Farmcollies

FARMCOLLIES AT CARTANGEL

~~~~~~ANNOUNCEMENT~~~~~~
We are now taking deposits for a possible spring litter between Buck and Crystal.
See the new Pup Request page for more information.

Welcome to our WILD SIDE!

2004 Pups

All of our puppies are highly socialized and exposed to most situations you'd find on a working farm/ranch. We have poultry, cats, goats, horses, children, 4 wheelers, machinery, and every pup has experienced ALL of this and much more as we acquaint them with our daily routines. We do temperament testing and evaluate each pup's working abilities in order to make the best match with homes that become available.

THE SIRE

CIMARRON BUCCANEER
Registered English Shepherd and certified PRGN (Permanent heRding, Guarding, and huNting) with the AWFA (American Working Farmcollie Association)

Buck is our English Shepherd, who saves me more work around here than I would have thought possible. Whether I need to move the herd, catch a goat, keep the chickens out of the goat feed, find a dropped syringe in the dark, whatever the job, he is always ready! His most recent accomplishment was amazing to watch. I looked out my window to see what had the dogs stirred up and saw the goats in the wrong pasture milling around excitedly. As I took a closer look I saw Buck gathering the goats. About then, Mitzi, our Rough Collie, jumped the fence to help. They sent the goats back down the fence and then patiently waited as each goat crawled through a small hole in the fence. I then went to congratulate the dogs and fix the fence!

I am constantly amazed at Buck's uncanny reasoning abilities and high degree of intelligence, however, I have come to learn that he is not among the few, as this is behavior that is fairly typical of many English Shepherds and working Farmcollies. No matter what the job is, he's a ready and willing worker, even if no one is around to tell him to do it! Those same working traits and reasoning abilities are showing up in spades in his offspring.

Visit his breeder's site HERE if you'd like to see a slideshow of him at work and learn more about his line.

To learn whether these wonderful home/farm helpers and guardians would be suitable for you and your family you may visit American Working Farmcollie Association to learn more about Farmcollies and The English Shepherd.

UPDATE 03/10/06 Buck is still learning new tricks and finding new ways to help out his family. He is a real fetch-a-holic and is always picking something up just to have it in his mouth. If anything falls out of my hands he picks it up & gives it back. He loves finding lost articles, be it animal or object. I dropped a pencil that went through & under the baby chick pen one day, a real hassle to go after as I'd have to get down & crawl through muck to get it. Fortunately Buck was handy and eager to look when I told him to "get the pencil". He looked a little confused when he stuck his head down low & couldn't see a baby chick, as that was surely what had escaped. I showed him the pen I had attached to my clipboard & urged him to "find the pencil" . This time he went to work crawling & sniffing around until he triumphantly emerged with the pencil in his mouth!

UPDATE 02/28/06 About a week after our goats completed kidding one of the does came home crying without one of her kids. When this had happened in the past it was nearly impossible to spot even a white baby as we have so much underbrush & deadfall. We just had to wait until the baby was hungry enough to come out crying the next day and let mamma find it. This time I asked Buck to "find the baby" and showed him the kid that returned with mamma. We set out on a walk with me following the dog asking "where's the baby?" from time to time and looking through and under everything we came across. Once we hit the front pasture Buck seemed to find a scent and set off at a good pace. I was afraid he was trailing rabbits, but followed anyway. I caught up to him at a big brush pile where he was standing with tail awag. There was our lost kid, almost invisible behind a log!

UPDATE 12/30/05
Just a quick note on Buck's progress. He takes his job quite seriously, as he always has, and proves himself more valuable every day. I had been to the grocery store the other day and attempted to unload the car in one trip. Buck was muttering to himself about what an ungrateful human he had (he who keeps the animals, children, and guests in their proper places and protects farm and family with his life each and every day!) when I didn't stop to say "hello" or give him his usual pat on the head as I loaded up my fingers with those plastic grocery bags. As I turned away from the car one bag slipped from my fingers to the ground, but I couldn't stop to pick it up without losing them all, which left me muttering to myself. I took my armload in the house leaving the garage door open and started back out to get the the one I'd dropped, when I met Buck parading down the hall with my dropped bag of groceries draped from his jaws. "Shame on you, Mom! I work for dog food and you can't even give me a proper greeting, but I love you anyway. Here's your stuff!"

UPDATE: 04-14-05
Two weeks ago we lost one of our Anatolians when he was shot on our property near the highway. We suspect the culprits were kids out joy-riding with nothing better to do. Ranger was our big white dog who patrolled our home property with Buck, our English Shepherd as well as ranging all 40 acres to keep coyotes and stray dogs at bay. Buck stays closer to home and only went out further when needed. Our second Anatolian stays confined to a particular area during the day and is kept with the does & kids at night.

