For example, if you are pack leader and the “kids” are doing something they shouldn’t, call to them “Let’s go” and turn and walk in the opposite direction.   Don’t look back.  If you are truly, the pack leader they will leave what they are doing and come with you.

This lesson has served me well in raising lots of puppies and managing my older dogs as well.

It took many months to find the perfect homes for each of these pups.  Angus was about 7 months old when his perfect family emailed me from Germany.

Here is a note that I just received from Angus’ Germany family. What a lucky English Shepherd to be so loved!

Angus is just a perfect dog. Brought the goats this morning to pasture. I blocked the one side so they couldn´t go into neighbour’s field and he drove them perfectly into the fence.  He´s so great when we´re walking and goats start to stray from the way to fields he goes the same direction like saying ” oh accidently there´s something really interesting behind you I´ve got to look at.”  Most of the time that´s enough for him to do.Goats know aleeady what that means. If not, he gives them a little more pressure. But he´s more like a gentleman dog.
When I walk in front of them and they don´t follow because they´re eating on a hedge Angus brings them without telling him . Just sometimes when he snoops around or having fun with my other dogs I give him a short signal and he´s immediately coming by like saying “sorry, I was a little thoughtless”.
He really is the best dog I ever had.
He is also extremely friendly to all kids- everybody loves him.

Sam was afraid of thunder but he was not afraid of snakes or coyotes.  He loved to tree squirrels and could out tree the best squirrel dog in Arkansas by using his intelligence and his keen sight.  He watched the squirrels run up the trees and tracked them through the canopy by sight.  If Sam said there was a squirrel up the tree, you could bet money on it.

Because Sam was sensitive to storms, he was our weatherman.  If Sam said a storm was going to hit the ranch, you had better be ready.  If the weatherman issued tornado warnings for our area and Sam said “Nope, wasn’t going to happen”.  Bet on Sam.  He was never wrong.

When Sam went into his “storm shelter”, it was going to storm.  Simply as that!

One day my husband and I were working on a building project under a huge red oak tree.   About 30 yards to the side of us was another really old cedar tree which stood at the end of the main horse barn.

We knew that a storm was off in the distance, the thunder was barely audible and we were hurrying to finish “ripping” a piece of lumber with a chainsaw.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam walk by  and head towards his storm shelter.

A minute or two later, Sam appeared at my side with another English Shepherd girl.  Sam began jumping up on me , pushing me.  I yelled to get my voice heard above the chain saw.  “SAM, STOP! DOWN!

He totally ignored me and jumped and jumped at me.  I turned my attention to my husband, yelling at him over the sound of the chain saw.  “JIM, SOMETHING IS WRONG. SAM IS GOING NUTS!

Jim never heard me, never looked up , till the shock wave of the lightening bolt blew over us.  Lightening struck that ancient cedar tree 30 yards away instantly killing a cow and 3 calves.

Sam never left our side.  We threw down the tools and raced for shelter with Sam and the other English Shepherd at our side.

In the years that followed, Sam never failed to come and find me if a storm was coming.  I might be out in the woods on a horse or anywhere on our 275 acres.  If Sam came to me, I always went to the house.  And there was always a thunder and lightening storm.

Sam’s wisdom wasn’t  limited to just storms.  If he came to you with that look in his eyes, he was telling you something important.

One day, he came running up the driveway, barking and bumping into me.   Dumb me,  I thought he was playing.  After giving him a moment of attention, I continued on my journey.  He barked and barked at me.  I turned and he ran down the driveway.  “Hmm, I thought!  Wonder what game Sam has come up with now.”   Again I continued on my journey in the opposite direction.   Sam raced back in front of me, barking and running down the driveway.

Now I might be dog dumb, but I am not dog stupid.  I turned around and followed Sam down the driveway and down the road to where one of my young English Shepherds lay on the side of the road.  He had been hit by a car.

Sam taught me a valuable lesson.   Dogs are our partners as we walk through life.  They have much to give, much to tell and much to share, if we will only listen.

