My Latest Adventure.

[sheepdog 10]

Dog can without a doubt be a real challenge. Sometimes they get the better of me. This was the case with Pippin, one of my female Komondors. I suppose I should give you a little background into this remarkable breed before someone panics and turns me in to PETA. Komondors are Livestock Guard Dogs. It is their mission in life to live out in the wild with their flocks of sheep or goats and protect them from any preditors that would threaten the life of the livestock. These are not your average little foo foo house pets. They live outside, year round, are hardy and tough and strong dogs, and quite capable of killing any threats to their charges, be it coyotes, wolves, bears, mountain lions, bob cats, or for that matter, any humans that might like to help themselves to your animals. In order to bond with their flocks, they Koms need to be born and raised right with the sheep or goats.(or whatever type of livestock you have, they can protect horses and cattle also) These dogs can never be kenneled. The very best of these dogs are born right in the barn with the livestock. I normally let them have their pups in whatever spot they choose, there was a great big dead tree in our barn yard that years ago they dug under the roots of, and I can't even imagine how many pups were born under that tree. But when Pippin came up pregnaunt this time, I knew bad weather was coming and I thought I would help her out, so I fixed up a really nice place for her to whelp. We gave an old doghouse a real good cleaning, and put it in the corner of the barn, and I got a big heating pad to put in it, and even got some plastic pipe to run the electic cord in so it would be safe from chewing. It took awhile, but I finally got her caught and put into her new pen, I placed a horse panel divider across part of the barn so she had plenty of room, and a pretty good size area outside of the barn. Just a perfect place to have pups. Or so I thought. Apparently, she didn't think so. 2 days after I locked her up she dissapeared She managed to dig out under one corner in the outside part of the pen. I searched all the places I thought she might have choosen to whelp in but there was no sign of her anywhere. Days went by and I never even caught a glimpse of her. One day last week she did appear, but before I could finish up what I was doing she slipped away and dissapeared again. So this past Saterday when she finally showed up again, this time I just dropped everything and sat and waited her out. I knew sooner or later she would head back to her pups and I figured I could follow her and find them. She was of course, pretty suspicious of me hanging around, so I tried to act casual and did some other odd jobs around the barn yard, and finally she started to slip off. I got the four wheeler threw the gate after she got a little way out of sight, but she stopped down at the pond for a drink and hung out there for awhile, I was just about afraid she wasn't going to go on to her pups. But finally she went down to the very farthest corner of our property and somehow slipped threw the fence and got over on the neighbors farm. So, I'm old and fat remember, and climbing barb wire fences is not my favorite fastime, but I really didn't have much choise in the matter. I climbed our property line fence, and started after her. She went threw the edge of the neighbors field, threw a lightly wooded corner, I nearly lost her in my slow struggles to get my fat rear end over that dang fence. Luckily, I caught just a glimpse of her as she went under another fence and into the woods, still heading away from home, and a long way too. Lucky for fat me this time the gap was big enough I could crawl under the fence too. I soon lost sight of her, but while I am no Indian tracker scout, she had been walking the same trail threw the woods for at least 2 weeks, so I was a good enough tracker to be able to follow her path. I didn't see her any more, but the trail kept going and going, so I kept following it. I actually almost walked right up on her before I saw her again. There was a very large old tree that had been blown over, root ball and all, and she was under the trunk of the tree. After a few cursory growls at me, for which I scolded her and told her she better be quiet, I was not real happy with her, she shut up and started wagging her tail at me. And there were 5 fat and healthy little pups that came toddling out to greet her. I was really surprised at how big they were, I was not expecting that at all. Their eyes were open and they are at the starting to walk around stage. And I hadn't thought to bring anything to carry them back in. So I spent the better part of an hour trying to get the pups back home. I'd gather them all up and walk until I either got out of breath or was about to drop a pup, then I'd just sit down real quick and keep them piled up around me or on my lap. The were pretty agreeable little dogs, never freaked out when I started messing with them or carrying them, and they'd stay right with me when I'd sit down. Of course, I was the very first human they had ever seen. So I thought their behaviour was excellent. It sure was a long walk back to the 4 wheeler, I was never so proud to see that thing as I was then. But at any rate, I finally managed to get them all back to the barn, though I was so tired, I think I ended up going to bed at 8 instead of my usual midnight, and I was sore and a bit brused the next day, but all is well that ends well. The pups still won't sleep in the nice dog house I fixed for them, they prefer the dirt behind the dog house, but at least they are here, and mom didn't try to lead them back off. Which I didn't think she would, but with my luck you just never know.