Since we lost Ranger, Buck went through a grieving period for his buddy which lasted 2 days. The third day I noticed he wasn't always "right there" when I stepped outside, but did come running, if I called, and always from a particular area in the pasture. I didn't really think too much about the change since we have lots of squirrels, rabbits, and woodland creatures that keep him busy, it is spring, and we'd been spending a good bit of time away from home as we are overseeing the rebuilding of our store and have been doing a good bit of finish work ourselves. By the fourth day I became concerned when we came home for the evening and Buck didn't show. I hooted and hollered his name and FINALLY heard him barking in the pasture. When I went out to find him, he came to meet me, but went dashing back down the fenceline, so I followed. I found him standing near one of our does who had her head put through the fence. The poor thing had been through a terrible storm we'd had the night before, had lost some weight, and her neck was raw where she'd tried to pull it out, so she may have been there for a while. While I angled her horns back to get her head out Buck kept nudging her flank and nibbling on her horns as if to help me. When she was free she could barely walk, but he escorted her back to the barn with his tail held high. I can only guess that Buck had been spending time near her (possibly trying to get her out and causing the raw spots) to make sure she was not attacked.

After that episode I paid a little more attention to Buck's whereabouts during the day. Our routine starts at the barn every morning when I feed horses, lock our other Anatolian in the day yard with his feed, and let the goats out to pasture. Normally, Ranger would go out with them and Buck would stay behind at the house. Now, Buck asks to be left with the goats and goes out to pasture with them. I went out to the back 20 after finishing the rest of the morning chores, just to observe. I could see Buck traveling the fenceline in the distance (exactly what Ranger would do) and using his nose from time to time. When he was satisfied the pasture was secure he laid down in a spot that gave him the best view of his charges. I went back to the house with a new respect for what these dogs are capable of. Buck still patrols our home area and is quick to show up if the Collies bark at something, but he keeps close check on his goats as well. When we put them up for the night and turn Chief loose with them, he stays at the house and only ventures out if an alarm is raised by one of the other dogs, or if the coyotes start up their evening song.

Buck is 15 months old now and takes his jobs quite seriously. He continues to surprise me with intelligence and understanding that is sometimes almost human, and even a little scary.

ROUGH COLLIE CARTANGEL CRYSTAL CLEAR

Crystal was acquired from a breeder a few years ago to fill the gap left by the passing of one of our beloved Collies. She serves as mother and protector to all young ones (including her own) on our farm, most especially the young kids who are sometimes bullied by their older siblings and relatives. She is a happy worker, loyal, and obedient, with instincts for herding and guarding.

Update 03/08/06 Crystal whelped 1 tri-colored girl & boy, and 6 sable/white boys! She is a very gentle, but protective mother. Mitzi was sent packing with a growl when she came a little too close for comfort.

Update 02/22/06 I think Crystal is picking up more lessons by watching Buck work. Today he was in the house with the children, so Crystal came out to help at the barn. A couple of babies had crawled through the gate into the horse pasture, which was worrisome as the horses come running full tilt at feeding time & I didn't want the kids accidently trampled. I went running through the feed room to get through the gate & catch the kids before the horses arrived, but Crystal beat me to it! She had already come over the fence & was moving the babies back into the pen before I got out of the feed room.

Rockwood's Morning Star, Mitzi, is a gorgeous tricolor Rough Collie with excellent herding instincts and the ability to work on her own.
She is a great heeler and natural gatherer. We can depend on her to bring the goats from pasture to barn every evening without worry that a kid will be left behind, as she is quite thorough and moves dams & kids slowly enough that they don't lose each other.

She LOVES her goats and is the first to alert me when something is wrong.   Last week about 10 p.m. Buck was snoozing in our bedroom before lights out and we were getting ready for bed.   We can't hear anything on that side of the house from the bedroom, but I was up to check the doors when I heard Mitzi barking a high pitched fast yip, which was very different from her normal bark. I threw on a housecoat & stepped out to see what all the fuss was about. We have a stock tank that is being temporarily used as a hay cover for our older bucks. I have it propped up on one side using a t-post & fence panel, but it isn't completely stationary.   Mitzi had jumped the fence & was racing around and jumping up on the 8' stock tank which had been moved about 30 feet and was flat on the ground up-ended. I found Gringo trapped underneath who was still butting the side of the tank trying to escape. Mitzi was all smiles & wiggles when I lifted up the tank for Gringo to escape. She stayed with him and checked him all over making sure he was OK. GOOD DOG! The rest of night was quiet, and I've anchored that tank so we don't have another such incident.

