Surprise finds

Yes, we do know when rams go into the flock,
or when a mare visits a stud horse,
but some times,
 things do come as a little surprise.

Sugar did visit the stud horse, and according to our calculations the baby would still not be due by today.
So, when we went out to the pasture this past week we were in for a little surprise.

Without giving us ample warning or waxing,
she just popped out this stunning dun filly foal.
All perfect, healthy and strong.

I had been thinking about putting Sugar in her own pen so she could foal in peace with out a pup, a teenager and an adult sarplaninac dog, an assortment of rams and a bunch of bulls who are in a perpetual state of grouchiness, disturbing her when foaling.
I thought she would appreciate some quite time.
Instead, she had the baby in all the hustle and bustle and things are just great.

There was not a moment the baby was unprotected.

This filly had a bevy of bodyguards watching out for her.
Even puppy Valko, realized he is now,
 not the baby in the pasture anymore.

 Yes, the one dog is wearing a veterinary cone.. but despite the cone,
his guardian duties continue

Shara and Meco keeping an eye out on new baby.

And, then night fell, and I knew baby filly was going to be safe.

So, although expected, the timing was unexpected, and the best thing of all,
everything went great.

The next surprise came from some feedlot ewe lambs we bought in.
Usually, we do not buy  ewe lambs who are bred, it just complicates matters.
So, when I noticed our Lucy being a little protective towards some cows in a neighboring field, a small alarm bell went off in my head.

I walked to that specific fence line and lo and behold,
the sweetest, tiniest little black newborn lamb was laying besides its young mom.
Lucy being Lucy, she watched over this baby from a reputable distance ensuring mom and babe are undisturbed and safe, and that no cow would venture too close.

And, then the final little surprise for the week,
 Jess and I were out riding, we always look for tracks, wildlife and other interesting finds, while out in the bush.
Last night we went riding and found plenty of wildlife signs,
we found grouse poop, coyote tracks, moose, elk and deer tracks, we found baby bear scat, big wolf tracks and big bear tracks.
I regard these "finds" as nature's gifts to us.

So, all in all, a great week!

Puppies and their characters

The pups are doing so well, I can hardly believe they are already 8 weeks old.
I am so enjoying having this litter and seeing them grow.

I have been really slow about some character descriptions of the pups, because in reality they are all so similar and even.
They are pretty even in size and their character differences are small.
Not one pup stands out for being super dominant or very shy.

My first set of pups are red and purple.
I suppose I would describe these two as the most middle of the road pups.
Not the first out to go exploring, but always happy to participate in pack activity.

Next, we have Blue.
Blue is a serious, down to business pup.
He is one of the pups that is no nonsense, a serious pup who will make a strong guardian dog.
He has a strong personality.

Big Gray, is a little milder in nature, he is always one of the first to meet and greet you. He is confident and always up for some adventure. 

Green is probably the toughest pup in the litter. He is certainly not one of the biggest pups,
but is very similar in nature to Blue. He knows what he wants and is serious in doing it.
He is confident and determined.

Black and Green are a "pair", they are always hanging out together. Black is a tad softer than green, but is certainly not a softie.  He is part of the top 4 for being outgoing ( Blue, Green Gray and Black),
red and Purple are more middle of the road.
Black is very enamored by the lambs, likes to clean ears, and butts.

My last two pups do not have collars, I can recognize them quite easily in the group.
I call them the two dark pups.
 I will call them pup 7 and Pup 8.
These two pups, are perhaps the "shyest" of the whole group.
They like to watch things from a safe distance.
They are not fearful, but generally watch and wait to see what is going to happen first.
Pup 8 is the shyest of the two.
He is definitely one of my favorite pups. I think he will make a fantastic LGD, and be very bonded to his sheep or his people.

The pups are off to the vet for their first vaccinations and check up.
They will be microchipped and I will soon be looking into flights for some of these pups for when they will be leaving to their new homes.

Enjoy this little clip of the pups and lambs.

Pups 7 weeks old

Wow, where did 6 weeks go?
It seems like the weeks are just flying by.
The puppies are doing just great.
They have had their nails trimmed, they have got new collars and they have had a deworming.
Next week they will be off to the vet for vaccinations and check overs.
They got to hang out with some people who came to the sheep shearing course.
What they did not like was that I locked them up in their original whelping kennel.

Our "system" right now is that the pups have the heated part of the barn, during the day the door to the part where the ewes and lambs are housed remains open, so either the sheep can come into where the pups are, or as the pups go exploring and expanding their world more, they can go out to the sheep.

The heated side is to the left, door allows access to the larger pen to the right. Sheep, lambs and puppies can come and go.

Hanging onto mom.

The pups like to have some peace and quiet and hang out in the lambing jugs, however the ewes will always check it out just in case some grain appears in the pen. A tight fit at times.

The pups are closed into the heated side at night, simply to keep them safe.
In the mornings the door is opened and the pups have free range.
Now, 95% of the ewes are actually sweet to the pups, many are very curious and like to check the pups out.
A few are nasty and the pups soon learn to avoid the mean ones.
The lambs are fearless and are incredibility curious to meet the pups, sometimes there is a lamb mob around a pup.
As long as the pup is not in distress, I just let them figure out what they need to do. I have to because the lambs and pups are with each other all day, I am only there during feeding, chores and puppy snuggle times.

Here are the photo's from today.

This is a ewe that will head butt a puppy. It pays to be careful.

Door closed...

door open..

Who, watches over who?