Three NCC/BFL ewes for sale

Three ewe for sale. They are North County and Blue Faced Leicester. Two are three years old and one is 20 months old. All had lambs and are great mothers. They are easy to work by dogs and dog broke. Healthy, up to date on shots and worming. They have been with a ram and maybe bred. All three for $450. Located in Carnation, WA and you pick up.

Rory and the dinosaur

17th annual Trailing of the Sheep

This is a great article....

 

First it was the running of the bulls in Spain: Now it is the trailing of the sheep in Idaho. Who would have ever thought the 150-year plus cultural tradition could be so much fun?

 

Now it's possible to experience the thrill of sheep being herded through town streets as they are relocated from high-elevation mountain summer pastures to their lower-altitude winter grazing haunts in the valleys below. With a wall of white wool everywhere, it doesn't get any more authentic than this!

 

The 17th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival will take place from October 10-13, 2013 in the Wood River Valley of Idaho - which includes the communities of Hailey, Ketchum and the well-known ski-resort town of Sun Valley. Celebrate sheep-herding traditions and dancing plus music with Basque, Scottish, Polish and Peruvian twists. Family-friendly activities include a folklife fair, culinary classes featuring lamb, a fiber festival, sheep tales gathering, sheepdog trials, a sheepherders ball, and the running of 1,500 sheep trailing down Main Street Ketchum.

 

And it's only in Idaho.

LINK...

Premier 1 Company

A while ago, I had gotten a heat lamb. I stuck it away after using it a couple of times. Recently I pulled it out to use it again. I hung it up for my baby chicks and went merrily on my way. About a week later, I noticed it looked odd and then realized it was broken. The cap fasteners had busted. I dropped a line to Premier 1 and asked to buy a new cap and told them what had happened. I had no idea how and when the cap had busted,

What happened next amazed me. They sent me a brand new whole heat lamp at no charge. Nada, nothing, not one thin dime. "Toss the busted lamp away and use this new one" said Stan  (owner)

Check out the new lamp. Such wonderful service and they are a five star company. I was so happy to receive a new heat lamp and speedy service. It arrived in record time. It is a USA company owned by folks like and me. Support them and buy their products.  I have been buying from them for about thirteen years. They get 5 stars for their service!

I high recommend this company. I just put in another order, and one of the items was another heat lamp. If you order over  $100, the shipping is free.

 

Here is their website:

 

PREMIER1

 

 

Cheesy Bacon Potatoes in a Crock Pot

I love easy to cook recipes. Especially on cold, fall night when I am not motivated to cook. This is quick and easy. You can add ham to this as well. Also add sour cream to make this richer.
 

 

Ingredients:  

• 1/3  lb cooked tender bacon then dice
• 2 medium thinly sliced sweet onions
• 4 medium sliced potatoes
• 2plus cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 chopped green onions
• Butter chunks to dot on top
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Line crockpot with foil, then layer half each of the bacon, onions and potatoes in the crockpot.     
2. Season potato mixture with 1/2 of garlic and onion powders, then season to taste with salt and pepper and dot with 1/2 the butter.             
3. Repeat vegetable layer and seasonings - then dot with remaining butter.            
4. Cover with foil and cook on low for 4 1/2 hrs.            
5. Top with cheese, re-cover with foil and cook for an additional 20 minutes .  

The Barn

For my Canadian friends, this reminded me of Tim Horton's...do they have a drive-thru?

I love Tim's...I always load up on coffee and get a sack full of goodies.

Heroic Pit Bull mix saves his owner

A woman who discovered a stabbing victim in Thurston County on Monday afternoon said she believes the owner’s pit-bull mix saved his life because it was running in and out of traffic trying to get help.

 

“I wholeheartedly believe that that dog came out for help,” Teri Lynne said.

 

At about 3 p.m., after Lynne and her boyfriend stopped their car in the 900 block of Marvin Road in Lacey, the dog, Bella, led her to the owner’s home, Lynne said. The dog led her to the open doorway, where, she said, she saw the dog’s owner lying on the floor inside. The man had been stabbed multiple times. His wheelchair was sitting upright nearby, Lynne said. She said there was a lot of blood. She heard the man take several shallow breaths, and she then called 911.

 

On Tuesday, the 67-year-old stabbing victim found by Lynne was clinging to life at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, the victim of stab wounds to his head and neck.

