Showing posts with label maremma puppies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maremma puppies. Show all posts
Friday, May 18, 2018
Thursday, May 10, 2018
A Birthday Present
One of the perils of working nights for the past 15 years is that my sense of when one day becomes the next day gets a bit skewed. From my point of view, it is still Wednesday, which is Elva's (aka, Farm Buddy, aka, The Little Elf) birthday. Since the Little Elf clamors for pictures of her beloved puppies several times a day, that is what she gets for her B-day:
Three generations, baby Purple - 7 weeks, Connor - 3 years, Scout - 15.5 years.
Three generations, baby Purple - 7 weeks, Connor - 3 years, Scout - 15.5 years.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Thursday, May 3, 2018
New Roommates
The puppies have a couple of new roommates....
They're already dressing alike and sharing each others clothes....
(Elva is paranoid about collars, but we want to be able to tell them apart so they got crayons instead)
The puppies are happy about the new additions.
Generally, they are just plain happy.
And tired. Tired puppies are good puppies.
In addition to their new Guard Dog duties, which they take terribly seriously, they have also been going on hikes with Elva several times each day and attempting to keep the Border Collies in line.
They love playing in the pond and a few of them have learned that, when they fall in, they can swim.
All this hard work is tiring.
It's just not easy being an alert guard dog.
Good thing they all have a lot of help.
Including a couple new additions to the pack.
They're already dressing alike and sharing each others clothes....
The puppies are happy about the new additions.
Generally, they are just plain happy.
And tired. Tired puppies are good puppies.
In addition to their new Guard Dog duties, which they take terribly seriously, they have also been going on hikes with Elva several times each day and attempting to keep the Border Collies in line.
They love playing in the pond and a few of them have learned that, when they fall in, they can swim.
All this hard work is tiring.
It's just not easy being an alert guard dog.
Good thing they all have a lot of help.
Including a couple new additions to the pack.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Puppy Overdose
I told Elva today that I was going to have to start carrying around some of that Narcan stuff in case she completely overdoses on puppies.
It could happen.
The puppies have moved out into the garage/woodshed and they are enjoying their new space....
...and practicing to be big, serious guard dogs.
They are terribly ferocious.
Practicing their attack skills....
...while mom shows them how to protect every, little thing. Including puppy toys that need to be rescued, handled gently and guarded from marauders.
I've seen a lot of posts recently about how Livestock Guardian Dogs should not be handled by people and that they have to be locked in and isolated with their charges so that they will bond with them.
Total hogwash.
Yes, the puppies need to be around livestock and, by the time these pups leave, they will know all about sheep, lambs, chickens, cattle, cats, other dogs, etc. Each of these puppies is spoken for and they are all going to small farms where they will have a variety of livestock and people to look after. They are fully capable of doing all that may be asked of them whether it is looking after a flock a milk goats, hiking with their people or guarding the sheep while they watch Border Collies learn how to do their jobs.
These dogs are intelligent, intuitive and have been born with the aptitude and skill to do all of the above while also riding happily in a car to the vet's office or distinguishing a real threat from stray child wandering in to visit the lambs. I know most people don't want stray children wandering around in their fields, but it happens all the time and even fewer of us want the dogs to devour the small children. I personally don't know why anyone would want a big, powerful dog that can't be handled - or a small, toothless dog for that matter.
I find it to be a baffling disservice to these dogs to expect them to live alone amongst a flock of sheep, making all the tough decisions, protecting them from all threats while simultaneously believing them to be too stupid to do anything else. I've met a few dogs raised like that and, as much as I love dogs, I'd never want one of them around.
Fortunately for these pups, they are all going to homes where they will be able to live up to their true abilities and be loved and appreciated for all of them.
Now all we have to do is figure out how to keep Elva from going into massive puppy withdrawal at the end of May when they finally move on to their new farms. Does Narcan work on puppy overdose?
It could happen.
The puppies have moved out into the garage/woodshed and they are enjoying their new space....
...and practicing to be big, serious guard dogs.
They are terribly ferocious.
Practicing their attack skills....
...while mom shows them how to protect every, little thing. Including puppy toys that need to be rescued, handled gently and guarded from marauders.
I've seen a lot of posts recently about how Livestock Guardian Dogs should not be handled by people and that they have to be locked in and isolated with their charges so that they will bond with them.
Total hogwash.
Yes, the puppies need to be around livestock and, by the time these pups leave, they will know all about sheep, lambs, chickens, cattle, cats, other dogs, etc. Each of these puppies is spoken for and they are all going to small farms where they will have a variety of livestock and people to look after. They are fully capable of doing all that may be asked of them whether it is looking after a flock a milk goats, hiking with their people or guarding the sheep while they watch Border Collies learn how to do their jobs.
These dogs are intelligent, intuitive and have been born with the aptitude and skill to do all of the above while also riding happily in a car to the vet's office or distinguishing a real threat from stray child wandering in to visit the lambs. I know most people don't want stray children wandering around in their fields, but it happens all the time and even fewer of us want the dogs to devour the small children. I personally don't know why anyone would want a big, powerful dog that can't be handled - or a small, toothless dog for that matter.
I find it to be a baffling disservice to these dogs to expect them to live alone amongst a flock of sheep, making all the tough decisions, protecting them from all threats while simultaneously believing them to be too stupid to do anything else. I've met a few dogs raised like that and, as much as I love dogs, I'd never want one of them around.
Fortunately for these pups, they are all going to homes where they will be able to live up to their true abilities and be loved and appreciated for all of them.
Now all we have to do is figure out how to keep Elva from going into massive puppy withdrawal at the end of May when they finally move on to their new farms. Does Narcan work on puppy overdose?
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