A pug with light tan fur and darker brown patches sits in a red backpack on the handlebar of a bicycle, surrounded by trees in a forested area during what appears to be late afternoon daylight. 1:04:47
The Farm channel icon The FarmOriginal creator 36K views Save

Cutie Pie the pug rides the farm motorbike

Pugs aren't known as farm dogs, but Cutie Pie has found her place on one. Her spot is Dad's lap on the motorbike, with the wind in her wrinkles. more

Before her turn, the morning belongs to Cruiser, the farm's dingo. He used to love running with the pack beside the motorbike, but after a few mishaps with the other dogs, he hasn't done it in a while. Today the shepherds come along, and the boxers and the little staffy sisters hang around the bike. Dad hopes Cruiser will follow him and skip what he calls flybys on the others.

A dog runs across dry grass toward another dog, with trees behind them. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The farm dogs head out together, and Cruiser joins the pack run for the first time in a while.

Dad is honest about the risk. When Cruiser gets this excited, he can slip into what Dad calls predatory mode, and sure enough he soon nips one of the pack. It's only skin deep, a bit of hair off. "Just can't help himself, can he." Asked if he will run again with no more teeth, Cruiser gives him a look, and Dad reads it plainly: "He said no promises."

Shadow, meanwhile, has her own plans. She peels off to chase the birds, and she'll be out doing it again by dinnertime. Then Cutie Pie gets her chance.

A pug with a wrinkled face and dark muzzle sits outdoors near blue fabric, looking off to the side. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Cutie Pie gets ready to ride while the bigger dogs do the running.

Cutie Pie rides on Dad's lap, one small pug among a pack of bigger dogs. "Talk about farm dog at heart," he tells her, "you're more of a kelpie than Joey is." Kelpies are herding dogs bred for farm work, and she seems to take the compliment. "Oh, you like this spot, do you?"

A pug with light tan fur and darker brown patches sits in a red backpack on the handlebar of a bicycle, surrounded by trees in a forested area during what appears to be late afternoon daylight. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Pugs aren't known as farm dogs, but Cutie Pie has found her place on one.

Cruiser comes through, too. Apart from a little mishap with Shadow, he stays with the group, and Dad had half expected a game of cat and mouse when it was time to head back. "He did really well." Then comes breakfast on a sunny morning, a whole heap of bones and lamb shanks for some lucky puppies.

Later, one of the dogs growls at a stranger in the mirror. "Who is that good-looking boy in the mirror?" Dad asks, then sends for backup: "Take Freddo with you, your buddy." Down near the house, a baby cow has slipped out of his yard and gotten stuck, so Dad steers him to a gate and pushes it open a little more. "Oh, you're through."

It's Daddy Daycare day, so the chores come with helpers. Dad gets a spider web in the face, and good old Freddo leads the dogs through the gate. A small helper takes one string of a hay bale and carries it with Dad, earning a high five, then helps pour feed pellets into buckets while Dad coaches. Tip up the end, lids on, watch your fingers.

There's a quieter story about Cruiser, too. When he first came to the farm he didn't like kids, and he once bared his teeth and snapped at them through the glass door. So the girls learned to walk past, say hello and keep going, even the one who kept asking about the dingo. Now she runs past every time and calls out, "Hi Cruiser."

Freddo helps put up a new bat house, and it all ends with Hope cuddled up with Sam. People who have followed the farm remember how much love Hope needed when she first came. Now she's a lap dog, and she asks for more.

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