Gibby is Busy

The mended gate held - Gibby was in the dog pen when I arrived this afternoon. I was really pleased because I had sent some young boys to the farm to see about roofing the boarder's lounge building (that's the name we always used for the vacant converted barn on the farm.) I was concerned that Gibby might be overly protective if the boys got there before I arrived - but, like most boys who haven't successfully held many jobs, the boys were an hour late, and when they finally arrived, Gibby treated them like old pals.

When I opened the dog pen gate, Gibby wanted his one minute of petting.He ran to the car to say hello to my mother, then he sat by my side and let me rub behind his ears. Looking down at him from that perspective, he has a really big head - lots of brain room. Maybe that's why he is so curious and so smart.

After his petting, he did some wild running.

Then, he started MY work routine! He apparently remembered that I go first into the barn to check on the horses and the indoor water trough. He headed into the barn ahead of me, then came back to be sure I was following.
He went right into the pump room and checked out the pump. If he had hands, I bet he would have turned on the water for me.
Next, he ran through the stallion section, then came back and jumped up to look into the stalls - stalls that have been empty now for almost a decade. I wonder if he could tell who used to live there.
Outside of the barn, he tried to play with George.

George just kept turning away, keeping his back to Gibby.

After just a few minutes, George begged to be let back into the car. He made it very clear that he has no intention of making friends with that new dog.

Patches is a completely different story. As soon as Gibby gets near, Patches just flies at Gibby. When he isn't near, she barks at him.

Gibby condescends to play with her for a few minutes, but his wild running is hampered by the rope clipped to her collar - which somehow always ends up wrapped around my legs.

I'm having a lot of fun with Gibby. I enjoy doing the rounds with him. He watched me feed the cats from a distance, then stood in front of the chicken pen while I filled the chicken feeders. It's almost like he's apprenticing and watching everything I do so he can get it right and do it himself next time.