The best is yet to come..
It’s not rare for me to raise up 3-4 pups a year. I put a bit of hi and bye on them throughout the rearing and maybe some lie downs in the shop for treats on cold nights..
We chore together cleaning and mucking, a pat here and there.. but I don’t make pets of them, until they’ve earned it.
The goal here is to produce the best working dogs I can.. I observe them along the way, but they live a very structured life on a schedule.
My philosophy is you don’t get paid to be pretty.. you haven’t earned pet status yet.. when you show your worth I’ll consider it. I love all the dogs that come thru my hands, but until the day I say WOW on the sheep, you are still just a dog. A dog, a companion, a friend, a partner in a job. No boss offers a raise in your first days or months or year. You must prove yourself in order to level up.
Some dogs don’t want to level up they are fine where they stand, yet others want to surpass all expectations and more. It is up to us to bring out the best in our dogs, but it’s up to them to want it.
As I finish raising the bunch to working age it’s interesting.. some are always right there, some you hardly see until the next schedule.. when you let them out some stick by and some go explore. Some lay idly by quiet but watching.
The attention seekers usually aren’t the ones, but they grab our hearts due to loyalty. These ones we always hope they make the team. the one that’s quiet and unassuming is usually the one.
Is it hard to raise hope? Yes it is, but in the end they always land in the best place.
This years projects are just about to show me what they’ve got. I’ve seen some samples on a few outings here and there….
Who will stay.. stay tuned for episode 2..
Keeping Ewe