Jacob at about 4 months. Jacob is an Old-Time Farm Shepherd. |
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Jacob at about 6 months. Click on this photo for a closeup of Jacob. |
Jake loves the goats. He loves to be around them, to watch them, to kiss them on the nose, etc. But he is right in there if he sees that we are doing something with them. He has now taken on a new job all on his own. When my husband grains the young does, who are now in the same pasture with the older ones, he has had to hold the older animals at bay with a cattle pole while the younger ones eat. Jacob watched all this with intense interest for a while, and then jumped in one day to help. He now keeps all the older does away all by himself until the younger ones are finished. He seems to understand exactly what is needed. When the job is over he very happily trots away with a silly grin on his face. He doesn't have any drive to just chase for the fun of it.
Jacob is sweet, mellow, calm, and easy to train... He loves to "work", but only when it involves the people he loves. He has never gone into a pasture to work stock on his own, although he has had plenty of opportunities. We don't have a lot of time to spend training a working dog when our herding needs are so limited, but the few times that we had a problem and asked for advice from people on the list, he responded to what we did so fast I would hardly even call it "training". He had a few weeks at the beginning when he showed signs of being very dominant and strong willed, but by three months that tendency had disappeared (a growth phase, perhaps?). He is now the most gentle, sweet dog one could hope for. He is super enthusiastic to work when he thinks we "need" him, but otherwise he is just content to snooze in the sun, hunt in the fields for snacks, or play with his buddies (both the four-legged and two-legged varieties). He is a small-farm dog in a million.
Jenny the Collie. |
