Red, blue, green and other colored sheep!

These sheep were,painted in the colors of the Rugby World Cup participating nations on September11, 2011 in New Zealand. So how well do you know the nations and flags?

Put in the comments section  the answers for  each....what nation or flag? Also who won? Bonus points if you can identify the breed of sheep.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

Scott Glen's sheepdog training course

Most of you know that Scott is my trainer. He has lead me astray...oops, I meant trained me for over 12.5 years...it's hard to believe it has been that long.  He first saw Tess as a 11 month old and gave me a lesson and the rest was history. (Although I am sure he remembers our  first meeting as the clueless gal with the talented Border Collie....I remember it as the time of 'presenting' a talented dog to Scott, nevermind the handler!)

Now you can have the opportunity to learn from Scott via online training course.  Sign up as it will be a great chance to learn from the master. The first lessons are FREE and are on penning.

http://www.sheepdogtrainingcourses.com/

Sign up and you will discover how to become a better handler and the best of all, your dog will really appreciate it!

My new dog

I am thinking of getting this dog. He has a nice outrun. I am not too sure about the lack of tail, though.

What do you think?

Is he worth a bag of carrots?

Dog balancing on a chain

An amazing video of a dog balancing on a chain is being tipped to go viral.

The acrobatic pet and its owner were spotted by a woman passer-by who asked if it was on YouTube.

When the owner replied that he had no computer and didn't think the trick was "anything special" the woman filmed it on her mobile phone.

The dog is initially seen using all four paws to balance on the thin chain, which marks the perimeter of a carpark.

Incredibly, it then stands up on just its hind legs without falling off the chain.

The clip has so far attracted 8,000 hits in two days but is being tipped to notch up many more.

Six Legged Lamb

A Georgian farmer has proudly showed off the latest addition to his livestock - a hermaphrodite lamb with six legs.

The tiny brown and white lamb can be seen nursing from its mother and wandering happily around its stable in Velistsikhe, Georgia.

The lamb appears to be quite tame as it is hoisted up and around by farmer Abadzhanov Albert, who beams from ear to ear throughout a video. He said: "I have been asking the other shepherds, but none of them remember such case.

"There were three-legged lambs, one-eyed, but not six-legged, bisexual one. The lamb eats well, but moves with difficulty."

A special kind of love

As nearly anyone who has adopted a dog or cat from a shelter can attest, there’s something special about a rescued pet; it’s as if the animal senses he’s been given a second chance at life. That’s certainly the case with Juno, a Belgian Malinois who was rescued from a shelter just days before she was to be euthanized. But since coming to live with her family in Alcoa, Tenn., Juno has taken on the role of rescuer to four-year-old Lucas Hembree.

Lucas suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, an inherited, metabolic disease caused by the absence or malfunctioning of an enzyme needed to break down long sugar molecules. As the disease progresses, children lose the ability to speak, walk and eat. The disease also causes severe neurological damage that leads to aggressive behavior, hyperactivity and seizures.

“The most catastrophic thing parents hear when they learn their child has this disease is that there’s no cure or treatment available,” says Lucas’ father, Chester. Unless that changes, Lucas isn’t expected to live past the age of 15 and may be in a vegetative state by the time he is eight. Realizing that every moment is extra precious, Chester and his wife, Jennifer, want their son to experience as much as he can while he still has the capacity to enjoy it.

So when the disease started to take a toll on Lucas’ joints, Chester looked into getting a service dog to keep Lucas steady when he walked. “I was told that a service dog would cost at least $15,000, and that Lucas wasn’t a good candidate because of his deteriorating abilities and his behavior,” Chester says. “I refused to accept this answer.”

A combination of prayer and persistence led Chester to Juno. “I came across a posting about her on a rescue group’s website,” he says. “I had the feeling in my gut that I had to go see this dog.”

 

The whole family made the two-hour trip to meet Juno, who was being held at an east Tennessee shelter. “She was emaciated, and was days away from being euthanized,” Chester says. “She had been surrendered to the shelter because her previous owners didn’t understand the Belgian Malinois.”

Chester Hembree training Juno to bark on command. He said Juno was "phenomenal" and "exceeded all expectations" during the training. She picked everything up very quickly.  Fortunately, Chester did. He’d gotten to know and love the breed while working as a law enforcement officer years earlier.

“I used to help with the training of police K-9s, and our dogs were Belgian Malinoises,” he says. “I loved their desire to work and their ‘never quit’ attitude.” In addition to being a popular choice for police dogs, the breed is often used in combat. In fact, it’s believed that the dog that helped Navy SEALs take down Osama bin Laden was a Belgian Malinois.  But while the breed has proven its prowess on patrol and in combat, Chester needed to be sure Juno would be a suitable service dog for his little boy. “I put her on a loose leash and she walked with me and never pulled,” Chester says. “Next came the Lucas test. They took to each other immediately, like kindred spirits.”

The Hembrees brought Juno home and showered her with love and affection.

“I wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to adjust to the family before I started the formal training,” Chester says. Yet, from the beginning there seemed to be something instinctive about their relationship. One day, Chester noticed Juno circling Lucas while he was in his wheelchair. “She was whining and nudging him with her nose,” Chester says. “I checked his oxygen levels and they were very low.” After giving him oxygen, Lucas returned to normal and Juno greeted him with licks and affection.

“That’s when I knew she had the ability to pick up on his neurological changes,” Chester says. “Now she alerts us when Lucas is about to have a seizure or if his oxygen levels drop really low. She has saved him several times."

Juno has become a literal shoulder for Lucas to lean on when walking, and a calming influence when he’s agitated. And while Chester makes sure that Juno gets time off, he says that it’s hard to get Juno to leave Lucas’ side. “You don’t see one without the other close by,” he says. “It really feels like it was meant to be.”

Link to the Article

 

Italian Lamb Stew

Ingredients

•  8 slices bacon
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 ts salt
• 2 -3 lbs  cubed lamb stew meat,
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large chopped white onion
• 2 tb chopped garlic
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• 2 chopped carrots
• 1 cup red wine
• One can of crushed tomatoes (If you have fresh, chop up about 3 cups)
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 chopped potatoes
• 1/4 ts freshly ground black pepper

 
Directions

1. Fry bacon until crisp, drain, and chop in large pieces and put in slow cooker.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl, add the lamb, several pieces at a time, and coat well
3. Heat the oil and brown the lamb in batches on all sides.  Put lamb in the slow cooker.
4. Add the onion and saute, stir until lightly browned. Add the celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic and cook until softened.
5. Add the wine and stir to scrape up the browned bits.
6. Add the onion mixture, bacon, , bay leaf and rosemary to the lamb in the slow cooker and mix well. Add water to cover.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until the meat is very tender.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and discard the rosemary and bay leaf.