The Ambivalent Shepherd

[Baymule]

Leo and Moses did good. A sheep getting mauled is silent, so there was no noise to alert them. I hope they are waiting for him when he comes back.

Go ask your neighbor if they have a sheltie. They may deny that their fur baby would ever do that. Don’t argue, it’s your opportunity to let them know that your dogs will attack and kill that dog, whoever it belongs to. They might get the message. If they don’t have a sheltie, they might know who does and tell the owner that their dog will die if it goes on your place again.

 

[Blue Sky]

Leo and Moses did good. A sheep getting mauled is silent, so there was no noise to alert them. I hope they are waiting for him when he comes back.

Go ask your neighbor if they have a sheltie. They may deny that their fur baby would ever do that. Don’t argue, it’s your opportunity to let them know that your dogs will attack and kill that dog, whoever it belongs to. They might get the message. If they don’t have a sheltie, they might know who does and tell the owner that their dog will die if it goes on your place again.

Great advice. I will text tomorrow saying I lost a ewe to a dog that looks like- and that my dogs will attack it if they encounter it on our property again. This neighbor chats with everyone so word will get around. Since my dogs get out I don’t want to raise a huge ruckus. Dogs of any breed will (probably) kill sheep if the conditions are right. Caddo killed two ewes with Smitty and his brother. I couldn’t afford to start again with new dogs and so I had to shepherd, boots on the ground often after an 8-10 hour shift unloading a semi for a SuperTarget. They grew out of it and lived to serve many years as trusty LGDs. I lost a lot of weight .

 

[Baymule]

Buford, my now almost perfect dog, played with a little lamb to death. I beat him with her dead body, threw her on him again and again while screaming at him. I made that punishment one to remember and he darn sure never did that again. When in their teenage stupid stage, they will do stupid things. Hard correction, vigilance to make sure they don't do it again and tons of patience.

 

[Blue Sky]

Buford, my now almost perfect dog, played with a little lamb to death. I beat him with her dead body, threw her on him again and again while screaming at him. I made that punishment one to remember and he darn sure never did that again. When in their teenage stupid stage, they will do stupid things. Hard correction, vigilance to make sure they don't do it again and tons of patience.

Smitty, Caddo and Sam were teenagers too. It was too many boys together and the ewes they killed were particularly flighty. I had no choice except to work with the dogs I had. I didn’t appreciate until later how much I learned about dogs and sheep. Sam was the ringleader and he got a heavy drag chain. He never wore it unless supervised and I used it only a few weeks. Then he got the Bell of Shame which was really effective because he lost the ability to sneak up on the sheep. Once I caught him holding the bell in his mouth to stop the ringing but it took the fun out of the game. He graduated after a couple of months. Will every killer work out? No. I was blessed with basically good natured dogs and the time to work with them.

 

[Blue Sky]

One of my old lady ewes is blind, probably stress from the dog attack. She has no wounds, eyes look completely normal. She figured out how to hang out with the other two old ladies and get fed apart from the main flock. She also figured out how to follow the fence to water, I’ll keep an eye on her going forward. Also a dose of vit B in case she’s low. No sign of the offending dog or how it got in. Big rains expected this evening and tomorrow is a washout. I shut the news off after a brief check on the outside world. Those people are nuts. Off to get ready for rainfall.

 

[Baymule]

I hope you don’t wash away!

 

[Blue Sky]

I hope you don’t wash away!

We replaced two culverts after a washout about 2 years ago. I shopped just in case, the store was really crowded.

 

[Blue Sky]

It’s 3:20 am. Lots of thunderstorms around but nothing dire here at the moment. Most of my adult life I’d be at work right now. I told a boss once I didn’t mind being at a desk downtown, I’d be up anyway. My mom was a night owl too. She read a lot. Thanks to the internet I can read all kinds of things, some of dubious value. Apparently the cortisol hormone that gives me my hobbity waistline is supposed to trigger sleep. Ha ha. Guess I can chuck that notion in the Safe and Effective bin. The blind ewe was slightly better at feed time. The previous owners of this place got some scary looking mail from the government. Need to get that back to the post office later today. If it isn’t hailing. Perhaps even if it is. My mil likes the tv show Quantum Leap. Would have never guessed that. Well I’ve inflicted enough random thoughts on everyone- see you all later today, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise

 

[Baymule]

Pouring rain here. I woke up to that groggy state that let me know it was storming. Supposed to move on out this morning. Glad the blind ewe is better.

 

[fuzzi]

It’s 3:20 am. Lots of thunderstorms around but nothing dire here at the moment. Most of my adult life I’d be at work right now. I told a boss once I didn’t mind being at a desk downtown, I’d be up anyway. My mom was a night owl too. She read a lot. Thanks to the internet I can read all kinds of things, some of dubious value. Apparently the cortisol hormone that gives me my hobbity waistline is supposed to trigger sleep. Ha ha. Guess I can chuck that notion in the Safe and Effective bin. The blind ewe was slightly better at feed time. The previous owners of this place got some scary looking mail from the government. Need to get that back to the post office later today. If it isn’t hailing. Perhaps even if it is. My mil likes the tv show Quantum Leap. Would have never guessed that. Well I’ve inflicted enough random thoughts on everyone- see you all later today, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise

Love the random thoughts, don't stop. I scatter mine all over the place.

Exchanging such tidbits helps us get to know each other better.