 

MORE....

 

 

Dogs Update

Well, looks like fall has arrived and the sun has gone south for another nine more months. It was a fine, hot summer and we enjoyed it immensely. Nan and Maid ran hot, like the hot sun, but it didn't help on the scorecards. So homework for me and them. Rainey is retired and my farm chore dog. She is deaf in one ear and that knocked her out of the third Open slot. I noticed over a couple of runs that she didn't listen to me until she was close.  She is so biddable so I know something was off so I had her hearing tested. Deaf in one ear was the verdict and now she graces the couch instead of the trial field. 

 

I am looking for another Open dog and looked to my upcoming trial string. I had been working Wynn and he was a superb contender. But he is very loosed eyed and even though we spent many hours together, we didn't click. I just had a hard time running a loosed eyed dog. So he found a new home with Debbi. They make a fine pair as she loves his loosed eye since she runs an Aussie.

 

Kiwi was another runner up but she still is too immature at 3.5 years old. So I made the hard decision to sell her and she went to Canada. She is working on a farm and will be the main dog and have time to mature.

 

Janet had gotten Sava in late spring and that was a good match. They are getting to know each other and she has two dogs in PN. I had brought Sava over from the UK a few years ago. Tess had won enough trial money to buy two pups from Aled Owen. That was very nice of Tess to give me her trial earning so I could spend it.

 

The youngsters are Billie and Reba, still in PN level and getting farm work. They are not quite ready to run yet and will get more winter training.  They are doing stall work and farm chores to round out their seasoning. They are my future dogs in a year or two.  Scott has my Ben and he will have him for another year at the least, if not more.

 

Then Dixson and Kiko are the yearlings and real pistols. They are learning manners and not to chase chickens. My recent import is Kinloch Safi, aka Sally. She is another pistol and has learned not to de-feather the ducks tonight! She just turned a year old in August.

 

I am looking for another Open dog but want the right one. a female who will be in the house and good natured. Not in a rush but waiting for the right one. I put the bug in Scott's ear but maybe need to put another bug in his ear again.

 

 

 

 

Dog Cartoon

This is my farm!

 

Vashon Island Article and Patrick Shannahan Interview

from the Seattle Times, written by Alexa Vaugh.................

 

For as ancient as the centuries-old skill of sheepherding is, it still attracts a growing mix of both rural and urban dog-lovers who travel hundreds of miles a year to competitions like this weekend’s Vashon Sheepdog Classic.

 

The scene of a border collie herding sheep over undulating knolls as fog rolls through a nearby stand of trees could convince you for a moment that you’re somewhere on a bucolic Scottish countryside.

 

But then the oohs and aahs of hundreds of people watching carefully to see if a whistling handler can direct the dog and sheep through the right course remind you: You’re at the Vashon Sheepdog Classic.

 

For as ancient as the skill of sheepherding is, it still attracts a growing mix of rural and urban dog-lovers who travel hundreds of miles a year to compete locally and nationally. More than 60 sheepdogs are showcasing the result of years of careful dog training at the trial at Misty Isle Farms on Vashon Island until about 6 p.m. Sunday. Top qualifiers will compete in a national event next month in Virginia.

 

While some of the handlers wound up addicted to the sport because they grew up or worked in farming communities, others became smitten by chance.

 

“If someone had told me 15 years ago that I’d be living on a sheep farm now, I’d say ‘You want to make a bet?’ ” said Diane Pagel, 55, who came from Carnation to compete with her border collie, Nan.

 

Pagel said her life transformed when she saved her late border collie, Tess, from a breeder who intended to kill the dog when she was an eight-week-old puppy. As Pagel found out more about how naturally sheepherding comes to her pet’s breed, she directed more hours of her life away from a stressful job to training Tess for the sport.

 

By the time Tess was two years old, Pagel and her husband decided to move from Bellevue to a sheep farm in Carnation.

MORE........

Here is an interview with Patrick Shannahan.  Nan is in this clip as well.....laying down and looking about. Patrick is one of the top ranked handlers and a genuine, down to earth,  super nice man!


LINK

Poor Rainey

My mom and Aunt Kimiko came to visit a couple of weeks ago. It was on one of those rare, sunny days.

 

 

Rainey had to share the couch. It was rough but she suffered through it. She also made them rub her belly and hand feed her treats.