CRYSTAL'S PUPS

STAY TUNED FOR PHOTOS OF OUR NEWEST LITTER WHICH ARRIVED MARCH 8TH, 2006. IN THE MEANTIME, HERE IS HOW OUR FIRST BUNCH OF PUPS GREW UP. MORE RECENT PUPDATES COMING SOON!

As working instincts are evaluated pup information will be updated, so keep this page bookmarked to see how your favorite grows and learns. I have already observed varying degrees and combinations of all three working instincts in these pups. The majority are very biddable, coming when called even if at play, some have quite strong chase/follow instincts which are important in herding, others alert with barks and growls if anything unusual or out-of-the-ordinary takes place (Guardian mode), and it's quite fun to watch one this young put his nose to the ground and instinctively track a toy that is abruptly removed and/or dragged quickly away (Hunting).

CANAAN, is full of fun and humor. He is active, extremely intelligent, and very light on his feet. He was the first pup to learn to scratch on the door to be let in. He really enjoys moving the poultry around, but is a little intimidated by the goats. This may change as he gets older, as it did with his sire. He may be an excellent prospect for agility/obedience trials.

PUPDATE: Caanan is a little higher drive than any of the other pups. Never hyper, as he will sit patiently at my feet when I'm busy, but he does have a higher energy level. He has been showing some eye and good herding moves with the poultry, but is still a little intimidated by the goats. Enjoys the little ones, though. Caanan is very alert and barks a warning when something new or different is going on. I see more of the Collie nature in him than English Shepherd and his face is definitely his mom's. He might make a good duck/sheep/goat herding dog and probably a good obedience/agility prospect as well. He should mature to 60-65 lbs.

PUPDATE 03/12/05 Caanan is very eager to please, sensitive to voice, and showed excellent control today when I asked him to move the guineas to the other side of the barn. He started out a little wild, but quickly slowed with an "EAAASY", and I didn't even think he knew the word! He's pictured below after gaining a little more experience with those flighty guineas.

PUPDATE 04-14-05: I took Caanan with us when we went to work on the fence this evening and he had a blast keeping up with the 4-wheeler and playing with the kids in the creek. He moves exceptionally well and has a smooth, ground-eating trot. He was Mr. Tough Guy when we past the neighbor's fenced-in dog, but barked just enough to let me know he was "managing" the menace. Did the same thing to our Anatolian guardian at the barn... mean bark - "leave us alone and you're safe" - then he looked at me with a big grin to make sure I noticed how well he took charge <grin>. Then the silly pup refused to pass the goats until his path was completely cleared. He is quite submissive to them, much like an LGD (Livestock Guard Dog). I'm going to do some work with him and Buck together tomorrow and see if that will help his confidence. A couple of other pups were like this at 12 weeks, but since they've been in their new homes and learned their new "pack" members, they've become much more confident and bold.

PUPDATE 06/14/05 : The Forgash family has been enjoying Molly so much, they've decided they need a second. Caanan arrived at his new home in California, today, where he will reside with his sister, Molly, and two of his goat buddies, Astro and Thunder.

ASHLEY, aka DIXIE - This girl is biddable, happy, bold, and fearless, yet quite gentle with the children and mindful of her teeth. She loves retrieving, readily works poultry, is not intimidated by the goats, and is easily called off. I have no problem keeping her with me as we make the chore rounds. She watches every move I make.

PUPDATE 02/19/05: Ashley, aka Dixie, is now a beloved resident of Skylines Farm of Idaho. She will be learning how to manage sheep and cashmere goats with her new owner, Melissa Lines. You can learn more about Melissa's animals bred specifically for fleece & fiber HERE.

03/01/05 Excerpt from Melissa's post to the AWFA list:

Hi Folks,
I've had sweet Ashley for about 10 days now and I have to brag a little. At 13 weeks, she... was housetrained in the first week (waking me up to take her out:), has helped me move an escaped sheep back into the barn, and yesterday was particularly brilliant. When I asked her, she expertly herded
my neighbor's obnoxious guinea hens back to their own property, and then instantly stopped in her tracks and came right back to me when I called "Ashley, that'll do, come here." Wow! Good Girl! Of course I always make a big deal out of the smallest effort on her part and she's very proud of herself when she "gets" something.

03/07/05

Hi Angela,

Last night, she and I were in with the group of ewes who'd been pushing around the little lamb mentioned in my last email), and the lamb accidentally got pushed out the barn door. This wasn't really a big deal,
but Ashley and I walked outside to see how he was. She was most disturbed to see him there all alone, and decided on her own to put him back into the barn. I thought this would be an interesting lesson, so I just watched. At one point I suggested she be "eeeeasy" as she experimented with how to move him. She backed off some at my suggestion, and the lamb then calmly trotted back into the barn to his mama. She followed him in, watched him for a minute and then came right back to me. I was just stunned! She's a baby herself, and the whole process had taken - maybe? - two minutes. And she was so calm about the whole thing! Whew, what can I say but wow?