Sam was my guardian angel.  I was blessed to have shared his life. I miss Sam and I always will!

A couple of days ago they started to peak out from under the building. Within a day or two, Gab had moved all nine to the time tested “puppy place” under the steps to the front porch.

I think that there are 9 puppies: 6 girls and 3 boys.

Click on the picture of the Puppy to see the Photo Album of the puppies.   All of the puppies are now with their new families.  We will have another litter of English Shepherds in November.  We are accepting deposits for this litter at this time.

English Shepherd Puppies 2009

I think of you often, but even more so lately. I am sad to tell you that Bo, my English Shepard and the most wonderful gift anyone ever gave to me, has died. Turns out what I thought was arthritis in his leg was actually osteosarcoma…it spread to his lungs before I realized this.

We took his leg off 6 weeks ago. He recovered and did ok for few weeks, and I never went anywhere except work without him. Last weekend he died while with me in Little Rock at my brother’s. I can’t tell you how devastated I am. He was my sidekick and companion.

I’ve had lots of dogs in my life; only one other that was anything near as important to me as Bo. I’ll never forget him coming out from under your barn, and following me everywhere….and you saying “looks like you have a new dog”. I had no intentions of getting another dog at that time, but you said “he’s picked you”.

You were right. Bo did pick me and never gave up his job of taking care of me. A wonderful dog, and I am missing him something awful. I just wanted to thank you for giving me Bo.

One of these days, I want to come see you and if one of your pups picks me…I will bring him home. I think that is the key; too many times I and others go looking for a dog and pick one they like; what we really should do is wait until one picks us. Then we will have a loyal companion that will do anything it takes to protect and please us. Bo did.

Thank you again, my friends. Kim

Here are updates on his life in Tenn with Karen and Joe

5-13-08:   Dakota arrived last night around 9 in Cookeville and got home about 9:45.  He has cried some missing you and all the animal friends in Arkansas.  However, we think he is doing great.  He has been to town with Joe and up on the farm visiting with the cows and riding in the farm truck. It was love at first sight for us!  He is great.  Playing and doing well. Our 3 year old grandson came to visit and play tonight and they got along great.  We got him an igloo dog house and he goes right in and looks out when he hears us.  We are so happy to have him.  I think he will be a great retirement buddy for Joe.  He seems very smart.  Thanks for everything and we will let you know how he is doing.  Joe and Karen

5-26-08: This is a Dakota update.  He is doing great and everyone is in love with him.  Our daughter-in-law helped give him a bath Friday night and the kids play with him.  He is a sweetheart.  He has already grown so we must be feeding him well.  The kids bring him treats, which of course, he loves.  He loves to jump in the high weeds or hay field and bring out “stick-tights” in his fur.  He jumps in it like he is jumping in water and rolls around.  We love him very much and thank you for getting him to us.  Hope all his sisters are well. 

6/22/08:  Dakota is doing great and very happy. We love him! He is perfect. He had grown to about 18 pounds at his first vet visit and when he goes back on July 2, we think he will be well over 20. He plays and loves to run. He plays keep away with me chasing him and we go for walks. He loves to play with our grand-dogs, too.

6/24/08: I am working and spend much of my time when I get home playing with Dakota.  He is wonderful.   He is very active and plays.  He is great getting a bath.  At his first vet visit, he had gained about 6 lbs from when you took him right before he left.  His next appt is on July 2 and I am sure he will be well over 20 lbs.  His hair is growing and changing.  He has long white hairs in the black!  He plays with the grandchildren and their dog.    We love him a lot and are very grateful we found you.

 

Lisabeth is a sweetie, a cuddler and very smart. She was fairly easy to house train and had only a few accidents the first week or two but now has found her place. She loves to grab clothes from the laundry basket and sleep on them. Her and my son are best buddies they love to play together and play leap frog. She has made friends with our neighbors dogs and loves to watch all the kids playing on in the neighborhood. She helps me with the yard work by pulling the weeds and picking up the leaves in her mouth. She loves to be outside day or night and watch everything going on and listen to all the sounds. She is really good at not wondering too far and listen well when we call her to come. She has learned to sit, stay, come and working on the jumping up and chewing on people. We love her and she has found a place in our home and family very quickly.

