Dogs

Highs and Lows of Weather and Life

The week rolled in with beautiful temperatures and bearable breezes. Two pluses for a prairie winter. By the calendar breeding time for the ewes could go another week but by the weather I called it over and decided to sort rams out. The downside was that the timing coincided with Allen being away which meant the work fell to me alone. Well, not quite alone – it fell to me and Kelpies, but since it wasn’t a huge task I tackled it. The Kelpies were pulled out of pseudo hibernation and into action.

Writing about how actual tasks get done is writing I like the least. To tell all that had to be done in order to get done makes for a long and dull post, but to boil it down to just sorting some rams out does no justice to the workload either.

But the point of this isn’t the work that was done it was how the work unfolded. And on this day it unfolded seamlessly just like a beautiful weather day. I had a phenomenal time of it. No real hardship to have an attitude about and yet all of it a hardship in the way that doing any complicated task with a multitude of animals is. Particularly when on your own and in a winter landscape. I worked four stock dogs because I could, and each one was so willing and at ease with the work. I take their eagerness and help, I need it.

The day was so thoroughly and completely good even the exhaustion at the end was gratitude making. I wish I could say it always goes like this but this kind of work day is more rare than that – far more rare than I like to admit.

By caparison the next day was just calm and simplistic and restful – which it needed to be. This morning the weather was turning, cold was coming on again. Some of the coldest cold of the winter is on its way. I was extra pleased to have done the sorting two days prior. There is no long complicated work at hand this day. Just the somewhat complicated morning routine of unrolling hay amidst a swarm of winter hungry woolies who have no regard for a moving tractor.

I ran over a ewe lamb. A favourite Corriedale ewe lamb. She didn’t suffer.

Feeling stunned, I placed dishes of food down for the guardian dogs who pay no mind to the dead sheep. I pulled the warm, wooly body over to the front end loader. While the dogs ate I stood watching the little Corriedale body and felt a brutal low moving in. I’m so utterly responsible but I feel so cheated. And angry that now I must deal with a dead body. A task that feels unbearably complicated to my spirit no matter if the physical task actually is or isn’t.

This week ticked along just like the weather, complete with beautiful highs and brutal lows.

A heavy body leans against my thigh. The senior guardian dog seeking attention after eating. A second dog approaches with head and tail low, and slips a white muzzle under my gloved hand. Canine reassurance. I take it, Lord knows I need it.

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Fibre and Fido

I am envious of locations around the world where guardian dogs are not necessary to keeping predators at bay and sheep safe.

I am in the midst of navigating with two young guardian dogs just entering into the challenging juvenile stage of big energy, little brain. Small lambs are being harassed, cows are being pushed off. I have been through this phase before with various dogs and every time I swear that I am going to quit with guardian dogs. I imagine the day when it will no longer be necessary to keep raising them. I imagine a place where guardian dogs are not needed.

And yet, I know if I were to move to such a location it would surely feel as though something were missing.

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New LGD’s in The Pack

Dog wise, I have some catching up to do here on the blog. Do you recall the post on what we really love about mother nature? Those two pups arrived here in early Spring.

This is who they are today.

Purchasing two pups at one time was a spontaneous choice at time of selecting. They are half brothers, one week apart in age. Early on I figured I’d have to sell one however they have become quite the pair so I’m game to continue on with them.

They are well bonded to sheep so we’ve got that going well. They are also socially glued to each other and hence operate as their own pack of two.

I raised them in the same smaller paddock area I raised all my pups of the past. So far these two are still convinced this is where they must reside and transitioning them to the main flock out on bigger pasture has been a no-go so far. They visit the main flock often, they know all the other adult dogs, they just don’t stay put with the main flock. I’m hopeful that with the arrival of winter when the ewes begin staying in one place, versus traveling to graze, that will change.

The fawn fellow is a bit of twit. He’s the character that stands out in a crowd. He’s a pushy fellow and needs to be reminded of boundaries regularly. He’s a brave son of gun. He’ll try without thinking. He’s got a good grasp of the job and he likes to be with sheep.

The black fellow has all the guardian dog goods as far as I’m concerned. He’s very level headed, he’s a firm character but not rude, he’s alert and he’s keen and he keeps his cool. He wants to be with sheep, and at six months old he displayed a solid grasp of the job. I’m smitten with him – however the ewes are not.

This is the flocks first experience seeing a black guardian dog – the other black dogs they see are the Kelpies, who exist to tell sheep to move. So the ewes still act deeply suspicious when the black pup appears on pasture but they no longer flee the scene. He’s good with the sheep and seeing moments like the one in the photo below has me feeling very hopeful that over the course of winter with everybody hunkering down close to feed they’ll adjust well and learn this boy is just another flock mate.

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