Our dogs
Le Moulin is home to a growing number of animals as our farming enterprise begins to get underway.
But top of our list are our wonderful Bernese Mountain Dogs. A draft dog from Switzerland, they’re very popular in France as well as around the world, and you’re bound to see their distinctive black, tan and white colouring as you walk or cycle around.
Here they are welcomed by guests who love to use their therapeutic attributes to relax. They love to be groomed, talked to and to accompany guests on walks – they certainly know their way around! Occasionally we have puppies (no more than once a year) and if you want to, you can help feed and look after them – the more socialising they have, the better.
We have three at Le Moulin and while we’ve had some guests ‘not quite so sure’ about large dogs, they’ve come to love them during their visit, seen them as part of Le Moulin family, and even leave wanting to take at least one of them home.
While we’re a dog-friendly establishment, our dogs are not allowed in the rooms, or (obviously) the kitchen, or around the dinner table while we eat. They love going for walks with our guests, helping to collect eggs from the chicken, or being poolside companions while you swim.
If you are not comfortable around the dogs please don’t worry, we have a lovely kennel where they can go, and outdoor runs, so it is easy to ‘put them away’.
Often at least one of our dogs, Ana or Sophie, is in the UK as they are regularly shown at championship level.
The newest one to join the ‘pack’ is Sabie, Sophie’s puppy who in December 2024 was six months old. She’s still learning how to behave as she is so energetic and keen to please, but is another lovely example of this very special breed.
We also have some lovely Maran chicken who provide us with fresh brown eggs daily. The egg collection journey every morning is a popular trip!
And many of our guests have enjoyed taking part in the bee-keeping enterprise we have here. This year (2024) we bottled over 300 jars of honey, which is for sale through our shop here. Learn about splitting hives, building beehives, collecting and spinning honey and a lot more. Don’t worry – we have plenty of bee-keeping ‘uniforms’ to keep you safe!
Introducing the team
Ana
5 year-old bitch
Ana is the matriarch of the pack, keeping everyone in order and ensuring they do as they’re told.
She is constantly hungry, putting on that ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ expression while she hopes you’ll give her a tasty titbit. She’s always the first at the gate when visitors arrive, giving us some valuable warning, and loves her walks, her high speed zoomies around the paddocks making us all laugh.
She rewarded us with five stunning puppies born in the UK in August 2022 and all being well will return to maternal duties in the summer of 2023.
Sophie
4 year-old bitch
Sophie is a Dutch-bred dog bought from one of Europe’s top breeders and is sister to Flora.
She’s the softest and sweetest dog you’ll ever meet and loves every cuddle she can get. Unfortunately, she’s decided she likes giving us presents of dead chicken so we have to keep a constant eye on her as she walks around the farm. She has a passion for licking each dog’s ears and is a bit of a loner, often taking herself upstairs for a sleep.
We also hope to enjoy some puppies from Sophie in 2023.
Sabie
May 2024
Sabie was born on May 19 2004 and is already proving a hit with our visitors. Her name comes from one of our favourite SANParks in the Kruger National Park, Lower Sabie (named after the Sabie river)
She is full of nonsense at the moment, but growing up fast. She loves her mamma, Sophie, and has been fully accepted by ‘granny’ Ana, who often puts her in her place.
She will chase the chicken given half a chance, but runs away fast when she hears the bees buzzing! Like all our Bernese, she loves water (quite an unusual trait) so in the warm weather takes herself down to our river/stream and jumps in to cool off.
She has been a total hit with local restaurants and cafes/bars, so much so that other locals are looking for Bernese puppies at the moment. She really is very, very, special.
Our dogs quickly become friends
Without exception our guests have enjoyed our dogs as you can see here. However, if you wish them to be kept away due to an allergy or concern, we’re able to move them to another area of the property so you’re quite safe. Please let us know in advance if you would prefer that to happen.
Our sustainable farming plans
At the moment we have eight Maran chicken who enjoy a great life down in one of our paddocks with a purpose-built chicken house and two runs to keep them safe from predators. They lay wonderful, brown-shelled eggs, usually seven or eight each day.
For Christmas we rear four turkeys and sell two to friends while keeping two for our table. We plan to continue with this enterprise, and to look at rearing day-old chicks.
We have to be wary of predators, we know we have wild boar, foxes and badgers, the odd rat or two and probably pine martins. All would enjoy a tasty chicken snack.
We also have eight bee hives at the moment and plan to increase to 16 in 2025, all are very productive, love our natural habitat, and allow our guests to enjoy a valuable insight into keeping bees, a popular pastime.
We’re not sure whether you can count fruit and veg as part of our family, but we have big plans to get a market garden going in 2025, and have already purchased cherry, apple, pear, plum and peach trees to start our orchard project. These will be accompanied by beds of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries along with blackberries, black currants and rhubarb. We make all our own preserves (served at breakfast) and look forward to offering tasty fresh fruit salads in the summer.