Update:   My little Griffin turned two this week, as you probably remember.  See how beautiful he is!  This is a picture with my neighbor and her dachsund that spends every day with Griffin.  So they work and play everyday and have each other as company.
 I am so proud to have this dog.  He is a very happy dog.  He has alot of neighborhood friends.  This is a really dog friendly neighborhood.   We go to the park twice a day, a few  blocks from my house.  Today a neighbor asked me to help her socialize her new puppy with Griffin.  He is known as a very sweet, playful, smart and funny dog.  We have a golden retriever, Bailey, one house away.  Her owner loves to go to the park with us because Griffin does these “run bys” with her dog.  It is so funny.  Just as they are about to catch the ball he will run by and almost bump them so they miss the ball.  So far the other dogs are tolerant.  Anyway Griffin is a much beloved dog by me and my neighbors.

I can’t tell you how much  I love this dog.  He is a great dog.  Everyone stops me on the street to comment on how beautiful he is.   I feel so lucky that I found you and as a result I have a wonderful dog.  

(Mara had the test for MDR1 genotype and came back mutant/normal).

Here is the  thread of emails about Mara’s blossoming puppyhood…

6/2/08 Tonight Mara starts puppy kindergarten. It’s mostly just playing with other puppies with a little “work” thrown in here and there. I think she’ll like it.
More news later….

6/4/08 3update of Mara’s first days at school.

She is one of six puppies in the puppy kindergarten and the youngest of the six. There are Mara, Maya, Molly and Max (!) and Roger and Saint. During puppy playtime – offleash mingling supervised – she held her own with older (and bigger!) Siberian and Great Dane puppies but never was aggressive.  She can do ‘sit’ and ‘down’ quite easily as well as ‘come’.

On her first day at herding Mara worked with three khaki campbell ducks. Her instructor, Diane, says that Mara has fine instincts. She says Mara did well in that she ran them through a circle and also straight. I think! And she was stronger on the clockwise circle. I’m just learning this so I’m not sure what I was seeing exactly! Mara seemed to really like it. She showed a lot of enthusiasm. It was puppy week there since there had been two others starting this week a Border Collie and something else. Diane remarked that Mara was the most sensitive to sound of all the puppies this week. You did notice already that Mara was a sensitive puppy all around.

6/19/08:  Mara is well and growing – 19.3 lbs at 13 weeks old.

I had started her in two separate schools – we decided not to continue with the puppy kindergarten as when we went to the second class two of the puppies barked throughout the class and we were both rattled by the end of the class. I think the instructors should have been able to handle the barking. And I don’t want Mara to be learning excess barking!

The half hour inside doing commands sseemed a little too intense for her at this time. And most importantly we have our wonderful local instructor Diane where Mara does herding/agility/obedience in a private lesson hour. It’s not too hard on Mara because we are outside and she doesn’t have to concentrate on any one thing very long. Lots of critters around. She is so happy when she goes there.

She can do the counter clockwise circle very nicely now with ducks and she is learning to have a lead attached. She loves her ducks. Mara is so agile and fast and curious that I’m feeling she will enjoy doing agility. And most importantly she really seems to enjoy it. We get extra practice on logs and rocks in the forest.

Two puppy issues we are working on are not grabbing clothes and hands while walking – she is trying hard not to do that but sometimes just gets up a lot of puppy steam. Diane says just push her away and don’t accept the behavior. We have the same thing with puppy biting. There too she’s trying and a lot better.

All in all it’s a learning process for the both of us! I worry about doing the right thing – not too severe not too lenient -so to avoid future problems. But I am relaxing with the whole process a lot more and we are good all around. We even have fun!     

