Management Shmanagement: Embracing the Eye-Rolls in Dog Training

 Not including the amazing clients who jump into dog training with the enthusiasm of a Labrador spotting a tennis ball, ready to tackle whatever comes their way. But sometimes training means adjustments that feel about as fun as stepping barefoot on a squeaky toy at 2 a.m. Enter "management," which inevitably earns me eye-rolls, head tilts, and skeptical looks from humans—and a judgmental side-eye from their dogs, as if they're saying, "Seriously, human? You expect ME to change?"

Management is absolutely critical early in training because it sets our dogs up to succeed. Think about trying to give up Oreos (I know—tragic!). You wouldn't keep them stacked proudly on your countertop, chanting, "Just say no!" Nope. You’d bury those delicious cookies deep in a cupboard, or better yet, banish them completely. Eventually, you'll breeze by the cookie aisle without so much as drooling, but at first, you need the temptation gone.

Dogs work exactly the same way. Is your pup auditioning for "Neighborhood Watch" by aggressively barking at squirrels, mail carriers, and suspicious-looking leaves through your front window? Temporarily blocking their view isn't a permanent solution, but it stops them from rehearsing their award-winning performance and helps your actual training take root.

Humans have this weird double standard: we totally get the idea of removing temptation for ourselves but expect dogs to miraculously behave because "they know better." Newsflash: if your dog actually "knew better," I’d probably be out of a job.

Management isn't a cop-out—it's smart training in disguise. It might mean temporarily shelving neighborhood strolls if your dog turns into Cujo at the sight of another pup, or simply using a crate to protect your shoes from your puppy’s destructive artistry. Remember, this isn’t forever—just long enough for your training to kick in.

One of my clients has practically become an Olympic gold medalist in dog-avoidance maneuvers during walks. She now strategically times her outings, plots quieter routes, and when necessary, executes impressive evasive maneuvers—like suddenly developing an intense fascination with a neighbor’s mailbox or passionately "inspecting" a tree until the coast is clear. Silly? Maybe. Genius? Definitely. And her dog’s anxiety and reactivity have dramatically improved because of it.

Bottom line: if your dog makes you pretend you're deeply interested in random shrubs or has you diving behind parked cars, you’re not failing—you’re mastering the art of management. Celebrate your cleverness and keep giving your pup every possible chance to succeed.

Happy training, and remember: today's creative management leads to tomorrow's peaceful walks!

Tweed has humbled me as an owner and especially as a trainer

A few weeks ago, I entered a video contest with Tweed.  We spent the past year learning or I should say, relearning how to do agility as a team.  Tweed was in a terrible dog fight and almost lost his life.  When he recovered, he couldn't successfully compete in agility anymore.  So, we started over and the video was a short story about our training.  I was approached by people at trials, my students and sent many messages about that video and what it meant to each person.  Many said they cried, many said it was amazing he was brought back from such a horrific incident, and some could relate with their fearful dogs having to gain confidence again.

Everyone said how lucky Tweed was to have me and what a great job I have done with him.

But, here's how I see this past two years.  I never really talked about the dog fight. It was embarrassing and difficult.  I'm a dog trainer, I teach prevention, training, and how to avoid these exact scenarios yet this happened in my house, between two housemates.  Without sharing all the details of a history of dislike between only these two dogs, Tweed was close to death and I gone for only an hour.

After a long long recovery, Tweed was back to looking normal, cleared by his veterinarian and rehabilitated with a specialist, he was ready to go back to agility.  I signed up for Handing 360 with Susan Garrett to get a jump start on my agility again.  I needed a push after two little humans and I needed to bring new life to my students classes, all of which were becoming stagnant. I watched the videos, played around, got inspired and went back to trialing in USDAA after 7 or so years off.  Tweed did great, got out of Starters fast but we got stuck in Advanced. Not only was he avoiding jumps, he was extra sensitive to me and my training.  I was starting to feel lost and insecure about my training as Tweed seemed to be breaking down although physically well.

