Big white dog on the job
A ewe with newborn lambs was laying out in pasture away from the rest of the flock. Sam was out there with them on the job. We saw a coyote cross the field about 20yards above the new lambs. Becaus...
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Yesterday was a busy day for the flock; we had 5 sets of twins and a set of triplets.
This is my Eve's first year being my lambing dog and she is learning but hasn't thrived with this work (other dogs do thrive). The tasks can be simple: going along while I check the flock and working with another dog to move the whole flock (ewes and lambs) towards the barn. Other tasks are more difficult mentally: following a particular ewe while I lead the ewe by carrying her lambs. What makes this task difficult is having to face a ewe that turns and stops, attempts to dart back to where she thinks her lambs were (she doesn't understand her lambs being off the ground in my arms), darting to other lambs to see if they are hers, and moving one ewe through the middle of the entire flock of ewes and lambs to the barn. Eve's confidence on facing a ewe is not quite there; she thinks about it too much. When she just reacts she will bite a charging sheep on the nose (good Eve); when she thinks about it she stresses. Moving one sheep takes intense mental focus; moving one through all the sheep is even harder. Eve is getting better at maintaining focus on just one but needs more work so she understands the job and relaxes a bit more (Eve stresses too much).
We checked the flock at dusk and found a very large ewe with a water bag hanging out of her at the other end of the field. We decided to move her to the protection of the barn before she lambed. Eve did a good job moving the one ewe down to the flock but lost mental focus on this one ewe as we moved her through the flock. Once in the barn yard Eve was back with me and the ewe. We had to move the ewe through some alleyways in the barn; the ewe tried to dart back the way she came and Eve was there with a quick snap in the ewe's face to stop the ewe (good Eve). This ewe finished having a set of triplets around 10pm.
12 singles
41 sets of twins
4 sets of triplets
106 lambs
ca. 13 ewes left to lamb
This is my Eve's first year being my lambing dog and she is learning but hasn't thrived with this work (other dogs do thrive). The tasks can be simple: going along while I check the flock and working with another dog to move the whole flock (ewes and lambs) towards the barn. Other tasks are more difficult mentally: following a particular ewe while I lead the ewe by carrying her lambs. What makes this task difficult is having to face a ewe that turns and stops, attempts to dart back to where she thinks her lambs were (she doesn't understand her lambs being off the ground in my arms), darting to other lambs to see if they are hers, and moving one ewe through the middle of the entire flock of ewes and lambs to the barn. Eve's confidence on facing a ewe is not quite there; she thinks about it too much. When she just reacts she will bite a charging sheep on the nose (good Eve); when she thinks about it she stresses. Moving one sheep takes intense mental focus; moving one through all the sheep is even harder. Eve is getting better at maintaining focus on just one but needs more work so she understands the job and relaxes a bit more (Eve stresses too much).
We checked the flock at dusk and found a very large ewe with a water bag hanging out of her at the other end of the field. We decided to move her to the protection of the barn before she lambed. Eve did a good job moving the one ewe down to the flock but lost mental focus on this one ewe as we moved her through the flock. Once in the barn yard Eve was back with me and the ewe. We had to move the ewe through some alleyways in the barn; the ewe tried to dart back the way she came and Eve was there with a quick snap in the ewe's face to stop the ewe (good Eve). This ewe finished having a set of triplets around 10pm.
12 singles
41 sets of twins
4 sets of triplets
106 lambs
ca. 13 ewes left to lamb
