The Education of Ben

A dog that never shuts up is a pain. Make the dog shut up or take it in the house. Cutting vocal cords is a terrible punishment. I had a friend with a beautiful Irish setter that never shut up. We lived back to back and I grew to hate that dog. Somebody else must have hated that dog also, they drove by and shot it with bird shot. The dog survived, but funny enough, it's vocal cords would only squeak after that, with the volume turned WAY down. Friend was very angry, I was happy.

Our dogs will shut up if we tap on the window. If it is really "something" they keep barking and we go investigate.

Baymule said:

A dog that never shuts up is a pain. Make the dog shut up or take it in the house. Cutting vocal cords is a terrible punishment. I had a friend with a beautiful Irish setter that never shut up. We lived back to back and I grew to hate that dog. Somebody else must have hated that dog also, they drove by and shot it with bird shot. The dog survived, but funny enough, it's vocal cords would only squeak after that, with the volume turned WAY down. Friend was very angry, I was happy.

Our dogs will shut up if we tap on the window. If it is really "something" they keep barking and we go investigate.

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I agree....mine do the same. If it's just entertainment barking, they will shut up and it will be silent the rest of the night. If there really is something more than a deer roaming out there, I'll hear a different barking tone and rhythm and they will repeat the barking...seldom does that happen, as I can tell the difference between their barking and don't correct them if it's a legitimate warning.

Seldom is it something so urgent that I investigate, now that Jake has a partner...but if both dogs are barking in an urgent manner and that doesn't subside after a few minutes, I'll make an appearance up in their area, talk to them, investigate the direction in which they are barking.

Ben continues to do a great job as a chicken dog, warding off predators on foot and in the air. He's also a gentle and good companion to the aging Jake, as well as gentle with my grandgirls, being patient with their pats, kisses and little girl squeals.

He's learning to be very calm around them, approaching them more delicately and with his head down, like Jake is teaching him....down and away from their faces, which makes them feel safer. Took him awhile on that one, but he's finally learned it.

That picture and caption is meant to be a classic.

Ben has grown up. What a good dog. I love it that he is so gentle with your grand daughters. He is so sweet!

ben is such a good boy and has grown into a great dog. that picture is priceless.

He is a big sweety, that's for sure. I love it how on guard he is, though....nothing gets past him that's a threat. And, he stands down when I say to do so....his mother did not act like that, but his GP father did. Very laid back once he had given the alarm and his humans had acknowledged it.

His mother(Anatolian/Maremma) barked aggressively, running back and forth on the fence line, with her owners and me standing 2 ft. away. They didn't correct her and she never settled down one minute I was there....I'm glad Ben's not like that.

A friend visited the other evening, a stranger to the dogs, and Ben barked at him as he pulled up and even after I came out to greet him, but settled down right away when I told him it was okay. I love that....can't STAND it when a dog barks its fool head off when there's no obvious threat going on.

He still steals stuff from me when I'm choring, though....he sneaked off with a pair of work gloves the other day. Doesn't chew them up, just steals them. He's a funny dog.

that's so funny, ben is still a kleptomaniac. marco, the newish maremma I got is kind of a sneak thief too. my neighbor left a sack full of egg cartons here the other day and by the time I got home he had them scattered up and down the driveway. made me laugh but at the same time I wasn't amused. yesterday he stole JJ the English shepherd's stuffed lamb. she had carried it outside and he found it and started shaking and tossing it around. I laughed but JJ was not amused. she can be stingy with her things sometimes so I made her share. not a happy girl.

Ben is now coming up on his 4th year in July and I wanted to update his profile, so to speak.

He lost his working partner this fall to old age and that seemed to mature him a lot. He's still afraid of gunfire but doesn't run for the wild blue yonder when he hears it, but will merely come to the house and stay there until we come to put him back in the boundary. He's lost a lot of puppy traits like chewing up things and is a sound and sober working dog...I love his work ethics a lot.

He's quiet, like my old dog Jake was, but vocal at predators, stray dogs and strangers...but not excessively so. He doesn't stand there and bark all night as I'd never allow that, so training on barking has been successful. I'm going to train on gunfire soon and I'll post here about the results, good or bad.

He's going to be getting a few sheep soon, so that will give him a bit of companionship and also more work to do. I also hope to break him to cart work this year so he can work alongside me more...he loves to be with me while I work. We go on daily walks and he has excellent recall, responds to even eye signals if you give him a few seconds to get your meaning, has remained true to everything he's been trained on and is courageous and true.

I like it that he remains on alert to danger even when called down...we had some guys out here cutting the right of way for the electric company and he did his initial barking, I called him down and he laid there the rest of the day, facing the crew, ears alert and with that tension in his body that said he would spring to action any time he saw any overt threat.

Jake, on the other hand, grew tired of the ongoing activity and finally laid down for a nap. Ben watched all day long. It was funny when a guy asked if the dogs would bite and I put on a straight face and said, "Only if I tell them to." It was kind of a private joke, but with Ben it could very well be true...I know he wouldn't hesitate to intervene if I were in trouble. And he guards with a level head, with a ready response to my commands, so I know he's thinking all the while, not merely reacting.

We've grown closer since Jake died, especially since walking each morning, and have a great bond going on. He's been a great investment, in both money and time spent on training, and I'll be interested to see how he responds to his sheep. Training on those will start day one, with daily instruction of both parties.

I'll post the progress of his continued education here. Love this dog!!! I can't believe he's 3 and a half years old already.

Some recent pics of Ben. I don't know his wt. but I'd estimate 90-100 lbs of lean muscle and athleticism.