I had come across some information in an ebook in this class about using corrections in training.  I thought, "I don't do that, I'm not mean but he needs to know when he gets it wrong to help him learn".  I read and read and thought and thought about this training.  Was it possible I was actually being mean and making it harder for him to learn?  Could everything I know, be wrong? The idea is when your dog gets something right, we mark it happily and reward, they learn and want to do it again. When they get it wrong, I said 'ahh' or 'hey' or 'no' or any number of verbals to let him know this was not what I wanted.  What I didn't realize was he had no idea that was what I meant, he simply took it wrong and I was inadvertently keeping him from getting it right. I never taught my students to do this correction but I wasn't teaching what I was practicing.

Here is a scenario:  Tweed runs down a line of three jumps, he takes the first one, then the second, then turns to look at me and runs past the third, I say, "ah ah, no".  He stops, looks upset, runs around circling me more, questioning me.  My old thinking would say, he now knows not to run past that jump but to take it. The next time he gets it, I'll highly praise and he'll make the connection, balanced training, right! (yeah yeah, I get it now) What I actually did was give him worry or anxiety about any number of things and I have no idea which of these he actually 'learned'. Did he learn that he gets in trouble if: 1. he turns to look at me. 2. He runs ahead of me on a course. 3. He goes anywhere near that jump. 4. He runs. 5. He gets excited and too happy.  The list is endless, but he definitely didn't learn what I wanted him to learn.

What I should have been doing was teaching him when he should check in and when he should drive ahead and take the next obstacle (plus so much more).  I need to be clear in what I was asking and consistent in what those cues mean. He was constantly trying to decided what I wanted because he wanted to please me and have fun and if he was worried about an obstacle, he avoided.

Now I know, if any dog doesn't read our cue correctly, then I didn't teach them well enough.  It's our fault, go back and figure out where the hole in the training is and how to teach them. Then proof it in every scenario, with distractions and new environments.  If you ever think to yourself, "he should know this" then you didn't actually teach it well enough because he clearly doesn't know.

I admitted I did this for years, verbal correction and now I see I never really taught him in the first place.  He was very talented and I was a pretty good beginner, but when he got physically hurt and couldn't be the athlete he was, we got stuck.  I flipped through many videos and 'picked' our problems.  It still wasn't working, we weren't getting better and I was getting hungry for moving on to higher levels. I then attended a trial here in Michigan and guess who was entered, Susan.  Here we go, I've spent the last 11 months in her class and it doesn't show at all.  I didn't commit to doing it in order as she suggested and work all the exercises. I removed the verbal corrections and now have a dog that is happy but showing how little he really knows. 

I watcher her and was inspired, she handles her dogs exactly as she teaches. I could see it, after all I had watched the videos but hadn't done the work. I went home and began training from the beginning and here I am 50 days consecutive training, 1/3 of the way through the course and you have now seen the video.  I wasted 12 months of a year long class before I figured out I needed to go back and do exactly what I preach and push to my students.  A little foundation, consistent teaching and fun is 'giving me back my dog'.  I will not let my students miss their opportunity in agility, they will be better than me.

Tweed shows me everyday that I made big mistakes with him and my previous dogs. I feel guilty every time he slightly shuts down, gets worried, flanks, or shows any confusion.  I did that to him, all by using a little verbal correction that I thought was harmless, I thought was necessary.  This is what that video means to me, all the amazing changes in him due to a little confidence and a huge epiphany in my head.  Look at us, a 9 year old dog still improving and me, realizing once again that dog training will never be 'finished' and maybe I was a little late to this game but will be early to the next one.