7/6/08:  Mara does well of course. Trainer says she is a very secure and confident puppy (and very bright) – which is why she is already challenging me. Ah joy. We are doing some recalls with distraction so she will be encouraged to come when called. Trainer says puppies she usually sees don’t start with that until about 5-6 months of age.  As we all know -come- and -stay- are the hardest. Mara all around learns fast – even though she must check it out a few times “Did you REALLY mean not to go in the street?”

Dakota was the only male English Shepherd pup in Gabby 2008 litter.  Here is an update from his owners at about 12 weeks of age. 

This is a Dakota update.  He is doing great and everyone is in love with him.  Our daughter-in-law helped give him a bath Friday night and the kids play with him.  He is a sweetheart.  He has already grown so we must be feeding him well.  The kids bring him treats, which of course, he loves.  He loves to jump in the high weeds or hay field and bring out “stick-tights” in his fur.  He jumps in it like he is jumping in water and rolls around.  We love him very much and thank you for getting him to us.  Hope all his sisters are well.  Joe and Karen

Happy is the biggest pup – biggest body and biggest smile. She is always happy. Loves to be held and sit and watch television with me. Of course during the day Happy and the other two pups are busy keeping up with what is going on around the farm.

Jewel is the smallest girl and very curious. She doesn’t have any issues with any of the other dogs or puppies on the farm. She is always around – a quiet shadow.

They are all delights!

I am aways sorry to see them go.  I think “they are too young to leave their Moms and Sibs.  Who will they have to play with?  Who will teach them the way of the Dog?”.

In reality, I know these are really lucky puppies, each going to wonderful families, eager to have them join their lifestyle.  But I am always a bit sad to see them go!  In the end, though, I don’t lose a puppy, I gain some new friends.

The weather here has been terrible.  Storms and  tornado last week and again last night 70 mile an hour winds and tornados were about 5 miles away.  Too close to call till they had passed.

For those puppies that are leaving, here is a snapshot in their lives.    A photo display  is also available at Puppy Farm Life.

Friday was the pups first visit to the vet and first long “road trip”.  Everyone was perfect.  One upset stomach but no fussing or crying.  They took the vet office with quiet, contained  interest.

The puppies are sleeping on a quilt on the back porch outside my french doors.  There are several crates out there full of toys and soft spots to sleep.  They go in and out of the crates; some sleep in the crates and other on the quilt. 

The pups are in a chewy stage and those hard rubber cylinder toys with knobs sticking out seems to a favoriate at the moment.  Also they are big into bones.. big hard real bones to knaw on!  They love marrow bones.  I don’t cook them..

They are also into the holding on pant legs and grabbing the end of my skirt (not too much opportunity for that.)  I gently fuss at them for this. I may reach down and sort of growl at them and touch them with my hand to tell them to stop.  I might sort of kick at them.  Remember this are going to be working dogs.  They need to learn to respect the hooves or feet when herding.  It is not my goal to hurt in anyway these little pups.. just give them a signal that they must think before biting, or holding on to legs “or tail” of a moving object.

This idea feeds into my philosophy about how to introduce puppies to stock. The puppies have 24/7 access to  the horses that are in the paddock by the house and the calf paddock which is also by the house.  They  go with me on walks around the farm  and they spend time watching the calves and playing along the fence line to the calf paddock.

Lots of fun in the calf water over-run — and calf poo .  Big brother, Cowboy, even takes them into the calf paddock and watches over them – I have seen a calf run at them and they scoot back under the fence. 

They are  naturally wary at this stage and the pups gradually learn about being around stock as they mature.  These are English Shepherds so we are not too worried about them getting excited about being around stock.  We want them to be comfort and sit and watch and “bond’ with the animals.  