Thanks so much for the positive reinforcement, Angela. I'm sure I'm going to make some boo-boos with this girl, but I do believe we'll get through puppyhood ok.
Baa! Melissa

08/08/05 Excerpt from Melissa's post to the AWFA list:

Hi All...
I don't know if any of you remember me, but last winter I purchased my first farmcollie pup, Ashley (now known as Dixie Rose:), from Angela at Cartangel. I posted a few initial questions to the list and received many very warm welcomes and some great advice. Within weeks of getting Dixie, however, my lambing season began and I just never found the right moment to update you on her progress. Since then though, I've been devouring these digests every day and I have to tell you what a tremendous help this list has been to me! So often, when Dixie and I were going through a challenging time, I'd check my email one morning and there was a question from somebody else facing the same issues and four or five terrific, insightful responses from you more experienced farmcollie moms. Thank you so much! You all were such a huge
help to me!

Dixie's 8 months old now and I'm even more smitten with her...and so is everyone who sees her in action. Just as Angela predicted, Dixie is my shadow. She watches my every move, determines if and how she can be helpful to me, and just steps in and lends a hand. Working with her is so much like working with a human helper that sometimes it's just eerie! I could play catch up and tell you a hundred stories of simple little things she's done for me that by themselves don't seem like much, but when seen as a whole just shout that this creature is going to grow up to be an amazing, incredible dog! But I won't. Instead I'll tell you how, as of yesterday, 8-month-old Dixie has definitively proven to me that she's no longer a kid,
too young to be taken seriously...

Three days ago I was working in a wooded pasture with Dixie and three of the Pyrenees dogs (who live fulltime with the sheep). All 145 ewes and lambs were grazing in a distant pasture. Dixie suddenly began barking furiously at a particular group of trees, running out and back again, as though she wanted me to follow her (ala Come Quick! Timmy's fallen down the well!:) I couldn't see a thing myself and figured she was overreacting to a chipmunk or something. The older, much more experienced Pyrs looked briefly, sniffed, and then they too ignored her barking. She continued barking. I looked again closely, decided in my wisdom that it was nothing, and told her to hush. She continued barking, insistently. I insisted, she insisted, and I finally yelled at her to hush, it was nothing! She gave a dog shrug and instantly busied herself with something else.

Yesterday morning I looked from the house into those same woods and saw a lamb, lying down all alone. Very wrong - the sheep were four pastures away! I went out and found a lamb close to death. I carried him back to the barn, doctored him as best as I could, but I knew it was too late. He died a few hours later. How he got into that pasture, or how long he'd been there by himself, I haven't yet determined. I do know that three days ago Dixie told me he was there and if I'd trusted her enough that lamb would probably still be alive today.

Needless to say, the next time Dixie tells me that Timmy's down the well I'll go running to investigate...

Melissa

10/07/05 Excerpt from Melissa's letter to me:

Hi Angela,
Just checking in, to let you know how my beloved Dixie is doing...and to let you know that I finally have a couple photos of her up on my website www.skylinesfarm.com/photoday-week-month2005.htm. (Isn't she a beauty?:)

Well, this incredible girl has completely stolen my heart! I now have exactly what I was looking for in a dog --- a real working partner on the farm who thinks for herself, figures out how she can help me, and just dives in! Hurrah!!!

You picked the absolutely perfect pup for me, Angela. Dixie has just the right level of drive and aggressiveness for my needs. She's totally comfortable just hanging around the house or yard when we're not doing sheep stuff and will never sneak out and work them on her own...yet she's always thrilled to head out and do some work with me when it's time.

Of course I never ask Dixie to do a major herding job like rounding up 145 sheep and driving them into the barn by herself. I just don't need that kind of help, since I utilize runways and my sheep generally come running when called and follow me where I need them to go. She's just always there to lend a hand when I need her...and sometimes when I didn't even think to ask her! At only about 10-1/2 months now, she's made amazing progress at becoming an all-round "good hand" ...

When I say "Dixie, help me!" (and sometimes when I say nothing at all:) she's there in a flash to assess the situation and figure out what I need... ...she'll jump in and chase pushy sheep away from a bale of hay that I'm trying to break up for feeding...she'll go pick up the last few lambs that are lagging behind when I call the whole herd to come in...she'll help me
calmly move sheep through my series of smaller and smaller pens for garlicking and hoof trimming etc...when a sheep is out of place she doesn't yet put it back, but she tells me there's a problem and insists I do something about it now...

