Gloomy

Well today's my day off and it's pretty darn gloomy out there. If we were in the midwest I'd say snow is in the forecast, but since we're in the southeast it'll just be a cold, windy rain. Poop. Hopefully it'll just stay gloomy and not rain until Sunday like they say. I want to work a few dogs today. I'd like to put Ivy on the geese and see if I get more action out of her. My best friend/mentor/trainer said I just need to keep it fun with her and don't ask for much. I didn't think I was, but I've yet to be told something by Carol that ended up wrong. She has always been spot on. Since she has a decade or two more experience than I do she can usually spare me a lot of the live and learns- since she has already done it... I really, really like Ivy and being that she is my Cruz X Gwen pup, how could she possibly turn out a complete flop. It's genetically not possible. Not when she is so much like them both. As I posted before, at her current age is when her mother went thru the worst of her "don't poke that bubble"- it's just that Gwen was so much further along in her training, so it showed up in her driving more than it did her wearing/fetch work.

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I did find someone to take the ram, so that's good. He trading me a most-likely-bred hair ewe, which is perfect. I'm sure mine are bred as well. I need to get back up to about a dozen. It's not good to not have any variety. Last year I was so down that I just about quit everything so now I'm having to build everything back up, and being that I don't have money to buy sheep, I just have to do it via reproduction. ;-) From the group of lambs this winter/spring I'll band all the rams except one. During the summer I'll build him his OWN paddock. That's where I failed with Rambo. Now, after being with "his girls" all his 3 years of life he is frantic when I separate him off from them. And a frantic ram is dangerous... Cruz can handle him, but I see some hesitation and I get concerned that at Cruz's age if Rambo really nailed him it wouldn't be good. It's no lie, when you get older you heal slower. And Rambo can really get a lick in sometimes. Deal can move him, but it's not worth the frustration every single time I want to use the ewes. If I had kept him alone from the get go he would not be so stressed about being away from them. And no fence holds him when he's stressed. The last time I tried (without chaining him up like I do now) he broke off the 4x4 post at the pipe gate. Yup, broke the 4x4! I could lock him in the barn, but he'd just tear it up. So now I have a tow chain around an oak tree. Having a ram get loose while you're working a young dog is NOT a good thing! The last time that happened I was pretty dang sure he was going to slam me good! I had a pup with no real stop and only knew to fetch stock to me. So over and over, at a full run he came flying towards me!! Playing matador with big, horned, ram with a full head of steam is NOT *AT ALL* fun!! Especially when the young dog thinks she's doing the right thing by continue to drive him into your lap!! Not cool!

Well, it's 9:30, so I best get outside. It does look slightly brighter and the breeze has quit.