. Carla worked nights so only got to visit with the dog when she came home from work, and then had to put DD back outside. But one very cold night, Carla didn’t have the heart to put DD back outside, and she told Sonny he would have to do it. He couldn’t.
From that night on, DD stays in the house when she’s not out at the arena working, and she can be seen riding in Sonny’s truck. She has even taught herself about team roping.
Whenever Sonny would be training a horse in the practice pen and he would back into the header’s box, DD would back into the heeler’s box. As Sonny breaks out of the header’s box, she breaks out of the heeler’s box hazing the cow just like a heeler would to place it where it’s supposed to go. Ropers who watch are amazed at DD’s ability to put the cow just in the right place, and some have asked Sonny to train their dogs to do that. But Sonny has to admit that he didn’t train DD to do that; she learned it on her own. Carla says that whenever Sonny is in the practice pen, DD makes every step with him. But she knows the difference between practice and competition. At a competition, she stays in the box or chute and watches, but doesn’t make the run with him.
Only one time has Sonny has to train DD to do or not do something. Once a friend came to practice at Sonny’s arena and when the heeler horse didn’t move forward as he should have, DD nipped the horse in the tail to keep them going. Sonny had to discipline her that nudging a cow was OK, but nudging a horse was not in her job description.
The now 8-year-old DD is a fixture at the Gould farm and she has “melted her master’s heart,” Carla says. From a master who once said that all dogs must stay outside, DD is now part of the family - in the house or traveling in Sonny’s truck. “Everywhere we go, she goes,” Carla said. “She’s a good traveler. She has a sweet disposition and is the official greeter at the farm. She is well respected by everyone.”
Sometimes a very special dog comes along, endears her owners, and becomes a part of the family, as well as a working farm dog. That’s the case with DD, the Australian Shepherd at Sonny and Carla Gould’s place in Moscow, Tenn.
Sonny Gould thought he really didn’t want or need a dog. He certainly didn’t want a dog in the house or in his truck. But his wife Carla had always had dogs and thought they needed a dog. They would go to horse shows where somebody would inevitably have a litter of puppies. Carla would comment on how cute they were, but Sonny always said they didn’t need any dang dog.
However, Carla’s niece Teresa used to raise Aussies. She and her husband help manage the Drummond Ranch in Pawhuska, Oklahoma - home of “The Pioneer Woman.”
Finally, the desires of his wife for a dog soon overcame Sonny’s resistance to dogs, so eight years ago he bought her one as a Christmas gift. “I got you a Christmas gift, but it hasn’t arrived yet,” he told her.
So that following January, Sonny and Carla made a trip to Pawhuska to attend a funeral and, while there, visited with Teresa. Teresa showed Carla the two puppies she had left from the latest litter and, of course, Carla loved them. She picked out one in particular as her favorite. Teresa asked Carla what she was going to name the 11-week-old puppy. Carla said she really couldn’t go out and call for the Dang Dog, so she settled on DD. Carla says “DD arrived in grand fashion” to the Gould household and right away became a part of the Gould family.
But that’s only the first part of the story. DD has become quite a fixture around the Gould arena. At first, Sonny insisted on DD staying outside. Carla worked nights so only got to visit with the dog when she came home from work, and then had to put DD back outside. But one very cold night, Carla didn’t have the heart to put DD back outside, and she told Sonny he would have to do it. He couldn’t.
From that night on, DD stays in the house when she’s not out at the arena working, and she can be seen riding in Sonny’s truck. She has even taught herself about team roping.
Whenever Sonny would be training a horse in the practice pen and he would back into the header’s box, DD would back into the heeler’s box. As Sonny breaks out of the header’s box, she breaks out of the heeler’s box hazing the cow just like a heeler would to place it where it’s supposed to go. Ropers who watch are amazed at DD’s ability to put the cow just in the right place, and some have asked Sonny to train their dogs to do that. But Sonny has to admit that he didn’t train DD to do that; she learned it on her own. Carla says that whenever Sonny is in the practice pen, DD makes every step with him. But she knows the difference between practice and competition. At a competition, she stays in the box or chute and watches, but doesn’t make the run with him.
Only one time has Sonny has to train DD to do or not do something. Once a friend came to practice at Sonny’s arena and when the heeler horse didn’t move forward as he should have, DD nipped the horse in the tail to keep them going. Sonny had to discipline her that nudging a cow was OK, but nudging a horse was not in her job description.
The now 8-year-old DD is a fixture at the Gould farm and she has “melted her master’s heart,” Carla says. From a master who once said that all dogs must stay outside, DD is now part of the family - in the house or traveling in Sonny’s truck. “Everywhere we go, she goes,” Carla said. “She’s a good traveler. She has a sweet disposition and is the official greeter at the farm. She is well respected by everyone.”
