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Ridgetop
Herd Master
So Christmas is over and the new year has begun. Time to take down the Christmas decorations and put them away for another year. I will miss the cheerful glow of the lights, on the other hand, removing the tree will give more room in our family room. Rika and Bubba can both fit stretched out on the floor now!
It rained most of last night, thank goodness, but naturally it precipitated another mudslide on the Pacific Coast Highway. That is where the Ventura/Moorpark fire finally burned out Hard to burn past the Pacific Ocean. It is supposed to rain again Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully, we will continue having rains through March. December through March is our traditional rainy season. Weather patterns are changing all over the world, it's a cyclical change. I am just hoping for continuing rain so my sheep will have some forage this year. Mudslides are normal just like our brush fires. Horrible, tragic, but inevitable in southern California, especially when we have had such a bad burn season.
I called my good friend Erick (Lucky Hit Anatolians) and reminded him about my need for another LGD. Sadly, his 8 bitches had all come into season at the same time and the bitch he had planned to breed after her OFA results, had come in and gone out before the OFA which was scheduled next week could be done!
No puppies for about a year. Erick does not breed more than 1 litter a year and sometimes only every 18 months. He always has a long waiting list for his dogs, but is very choosy about breeding. While we were shooting the breeze, Erick was talking of a client who had a litter. The puppies were beautiful, the bitch was related to Rika and Bubba out of his best lines. He loved the puppies and the temperaments and working abilities of both parents. Both parents were working LGDs on the owner's 42 acre sheep ranch in Idaho. The breeder had imported the sire from Turkey and was having problems with the Anatolian breed registry since apparently a lot of the big wigs didn't like this Turkish breeder. Erick had been raving about the merits of the sire and his terrific temperament, and bemoaning the politics of the breed ring when he suddenly realized this might be the answer to our puppy problem. There was a possibility that the puppies couldn't be registered, but since we want to spay the bitch, and no longer want to breed, Erick thought this might work for us. Both parents were OFA excellent, the bitch had beautiful conformation, as did the sire. Good conformation is not just to look pretty, correct conformation means the dog can physically withstand the rigors of guarding livestock on bad ground, if a dog has poor conformation they do not always last as long or stay as healthy.
Erick quickly texted me the info on the owner and then called her himself to give her a heads up about us. One bitch puppy was still available. She was the pick of the litter which the owner had wanted to keep for herself. She was trying to decide between this puppy and the brindle bitch puppy. She had decided to keep the brindle, and sent me photos of both parents, the litter, and the individual puppy stacked so I could see her topline, angulation, etc. Gorgeous! After discussing the parents and my needs I arranged to send off a check.
So, that is the good news! We found an Anatolian puppy from working stock out of Erick's Lucky Hit working dogs!
Now for the bad news! We have to drive to Idaho, 2 hours north of Boise to pick her up. We have to pass through Winnemucca, NV, where 5" of snow is expected today and tomorrow, while northwestern Idaho is expecting several inches of snow mixed with freezing rain!
I do not ship young puppies, besides the airlines will not ship dogs during the winter since they have to ride in the cargo hold. We also like to drive to pick up our LGDs since the several day return trip is part of the bonding process. There is nothing like a couple days in a car with a large dog to really get to know one another. LOL Since this is a young puppy, the bonding process will be even more precious.
We now need to go on Wednesday, January 8, and get back for a booked trip with our friends on the 16th, or go after the 28th. While the weather is not so good now, as DH said, it might be worse weather then.
The reason for rushing up on the 8th or 9th is that we have to pull our 5th wheel to Kettleman City where our son is working. He wants to live in it for the next few months. Kettleman is 3-4 hours north on the road to Mesa, Idaho, so might as well go straight from dropping off the trailer instead of driving back and then taking off again. So far, so good. Luckily we have a 4WD pickup with chains and winter clothes from Washington state winters. I routinely pack the cab with blankets, thermoses, water, etc. to cover emergencies. If worst comes to worst we will hole up in a motel and ride out any blizzard conditions. Remember to take a couple books. However, puppy breeder Debra in Idaho assured me that the winter has been "mild". See photo below for "mild" Idaho winter. Apparently "mild" means no horrendous blizzards have hit them yet!
View attachment 56759 View attachment 56758
Puppy stacked at 8 weeks. Lovely topline and rear angulation, Next photo is puppy asleep in cozy barn. (front left)
Bottom photo of dam in front and sire in rear, on duty.
View attachment 56760 So we now have found our puppy, only separated from us by several days of travel in cold snow, rain, etc. LOL If worst comes to worst, we will pick her up the beginning of February.
Luckily DH is experienced in snow. We plan to stop early and leave after the semi traffic has warmed up roads. We will be travelling all the way on major freeways and highways. The mileage is actually less than when we travel to Yelm WA, so hopefully it should not take more than 2 days to get there, and 2 days back.
On another note, I have just finished reading The Way of The Pack and I wanted to say that it is an excellent book. I will be posting reviews of it. I have noticed with surprise that all BrendaMNegri's postings have been removed from this site. I don't know why, but in any event this book is certainly worth the purchase. I would especially recommend it to anyone considering getting a livestock guardian dog for the first time.
