Tereza Okava wrote: I would love some oxen, but unfortunately I know from training horses (and dogs, sigh) that this kind of skill takes a while to train and needs to be exercised often. In all that spare time I don't have. Maybe I could teach the dog to plow my garden, which would be the ultimate multiple-birds-one-stone thing.....
My bold. Unless your have uses for the same or similar skills multiple times per year, this would be tricky. If there is wood to be moved in the winter, crops to be sown in the spring, goods to go to the markets weekly summer and fall, and you had will to do this rather than just jumping in a truck, they could be no less useful, because I'm sure the tasks still need doing, but fossil fuels don't need to be fed and watered daily!
Teaching your dog to plow would be a neat trick! I always prefer to have "pets with benefits"!