Thank you, Tweed, I look forward to years to come.
Laura

"My child doesn't need 'kisses' from your dog"

"My child doesn't need 'kisses' from your dog"

Food for thought:
I went to a dog show a few weekends ago with Gabby, my 14 month old daughter, and no dogs.  I went to watch some of my students compete and show my support.  I knew it would be tough to watch my child around all those dogs in their territory and run a dog, so I didn't even attempt to show.   Anyhoo...here is a scenario that happened:

Gabby was in her stroller and we were watching the dogs run.  A woman, unknown to me, came up with her two goldens.  One was older and they both seemed very nice.  She asked me if my daughter could meet the dogs.  I said, "sure" and then watched them interact.   Gabby didn't really care as she meets and greets many dogs on a daily basis in our lives.  The woman really wanted Gabby to get excited so she started tapping the tray on the stroller to get the dogs to look up and focus on Gabby.  I couldn't figure out what she was trying to get out the situation but then realized she wanted them to give my daughter 'kisses'.   At that moment, one of the dogs started in for the big lick.  Gabby still wasn't even looking at them as she was watching the action on the course.  I stuck my hand right between that dog's kiss and my child's face.  I politely said, "oh, we don't need kisses from the doggie".  She pulled her dogs back and said in a slightly annoyed tone, "if there's no food or kisses, then we aren't interested."  She walked away with her two sweet dogs. 

Hmmmm....I thought about this for a while.  After being a dog trainer for many years before becoming a parent, I was constantly annoyed with the lack of instruction from other parents when having their children meet dogs.   It is a huge problem and the dog always gets blamed for the parent's lack of knowledge on animal behavior.  I have some amazing stories to tell of my dogs and parents bringing their kids up to them to meet and how they (the parents) behaved with their kids.  In this situation, it never occured to me that the dog owners can be just as bad.  Why would any dog owner ask their dog to get into a child's face, especially a strangers child?   My logical thinking brain can only assume that she thought I was a spectator there with my young child and wanted to help show they were a friendly bunch and give a good experience to my child.  I don't assume the worst in people but it made me realize it's not always the parent but probaby equally the dog owner. 

My 'take away' thought to you:  Don't be afraid to speak up and control the situation if you aren't comfortable.  I wasn't afraid to stop the kisses even though my animal behavior knowledge told me the dogs were fine and safe, but I wasn't comfortable with them kissing Gabby.   If you are the owner of a dog that likes kids, think about how you can appropriately use your dog to educate children and parents in situations like those.

Gabby's waking up, gotta go.....

And winter continues....with sunshine and warmer temps

      The winter continues on with cold temps and light snows.  It's funny when you go outside and 13 degrees feels like a heat wave!   Without the wind and the sun shining, it isn't too bad.  I took advantage of that to take Gabby out to the world and do chores with me.  She loved it!  She tried running in her little boots and did pretty well but when she would fall down, it was like the classic movie A Christmas Story.  She couldn't get up because of being all bundled up, but I got some cute photos of her.

She is also wearing a beautiful hat made from the fleece of one of our rams, spun by Tiffany at Woodspryte Farms and knitted by one of my agility students, Carol.  A gorgeous brown finnsheep with soft wool.

      The weather has also taken its toll on our water hydrant.  We have many barns and water in each barn but the main animal barn is the fartherest out and that hydrant finally froze up.  The hydrant leaked and we figured it was just time before the water running down the pipe and into the ground would freeze.  Now, we bucket water from another barn for the sheep, cows, llamas, mini horse, cat, and birds.  It's not as bad as it seems.  We have two troughs in each pasture and take one day each week to make multiple trips to fill all four troughs.  Then, as the week progresses, we move the tank heaters to each trough as they get low.  

     We have enlisted the help of one of our dogs to make this process easier.  Bubba, our chocolate lab, a big strong dog that loves to work and frankly, can use the job, pulls the sled with the buckets of water from the front of the farm, to the back barn.  He seems to enjoy it and wags his tail the whole time.  I walk beside or behind him so he doesn't take off running and tip the sled and all the water.  Such a good dog.  Gabby enjoyed walking around with Bubba also and my back loved not lifting and carry those five gallon buckets.

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     Lessons are booming, despite the winter cold, and I have sold most of the extra lambs and sheep.  We are down to our core flock of 16, 8 of which are ewes to lamb in April.  A nice, easy number to handle this year.  5 of the flock are lambs that are growing like crazy and will be heading out to get training for dog herding lessons this summer.  3 rams are staying and will be used in the future to maintain colors and unrelated genetics.  It's always hard to keep a small number but yet have unrelated sheep.  We are looking forward to the ducks laying eggs again and all the pastures are sure to turn green soon.  

