Sam was out maneuvered or out gunned

[BCSnob]

When my 4am alarm woke me up I could hear Sam barking non-stop in the field. He does this sometimes when he is unsure of what is "out there" in the dark while he is by his sheep.

When I headed out of the house, Sam darted out of the barnyard on high alert. I then noticed there were just a few sheep (some of the remaining lambs to go to market) in the barnyard. Where were the rest of the market lambs? I headed out into the dark on our Kubota RVT900 with all its flood lights on. Yep, not all the sheep were in the barnyard. Raced up the field to where I could see glowing eyes. The main flock was on the other side of the fence in the field where we put them and the missing market lambs were on the fence next to the main flock. I spot lighted the field where the main flock was; all clear. Checked up the hill from where these sheep were; all clear. Drove back towards the barnyard along the fence line and found a dead lamb (butt and belly ripped open).

Got Nell from the house to move market lambs into barnyard; locked them in. Moved main flock to outside barnyard. I removed the lamb carcass from the field. I then left for work.

Several living market lambs were also injured, not too badly. My wife treated them after the sun came up. Sam was also injured; a small cut on his back flank.

Time to get Sam some help. We started looking for a working bred Anatolian or Anatolian cross (preferably a female).

[BCSnob]

Electric 6" off ground offset inside the box wire would work to keep Wendy in except for digging under the 7 gates. The perimeter of 10 acres would need to be wired. Not sure how much fence money should be invested into land we do not own. Electric fence increases the string trimming labor. Everything is a trade off.

Wendy's chain was not broken, the quick link opened up. She's back on her tire.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

K-9 HANDLER wrote:
I have larger stock and have never had sheep before. Is a hot strand possible about 6 inches off the ground on your fencing? I have one and another higher up. The electric was meant for the stock and not my dogs but worked and kept both in. Not to expensive either.

Good point - might discourage the coyotes from coming in, too?

[K-9_HANDLER]

I have larger stock and have never had sheep before. Is a hot strand possible about 6 inches off the ground on your fencing? I have one and another higher up. The electric was meant for the stock and not my dogs but worked and kept both in. Not to expensive either.

[Little_Kopit]

BCSnob wrote:
Wendy was back on chain pulling tire to keep her in same field as sheep. She broke the quick link between snap used to attach to her collar and the chain attached to tire.

She also got a reality check; she got popped on nose for guarding sheep feed from the sheep.

When having a houdini of a dog, I have either gone to a attachment link with a rotating part or padlock. Padlock is the only secure connecting device.

Parenting puppy dogs has its challenges.

😉

[BCSnob]

Wendy was back on chain pulling tire to keep her in same field as sheep. She broke the quick link between snap used to attach to her collar and the chain attached to tire.

She also got a reality check; she got popped on nose for guarding sheep feed from the sheep.

[BCSnob]

If canine proof fencing was possible and affordable we would not need LGDs.

I would like a gps version of invisible fence/collar for our LGDs.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I think a long row of dog-proof fence is in order?

[CA_POPPY]

"because she has dementia, her caretakers and family won't let her get another dog." That is really unfortunate. I can't think of anything more heart warming, calming or comforting to an elderly pet lover than a dog on which to lavish her attention. Of course, it shouldn't be somebody's working dog That elderly woman is just a little girl at heart, who loves dogs. If I was her daughter, I'd find a way to make that happen, even if it was just 2 or 3 times a week as a visit from a therapy dog.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Wow - this IS a dilemma!!! Staying tuned for the outcome!

[Little_Kopit]

My temptation is to say, you get Birch another dog, about Wendy's size. Or this 'problem' will occur with any dog you get for yourselves, Sam or......sheep pal.

If Wendy's spayed, anyone can feed her and think 'oh, she really needs more to eat.'

The scent of Wendy and other attractions won't easily get 'erased.'

I would also think that it would be easy to find a vet to support you in this, not to mention people who work in seniors care homes.

My sympathies.

:C

[Go_Dogs]

Wow! That is quite a story and quite a woman! Wendy certainly has good taste!

[BCSnob]

We have a new problem with Wendy; our neighbor.

Wendy has been taking short excursions off the farm at night to follow scents and sounds in the neighbors woods that are adjacent to our pastures (this is where we think the coyotes come into our pasture). Last night we got a call from George (neighbor's son) letting us know that Wendy was visiting. I asked if he could run Wendy off. Then he told me that his 97 year old mother had brought Wendy into their house and was feeding her rib eye steak. Also, this was not the first time that Wendy had been in their house.

Joan "Birch" Hotz really wants another dog but because she has dementia her caretakers and family won't let her get another dog. George told me that Birch was thrilled having a dog show up at her house.

We want to be made at our neighbors for encouraging Wendy to wonder away from her guard duties; but we can't bring ourselves to say something to Birch. BTW, take a look at the link above; Birch is an amazing women. Birch was in the WAAF transporting bombers from North America to Britain during WWII and was in Britain during the blitz.

[Go_Dogs]

How did it go at the Farm Show?

[Scottiemom]

Thanks for the update Mark. Love hearing about your animals.

Dale

[BCSnob]

Wendy & Sam are doing well. Been trying to get a photo of them curled up together next to the round bale feeder; when I go into the field to get close enough for a photo at least one of them gets up to come greet me. Wendy did sound the alarm (barking) when we pulled into the farm at 11:30pm Sunday night after the PA Farm Show and acted happy to see us when we spoke to her.

Recently I've not seen them acting like there were threats nearby; on the other hand the sheep have been staying close to the barn because of windy conditions and a enough snow covering the fields making grazing challenging for them.