Paris Has Begun Lamb Training

Baymule

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Don't knock it, I've fried rattle snake before and it was pretty good!
 

Baymule

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This is a perfect picture. There is Paris basking in the warm sunshine, contentedly watching over her sheep.

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Baymule

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I haven't updated Paris's thread in some time. I still have the "temporary" cow panel fence up that connects the back yard to the sheep barn. She will not give up the comfort of her back yard and she still has her collapsed dog cave. She finally tore it up so bad, including chewing the supports, that it fell pretty flat. She just dug a hole under it and continues to dig caverns in the yard. When we get a hard rain and her dog cave fills with water, she moves to her dog house. Looking in my back yard, you'd think I am abusing my dog. It is embarrassing, but she is happy and at 10 years old, if that's what she wants, she can have it.

Paris became a great sheep guard. She loves the lambs and is respectful (a little better now) of the ewes. She goes around licking their butts and the ewes raise their tails for her.

We cleaned up the side pasture between the sheep barn and the backyard this past summer. It was a snarl of greenbriars and saplings. We machete hacked our way through it, piled and burned, planted giant Bermuda and kept the sheep off, giving it a chance to grow. Paris loved the soft grass and found a new place to dig a hole.

Our girl looked at us with tired eyes. She just looked tired. Looking into her eyes, I could see the inevitable coming and said a prayer that she stay with us as long as she wished. We love our crazy dog.

In September of 2019 we got a 4 month old puppy. I kept him away from Paris for weeks, to give him time to meet Trip and Carson and get comfortable. Finally I let her go up to the fence in the sheep lot and meet Sentry, the new puppy.


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A few days later, I let Paris in pasture #1 which is Sentry's "home" pasture that has a small pen that extends into the barn for shelter. She didn't kill him. She was even glad to see him.
Paris didn’t play long, she was ready to go back to her back yard. Sentry jumped on her and in true Paris fashion, she snarled and rolled him. Love that girl!

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Sentry has given Paris new life. We marvel at her, she has NEVER taken up with another dog before. Sure, she likes Trip and Carson, but she loves Sentry. She even whines, asking to be let in his pasture to play with him and will spent the entire day with him, only going back to her back yard and side pasture when it is evening and time to eat. We are amazed.
Paris being Paris, she has to snap at him, sometimes trashes him pretty hard, then they are back to being friends.

A few days ago, Paris gave me her tired eyes. I am glad that she has a new friend in Sentry. She is happier than we have ever seen her. A couple of days ago, she asked early, to be let out of the front pasture, into the sheep barn. She was tired of the boys, Trip, Carson and Sentry. I sat on a milk crate and loved her. I stroked her fur, talked to her, bragged on her and she ate it up. Ewenique came up on my other side and she got the treatment too. Normally Ewenique wants to butt Paris, but on this day, they both got along. The three of us sat there for the longest time. Finally Paris wanted to go "home" so I let her in the side pasture and she trotted to her safe place, her back yard.
 

YourRabbitGirl

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We built a small pen in the backyard and weaned the lambs 3 days ago. We put the lambs in Paris territory. For those who don't know Paris, her post is below.

http://www.backyardherds.com/thread...heep-goats-or-chase-bears-hawk-post-26.23771/

We no longer live in town, having moved 160 miles to the Tyler area, on 8 acres. I have tried to put Paris in one of our pastures, but she dug out and wanted back in HER yard. We had fenced the back yard here and I guess she wanted to stay in a small area. Last time she went in heat, she went absolutely bonkers. She dug out of the back yard and tried to dig out of the front gate several times. She was leaving here. Fortunately, we came home and caught her before she ran off. Twice the neighbor caught her while we were gone. Once I walked to the road to get the mail and found her in the cow pasture across the road, going somewhere only she knew. We couldn't keep her in the yard, didn't want unknown puppies, so had to put her on a chain. That really enraged her. She destroyed her "cave" we had built for her out of OSB plywood. It was 3 sheets wide and had 3 sides, big enough to put her doghouse in and still have lots of room to dig holes to lay in. She tore off 2 sides of plywood and chewed big chunks out of what was left. Once when my husband went out to untangle her, she tried to bite him and he is her favorite person! She has never acted like this.

We then had to put up a hot wire to get her off the chain. Our neighbor, Robert came over to help my husband put it up. They turned it on and stepped out of the yard. Paris ran to the fence, to her favorite person and got zapped! She blamed my husband for it and turned into a snarling, vicious, angry dog. She thought HE did it to her! There was a piece of rebar lying on the ground and she grabbed it in her anger and threw it. Barking and snarling, she retreated to what is left of her cave and continued to snarl and bark. DH had no doubt that had he been standing IN the yard, she would have bit him. My husband waited a little while and went in the yard and "made up" to her. She forgave him and loved him.

So this is where we are. Paris was a problem dog from the start. She was happy in her yard at our former home. She seemed happy in the yard here and rejected several attempts to move her to one of the pastures here where she would have more room. She has been in heat many times, but never went crazy mad-dog wacko like she did this last time. When we got the ewes, I worked with her on a leash and finally let her off the leash. She promptly attacked the sheep. I caught her, dragged her off a ewe and put her in the back yard. I had to put Paris on hold as far as the sheep were concerned.

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So it is with apprehension that I approach Paris again as a sheep guardian. She is still sweet and loving to us, but what would she do with the lambs? She hasn't rushed snarling at the pen the lambs are in. So far, so good. She hasn't shown aggression towards them at all. So this evening, I put Paris on a leash and walked her in the lamb pen. They came up and sniffed her and she sniffed back. I let the lambs out and walked her around. My husband came out with ice water for us both, I took the leash off Paris and we sat in the shade to watch. Paris. Did. Nothing. :weee

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The lambs grazed the back yard and Paris laid in a hole she dug, coming to us for petting and approval. We sat out there for a couple of hours. I put the lambs up and praised Paris for being a good dog. I will continue to do this, leaving them in "her" yard for longer and longer periods of time until I can leave them with her 24-7 and I really do believe she will be good with the lambs.

The real test will come when I open the back yard gate and let Paris and lambs join Trip and the ewes. Will Paris bond with the sheep? Will she see it as an opportunity to climb the fence, dig out and run off? Stay tuned for the rest of the story.
that is a nice small Sheep house you have there.. your sheepdog looks great too. I hope we can have the same breed here in the Philippines. Have a great day.. :weee :yesss: :weee
 

Baymule

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We were gone several days this week, during the day, so I didn't put Paris in Sentry's pasture. She can go over the gate and from there would escape the yard to go roaming. She got depressed and refused to eat. I let her stay with Sentry for a few hours on Wednesday and she was happy again, she licked her bowl clean. Any time she wants to "move in" with Sentry, she can, but so far she always wants to go back to the safety of her back yard.
 
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