 

Poor Rainey. Life is so tough when you are a Princess.

Bubbles and Bella

Bubbles and Bella are best friend....a cute love story....

Fall is here so get ready....

Vashon Sheepdog Trial wrap-up

Well, parts of the Vashon Sheepdog Trial was a bust and other parts were wonderful. Maggi and her gang put on a superb trial, filled with tons of vendors, food, challenging sheep, great judge and tons of fun. I had fun, aside from the times my dogs failed to heed me on the field, then I was wishing I had a large pint of beer and pretending I was in College and doing large gulps. But alas, all I had was Vanilla root Beer which I consoled myself after my battered run with Maid on Saturday.

Karen Snepp has been my sponsor for Nan for the last few years and we really appreciate it. Maid’s sponsor was Punch Drunk Productions. We appreciate you sponsoring us. Lyle Lad was the judge and a superb judge at that. Much thanks to everyone who put on this fantastic trial.

Friday we all headed over to Vashon Island where we got caught up on Island traffic…a few hours later. We did board the ferry and made our way to the filed, just arriving in time to see the last PN run. But all was not lost, as the top 20 got to do round two. Janet and Kathleen made it! After that I finally made it to the house that Lani, Lynda, Francis and I had rented for the weekend.  It was a two story house that was only three miles from the field. That was very nice as I would find out later. We went out to dinner at the Hardware Store and Doc Bob joined us. I had the duck pasta with pancetta. I had tons left over and it was very rich.

Saturday rolled in too early and Nan ran in the early slot. She ran fast and hard and was offline on the fetch. We mucked about on the drive, cleverly missing the panels but made up by the shed, pen and single. The shed was two attempts and as I was closing the gate door, one ram lamb leapt out so we had to do it all over again. Nan placed 15^th out of 60 or so dogs.  Maid plain just forgot to listen until the sheep were past the fetch panel.  But we had a nice turns and start of a first leg, with a tidy turn, then the wheels fell off the wagon. She put the sheep down then up the field, then circle then gripped and had a jolly time.  I had no idea what went wrong but maybe I have been giving her too much freedom the night before so she got the crate that night. Her attitude had changed dramatically the next day.

We were pretty tired and went to bed early. I was totally exhausted! Maid was my first dog up and she had a much more teaming attitude. The fog settled as she was sent so we could not see her at the top and she came out of the fog, offline but listened and put them back on.  Just as they went past the fetch panels, they ran hard and she took it upon herself to head them which cost us dearly. We got it sorted and turned the post. The drive was much nice, again missing the panels but she was listening. Nice shed and pen. The heading on the fetch and bobbing on the drive cost us but she was willing to listen so I was happy. She is a work in progress but I love her dearly.

The rest of the day was dumping rain, cold and windy so I went back to the house to get dry and warm. I had gotten soaked during Maid’s run. Francis was there so we watched some cooking shows. I got some great tips from them! My last run was at the end of the day so I had about 6 hr of waiting. We relaxed and later wandered back to the field. By the time Nan was to run, it was thundering quite heavily. It was pretty constant and loud and Nan was freaking out. I worked on settling her but her eyes were spooked.  I took her to the post and as she took off, it began to thunder and the ground shook and she slowed down and was terrified so I encouraged her and she went up the field but you could tell she was doing on her love for me to please me. She had a nice lift, then BOOM THUNDER, and she would flinch but held the line. We did a decent fetch, offline a little here and there and a wide turn as the lambs tried to run over her to get to the exhaust. I went to voice and softly talked to her and she relaxed and put them back on line. The drive was pretty good and we slide psat the panels and wobbled here and there as the thunder rolled and she would stop. But she held firm for me and marched them into the shed ring. The lambs swirled about in the ring like goldfish in display and she came in and held the shed. She marched them to the pen and e worked them in and it was done. The thunder kept going and Leslie was kind enough to do exhaust for me as I took Nan to the truck and held her in my arms until she was calm.  Not many dogs around the time she ran got a score so the fact she did complete the course was great. I was happy she trusted me and then she leaned deep into me and I felt her heart join up with mine. We have come so far, this little Nan who had a huge wall around her heart when I first got her to a dog who gave me her heart that day.



 

 

 

Photos by Karen Snepp

After the runs were over, we bolted to the ferry and got home as darkness fell. That night Maid snored by my feet and Nan slept next to me, with her head on my lap. We could have done better point wise but areas of trust, we won.  

