Kim’s off to work.
She enjoys that. We started Tuesday’s job
with Fly, but she was staggering about, and hardly fit to run after the
sheep. Then it finally hit my Dad – Fly was old. Far too old for major
work anyway. So we took Kim with us instead. The job in question was to
gather the ewes from our fields in Bryansford and “draw” them up to our
main farm in the Land Rover and trailer. It is a long process. The sheep
are gathered, then they are loaded into the trailer in lots of around
20. The trailer will only hold 20 adult sheep, so we have to take the
ewes home in trailer loads of 20. Whenever you have nearly 200 ewes to
bring home, it’s a long process. That’s why we need a good dog – to
force the sheep into the trailer, not too tightly and not too loosely.
Kim enjoyed that job. One of Kim’s
advantages is that she has a lot of power in her eyes. Whenever she
stares at the sheep, they soon move. Once, a ewe pounced off of the
trailer and ran down the ramp, heading straight for Kim. Kim just stood
and stared, and the ewe turned around and ran back into the trailer as
quickly as she came out.
On boxing day, the snow melted, leaving a lot of mud everywhere. No wonder the sheep pens were so muddy.
Another thing that Kim likes to do is creep up on the sheep. Closer…
And closer…
Then she just stares.
Huh? What was that? “Come bye” or “Away”?
During the 2 day sheep drawing job, I
went to the local pet shop with Pip to get a new bowl for Fly (who at
this point had stopped eating). Whenever we arrived, I got a surprise.
Meet Toby:
He’s super cute 12-week-old Shiba Inu puppy from Omega Kennels. He was very jumpy, but the funny noises trick works every time.
Huh? What was that noise?
Toby has free roaming of the shop, and has a habit of stealing toys from the shelves!
Who could be angry at this little guy?
I hope to see him again soon.
Meanwhile, Pip had another go at riding on the quad. It was very windy.
But she still didn’t like it. Sigh.
Get me off this thing!
Fly Update: The new bowl
did help encourage Fly to eat a little, but all she will eat is
sausages and ham. We have tried many foods for her, but as yet we are
unsuccessful in weaning her back onto her usual food. Fingers crossed
she’s better soon.
And there’s ony one thing left to say…
Happy New Year!
From the Dogs of Greenhill Farm.