She keeps the cat out of my bedroom and off the furniture...tells me when one of the feral cats in the area is sneaking into the garage to steal cat food...finds anything I've dropped in the yard and brings it to me (like used coffee cups or tools that the housepainters left on the ground:)

She's also an incredible hunter and collects bodies of slow birdfeeder visitors and cocky ground squirrels while refraining from digging for moles like the Pyrenees do...she absolutely won't allow magpies, wild turkeys, quail, or any other local wild birds to walk around her/my yard...

She's very protective of me and ever-so-subtly keeps herself between me and any strange person who has come to the house until she's ascertained all is ok. One time two men (whom I knew but she didn't) delivered something to me. I turned away from them to write a check on the truck hood while they stood in the driveway. They both started walking toward me to get the check while my back was still turned and she flipped out -- wouldn't allow them within 6 feet of me - bark, bark bark - until I turned around! What a good dog!

And...every single person who meets Dixie also falls in love with her and tells me what a great dog I have (as if I didn't know! :) I'm just so pleased and impressed with her, Angela, that I'm already envisioning maybe a second dog down the road a year or so - after Dixie's a bit more established so she could help teach the younger one (and one of my older dogs has passed on making some room here:).

Well sorry for rambling on, but it's been so long since I've written and Dixie's made so, so much progress, I wanted to give you the full picture. Again-----thank you thank you, thank you, Angela, for this wonderful dog!!!
:):)

Melissa

BANNER is highly intelligent, alpha male, very biddable but an independent thinker. He is a real "people" dog and loves to keep everyone else in line, including the stock!

PUPDATE: Banner is now in Starbuck, Minnesota where he will have a 6 year old girl to grow up with. His duties will include serving as companion, farm/family guardian, and helping his owner, Brian Manthei, manage his dairy herd.

KOSHA is a big, bold girl with a sense of fun and does her best to boss the rest! She is a dominant female so she is very bossy, is quite biddable and an independent thinker. She loves anything that moves, but doesn't retrieve, yet. We're working on that!

02-05-05 This afternoon we went to the barn together. When I stopped to put feed in buckets, put out hay, work on the gates, she was right there watching every move I made. She enjoyed the visit to the chicken coop a little TOO much, as she LOVES to make them move and put her nose in their feathers. There were some definite herding moves in there, but chickens don't herd that well, especially when they are trying to roost! She liked the goats and they were all very accepting of her, which was unusual. She seemed to enjoy moving amongst them, checking out the kids, and seemed to be bonding with them.

PUPDATE: Precocious Kosha now makes her home with Deb Andersland and her beautiful family in Gainesville, Missourri. I think I can safely say it was love at first sight with both family and puppy! She will be serving as guardian for family and farm and will learn to help out with their assortment of animals including goats, sheep, cows, poultry, and llamas.

03/07/05: Letter from Deb:

Hi Angela,
Kosha is doing very well and we just love her! Today Joel was trying to climb through the gate with a pail of feed to feed the calves in the other pen. One of the goats kept sticking her head through the gate and into his feed pail, impeding his progress. Kosha barked at the goat and chased her away until Joel got through the gate, and then she left the goat alone. She also tried to help me move one of my bottle calves that I was leading across the barnyard with its bottle, but her skills weren't quite as good as her intentions! :>) She would sometimes end up with the calf going the opposite way I wanted it to go. She likes all the animals except the sheep and the cats. She wasn't afraid of the cows, the llamas, or the goats, but the sheep and cats she didn't want to have anything to do with. She is usually exhausted every night. The other day Joel and Emily were building fortresses out in the barnyard and battling each other. Part of their game they were trying to bury an old firesafe box for their "treasure". Kosha would help them dig the hole, then run back and forth between their forts, run back and dig, run back and forth barking. She had a great time and was particularly exhausted that night, along with Joel and Emily! Kosha is growing like crazy and settling in just fine. Deb

MOLLY is the drama queen and knows how to work the room. She is full of fun, well-adjusted, an independent thinker, but still biddable. When she wants my attention she puts both paws on my knee and if that doesn't do it she'll grab my shirt sleeve. Persistent girl! She will soon have her turn at the goats and poultry.

02-04-05 Molly went with me on chore duty tonight. The chickens didn't seem to interest her, but she enjoyed putting the guineas in their tree for the night. "Noisy birds deserve to stay out all night!" She mingles well with the goats, but I haven't seen her turn "on" to much, yet. She stays with me as I move from one area to the next, but if she's working with interesting new scents (mouse, rat, bird???) she conveniently ignores my call until she's through. Good hunting behavior, definitely independent, and will require a firm, fair hand with her training.