Horses are a bit different.  I keep the pups with me when I am around horses as long as I am not doing something where the horse is the first priority. Most pups will be stuck to your leg like glue which makes it easy  to herd the pups away from the hooves. The pups are a bit clumpsy at this age and not quick – so you have to be  careful but they need to learn a little along.  (Much of your behavior depends on your horses.  Thoroughbreds are quick and fractious and draft horses are gentle, kind and slower)

It is important to be calm.  We want the pups to be calm around horses so we must be calm.  If they read excitement from you, they don’t know it is because you are afraid they are going to be hurt.. they think it is because being around horses is exciting.

Their parents are good help.  The pups stay with the big dogs which are always in the right spot.

I never tie a puppy to a fence.  I think this is a big mistake.  If the horses are doing too many “horse things”, I pick the puppy up and carry it out of the area.  I might put a puppy in a crate where it can watch .. but you might be surprised.. if things get wild, most puppies will hide and watch on their own.

 
Much of this learning is in the morning and evening.  At mid day the puppies sleep.  And when they sleep ,they sleep like babies.  Hard to wake up!

As for food,  Mom still is providing some milk (God love, Gabby)  I don’t think puppies need milk at their new homes.  Milk is so full of hormones I don’t even give it to my family.  Organic milk is ok. Goat’s milk, sure.  But none of it is necessary!  Sometimes I top dress their food with milk replacer as a treat.  All the pups are drinking water

I feed the pups 3 to 4 times a day.  I fill up all the bowls and they wander around eating with different partners.  After all the puppies leave, I pick up the rest of the food.  At their new homes, I would just fill up the bowl and let the pup eat till she is full.  Then pick up the bowl.  That way it is easy to figure out about how much the pup is eating.

As for what to feed, I feed Iams Puppy most of the time.  Sometimes I feed Purina One  Puppy. I do feed different types of high quality puppy feeds as I am not convinced that feeding 1 brand is a good thing for the pup. I also don’t think that price is always a measure of quality.  Watch out for dog foods with corn as the first ingredient. 

Dogs are what they eat!  Some can be allergic to corn and other ingredients in commercial dog foods.

And, finally,  the pup will usually have to potty after she eats .. Or wakes up.  At this point abou 4 hours is all a pup can hold its bowels.  If you see your pup put its nose on the ground and start to act like it is looking for something… assume it is a potty spot and take it outside.

Night are hard for house raised pups.  As I mentioned the pups are sleep on my back porch.  Right now, some of the pups are  peeing on the porch at night.. normal.. too dark and scary to go down on the ground by themselves.  I just hose it off in the morning.  it will stop all by itself as soon as they get bigger.

Since they live outside, I am trying to trying to teach them about doors.. how to go in and out of a door.  They sort of wander over to the door but if it is not open, they aren’t yet sure about how to get it to open so they can go out.

I want to try this idea… I want to have a bell on a rope by the door – when I open the door. I want to pull the rope and ring the bell.  I bet the little pups will quickly pick up on ringing the bell for the door to open.  Then we just have to reward them when they go potty outside.

If you try this, please let me know.  One of the pups from a previous litter gave me this idea.  It learned it all by itself.  The bell was just there.. It started ringing it when it wanted to go out ” Smart, eh?”

Video of Jewel at 7 weeks. This video still needs some work but I am posting as is for the folks that are interested this day in this pup. Jewel is the smallest girl in the litter. She weighs 9 lbs while the rest of the pups are 11 lbs. Never the less, she is not timid. Nor is she submissive.

Summer is a delightful puppy. Ready to explore her world and learn about the jobs that need her attention.

There seems to be three stages of development evident in the litter. 

The most “mature” pups are able to move into new spaces and be secure within themselves with me. 

For example, we train cutting horse so each day I “run the flag” for my husband.  This means that I run an electronic device that moves a “flag” back and forth across a “wire” that stretches across the ring.  Two puppies (Happy and Cleo)  come with me across the pen to the chair where I perform this action.   The rest of the pups watch at the gate.

All the pups are walking down to the barn to get the puppy food and walking back with me.  The other day we had an “issue” during this walk.  Their Dad took off after a barn cat.  I don’t allow that! So I began calling him off.