We have some homework to work on this fall but dog trialing is a work in progress, a partnership that needs fine tuning and letting the heart fall more deeply in love.

 

Sunday Vashon Open scores

Here are the scores for Sunday....more tomorrow.....long day, otherwise I would have posted more.....

Sat Open Scores for Vashon

Sat Scores for Vashon Island Sheepdog Trial. Sunday scores and write up will be tomorrow.

 

Vashon Island PN

PN ran once, then the top 20 went to round two. Then it was the two scores combined. I arrive after most of the runs happened since I had to work. I had no cell service pretty much the entire weekend. Never took out my camera as it was raining, cold and windy.

 

 

 



Vashon Sheepdog Trial

I am off to a sheepdog trial after work today. I don't know if I will have internet service. If I do, I will post. I am running Nan and Maid in Open.

LINK

Old Sheep Shearing Photos

Here are some old photos of sheep shearing!

 

 

 

 

 

Our unsung canine heros of 9/11...

I read this article and it moved me, so I decided to share it with you....

 

******************************************************************************************

Deep inside the condemned building, a person hides in a closet, the door closed tight. Outside the room, far down a long hallway, a black Labrador Retriever is released. The dog bolts down the corridor, darting in and out of empty rooms as if pulled by an invisible leash.
 

When the dog reaches the last room at the end of the hall and smells its quarry, it barks and scratches at the door until the person emerges, rewarding the animal with praise and a rough tug of war with a toy.

The debris-littered building is a close approximation of a structure that's been pounded by a hurricane or other disaster and helps prepare canine search-and-rescue teams for finding an injured survivor lying buried beneath piles of rubble.

 

Outside, another dog, Kaiser, watches intently as other teams of dogs and their handlers file into the dilapidated structure for their turns.
 

Though his spirit is clearly willing, Kaiser is nearly 13, and his body can no longer meet the rigorous demands of SAR work. So the German Shepherd Dog watches the exercise while owner Tony Zintsmaster offers the occasional reassuring word or ruffles the dog's ears.

 

MORE......

 

 

 

Golfing

 

This would happen to me if I golfed.

Dangerous Food for Dogs

Second winner for the 2 free passes to the USBCHA Nationals Sheepdog Finals

The other passes arrived and Debbie Davis (now Lutschg) from Stockdog Junction did a random pick and Lynn is the winner.

Lynn said...

 

Dog dreams of fleet sheep
And moving them. Carefully.
Teaching his handler.

 

Lynn, contact me at LINK. Debbie will send you your passes as soon as we have your mailing address.

You have until Thursday, then we pick another person due to time contraints.

Circovirus...new canine virus

The Ohio Department of Agriculture said it has received calls from veterinarians and anxious dog owners throughout the state who are concerned their animals might have contracted a new virus that can kill in as little as 48 hours from the onset of symptoms, said Erica Pitchford Hawkins, communications director for the department.

 

“We have had numerous calls from all across the state. We haven’t been tracking them on a map, but they have been from more areas than the two,” she said, referring to Cincinnati and Akron-Canton.

 

Three dogs in the Cincinnati area died and a dozen more were sickened last month with the illness. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and vomiting, extreme lethargy, neurological problems, a lack of appetite and other maladies.

 

The Veterinarian Information Network, a private membership website for veterinarians, announced Thursday that the state hopes to issue a national news release about the ailment Monday. Pathologists think they may be dealing with a “circovirus,” and are awaiting test results, Hawkins said Thursday.

 

Circovirus is a novel virus (meaning one not seen before) from “a family of viruses that has not been known to cause disease in dogs prior to this year,” said Dr. Melanie Butera, a veterinarian and owner of Elm Ridge Animal Hospital in Canal Fulton, Ohio. She was the first area veterinarian to report to state officials that she saw possibly as many as four canine patients with the ailment two weeks ago.

 

The Akron Beacon Journal has heard from dozens of people who suspect their pets might have contracted the illness, or recovered or died from it. Calls and emails have come in from worried pet owners living in a dozen states from the East Coast to the Great Plains who say their animals are displaying similar symptoms to the Ohio dogs.

 

“There are countless causes of vomiting and diarrhea in dogs, even bloody diarrhea,” Butera said. But the illness she has seen in the past few weeks is markedly different, she said.

 

“What made these cases unique is what the pathologist terms ‘acute necrotizing vasculitis.’ This is when the blood vessels become suddenly damaged and fluid begins leaking out of the vessels,” Butera said. “Because of this, the cases I know of did not just have vomiting and bloody diarrhea, they also developed fluid around their lungs and in the abdomen.”

 

As the damage to the vessels continued, she saw hemorrhages, physiological shock and blood clots being thrown into tissues, once with fatal results, she said. Butera’s patients shared some or all of the symptoms as the Cincinnati dogs. Three of her canine patients survived after treatment; one died, she said.

 

The Ohio Department of Agriculture connected the cases when Butera contacted state officials after seeing two dogs with the same symptoms come into her clinic at the same time two weeks ago. The department requested she send blood samples along with necropsy samples from the dog that died.

 

Butera said the necropsy samples were sent to the University of California for comparison to samples of animals diagnosed with circovirus.

 

“They isolated this unusual virus from this dog’s tissues. The signs the Ohio Department of Agriculture says they are seeing are consistent with the unique signs and post-mortem findings this dog had,” Butera said of the California cases.

 

It will be several weeks before scientists can determine if the Canal Fulton, Cincinnati and California dogs all died from the same illness, Hawkins said. Scientists have ruled out a common pathogenic bacterial cause, such as salmonella, E. coli or distemper, based on blood samples, Hawkins said.

 

Ticks have also been suggested as the cause and method of transmission of the disease.

“I have not had any of my vets talk about ticks with me. Ticks can carry a lot of different kinds of disease, but I’ve not had my vets say that there is a suspicion that this particular illness is related to ticks,” Hawkins said.

 

Butera is cautioning her patients to wait until a definitive cause has been established before they panic.

 

“Until the investigation by the pathologists is complete, we will not know whether or not what we saw is from a virus, bacteria, or toxin, etc., or even if these cases are related to each other,” she said. “The only advice I can give people right now is just common sense. If your dog is showing signs of illness, no matter what the cause, do not hesitate to seek veterinary care.”

 

LINK TO ARTICLE

 

 

Attack of the Killer Chicken

Janet T. would appreciate this. She had this experience in turkey format.

One of the winner for the two free passes for the USBCHA Sheepdog Finals

Maid picked a winner for the two free passes for the 2013 USBCHA Sheepdog Finals.  I put the Haiku on paper, wadded them up and tossed them on the floor. She grabbed one and it was the winner.  Send me your address and I will send you the passes. Once Deb gets her passes, she will pick an random winner and send you those passes.

 

The Winning Haiku:

 

Dangerous Dreams Farm 

 

How can I ever thank you?
A life path changed,
finding peace as a shepherdess.

 

Winners to be annouced tomorrow

The winners for the two free VIP Passes will be announced tomorrow. I have two passes in hand. The other set is in route, we hope soon to arrive to Deb. Once thoses arrive, I will announce that winner.

 

If the passes do not show up in the mail, we will pick a winner when they do arrive. An email has been sent inquiring on the location of the passes.

 

 

Keep your fingers crossed and hope Maid picks your Haiku. The Haikus are fantastic!

Collar Question

 

To  get some cool merchandise from this artist go HERE...

 

 

Bakhtiari Migration

I found this utterly fascinating......I uploaded this here for your viewing pleasure...it's quite long, almost an hour.

This is a visually splendid coverage of the semi-annual Bakhtiari migration which takes about five weeks and covers 200 torturous miles. Half a million people and millions of sheep and goats cross the rugged Zagros mountains in southern Iran twice yearly to move between summer and winter pastures. Persian folk-singer Shushu is featured....

Bakhtiari Migration by crazedigitalmovies

Fido's Sheepdog Trial for Sept 1, 2013

I went to a sheepdog trial and just watched. Janet ran Sava and Jude and did well, in spite of having some issues. She handled the dog extremely well. Jude had grown up and turns himself inside out to please her even when he is out of his comfort zone and trust her. It was amazing to see how hard he tried and his drive was fantastic.  Sava was very pushy on her drive and she handled the slow sheep with ease on the drive. I am so proud of how well she did. She has grown so much as a handler.

 

There were some great runs and the judge was Laura Vishoot who did a great job. I pulled out my camera but the battery was dead. I took pixs with my point/shoot but have to find the cable to download them.