Mother Nature!!

     Farm and Winter

     The weather still isn't letting up and I think it's here to stay!  I have some more beautiful photos of the farm animals thanks to my wonderful student and her ability to stand in the cold and take some great photos!

" Mini is always looking for a handout!"

 "The sheep, llamas, and cow don't come out often but if you call with a bucket of grain.."

 "This little 4 month badgerface ewe lamb standing next to her mother will be getting a new home this weekend"

 "My husband's 'Cowbella' never misses a meal"

     The winter is taking a toll on everyone.  Our animals are cold one day and comfortable the next.  I've been washing horse blankets and sheep coats to keep any manure and wetness off the furry kids.  We did loose one adolescent sheep.  Not sure what happened, I think kicked or trauma internally of some kind and then the cold didn't help the situation.  After two days of not eating and not showing any interest in food or water after all the usual help we can give, my compassionate husband took it upon himself to end his suffering.  It's a hard part of farm life to choose to take a life.  It seems especially hard while I'm growing life inside me right now but I know from many years of experience, he was not going to come out of this happy and healthy.   I'm not sure I could make those decisions by myself so I am grateful for my husband although it really bothers him.  I also think it's important to share that this does happen and it's not something to be hidden.  I am very honest with anyone that asks about sickness, accidents, and just basic bad luck.  It's unrealistic to think everything is always 'peachy keen' when raising animals.  

Kids and Dogs

     On a different subject, I'd like to write a little about Dogs and Kids.  It's so common and I have many students that have dogs being introduced to babies or living with young children, I think it's something to discuss.  Whether you are having children of your own or grandchildren now, I think this is a subject to always have in mind.  I have the point of view from having only dogs for most of my late teens, 20's, and early 30's with no kids.  These four leggeds were my kids and my life revolved around them.  Now, with an almost 14 month old and 8 months pregnant, my perspective has changed.  I still love and respect my dogs but they did take a back seat to raising a baby for a while.  We are now coming to the challenges of a toddler and adult dogs.  Gabby, our daughter, is walking, baby talking, chasing the dog, feeding the dog, hugging the dog, and loving the dog so it's very important to teach all parties involved how to properly exist with each other.  

     My husband and I agree that no matter what, the dogs are NEVER TRUSTED in regards to the human babies.  Both are only predictable as long as your are supervising.  What this means to us, is if we are not in the room, the dogs and baby are not left alone with each other.  I don't care how great your dog is and how respectful your child is, never leave them unattended.  It's as simple as bring the baby or the dog with you.  We have a baby gate in our entrance and the dogs easily go in there when not being watched. 

 "All dogs will bite in the right situation"

      Now, look at this photo....

    This is my daughter, Gabby, and Tweed, our 8 year old border collie.  Out of all our dogs, he was the most distant dog for young toddlers.  He is now our best babysitter.  I wanted to show this picture to tell what I see from his behavior.  His ears are back and his body is a little tense.  This tells me he is tolerating this behavior but not exactly happy about it at the same time.  I'm carefully watching him and what he is trying to say through body language.  (plus I know his history with Gabby)

     Now in this photo, you can see some changes that made me think, I will let him choose to stay or not and let Gabby have a little fun.  He stretched out his front leg, relaxed his torso, and you can't tell but wagged the tip of his tail in a gesture I know says, "I'm happy and calm"  Some things you can't tell from a photo and if one of my dogs was uncomfortable with the situation, I wouldn't take the time to take a photo before showing Gabby that's not how we act around a dog, lol.  So, you won't see any bad photos here for that reason.  Tweed has an area to go to if he needs to get away from Gabby and has a signal he gives me to say, "I've had enough and I want a break".   He simply leaves the room and I've worked with Gabby "leave the dog alone, he needs to go rest".   I missed the shot of her getting off him and gently petting his neck before hugging with her head on his back.  I still teach her not to play around his face and mouth, although, gentle, he still has those teeth and it only takes once.  

