ST. CLOUD, Fla. – There is a local option for getting your dog off the couch and outside for some exercise this summer.
Linden Hollow Sheep Farm in St. Cloud lets dogs tap into their wild side.
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Natalie Cole said her grandma started the unique business with shelties.
“We used to show Shetland sheepdogs in confirmation and we wanted to compete with them in herding as well. So, my grandma got a few sheep for herself to work her dog and we started from there when I was very little and have been going since then,” Cole said.
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Cole gave News 6 anchors Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden a behind-the-scenes look at the training on Florida’s Fourth Estate.
She said when people bring their domesticated dogs out to the property, some of them act like “they are born and bred on a farm.”
“It’s just hard-wired (in their) DNA. So, when they say that they have their pup that lives in an apartment and they want to bring it out for herding lessons and it comes out and does what it is supposed to do, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” she added.
Ginger takes her dog Finn to the farm and says when he goes, he gets a great workout and comes home tired.
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Other than tapping into their natural instincts, Cole said dogs also get a boost in their confidence after visiting the farm.
“I will have some people come out that say, ‘You know, my dog is a little timid, my dog is a little afraid of people’ and stuff like that, so a lot of times, we’ll bring the dogs out here if they are bred for this and we get them on sheep and a totally different dog just comes alive. They are not afraid of things. They come out of their shell, they learn how to do this and it’s something that they love and it keeps their brain busy and it’s a good stimulation for them,” Cole said.
Learn more by checking out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts.