Herding Dog 2.0

 Jinger is really developing into a nice dog, working and otherwise. (Well, certain things have been giving us trouble lately and I put the shock collar on today, but overall... 😀 ) Though I have not started her yet, and am hoping to get some dog broke sheep before I do, she is showing great confidence and power, with little to no slow down or control. 😑  

She is a happy go lucky dog, who hardly fears anything, and constantly acts like she has a secret stash  of Red Bull in the back of her kennel. She's been getting more exercise and work lately, but it's just getting worse! I can hardly wait for her to mature a little bit and hopefully mellow out a little. It's kinda fun most of the time, but other times, it's just really hard to keep track of the little tornado. 

Almost every morning, I let her run loose while I use the computer after chores, and she sounds like an elephant on the deck, racing around, jumping off of the stairs, and crashing her toys into everything. She brings the whole stash onto the deck sometimes, and then I have to throw it all back off so that it isn't a tripping hazard. 

She does love that broom head! 

As you can see from her smorgasbord of toys, she loves playing with anything. I recently found out, however, that she also likes playing sports. Something that resembles tennis maybe, and soccer. 

Getting to the herding part of this post-she is just obsessed. I remember Kate being like this, to a degree, and it seems to be that, once they mature a little and realize that there is a time for work and a time for play, they generally settle down a little, and every loud noise doesn't shoot them out of a cannon, straight for the cows.

 

 Once a week or so, I do give in a little and let her keep the calves out while I feed. It is helpful in that I don't have to be careful not to run a pitchfork prong up a cow's nose, or have to push their heads out to put more hay in the manger. 

I took Minx out to weigh her yesterday, and she promptly raced off, and every time I got close enough to grab her, she would run a few paces further and stop. Jinger was obediently sitting on top of the seed drill, watching, so I sicced her on Minx. She jumped off, and raced right to Minx's head and snapped at her, sending her my way. When Minx continued right on past me, Jinger went around again and turned her again. I reached for Minx and she dodged and kept going, but Jinger was there to stop her. This went on for, oh, 15 seconds for so, before I caught Minx as she tried running past again. I was so proud of Jinger! No training, so obviously no commands, and she has more confidence and gathering instinct than Kate does. Kate either spins them in circles and doesn't let them go anywhere, not even back to me, or runs in the front of them, but doesn't stop them from running away, while Jinger knew that it is teamwork, and that her duty was to keep the goat next to me. You get what you pay for! 

Molly's kids are Franklin and Antoinette. This is the only set of kids, that I remember, that I have not been able to tell apart right away. Jeff and me noticed some differences though-the buck's black markings aren't quite as solid, and are almost silvery in places where the doe's are not. I plan on keeping the doe.  

I recently found out that the barn cams will store all recorded video footage for the last two weeks. Not only can I easily view it, there is a little record button, so that you can further save footage and use it as you want. I've been having lots of fun spying on myself these last few days, and then remembered a gem that had probably been recorded.

Does that are due get locked in at night, and when I open the door the following morning, all of the other does swarm in and eat any hay that's left in the manger. I think their idea is to convince someone that I'm starving them every night, but the reality is, forbidden hay tastes much better than the mangerful they already have. Anyway, one morning I opened the door and almost got swept away by the tide. I told Mom how that I wished I'd caught it on video, and then remembered that I probably had! So, I went back to the day that it happened, found it, and recorded it for your viewing pleasure.