The last couple of weeks of dry weather have been a welcome relief after an unremittingly wet February. After spending the early part of the year worrying about wet ground, and losing our grazing in a sea of mud, we’re worried that the dry spell will destroy the new grass.
The “extra hour” well spent
At least we’ve been able to catch up on some outside jobs – mainly of the digging up and tearing down variety. Also, the extra hour in the evenings has meant we’re able to relax in the orchard with the dogs (and a glass of wine – Bordeaux collies?) before we put them to bed for the night. It’s a sort of compensation for the dogs, we haven’t been training as much as we should. I’m beginning to wonder whether all this training is worthwhile anyway. The other night I moved 14 sheep between fields using two Chihuahuas – and carrying two glasses of wine. I didn’t spill a drop. Alfie (aka Spice Weasel) has always maintained that collies are an inelegant solution to sheep handling. He believes there’s nothing that a small dog with attitude can’t manage perfectly well.
It’s good to have some puppies around
Andy’s favourite bitch, Mel (aka The Smoodler) has produced her last litter of puppies for us. There are only five, so the plan is to keep them all. After all, there’s a little space left in the spare room before we start keeping dogs in the office. They’re three weeks old now. They are at the stage when they start staggering around, falling over each other and practising their most ferocious barks and growls. A new litter is like finding treasure. They’re fascinating, and I could watch them all day. It doesn’t matter how many puppies you see in a lifetime, the novelty never wears off (if it does, it’s probably time to quit). I’m collecting plastic bottles and flower pots for when they become more adventurous.
Bones all round
The weather was so good after last Saturday’s training day, that we couldn’t resist the temptation of sitting in the sun with the dogs instead of working. We buy a ridiculous number of roasted bones (at least three more than the maximum number of dogs – collies + Chihuahuas) and scatter them around for the dogs to take their pick before settling down to some serious chewing. There’s never trouble between the dogs when we do this. Kevin and his sister Midge, of course, didn’t settle for long. They were busy dancing in and around the older dogs, and generally getting in the way. It’s all very good humoured. I’m sure it’s good for “pack bonding” too. On this occasion there were four visiting dogs, barely known by our resident core group, but were all good mates by bed time.
New additions? No problem!
We’re very lucky that we’re able to introduce visiting collies so easily into the pack. I suppose the core pack understands the rules, while the visiting dog really wants to fit in. Also, with Andy very much the pack leader, Eli (the second in command) assumes that if Andy says the newcomer’s OK, then it’s OK, and the rest of the group just agree with Eli. Any grumbling happens at the lower end of the hierarchy, and is quickly finished. We don’t interfere. Dogs who are destined to be pack leaders move up without noise and fuss. They don’t need to prove themselves with bluster.
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