     If you have a nervous dog and exploring toddler, try letting the dog out around the baby when they are strapped to their high chair and eating.  Food gets dropped, the dog eats it, a great association for the dog, and then put up the furry kid before letting down your baby.  Always allow your dog to retreat without being followed by child.  Behind a baby gate is a wonderful location.  The dog can come up and sniff on their own terms or can sit back at a comfortable distance without being corner by a child.   

Stay warm and settle in while trying to accept winter is here to stay...  

Try trick training with your dogs, maybe my next blog will be out indoor training for cabin fever!

Oh, The Weather Outside it Frightful...

     The weather continues to blow outside but we are enjoying ourselves with inside activities.   I took Tweed to a USDAA agility trial and even at 30 weeks pregnant, I had a great time!  This is his first trial in this venue and he qualified 3 for 3 starters runs.  We only went one day as that was all I could run at this time.  I've included a short video of our day. 

     We also have some great new agility students that started last week.  Looks like we will have some new competitors and agility enthusiasts this Spring.  Two students went to the trial with me and did really well for their first time in USDAA.  One of my new students is a photographer and came out to take some photos of the animals in the snow.

     I am now 10 weeks away from my due date for second baby and things are ready around here for now.  I have organized the nursery and newborn supplies along with the guest quarters for my family to come and stay and visit.  Just trying to keep up the exercise and movement so I don't get to uncomfortable with the big belly.  Delivery of our new surprise can't come soon enough!

Snow Storm January 2014

Our weather has really come flying in with lots of snow and soon to follow lots of cold!  We ended up with between 15" and 20" of snow with drifting.  The animals are doing just fine and I must say, although a long tired walk for me to the barn, I made it there and back.  It seemed so far away when I was only half-way!

I was surprised at the depth of snow all the way down the road to the barn and actually walked along the fence line for support.  

The wind chill was about -20 degrees but the actual temp was 8 degrees.  Not too bad yet, but the cold is still to come. 

 
Our pigs were snowed into their shelter but they didn't seem to mind as I took them breakfast in bed. 

The horses got extra hay and didn't seem to care that they were outside as they have the option of being in or out.

Then, my hard working husband came home from 24 hours of plowing and started in on our house and all the neighbors.

I will get more photos tomorrow of the plowing to see the actual beauty of the snow, although the temperature is suppose to drop again tonight. 

A long blog to catch up and head into the New Year!!

    

      It's a new year and so much is happening but mostly because I haven't written in many many months...almost a year.  So, part of my personal goals for 2014 is to be more organized in my own life.  This includes the home, finances, and of course my business which has grown and grown.  

     Just in case you aren't interested in the history and just want to look at pictures, I'm including the days fun here at the beginning and you can read the rest if you want.  

As of 1pm, we had 8 inches of snow and it's still coming down hard!

Cowbella and the rams, eating breakfast in the snow

Our girl, Cowbella.

Introduced the mini horse to the rams and Cowbella this morning and they keep running laps but not too stressed out.  In between laps they grab a mouthful of hay.

Gabby's mini horse, Minnie or Louie

Norman, the bull calf, enjoying the indoor breakfast

Tweed is still up for moving sheep, just open the gate

 Now for all the details!

 

House and Home

 

     The first project I took on this month is get the house in order a little better.  We celebrated our little girl, Gabrielle, on her first birthday in early December

 

 and now will be expecting our second child March 31.  Therefore, I felt the nesting instinct kick in and got to organizing.  I cleaned out Gabby's closet and boxed up outgrown clothes, newborn items, and moved furniture around.  The new one will stay in our master bedroom for as long as possible but then the two kids will have to share a room for a while.  We do have another bedroom but I feel it's very important to keep a guest room available for family and friends.  When people come to stay I want them to have a nice room with a huge comfy bed and their own bathroom.  Maybe they will come back and help with the kids more often; hidden agenda on my part.

     I then attacked the guest room closet and room.  The hallway to the guest area including the guest room itself had become the catch all space for our many many started and not finished home improvement projects.   All the work tools and items for those projects are now organized neatly into the hall closet and the guest room and bathroom has become exactly what it was intended to be, the guest area.  It's complete with king size bed, closet space, and linen closet and shelves empty in the bathroom.   