02-07-05 Well, it's been a wet weekend around here, so my chore companion has been Buck. I had planned a quick trip out to the barn before the rain started again and told my daughter to call the pups around to the front of the house when I started up the 4 wheeler. I almost made it in the barn when Miss Molly By Golly came flying out of nowhere and nearly leaped up into my lap! With such an enthusiastic greeting, I couldn't say no!

And OH what a difference a day (or two) makes. This didn't seem like the same pup I took with me two days ago. Molly stayed with me step-for-step, pausing long enough to put the guineas in their tree for the night. She didn't look twice at George, the turkey, until I slowly began moving him toward the coop. "Oh Boy, you mean we can MOVE him?!" It looked like this girl was just having her fun with big ole George, but when he reached the coop ladder to the door she was on one side and then the other until he finally gave up and went inside instead back to his favorite tree. This girl was all smiles and wags when I congratulated her on a job well done.

Then we headed for the goat pen to put out hay and water. She seemed a little intimidated by the big girls, but never really tucked her tail, so I let her visit with the smaller kids and get to know them a little better. She made sure to stay close as I moved around and stayed away from all the threatening horns. As we were finishing up a doe came between Molly and me, blocking her path through the gate. Well, Miss Molly's tail went over the back and she began barking and growling at that goat, apparently quite displeased to be separated from me. I didn't want Molly to end up hurt, so I quickly stepped around the goat and told Molly what a brave girl she was, which she REALLY appreciated. She stayed right on my heels until we left the barn while keeping a cautious eye on those goats. I was so pleased to see Molly's reactions today. This is much the way her sire, Buck, was at this age. He never challenged the goats or anything else until there was a need. She may not be a true herding type, but I think she'll end up being the kind of dog that will do whatever it is that needs doing.

PUPDATE 03/27/05 : Molly By Golly will be making her new home with the Forgash family in Janesboro, California. She will have an assortment of farm animals in her charge including goats, poultry, horses, and a donkey, as well as a 13 year old boy she can call her own and share her adventures with.

PUPDATE: ASH & BREEZE were the first to leave our place, so we didn't get a chance to do some of the evaluations the others went through. TUCKER (aka - ASH) and his brother, SKEETER (aka - BREEZE), now reside at the Stephen's home in Magnolia, Arkansas serving as home guardians and grand-child sitters. At last report they were greeting customers and providing live entertainment at Stephen's Old Time Country Store and Gift Shop in downtown Magnolia. Next time we're down there we'll get updated pics of these boys. Recently they went for an unexpected swim after spotting their family on the other side of the pond fishing without them. Now, this wasn't a large pond, but isn't the shortest route to your destination a straight line? Smart boys. Joined the family, got them wet, fish quit biting, "we all went inside for a good blowdry and supper."

PUPDATE 05/05: Unfortunately, Skeeter has passed on after having a disagreement with a car passing by the house. His family said he had an aversion to white SUV's & trucks and absolutely would not allow them to pass without a challenge. They hope that those who read this will make a special effort to teach their pups that chasing cars is NEVER an option.

MITZI'S 2004 PUPS

Celtic names were chosed for these pups to depict their Scottish ancestry common to all collie types.

AIDAN with a heart of fire, and a serious side, if you're patient. Aidan would like to be in charge of someone. He's sweet-natured, loving, and protective with a sense of mischief. He brought me my glove the other day when it fell off a hay bale. Good retriever. He also displays strong hunting instincts.

02-03-05 My partner for this evening was Aidan and a very good one he was. He helped me move the turkey and a few chickens back toward the coop and chased the guineas into their tree. Most pups seem to enjoy that! The goats were quite interesting to him, but a little too big to be intimidated by his barks. He was constantly watching me as I went about the chores, something I always like to see since farm dogs learn by watching. Then the Momma kitty joined us to tell me her bowl was empty and we went back to the house to fill it with Aidan doing his best to mind his manners and not get popped by Mamma. She was in a good mood and let him nose around in her fur before finally telling him to Buzz Off.

PUPDATE 04/06/05: Aidan now makes his home with the Brinkerhoff family in the beautiful mountains of the Ozarks in Missourri. His main job is taking care of their 5 children and making sure they don't get into too much trouble <GRIN>. He will also serve as flock manager for their chickens and assorted poultry with a few lambs and dairy cows in the near future.

DUNCAN, Dark Warrior and protector of all, with Aiden looking on. Duncan is the Alpha male in this litter and will back the other pups away from me when I put out the food. He shows strong guardian and hunting instincts and doesn't back down from the unknown. Duncan is eager to please, biddable, but is a quieter pup than most. He's the first to hush when the whole bunch starts to bark at something. He was a little afraid of heights when we put him up on the doghouse, but after a couple of sessions he was romping across the top with the rest of the pups.