The book discusses traditional and historic use of livestock guardian dogs, but then reads like a how to guide on understanding your LGD, choosing a breeder that will mentor the new owner, nutrition, health and first aid care, etc. I had owned a number of LGDs before getting our Anatolians, but still found so much in this book that gave new insight into body language of the LGD, and understanding behaviors before jumping to conclusions about what the dog is actually doing. This is a thing that a lot of new owners do, as Southern can attest to in her work with new owners and their problems.
The title "The Way of The Pack" might put some people off, but refers more to the bonding and way that multiple dogs work together than any idea of having huge numbers of dog She also warns about trying to work fewer dogs in a situation where the predator load is high. When I posted about having lost a couple lambs even with 2 Anatolians on my 5 acres, she immediately posted that I was "underdogged". She was right. Several additional coyote packs had moved into the neighborhood after the Creek fire last winter, causing a real predator overload.
Even though I had 30 years experience owning LGDs on this property, I had not realized that times change and with the loss of surrounding vegetation and more homes being built the coyotes no longer had as much wild prey. In addition, several packs were now homeless from the fire and had to relocate into our neighborhood where they were competing with our 2 resident packs!
Her book had me take a good long look at how many LGDs are necessary. While I don't think a pack of 25 LGDs is necessary, Negri seeks to show that many owners underestimate the number of dogs they should be using to protect their livestock. She points out that the number of LGDs should not be based on number of sheep or acres but should be based on number and type of predators and terrain. In the foothills of Los Angeles where I live, the coyote population is so high that I need at least 3 dogs for my 5 steep, brushy acres. No lethal animal control measures are allowed within the city limits, so my dogs work hard to defend our sheep. Even with a 3 Anatolian pack, we need to lock our flock up at night in order to give our hardworking dogs a rest. My son, on the other hand, might only need one dog on his flat, open 5 acres outside Santa Maria. I have lost several sheep to coyotes, necessitating the addition of the 3rd dog. My son has not even lost one of his free-range chickens. He has more open land with natural prey for the predator population to hunt.
At any rate, I enjoyed the book, and was delighted to find that I had been doing most of the right things with my dogs.
Adding the 3rd Anatolian will bring my pack up to the necessary numbers. Rika is 6, Bubba is 3, and the new puppy will move into a line of protectors. By the time Rika is 9, the 2 younger dogs will be in their prime. They will have been trained by the best LGD ever, and it will be time to bring in another puppy. Erik and I are already discussing it. LOL
I'll post more about the new puppy later. Got to go pack up the Christmas decorations!
It rained most of last night, thank goodness, but naturally it precipitated another mudslide on the Pacific Coast Highway. That is where the Ventura/Moorpark fire finally burned out Hard to burn past the Pacific Ocean. It is supposed to rain again Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully, we will continue having rains through March. December through March is our traditional rainy season. Weather patterns are changing all over the world, it's a cyclical change. I am just hoping for continuing rain so my sheep will have some forage this year. Mudslides are normal just like our brush fires. Horrible, tragic, but inevitable in southern California, especially when we have had such a bad burn season.
I called my good friend Erick (Lucky Hit Anatolians) and reminded him about my need for another LGD. Sadly, his 8 bitches had all come into season at the same time and the bitch he had planned to breed after her OFA results, had come in and gone out before the OFA which was scheduled next week could be done!
No puppies for about a year. Erick does not breed more than 1 litter a year and sometimes only every 18 months. He always has a long waiting list for his dogs, but is very choosy about breeding. While we were shooting the breeze, Erick was talking of a client who had a litter. The puppies were beautiful, the bitch was related to Rika and Bubba out of his best lines. He loved the puppies and the temperaments and working abilities of both parents. Both parents were working LGDs on the owner's 42 acre sheep ranch in Idaho. The breeder had imported the sire from Turkey and was having problems with the Anatolian breed registry since apparently a lot of the big wigs didn't like this Turkish breeder. Erick had been raving about the merits of the sire and his terrific temperament, and bemoaning the politics of the breed ring when he suddenly realized this might be the answer to our puppy problem. There was a possibility that the puppies couldn't be registered, but since we want to spay the bitch, and no longer want to breed, Erick thought this might work for us. Both parents were OFA excellent, the bitch had beautiful conformation, as did the sire. Good conformation is not just to look pretty, correct conformation means the dog can physically withstand the rigors of guarding livestock on bad ground, if a dog has poor conformation they do not always last as long or stay as healthy. Erick quickly texted me the info on the owner and then called her himself to give her a heads up about us. One bitch puppy was still available. She was the pick of the litter which the owner had wanted to keep for herself. She was trying to decide between this puppy and the brindle bitch puppy. She had decided to keep the brindle, and sent me photos of both parents, the litter, and the individual puppy stacked so I could see her topline, angulation, etc. Gorgeous! After discussing the parents and my needs I arranged to send off a check.