     I am also working on helping my husband get the home projects done that were started 6 months -1 year ago.  We are putting up new drywall to replace the bad patch jobs done by the previous owner and finishing the counters in the kitchen that were made from scratch.  It's getting there even if slow going.  

Finances

     Three things I don't usually discuss with too many people are religion, politics, and personal finances.  I feel these are areas that most people have strong feelings and opinions about and can easily destroy relationships so I usually just talk to a few people and usually when I need help.  But, I have decided I am proud of my financial changes and feel like I'm finally taking charge so I want to brag!  With the introduction of debit cards, autopay, and the ease of buying on credit, checkbook balancing had become a thing of my past.  My shopping usually began with me standing in the store, checking my apps to see what account had what balance to then buy what I needed for the trip.  Now, I know this is not a great way to go but I also know, I am not in the minority of this practice.   So, I decided to sit down every night and get online and balance my checkbook, do the books for the business, and plan ahead for the upcoming shopping necessities.  So far, it's working and I'm very happy about this.  I have always planned for retirement and follow the pay yourself first adage but didn't work on the present.   My business has expanded into a number of animals and lessons have taken off and therefore, I want to make sure Borderhauss Kennels at least pays for itself and hopefully pays for the farm.  I know it's not costing me money but it'd be nice to make some.  

Farm and Business

     I would never be able to live here on this farm let alone keep it running if not for my husband.  He tirelessly works everyday to keep it going.  After working his own business all day, he comes home and splits wood for the stove or moves a big load to the deck for me to use in the wood stove.  He plows the snow out of the way, fixes electrical, hangs stall doors, catches sheep, fixes fencing, replaces well pumps for water in the barns, adds hydrants out in pastures, cuts and bales hay, repairs vehicles, tills the garden, and all with a smile and usually before I even know it needs to be fixed.  There is so much more he does and I try to appreciate it every day.  He probably won't read this but I will make sure to tell him each night, thank you.  

     My dog classes are booming, I've added 20 new students that keep returning so I must be doing something right for them.  They are fun, positive, and love to learn.  So, really I'm the lucky one in this situation.  Without them, I would never be able to stay home and be with Gabby all day and do what I love, thank you, my students.    

     The part of the business that is also growing is the number of animals we have and the new property we acquired adjacent to our land.  My mother and stepfather were kind enough and so helpful to purchase the 10 acres with barn next door and draw up a contract to purchase from them.  So, our little farm has doubled in land to 20 acres and 5 big barns.  It's really limitless to what we can do if we organize and be business savy.  I try to only keep animals that offer an income or a benefit to us.  That being said, I do have my favorites and a few are definitely pets at they have no job.  I need to talk to them about getting out and getting jobs.  

     The flock of sheep is around 20, and I do admit to not knowing the exact number out there.  I know when someone is missing but just don't count all the time.  They come and go so fast sometimes and I tend to look at them from a business stand point.  This means, when I look at a sheep, it is in my mind staying because of good quality breeding traits, staying because they might become good school sheep for herding lessons, or not staying and waiting to sell.  So, it's not a head count but more of a money making perspective.  We were lucky enough (again, my husband) to turn the new 10 acres into hay and therefore, food is not a problem this winter.   The llamas go with the sheep and keep them safe from coyotes so in that sense they save us money of loosing lambs and expensive sheep to predators.  Due to our new human baby coming I planned for late April/May lambs this season. 

    We have some animals here that are going to feed us.  It isn't an easy thing to do, raise an animal, watch them grow, become attached, and know their fate.  However, with all the additives and unknown products being injected into commerical meat, I feel much more comfortable knowing exactly where our meat starts, eats, and ends up.  We have control over the whole process.  We have four pigs that my husband purchased.  Every summer we have a pig roast party and we just plain like pork.  We have two cows, one heifer and one bull.  The bull, Norman, will grow up and breed our heifer before going to the freezer but again, beef is a huge bill in our house at the grocery and we will have our own grass fed, no hormones or antibiotics in our beef.  Cowbella, our heifer will stay here to produce the calves and possible provide milk for us.  I will have to see how far I get into making cheese, butter, yogurt, and milking in general.  