This commotion caused the pups to scatter  in an interesting way. Two pups stayed with me ( Happy and Summer.   Two pups ran back to the house (Lisabeth and Cleo) And the rest ran to their Mom.

Thinking about this and watching the pup behavior this week, I think we are seeing 2 more different levels of maturity.  The pups that are secure as long as they are with their Mom.  And the pups that are secure in their home turf.  

In the beginning all the puppies were most secure in their den (home turf area).  As they develop, they begin to move around the farm with their Mom.  (Secure with Mom stage).   A little more experience and development and this is transformed into the Secure with My Person stage. 

This week has seen Summer going through some of this transition.  She has been out with her Mom and now is coming with me.  She is moving around the farm ( within the space of the house and backyard) by herself.

Lisabeth is wavering back and forth.  Some times she has some independent and some times she reverts back to her previous “security blanket” level. 

Jewel is also making this transition and she is anxious to become more independent.  Happy is the leader of the pack in development.  Very secure.  Very calm and Very polite.  Cleo can be very independent but can  revert back to needing more security.

If you have kids, you know that all this sounds normal for little  kids.  Some days, some moments they are very mature and then in a heart beat, they can need to be held by their Moms and Dad.   

The weekend  was a big time in the life of the puppies.  Friday evening they decided they were big enough to walk halfway to the barn with me.  The leaders were Cleo and Happy and Dakota ( that is the male )  Summer and Lisabeth came part of the way and decided it was too far.

By Saturday evening, all the pups were coming to barn.  By Sunday evening they were all over the front yard and in the space between the house and barn.

Monday morning the two leading ladies, Cleo and  Happy thought they were big enough to follow their Dad down a farm lane to bark at a stray dog.  After several yards, they thought twice about it and decided to come back and get on the back porch and watch.

Lisabeth, Mara  and Summer are close behind them in their development.  Jewel is about a day behind.

They are all maturing at their own rate and gaining speed.

Friday night, we were working horses and I had Happy and Cleo under my chair and the rest of the pups watching outside the fence.  It is an exciting time in their lifes.

I uploaded a video clip of the pups on YouTube.  As soon as I get the web address I will add it to this page.

Well maybe not!  I uploaded but it didt’t get there.  And now I can’t get anything to upload. 

So Plan B:  I am uploading them to website and adding a widget to WordPress (pray for me!)  Hopefully the video will appear on the right hand side of the page later today.    

It is hard to get good footage of every pup when you do a video at one time.  Some pups are tired, others are hungry and some are full of fun.

I am looking forward to see how this works. 

  In the meantime, try this link:  McCall English Shepherd Puppies

Jack is another one of the great dogs that has been produced out of our family of English Shepherds.

Jack is closely related to our stud dog, Ringo.  They are both out of Princess.  Princess is a daughter of our beloved Tessa.  The sires of Jack and Ringo are full brothers.  Ringo is by Augtu (Delores Butchers dog) and Jack is out of his brother, Owens Sejak.

 Bill Corley  is the proud owner of Jack.  Over the years he has sent  pictures and updates on Jack.

Just after New Year 2007, we received that message that “Jack is three and a great dog.”

Many of you who follow the working shepherd group on yahoo have heard  Bill’s tales about this great dog.  I just received this new story  and picture of Jack this week.

We had 100 year floods at the farm this Spring, twice. One day we had 12 inches on already wet ground. That morning I looked out and the backyard with the puppy kennel had standing water. So, I had to carry 12 puppies into the house. I looked out to the front pasture and some 30 goats out there were standing in their hut in rising water. The front creek had overflowed and it was over a foot deep running fast in the field near the goats. I took Jack out with me and opened a gate in the fence to let the goats out to lead them to the barn. They didn’t want to cross deep water so I sent Jack in after them. He went bounding through the water with it flying and got the goats started. He brought up the stragglers and kept them coming as I led them to the barn and dry ground. Two good men couldn’t have helped the way he did. There is no greater pleasure in life for Jack than to work.

