What's In A Name?

I spend alot of time thinking about the names for my animals and I have names for dogs not even born yet. Most of them are named after a dog I admire. For example, Jed came to me with the name Rusty.Usually, I like the names his previous owner called her dogs - she's clever at it (she named Pleat for the cowlick between his eyes that looks like a pleat in a pair of pants ) but this time I thought he needed a change. I called him Jed after my favorite movie dog. Jed the wolf dog starred in "The Journey of Natty Gann" and "White Fang". My new Jed spent his first night at my house eating a leftover burrito. The next morning while Scott was giving me a lesson, I needed to call Jed back to my side. I hollered out "Jed! Jed!" and Scott said "He won't come to you. He doesn't know that name." Despite this, Jed turned on a dime and rushed back to me. He didn't care what we called him, as long as I continued to feed him those burritos.

I had been saving Lad's name for a long time. He was named after the main character in Albert Payson Terhune's book "Lad A Dog". Gasp! Is that a rough collie? Yes it is, actually. Terhune claimed that the real Lad didn't have all of the adventures he attributed to him in the books, but all the stories had come from real dogs who had defended their owners from attack, saved children from drowning and so on. My Laddie is named after the spirit of all those brave dogs.

Hemp. Well, Hemp was simple. I took one look at him and thought he looked exactly like Adam Telfer's, Old Hemp. I hoped it would be a good omen to name him after the father of the modern border collie.

Bob-dog has been in and out of my life since he was 7 weeks old and had been given many different names. His breeder called him Arizona. I first called him Pip (Squeek). His first owners called him Dax and when he was returned to the kennel I worked for the owner called him Bob after Kathy Knox's Bob. For those who aren't border collie people, Kathy's Bob was a sheepherding national champion. When I finally bought him at 6 months old, I felt he'd been through enough name changes so I let him stay with Bob. However, I always called him Bobby and imagined a different kind of celebrity whenever I used it.
And Skid? Well, Skid was named after what we were doing when we met.

He's Gotta Wear Shades

Pleat has been getting a big head recently. Along with all the kudos that came with his retirement for a lifetime of winning trials, he will also appear in a new publication. It is a beautiful coffee table book and features some of the top sheepdogs in the world. It also features their handlers but since Pleat feels that he made Scott who he is, that part isn't important. He's been getting obnoxious and is thoroughly enjoying his retirement. His pictures were taken by his favorite photographer, Vickie Close, and he's looking forward to seeing his profile in this new book. He is also getting ready for the fame he is sure will accompany it. If you would like to get one of these limited edition books you can go to the Kinloch Sheepdogs Website and order one. But Please. Don't tell Pleat you bought one. He's hard enough to live with.

Mouse Hunt

Last night I came upon Skid in this position. I wasn't all that concerned at first. He often scoots under the couch to rescue a ball or lost toy. However, when he was still there an hour later I started to wonder. It took another hour before he did move and when he ran over and started pawing at the dog bed, it dawned on me that perhaps he was working back up for the cats. When Salem joined him I knew I was right. Skid was mousing! I guess if Salem and Poe are busy, I still don't need to worry - none shall pass. (Monty Python reference) Salem swooped in and quickly dispatched the intruder. I've blocked out the mouse's head because it was just a baby and actually kinda cute but I made sure to leave the tail showing 'cause it really freaks my mom out. (Tee heee hee)

You Be The Judge

Scott's son was visiting this past weekend and he asked me if Poe was named after the Kung Fu Panda. I asked him why. He said "Because he's black and white, fat, and his name is Po"First off, Kevin, his name is spelled P-O-E after Edgar Allan Poe! Secondly, he's not fat. He's just big boned and third... well, hmmm. Perhaps you have a point.

Lambs In The Kitchen

Lambing is in full swing now and so far, we have had 18 lambs born. Every year some lambs need a little extra boost to get going and today we had our first two of the season. It's no big deal. We bring them into the house and put them on our heating vent in the kitchen. Sometimes we cover them with towels heated in the dryer and then give them some warm lamb formula. This is Skid's second lambing and he's an old hand at it now. However this is Poe's first lambing. At the beginning, he felt he needed to show who was boss and threw a couple of tentative slaps that never quite reached the lambs. (you never know when one might get up and bite you) But in short order he had it all figured out and with his steady partner, Skid, he kept watch over the lambs until they were ready to go back to their mom. And then the team went back to doing what they do best.

Don't Bogart That Baby!

This is the face of a thief.
What did she steal? A baby.Let me start at the beginning. Hemp has been helping me out with the lambing this year and he's doing a pretty good job.Yesterday morning we went out to the pasture to see if anyone had lambed. We found two ewes standing over two new lambs in the lean-to. We moved the lambs into the barn and put one in each stall. One ewe followed each lamb in and started cleaning them up. Our work was done so we went back in the house. I mentioned to Scott that I was lucky that one ewe was so attached to her baby because she didn't have any discharge. I wouldn't even know she had a baby if she had walked away from it 'cause she was still really fat. Scott got real quiet and asked me, "Are you sure it was her baby?" I told him, "Yeah. She followed the lamb into the barn." Later on Scott went and checked on her and said, "She hasn't lambed. That isn't her lamb. She stole it!" It happens sometimes that a ewe wants a lamb so bad that she'll steal someone else's. This ewe had fooled me and now it was too late to put the lamb back with it's real mom who was happy with her single.All we could do now was hope that when the thief had her own baby it was only a single because she wouldn't have enough milk to feed twins and her stolen one.
This morning I went out to check for new lambs and I was greeted by this sight in the thief's stall.She didn't single or twin. She TRIPLED and now with the stolen baby she has four children to feed! Wait a minute. Check that. I have four children to feed since I will now have to go out to the barn every few hours to supplement their diet with extra milk.
I had to label them since they all look alike so here are my new charges.
"A"

"Bweach" (It's supposed to be a "B" but he moved)

"C"

and
"D"

Christmas Presents

A few weeks before Christmas we received an early present.Then on Christmas morning, Santa left us this.Today Santa's cousin the stork brought us this (and there is another one behind momma) And this. The maternity ward is filling fast and I hear there are a couple more ewes looking to be admitted tonight.