     We have a pair of turkeys we kept back this winter.   Normally, I buy the chicks, raise them, and butcher for the holidays usually giving away the birds to family and friends but this year, we kept two for breeding.  I know it might be another summer before they start laying as turkeys need to grow up a lot before laying eggs but the plan is to incubate our own baby turkeys.  

     We also have the runner ducks.  These ducks are great for herding dogs at they flock together and I have had them for years.  They are funny, eat lots of bugs, and are fairly easy keepers.  I have one hen that sits on a nest and hatches her own babies so that also makes things easier for me.  We use the eggs for eating and giving to my in-laws.  I keep a rare color and any extra babies born that I don't need for the flock are usually sold within a week of hatching.  That's their job here on the farm.  I have also used them for herding demonstration with a good friend of mine and they bring in a little cash that way.  

     We have three horses.  They are pets and only cost us money, haha.  Our most recent addition is Minni, or Louie, as my husband calls her.  She is a two year 36 inch mini that will hopefully become Gabby's first pony.  She is doing well living with all the strange animals but is friendly and sweet.  Currently, in this snow, Minnie and Cowbella and running around the pasture.  They will get really tired in all this snow.  

Now that everyone is all caught, my goal is to keep this blog updated more often rather than a once every 6 months review.  It's still snowing as we are expected to get around 12 inches but I think it will be more.  

Laura, Paul, Gabby and unborn baby.

     

LAMBS!!!!

I finally got my camera out to the barn and what a beautiful day it is..can you tell is 5 degrees?  All the animals were out in the sun with no wind, the sun was warmer than the barn after such a cold night. 

Our two horses with ice on their whiskers

These two twins were born about 4 days ago, they belong to, Jan, our resident tunis/texal ewe.  She and Walker had fun and now these girls are here.  They are cute little things. 

Maggie, our other non-finnsheep had triplets and is doing well with them.  They are about 12 hours younger than Jan's and you can tell a little as they are smaller.  It's hard to feed three but Maggie is doing well. Two boys and a girl.  Good job, Mags!

This is our first ram born a few weeks ago.  He is a brown, non-fading registered Finnsheep and is gorgeous.  I will be watching his fleece as he ages but really a great guy!  

 . 

These are Kaarina's quadruplets, as an update. (one didn't survive the birthing) They are still in a lambing stall as I am teaching them to drink from an orphan bucket.  Momma Kaarina is a fantastic mom and has the best fleece in the flock.  Last Spring she sufferer mastitis so bad that her udder was left too scarred to raise them herself so, I'm helping.  They are growing like weeds and are doing well and have gone from 7 lbs at birth (imagine that! 4, 7lb lambs at one time) to now 8-9 lbs in a week.  They will hopefully be out of this stall and out with the other kids soon. Two girls and a boy.

 

  

  Most of the lambs will be available for purchase. 

Brrrrrr....

Lambs

It's cold out this winter, much colder than last year.  We have had a few more lambs born here on the farm and it's exciting and busy now!  Kaarina, a wonderful mother and gorgeous fleeced animal, lambed early Monday morning.  She was busy as she delivered quads this year.  Unfortunately one did not survive.  I am guessing in all the confusion of four lambs, it might not have gotten it's mouth and nose cleared out in time. One a brighter note, she has three still here and doing well.  All three have the beautiful fleece that my best Finns carry.

 Kaarina had a terrible case of mastitis last year.  She is a very hard sheep to read and she didn't show her sickness until an infection had given her a high fever and she was barely able to walk.  After 10 days of antibiotics, infusions, hot packs, milking her, and special feed, she recovered.  She lost all her wool from the fever and one side of her udder has never been the same.  I was concerned about her feeding lambs this year but bred her anyway, knowing I might have bottle lambs.  She is producing milk out of the bad side and the other is fully functioning.  She loves her lambs and I am supplementing at this time.  For now, all is well and I will introduce them to the orphan bucket soon so I don't have to feed so often.

