Wehner Homestead

[Sheepshape]

check out the English shepherd rescue on facebook

Is English Shepherd a Border Collie? If so, they are Wonderful Dogs around livestock. Ours loves children, too, though they have reputation for trying to 'herd' children and have too much energy for their own good. See what's out there.....you'll fall in love with one (or maybe more!) of them. Animal Rescues often have lovely big dogs which Townie people have taken on and found them inappropriate for an urban environment. The possibilities are endless.

Your cats look the picture of contentment Wehner H. You may not describe yourself as a Cat Person, but they think so. I had to have a cat in her late teens euthanised for kidney failure yesterday, so I'm down to one cat now.

I look forward to seeing your new addition(s)

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry you lost the old girl SS... They all come to that end eventually, but we wish it wasn't so soon. Will you be getting another/additional cat(s)? I assume they are handy with keeping rodent populations somewhat in check...

 

[Wehner Homestead]

@Sheepshape I’m slightly reluctant to rescue an adult dog without knowing much about it. We’ve rescued several and dealt with training them out of the horrible habits they’d developed. With the kids, I believe it’s easier to start with a clean slate and I can bring them up my way.

An English Shepherd is not a Border Collie though I’m sure there is some BC in the lineage. English Shepherds were started in America. They have also been called Farm Collies. The ES doesn’t have “eye” like a BC and doesn’t herd on command. They learn by watching what you do then do it on their own. They learn what’s helpful to you and do their part. ES are very sensitive to correction and have a high prey drive as far as eliminating the rodent population. They also have to be socialized with cats or they will see them as prey.

Lana was an ES. We loved her. She was an amazing dog BUT something happened along the way and she never helped with livestock. (We think someone was at the farm when we weren’t there.) She was always protective of her humans and land while keeping the rodent population down. We’ve talked about another...

Cowboy turns 2 this month. It’s hard to believe that he’s our oldest dog. DH took this pic of him yesterday.

 

[RollingAcres]

The right time and right dog will come. But I know what you mean by "empty". A house without a dog or dogs is an empty house. I miss my June and my Sammie....
I haven't even started looking yet.

I’m slightly reluctant to rescue an adult dog without knowing much about it. We’ve rescued several and dealt with training them out of the horrible habits they’d developed. With the kids, I believe it’s easier to start with a clean slate and I can bring them up my way.

Same here. Since we have kids, we really need to make sure that we know the background of the rescued dog.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

@Sheepshape In my haste to respond, I forgot to offer my condolences. Losses are never easy!

I truly am not a cat person. I don’t like that you have no idea how they’ll act when grown. Their only on their terms (most of them) attention-seeking. I do like them in the barn for the rodent and bird control. The kids REALLY enjoy them and I do make sure each gets some pets and cuddles daily if they are willing.

That being said, Oscar’s antics are quite the blessing right now. He isn’t a typical cat and is a wonderful distraction from the hurt of Faith and Queenie being gone. He snuck in again yesterday. Oh who am I kidding!? I let him in as I came in! It’s just good medicine to cuddle with him! Anyway, he found a good napping spot. Have to share.

That is one of those little kid couches that folds out into a little “bed.” He slept through kids wrestling all around him!

 

[RollingAcres]

 

[Wehner Homestead]

DS fed the cats!

What do you make of this color woolly worm for winter? Ours are all solid like this and there seem to be fewer than usual.

Huge spider in the lean-to.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Hey....he did accomplish the "goal" and even hit the plate....makes it easier for the cats to get to the nuggets they prefer first.....I doubt it will draw mice, but coons, possums, and skunks.....cats will avoid them......the thing about wooly-bears.....in accordance to local lore....has to do with the thickness of the "wooly" part and how close the rows are together.....more "wool", colder winter.....thinner "wool", warmer winter......haven't seen very many here yet, but should be showing up in the next few wks.....that is a Beautiful garden spider....they are valuable to have around....but, Outside......

 

[RollingAcres]

We know the cats won't be starving any time soon.

 

[Sheepshape]

The English Shepherd looks like there's a good bit of Border Collie in it. Does Cowboy have a bobtail?

So, the English Shepherd was developed in the USA and we don't have them over here, .....but maybe we should.Border Collies are otherwise known over here as 'Sheepdogs', though occasionally other breeds are used for livestock herding. I think current Border Collies all can be traced back to some very fertile and obviously highly desirable old boy called Old Hemp in the border counties between Scotland and England towards the end of the 19th century.

There is a type of dog called a Welsh Sheepdog which looks rather like the English Shepherd that isn't recognised as a standard breed by any kennel clubs, but they are still in existence.The Welsh Sheepdog
is rather rare now as it isn't as good at rounding help up etc. but apparently was great at driving (droving) sheep when they weren't moved around in trailers or transporters.

I forgot to offer my condolences.

No worries. Old Minnie was a feral cat taken on by our predecessors.....she came with the house. Over the 11.5 years we had her she became very easy with people she knew, but was always nervous of strangers. She lived in the sheep shed during the winter, but slept somewhere else in the summer. A very sweet little cat, she had had litters of kittens every year for the 6 or so years before we took her on, so we had her neutered. Paradoxically she couldn't catch a cold, whereas the house cat is a prolific rodent hunter (mainly voles). Never vaccinated, and never wormed until we took her on, she had a totally free and easy existence. She was euthanised before she had gone down the path of relentless decline that kidney failure causes.I am sad not to see her and hear her gentle purring when I stroked her old head. She is buried in our 'graveyard' in a lovely spot in a wooded grove along with 2 other cats, ancient chickens and even a hamster.