Warning- lots of blathering on about Great Dogs I Have Had, Dubious Training Practices in the eyes of some and Personal Problems. Yesterday I went to check the ewes and Moses looked seriously guilty. “Not gonna burp hooves are ya buddy?” I was joking. Moses was a Good Boy who had been through two lambing’s with no issues. Four minutes later I found the evidence and he had high tailed it to the front yard. He got the shakedown and a brief, loud lecture regarding his future. Lamb disposed of and drink in hand I indulged in a round of self pity. On top of dog follies I had a stomach bug I acquired from my bottle lamb “Also dead” I grumbled, in spite of furious hand washing. But a little voice started reminding me that I’d faced LGD problems before and in only one case did I euthanize but that’s another story. The positives with Moses- he only killed one lamb ( I’ve incurred multiple fatalities hence the euthanasia story). He did not kill in front of Vala. In fact a few days ago he rolled her for charging a lamb (guess he was saving it for later?). I’ve had kill issues with nearly all my LGDs except an old Lady Pyr totally backyard born and bred and took to guarding like a duck to water and Crockett who was mentored by the Pyr. I miss them both now. The kills I dealt with were play kills and I solved those problems by restricting running. Drags made of lumber, pvc and chain with supervision. And the Bell of Shame which foiled stalking. Moses is two years old and change, still young by LGD standards. There’s hope. He has been barking A Lot this week. I joked with Hubbs that I was surprised he took the time out from barking to supplement his diet. Reminds me, he’s fed like a king and is a bit overweight so hunger didn’t drive the behavior. Well if you’ve gotten this far thanks- time for me to exercise perseverance, patience and a certain dog. Bye all.