PUPDATE: Duncan is a gentle soul, but has a strong sense of duty and is quite protective. Should be an excellent guardian. He is smart, loyal, very biddable and is my shadow at chore time. He was a bit overwhelmed by the goats at first, until one stepped between him and me, then he was all business. He's not one to chase the poultry, but is happy to help when I move them. He should mature to 60-70 lbs and is the alpha male of his litter. I haven't seen him tracking much, but his working evaluation showed a strong hunt/prey drive, he enjoys retrieving and he has a good attention span.

PUPDATE 04-12-05: We had a wonderful visit from Duncan's new owners, Bud and Carol Tharpe. They said Duncan made the trip home to north Arkansas with nary a whimper and was a perfect gentleman as he rode comfortably in their backseat. Upon arrival he made the farm rounds with Bud to meet his charges and showed he can be tough when the LGD came up to meet him. Bud says Duncan immediately put himself between him and the "threat" and barked a warning. Duncan was also rather concerned when he entered the house and noticed a grouping of strange animals in front of the TV. Growled very menacingly at those (stuffed) monsters. I'll have to get an update to see if they lasted the night.

03/17/06 Bud reports that Duncan is all the dog he'd hoped he'd be. He loves young things, especially Bud & Carole's grandchildren! He can be trusted even with the youngest kids, as is apparent in the above photo.

BRIDGIT, highland goddess of CartAngel. This little girl is a power-packed furball and loves to put everyone in their place. She loves retrieving and enjoyed moving the turkey around the day he "escaped". She also enjoys using her nose and shows good hunting instincts. Bridgit is very attentive when we have our on-on-one's and is always trying to "help".

02-03-05 Bridgit was my partner this morning and never left my side. She would sit and observe everything I did and would cock her head to listen when I talked to her. She enjoyed helping me gather eggs and seemed rather concerned when one of the chickens left the coop through the window-door and kept putting her feet up on the window to look out after it. She also enjoyed making those birds get out of her way, but came readily when it was time to go. The goats were a little intimidating to her, but not enough to put that tail down. Before we left she turned to give a little woof to the goat that challenged her as we went out the door.

PUPDATE 02/24/05: Bridgit now makes her home with Evan Cowart and his wife in Boyd, Texas where she is General Manager of their household and her chew toys, Prissy, PD, and kitties. She will be working into the position of Ranch Foreman as she learns the ins and outs of dealing with goats and cattle.

PUPDATE 01/29/06: The Cowarts ran into some problems with Bridgett when she decided the goats were "fanged, horned monsters" to be avoided at all costs. We don't know if she suffered problems on the flight down to Texas or had an unexpected run-in with a goat when no-one was watching, but Evan has patiently worked her through her fears and writes the following:
Well, miss worthless has started to develop value. I hoped that pestering the bottle baby as she grew up would lessen her fear of goats. It has worked. Tonight I was trying to get a new mom and her kid moved, mom was not impressed (hornless goat to boot) and her new born doe kid was frightened, confused and stressed. I was working on getting mom in the pasture, the kid ran to the woods and Bridgett followed and stayed with her looking out for her with out mauling her (Bridgett"s favorite pastime with little goats and the house dogs). She was also trying to help move mom, she was unsure, but I encouraged her when I could and gave her praise and pets during and afterwards.

I have got the goats all trained to come into the corral at feeding time (I have been letting them run the woods and browse). On the other hand, Bridgett stays out with them and is getting used to most of them. The big Boer does still take exception to her, but then they don't like much of anybody anyway and the 100, 150 pounders don't' intimidate her as much as they used to. A bit more time and she will have them all sorted out. Have had to try to break her of chasing them and using them as chew toys, but also had the same problem with the Pyrs and Anatolians when they were pups. She is getting better and better.

03/15/06: Bridgett has learned from the pasture dogs the art of tank diving. She jumps into the tank and swims a bit. The pasture dogs do it routinely, they also like to sit in my rubbermaid stock tank tubs and make them a totally muddy mess after a good tank dive.

She is good at catching forest critters. She has brought home a few squirrels, a baby rabbit and and assorted mice, rats and pocket gophers. Any one that says four legged predators don't play with their food hasn't seen the B dog in action. Not as bad as cats, but it still has wiggle when it goes down.

Bridgett actually brought in a few kids tonight, did not see the whole scene so don't know if this was an accident or she was actually herding them back into the corral. We go through the same drill every night and I try to get her help with stragglers, more training then productive, but she will get it sooner or later.