[jlhaslip 4]

What an exciting day that had to have been for you and the critter pups.If the Mom is the sort of dog I am thinking she is, they are huge when full grown. All white a curly haired sort of like a sheep?Good luck feeding the five pups. I'll bet they eat LOTS. (and often)

[sheepdog 10]

Yes, I believe you are probably thinking of the right breed. They blend in perfectly in a herd of sheep. Unless of course they were black sheep, but nobody should have more than one black sheep in the herd.(or family) Their hair forms long cords, they actually resemble a giant string mop. And yes, they are definatly huge. Lets see if I can post a picture.I don't post pictures often enough that I remember how to do it. Hopefully it will show. That's my male on the right, and some pups from a previous litter. The dogs are still giving me fits. I finally got a chance to sell 2 of the older male pups, but now I can't catch them. I got them caught a few days ago, and put them in my horse trailer, but they managed to climb out and escape, and now they are so spooked they won't come anywhere near the barn. I am getting seriously annoyed with them. And since we had to move the goats to the other property, they aren't really in the mood to hang out here now. And of course, on Black friday, the day I was afraid to even go out of the house, they went down to the neighbors and were hanging out near the road, and wouldn't let her get out and go to her mail box, so she had to come and get me to go run them off. It was black friday last year I burnt my foot so bad. I had every intention of staying indoors and drinking instant tea. But I managed to survive, just nearly turned the 4 wheeler over on myself and stopped a little traffic on the highway. it was a minor miracle that the stupid dogs didn't get run over. So now we are just playing the waiting game. If they want to eat they are going to have to come back to the barn. One of the older females and one male that I was keeping came back today, but I haven't seen the others since black friday. And of course, the momma dog, she's hanging around too, thank goodness.

[jlhaslip 4]

Yup, the picture shows the dog I was thinking of.Some friends had one of them and they are A GREAT companion dog.

[sheepdog 10]

No, they really aren't much in the companion dog department. Unless you happen to be a goat. Then they are great. I know too many foolish people that have tried to make house pets out of them and then end up having to put the dog down when it goes crazy and bites somebody. They really need a job to do and goats or sheep to live with. Humans drive them crazy. (and ok, I can sympathise with that in all honesty.) The pups are doing great, growing like little weeds, I'd sure hate to try carrying them now. I still haven't been able to catch the 2 older males that I was supposed to sell, looks like I'll just have to wait until we bring the goats home. Most of the young pups are spoken for now. There was only one female in the younger litter of course, but she is a beauty! Big and blocky for a girl especially, she is the biggest pup in the litter. And of course, now I can't bring myself to part with her, so her brothers will be leaving, but she's not going anywhere.

[mamer 0]

Pippin is the kind of mother who knows what she's doing. I gather she didn't her pups to get spoiled by the protective set up you made for here and wanted them to grow up in natural surroundings. That's why they were healthy and they'll grow up tough and determined to do the job they do best.

[sheepdog 10]

Yes, she is a good momma dog, and I trust her instincts about raising pups. And the pups will grow up to do the job they have been bred for a thousand years to do. All the boys have gone to their new homes now, but I still have the female. I am a little concerned that Pippin has not taken her to the place next door yet where we just moved the goats back to yesterday. She's kinda hanging around the yard and kennel area, where she really shouldn't be. I'm wondering if she thinks the older, adult females will not accept her puppy. We had the goats all back at the house while we were on vacation and they got along ok though, so I am wondering what's going on with her.