Come discover what our new Fredericksburg friend — a handsome border collie — has to say about his style of Hill Country livin’.
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We first encountered Stetson, a fine young border collie, on Instagram. We were immediately taken with his perky eyes and seemingly cheerful disposition. He seems poised to become very pup-ular!
We thought we’d like to get to know him a little better, too. But, we wondered, how exactly does one interview a canine?
Thankfully, his mom-ager, Katherine Tanner, was willing to help Stetson—a “working” Hill Country animal—with his responses to our questions via email.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a five-month-old, full-bred border collie pup born on a goat ranch outside Harper, Texas. Both of my parents are working dogs; they herd goats every day. I was the biggest of all my siblings, and all of us are now training for life as working dogs at our area farms and ranches.
My farm is called Oma and Opa’s Farm. It’s near Fredericksburg, and they are my real-life Oma and Opa! My human farmer dad is Oma and Opa’s son, Bradley.
Spring seems like a good time to be around a farm. What’s a typical day like for you lately?
This is my first spring on the farm and EVERYTHING is exciting. We are in the middle of what they call “kidding season,” when all the baby goats are born! Nothing gets me more excited than baby goats, but I have to be careful when the mama goats are close. They are still much bigger than me and don’t always realize I just want to play.
When we have a bottle baby, I can’t contain my excitement! I have to be very close when we bottle feed, which happens 3-4 times a day. My favorite thing to do is lick the babies! You’d think it was kisses because I love them so much but really I’m helping them clean the milk from their faces. Delicious and nutritious!
Every day is just as thrilling as the last. So many things to smell and chase and help with on the farm. Each morning I help with feeding of all the animals. After morning pets, we head to the barn and pour all the feed into buckets. Next, I jump up on the four-wheeler. I love riding fast! If I could greet every single animal individually I would, but that would take a long time and I have serious work to do helping my dad. We often work in the field and the greenhouse. I learned early on to not jump between the rows, so, if someone whistles for me, I run up and down the rows to get to them.
My favorite part is getting to play with the water during washing. I stand far back outside and wait until the sprayer comes my way to play “catch”. It’s fun drinking after working so hard out in the field.
I also help collect eggs with Oma. No matter where I am on the farm, when I hear Oma going to the chickens, I bolt to her as fast as I can. I run beside her four wheeler and gently greet all the chickens. Often I go into the chicken house to check on the eggs, too. I usually have very muddy paws, so I let Oma handle the eggs—but I know she appreciates my moral support.
As for the cows, I watch them from a distance. They are nice, but they are really big.
As I get older, I’m starting to spend more quality time with the goats. Dad works on directional commands with me, and, even at a young age, I’ve helped him section off specific goats to load into the trailer for auction or butcher. It’s sad to see them go, but I always know more baby goats will come along—and there is nothing more fun than baby goat kids.
After dark and when everyone is done with the day’s work, I get special play time with dad. He and I play tug of war and fetch. He’s a very strong man, but I’m becoming a big strong boy and am almost as strong as him now!
Chickens, cows, a garden—sounds like the family farm is a good place to grow up. And that it stays pretty busy!
My family’s farm is celebrating its fortieth year in business this year!
We grow seasonal vegetables all year long, have pasture-raised chicken eggs, and raise goat meat. We also pickle our vegetables and sell a variety of jars. The farm grows with sustainable and organic practices and includes a non-gmo, non-soy feed for all of our animals.
We sell at three farmers markets each week. On Wednesdays, we’re at the Texas Farmers Market at Mueller in Austin from 5-8 p.m. On Saturdays, we’re at Austin’s SFC Farmers Market Downtown from 9 to 1 p.m. We’re in San Antonio on Sundays at Pearl Farmers Market from 10 to 2 p.m. Plus, you can buy our vegetables at Fresh Pickens in Fredericksburg, our eggs at Hye Market in Hye, and our pickles at Sour Duck Market in Austin.
You can also find our produce, eggs, and goat meat on restaurant menus all across central Texas!
We’d love to tell our our readers where they can follow you—and your adventures—online.
My farm dog adventures are on Instagram. You can also hashtag #stetsonfarmdog when you post something you think I’d like, too! I also sometimes make an appearance on the Oma and Opa’s Farm on Instagram and Facebook.
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