Today I was blessed with a new addition. Bella is a 2 year old female from the Toss X Mary Jane litter of Nov. 2007. Bella's owners love her dearly, but she has been a handful living the city life.
Bella was here over the summer for a short time when her owners thought it was best to part with her. After a couple weeks they missed her terribly and took her back home. She was never a lick of trouble here living the country life. I received an email from her owners last week saying that they knew she must be terribly bored, as the few behaviors that drove them crazy were not getting any better. There was never any doubt that she was a wonderful dog, she has a wonderful temperament, but Bella was making it clear her needs were not being met. Her owners have a dog that's probably about 5 now that they got from me, so they have some BC experience, but Bella just wasn't happy.
So after a tearful goodbye with her owners, Bella moved on to fitting in around here. Logan and Emma were being terrible teenagers, and I think Bella's arrival was more stressful on them than on Bella. The two of them learned quite a bit today- namely that they are not puppies that walk on water with me, and when they act obnoxious, I'm going to crank down on them!
So I thought I'd just let her see sheep. I was expecting
nothing being that she really doesn't know me, she has
never been on sheep and she had just been returned to me.
However, this is what I got!!
She was perfect! She covered nicely, she didn't show a lot of eye, but showed plenty of feel for the sheep. I thought she would probably be a little worried about me, but she wasn't. The few times I blocked her to stay behind the sheep, she was 100% comfortable, and responsive.
But my biggest thrill came when this ewe turned and decided to be ugly. Her lamb is only about 10 days old. Bella did
exactly what she needed to do! She never focused on the lamb, she stayed locked on the ewe. She never dove in, and she never used her teeth. She simply held her ground and when I stepped back, the ewe turned back around to follow the other sheep. The ewe tested Bella several more times, and Bella's reaction remained the same- like a trained dog! Wow! I was really impressed!! Not many 1st time on sheep two year olds are going to #1 ignore the lamb, and #2 act appropriate with the ewe. To never back down and to never bust in- that's pretty cool! She has more eye than Toss, but not nearly as much as Mary Jane.
Today I was blessed with a new addition. Bella is a 2 year old female from the Toss X Mary Jane litter of Nov. 2007. Bella's owners love her dearly, but she has been a handful living the city life.
Bella was here over the summer for a short time when her owners thought it was best to part with her. After a couple weeks they missed her terribly and took her back home. She was never a lick of trouble here living the country life. I received an email from her owners last week saying that they knew she must be terribly bored, as the few behaviors that drove them crazy were not getting any better. There was never any doubt that she was a wonderful dog, she has a wonderful temperament, but Bella was making it clear her needs were not being met. Her owners have a dog that's probably about 5 now that they got from me, so they have some BC experience, but Bella just wasn't happy.
So after a tearful goodbye with her owners, Bella moved on to fitting in around here. Logan and Emma were being terrible teenagers, and I think Bella's arrival was more stressful on them than on Bella. The two of them learned quite a bit today- namely that they are not puppies that walk on water with me, and when they act obnoxious, I'm going to crank down on them!
So I thought I'd just let her see sheep. I was expecting nothing being that she really doesn't know me, she has never been on sheep and she had just been returned to me.
However, this is what I got!!
She was perfect! She covered nicely, she didn't show a lot of eye, but showed plenty of feel for the sheep. I thought she would probably be a little worried about me, but she wasn't. The few times I blocked her to stay behind the sheep, she was 100% comfortable, and responsive.
But my biggest thrill came when this ewe turned and decided to be ugly. Her lamb is only about 10 days old. Bella did exactly what she needed to do! She never focused on the lamb, she stayed locked on the ewe. She never dove in, and she never used her teeth. She simply held her ground and when I stepped back, the ewe turned back around to follow the other sheep. The ewe tested Bella several more times, and Bella's reaction remained the same- like a trained dog! Wow! I was really impressed!! Not many 1st time on sheep two year olds are going to #1 ignore the lamb, and #2 act appropriate with the ewe. To never back down and to never bust in- that's pretty cool! She has more eye than Toss, but not nearly as much as Mary Jane.
In both photos you can see how she is clearly only focused on the ewe. :-)
Good Girl Bella! I told her previous owners that I would most likely get her started and then place her in a trial or farm home. But fate always seems to pop up when you're not looking! She could very well already be in her forever home. She is spayed and she is used to being inside, so she will continue to live that way and be part of the "house dogs" group and come in the house at the end of day. The boys were already "fighting" over who's bed she would sleep in tonight. Currently, she is sprawled out between Dylan and I on the sofa! Along with working sheep for the first time today, she went across the road with us and all the dogs for another long walk like last weekend. She was perfect. It was like she has been here all along. I give her owners a LOT of credit. They love her- a LOT, but they knew they could not provide what she needed to be a fulfilled dog. That took a lot of courage. I'm thankful they were comfortable coming to me and trusted that I could provide her what she needs. Bella will be loved. I'm really, really excited!
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