So, that is the good news! We found an Anatolian puppy from working stock out of Erick's Lucky Hit working dogs!
Now for the bad news! We have to drive to Idaho, 2 hours north of Boise to pick her up. We have to pass through Winnemucca, NV, where 5" of snow is expected today and tomorrow, while northwestern Idaho is expecting several inches of snow mixed with freezing rain!
I do not ship young puppies, besides the airlines will not ship dogs during the winter since they have to ride in the cargo hold. We also like to drive to pick up our LGDs since the several day return trip is part of the bonding process. There is nothing like a couple days in a car with a large dog to really get to know one another. LOL Since this is a young puppy, the bonding process will be even more precious.
We now need to go on Wednesday, January 8, and get back for a booked trip with our friends on the 16th, or go after the 28th. While the weather is not so good now, as DH said, it might be worse weather then.
The reason for rushing up on the 8th or 9th is that we have to pull our 5th wheel to Kettleman City where our son is working. He wants to live in it for the next few months. Kettleman is 3-4 hours north on the road to Mesa, Idaho, so might as well go straight from dropping off the trailer instead of driving back and then taking off again. So far, so good. Luckily we have a 4WD pickup with chains and winter clothes from Washington state winters. I routinely pack the cab with blankets, thermoses, water, etc. to cover emergencies. If worst comes to worst we will hole up in a motel and ride out any blizzard conditions. Remember to take a couple books. However, puppy breeder Debra in Idaho assured me that the winter has been "mild". See photo below for "mild" Idaho winter. Apparently "mild" means no horrendous blizzards have hit them yet!View attachment 56759 View attachment 56758
Puppy stacked at 8 weeks. Lovely topline and rear angulation, Next photo is puppy asleep in cozy barn. (front left)
Bottom photo of dam in front and sire in rear, on duty.
View attachment 56760 So we now have found our puppy, only separated from us by several days of travel in cold snow, rain, etc. LOL If worst comes to worst, we will pick her up the beginning of February.
Luckily DH is experienced in snow. We plan to stop early and leave after the semi traffic has warmed up roads. We will be travelling all the way on major freeways and highways. The mileage is actually less than when we travel to Yelm WA, so hopefully it should not take more than 2 days to get there, and 2 days back.
On another note, I have just finished reading The Way of The Pack and I wanted to say that it is an excellent book. I will be posting reviews of it. I have noticed with surprise that all BrendaMNegri's postings have been removed from this site. I don't know why, but in any event this book is certainly worth the purchase. I would especially recommend it to anyone considering getting a livestock guardian dog for the first time.
The book discusses traditional and historic use of livestock guardian dogs, but then reads like a how to guide on understanding your LGD, choosing a breeder that will mentor the new owner, nutrition, health and first aid care, etc. I had owned a number of LGDs before getting our Anatolians, but still found so much in this book that gave new insight into body language of the LGD, and understanding behaviors before jumping to conclusions about what the dog is actually doing. This is a thing that a lot of new owners do, as Southern can attest to in her work with new owners and their problems.
The title "The Way of The Pack" might put some people off, but refers more to the bonding and way that multiple dogs work together than any idea of having huge numbers of dog She also warns about trying to work fewer dogs in a situation where the predator load is high. When I posted about having lost a couple lambs even with 2 Anatolians on my 5 acres, she immediately posted that I was "underdogged". She was right. Several additional coyote packs had moved into the neighborhood after the Creek fire last winter, causing a real predator overload.
Even though I had 30 years experience owning LGDs on this property, I had not realized that times change and with the loss of surrounding vegetation and more homes being built the coyotes no longer had as much wild prey. In addition, several packs were now homeless from the fire and had to relocate into our neighborhood where they were competing with our 2 resident packs!
Her book had me take a good long look at how many LGDs are necessary. While I don't think a pack of 25 LGDs is necessary, Negri seeks to show that many owners underestimate the number of dogs they should be using to protect their livestock. She points out that the number of LGDs should not be based on number of sheep or acres but should be based on number and type of predators and terrain. In the foothills of Los Angeles where I live, the coyote population is so high that I need at least 3 dogs for my 5 steep, brushy acres. No lethal animal control measures are allowed within the city limits, so my dogs work hard to defend our sheep. Even with a 3 Anatolian pack, we need to lock our flock up at night in order to give our hardworking dogs a rest. My son, on the other hand, might only need one dog on his flat, open 5 acres outside Santa Maria. I have lost several sheep to coyotes, necessitating the addition of the 3rd dog. My son has not even lost one of his free-range chickens. He has more open land with natural prey for the predator population to hunt.
At any rate, I enjoyed the book, and was delighted to find that I had been doing most of the right things with my dogs.
Adding the 3rd Anatolian will bring my pack up to the necessary numbers. Rika is 6, Bubba is 3, and the new puppy will move into a line of protectors. By the time Rika is 9, the 2 younger dogs will be in their prime. They will have been trained by the best LGD ever, and it will be time to bring in another puppy. Erik and I are already discussing it. LOL
I'll post more about the new puppy later. Got to go pack up the Christmas decorations!