 Great dogs like great men have great Mothers.

To learn more about Jack, visit Bill’s website at Twin Spring Farm

It is so hard to name puppies before I know their personalities.  I like the method used by many Indian tribes:  Babies were named as their personalities developed.

My first intimate exposure to this pup happened this morning.  It was stormy and rainy.  I was down in the barn and heard a pup cry out.  Running back to the house I called to all the pups that are behind the bushes up by the front of the house.  This little girl came out of the bushes with her hind leg up in the air. 

She was shivering like she was cold and a bit scared.  I scooped her up and put her in the house.  There I wrapped her up in a fleece blanket and craddled her till she was secure.

Going into my office, I placed her on my lap and she fell fast asleep.  After about an hour, she wimpered a bit and I put her down on the floor by my desk.  She is still there.  Laying peacefully on the floor on her fleece rug.  

No crying. No fuzzing. No fretting. Just comfortable.  You would think she had been raised in my office for the first 5 weeks of her life.  Neat puppy.     

She has a white around her nose narrowing to a thin stripe between the eyes  widdening out to a white blaze ending on the top of her head.  She has a narrow white collar.  Her front feet are white.  Her back feet are white at the bottom with brown and black coming down the leg.  

Everyone is fine although there was a bit of scare about the last pup. Bonnie was rushed to hospital but everything turned out fine.

Bonnie lives in Virginia with her family, the Stewarts. The Stewart family is also devoted to the preservation of the original traits that made the English Shepherd an important member of the early American farmer and rancher family.

We are honored that they chose Bonnie, a daughter of Ringo and Gabby, to be the central focus of their breeding program.

Just received :   Bonnie and her extended family with the puppies.

Puppies are about 3 weeks of age 

To learn more Bonnie and the Stewarts, visit Skyemoor Farm

Cleo is short for Cleopatra. This girl is a take control kind of gal. She came in for some tv time and immediately decided that Jim’s arm was more fun – it was something to chew on. The chair was wasn’t big enough or interesting enough so she decided to explore the rest of the furniture.

She has white collars that split into two in the middle of her neck. This pup has 4 white legs.

There is another pup with the almost the same face markings so I have be sure not to mix them up. I believe the other pup is not as “dominant” as this girl.

This girl is very secure. All the pups came around to the back porch and played with the rest of the dogs. After tiring, they all retired to the front porch, their home base except for Cleo who stayed behind and played by herself with the big dogs. That is a big step for a little pup.

Lisabeth is an interesting puppy.  She was the most “mental” of the puppies on first encounter.  She was very cuddy and wanted to nuzzle into Jim.   She was not insecure but exploring him with naive quiet confidence.

Very interesting pup.

Note: This girl has a very small umbilical hernia.  It should disappear as she matures.  In the past, the vet has told me this is nothing to worry about. It is so small that it could have been done when the Mom was cleaning the pup up after it was born.

Jimani, this is the pup that I think is the twin to Cleo.  She has a big wide collar instead of the 2 narrow ones.

We didn’t get a good read on this pup. It was getting late in the evening and the pups were ready to go to bed.

More soon! 

I renamed this pup.  She is a very nice pup. Very friendly. Social.

Her first trip to watch tv went well.  She was a bit uptight for about a minute or so. Then she got into the idea and settled right down to being petted and rubbed on.

Many pups are like this at 5 weeks of age.  Puppies are like kids.  Each one of them has their own development schedule.  This is not just a bold as some of the other pups at this age.  

She is a very colorful pup.     She has two narrow white rings around her neck and a half white ring over her hip.  She has brown on her face and all 4 legs are white.

Today, I was sitting down on the grass as the pup ate their dinner.  Several pups were coming by and getting rubbed and loved.  Summer can right up and sit down in front of me – sort of like “I would like a little attention if you don’t mind”  Not pushy but not timid either.  Sort of polite.

English Shepherds are basically born with manners.  They come and sit and watch. Of course they are still puppies and love to pull on your pant legs.