Jan, our Tunis ewe lambed to big ewe lambs and they are doing really well!  Not very exciting and that's how I like my lambing to go.  Going out to do chores with a cup of coffee and seeing new lambs, all fed and loved by their moms.  Uneventful

50 Days Till Spring!

It's been a while and I'm back, for now.  We have a few exciting times happening on the farm right now and I'm hoping to get things back into a routine.

FAMILY

In Decemeber, we had our first child, Gabrielle Elyse Maulbetsch.  She was born on Dec. 4 weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. and 20.5 inches.

 2 weeks old

She is a riot and I'm adjusting to motherhood pretty well, I think.  It's not unusual for me to have something or someone completely dependent on me but it's never been a physical part of me before.  Together, Paul and I are figuring this out and enjoying every minute with her.  She has been sleeping through the night (8 hours) since about 4 weeks old, so life is good in that department. 

 1 month old

FARMING

In the farming news, we have acquired the 10 acres next door that does a little "L" shape around our property so we are now 20 acres and almost square.  Paul is excited and has already been clearing the trees and limbs down so we can get into the new barn and get it fenced. 

We added a calf to our farm, Moo-Cow-abelle.  I cute little girl that is warming our hearts each day and she will probably end of being a big dog around here.  

We have started lambing but with just a couple early moms.  The rest of the ewes should lamb next week at the beginning of February.  Fleeces will be available in a few days for purchase.  We have 17 nice pure finn fleeces in all colors to sell. 

Our silkie chickens have been laying eggs all winter and actually hatched out two broods in the past month.  So, we have babies running around and I can't believe they are surviving the cold. 

The runner ducks are still running, cold or not.  They aren't laying eggs yet but I'm sure will start up again soon.

DOG TRAINING

   

My students are doing well and I have added a few new teams in the last month.  The advanced students are going to a trial this Sunday for CPE agility and I'm going to join them with Tweed.  I'm excited to get back into trialing as I have only been able to do a few trials over the last few years.  I have made a video of the first trial last Fall that they did and after having a fun weekend, there are a few students that are ready to go again!  CPE is a such a wonderful place to start trialing.  

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE!!

 

Good Fall Morning! 

It's beautiful outside and a balmy 50 degrees this morning.  Is Fall upon us, I think not!  It will still reach 80 today but all is going well.  Yesterday, I shearing one of the ramlings that is still living here.  He is 1/2 Finn and has a nice, crimpy fleece, so I figured I would keep the wool and add to the collection.  He was still accepted back to the boys without much hassle.  

We also took out turkeys and extra ducks in for processing so the barnyard is quieter with just the permanent residents here in the bird yard.  The 34 lb Tom will be helpful at our family Thanksgiving dinner.  I never like dropping them off but the good life they had up til the end was very close to bird retirement. 

We had three fall lambs born and it was our first 'out of season' lambing.  Very easy and so nice to not worry about babies freezing.  They are very cute and just started the lamb races.  I don't think anyone else is expecting but we will see.  It wasn't a planned lambing but I allowed the ram in for a month in the Spring to see how quickly they would re breed. 

These lambs are available for new homes in early November, or they will just hang out till Spring with the rest of the flock!

I also got a new camera for the upcoming Spring lamb that will be human!  My husband and I are expecting Dec. 2 and we thought it would be a good idea to have a nice camera to preserve the moments!  So, these lambs are the beginnings of me trying to learn all the settings.  I'm loving the colors!

Our ducks are doing well, all the boys grew up and are looking good.  I have 6 hens and 2 drakes that I will be breeding in the Spring for ducklings.  I have been selecting the best of the stock all summer to pick the final group. 

We also added some new poultry to our breeding program, silkie chickens!  They are adorable and hilarious!  Can't wait for Spring to hatch little baby silkies!

The horses are doing well and fattened up on lots of pasture.  We went riding a couple times on the trails this summer and they did so well! 

 Nelly!

Saphra!

Dog Agility classes are going really well and 10 of my students are heading to their first trial next weekend!  So fun and so proud of all of them!!