Evan

ARTURO, the bear. This boy is built just like a big ole Teddy Bear and would love to be your pillow when you go to sleep. He is about the middle of the pack in aggressiveness, but is certainly bossy when he feels like it. He's a very laid-back pup as nothing much disturbs him, but he alerts when something is wrong or different. He's very biddable, intelligent, and wants to please.

02-05-05 This evening Arturo & I took care of the farm chores. It was dark, so we didn't get much action in the chicken coop, and the goats were bedding down. A young doe got him as we came through the second gate making him yelp. BAAAD MOM! And I called myself watching out for him! Not to worry. He took it in stride, the tail came up, and every time he passed her he gave her the evil eye and a woof when she put her head down again. Brave boy! He was very interested to watch me dole out the feed and even helped himself to a bite or two before it got to the horses.

PUPDATE: Arturo the Bear now makes his home with Mary Brewer in Cleveland, Texas. He serves as companion, guardian, and all 'round ranch dog with chore duties including goats, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, cats, and birds.

01/09/06 Bear is VERY friendly. He likes to mouth guests and show them around. I have tried and tried to stop him. But, HE knows better. For the most part no ones minds this. Children think it's funny. He does keep the chickens out of the yard. The goats do not leave thier area, if they get out of their pens. We have some day to 2 week old kids that are being bottle fed. They drive him NUTS! He tries to keep them near their pen when we let them out. There is one doe that we call Toot, she likes to head but Bear if he tries to tell HER what to do. Bear fianlly gives up and lays down. This "mean doe" is a week old. I really get a kick out of Bear trying to get her to do something :-) The doe, toot, is really full of herself. Bear just gives up and lays down with his head on his paws and watches her witth a discussed look on his face. That does change when i pick her up to put her away, he acts like HE is the one putting her away.

He is really smart, do not have any complants at all.
take care
mary ann

BRENDAN, the prince. Brendan is another face-watcher and a talker. He's one of the smaller pups & if I forget to acknowledge him when I visit the puppy pen he will stand on his hind legs and TELL me I missed him! He is a pup that lives to please once you have his respect. He is an independent thinker but enjoys learning.

PUPDATE: Brendan is very intelligent and should make an excellent all round farm dog. He has a high prey drive which is great for "crittering", alerts to anything strange or unusual (guardian instincts), is very biddable (comes when called), and can definitely communicate! I wouldn't be surprised to find he was a "Come Quick! Timmy Fell In The Well!" type dog. <smile> He's one of the smaller pups and should mature to around 50 lbs. and is about the middle of pack in pecking order. Nothing shy or timid about him and he really wants to please. He is confident when moving the poultry and doesn't hesititate to fuss at the goats if they challenge him. As a matter of fact, I really have to watch him as he is fearless and all but oblivious to dangerous horns!

03/14/05 Brendan arrived at his new home today in Gentilly, Minnesota. He will serve as guardian and farm dog for the Dufault family and will have cattle, goats, and poultry in his care.

01/14/06
Duke is doing great.

He is still learning new things everyday. He is extremely protective of my 17 month old daughter, treats her like his own. He plays with the other kids, but the youngest is HIS for sure, he thinks. He trys to cuddle with our cat, the cat doesn't think so. When we had the buck here, he just about went crazy! when the buck tried to mate with HIS girls. (he thinks Penny and Tina are his girls) He constantly barked and peed on the fence. It took him awhile to get used to the buck. Even when I said the buck was okay, he still kept a close eye on him. He really likes to work with the goats and puts the chickens to bed at night. If they roost high on the fence where he can't get them, he will sit and bark right under neath them, until I find them (the chickens) and put them in the hen house for the night. He has never been rough with them or anything else. He doesn't like the neighbor's black lab, keeps her out of the yard, this I like because the lab thinks fresh chicken would make a good meal. I am amazed at how smart he is. We are still working on new things. I am surprised when he pulls tug of war on a rope with the older kids, he can pull them down, but with the baby, he won't ever pull as hard... never lets her fall. She can bang on him playfully, pet him, pull his hair and he doesn't flinch. He loves a game of fetch and can catch most of the time. The kids play with him quite a bit. The other day he started throwing the ball back... but was surprised that the kids didn't go and get it. Good try... (it is a ball on a rope)

I don't have a decent camera to take photos with/ a digital camera./to put photos online.. all I have is that web cam shot of him. It is hard to get him to sit still for a photo also... not a surprise being he is still more puppy than dog. I

After having had several breeds of dogs in the past, I am impressed with Duke. Duke doesn't have any cows to take care of, but he sure is a big help with the goats and chickens, and good with the kids also. Couldn't ask for anything more.
Melissa Dufault

CartAngel Acres Myotonic Meat Goats