My earliest memories are of my grandfather (he was the third generation of our family to own and farm this land) with his two black and tan English Shepherds, always two males. He never raised any litters, but I remember at least twice he ordered two registered puppies from a man who was a breeder in Tennessee. I recall the excitement when we would travel to the county seat to pick up the two puppies that had arrived by Railway Express. In anticipation of their arrival my two sibblings and I would worry about their starving enroute, and we were always relieved to see a container of water and another of dog food attached to the outside of the crate with instructions for feeding and watering! (In today's world one drives or flies to pick up a puppy!)
My grandfather would train the puppies to herd the cattle, but as he always told us, heeling and herding were just instinctive with the English Shepherds, and they could "train even the dumbest man"!! I recall how the dogs would work together, on command racing to the pastures and bringing the indicated herd to the barn. The calves were always kept separate from the mama cows (in those days) and herding the calves was a wee bit more difficult until the dogs trained them by nipping heels!
I remember how his dogs followed him always. When he would ride his saddle horse to visit the fields and check on the farm work, two black and tans trailed close behind his horse's heels. If he alighted and tied his horse, the dogs would lie, circling the horse, and watch their master as he would walk into a cotton field to check how a plow was running or if a boll weevil had invaded the crop. They waited patiently for his return. When they rode by the creek and water was running in it, he would ride down to the water for his horse to drink and the dogs to have a quick dip or swim. When he rode to see his married daughter, sister or a cousin who all lived in the neighborhood, within a two-mile radius, the dogs would follow closely at his heels, then guard his horse while my grandfather was inside the home visiting. When I grew big enough to ride a horse, he would saddle my horse and I would follow, but always behind his dogs! If his choice of transportation was a horse-pulled buggy, I would ride with him in the buggy and the dogs would follow, then lie under the buggy when we stopped to visit.
Now my grandfather owned a Model T Ford, one of the first in our rural county, but he refused to learn to drive. My father or one of the farm workers would drive him into town when he wanted or needed to go. Today, with our technological world, I think of the quiet pastoral scene and miss those wonderful experiences, although we still enjoy a peaceful farm setting here at Hamer Hills Farm.
Their Victorian farmhouse was surrounded on three sides by screened porches, and a white-painted board fence separated the house from the horse lot, pastures, barns and sheds. My brothers and I played in the "back yard" under peach, apple and pecan trees with the English Shepherds. No stranger or farm worker, dared enter the yard when we were there playing as the dogs barked ferociously, growling and showing their gnashing teeth. I know no one had trained this behavior, but this was a protective trait that was instinctive. When they were "introduced" to welcome visitors and playmates, they were always placid, accepting and protective of a bigger number of "wards". If they ever bit anyone, I never knew. It would have taken a brave man to challenge them.
I don't remember how many English Shepherds my grandfather owned over the years, but they were always black and tan except for one beautiful sable we called Tige. In 1930, when we moved to our newly-built home, just up the hill from my grandparents, we took Tige with us. Tige's litter mate, a black and tan, had died, and Tige would not accept the newly arrived puppies from Tennessee. Tige was happy enough with us. Then in February, 1938 my grandfather died from a heart attack. His two black and tans grieved, but they had a job to do--protect my grandmother and then work the cattle under my father's direction. But the story changed when my grandmother died five months later, in July. My father purchased his sisters' interests in the farm, and life continued almost uninterrupted on the farm.
After my grandmother's death, it was never the same for those faithful dogs. The two black and tans were moved to our house, but they were not welcomed into Tige's territory. We solved that little problem by giving Tige to my other grandmother who lived alone at her home twenty miles away. He was a perfect companion dog for her, and he lived until he was in his early twenties. Shep and Rex took over our home and yard and worked cattle for my father. But Rex continued to grieve for my grandfather, looked for him, howled into the night for him, had to be forcefully removed from the barn area at my grandfather's old home. and seemed to wither away before our eyes, rarely eating. We lavished more attention and love on him, but to no avail. One morning we found he had died in his sleep. We knew he had grieved himself to death, and we grieved for him.
Dad, very wisely, purchased a grown English Shepherd female and she and Shep had two small litters of purebred puppies. They could have been registered litters, but since he never could part with all the bouncing puppies, he never bothered to register them. It was quite a site to see Dad on his horse with a "herd" of ES dogs streaming behind him going out to work the cattle. The horse was never bothered by the small army of four-legged body guards, and NO ONE on the farm could ever retrieve the horse from where my father left it except Dad or one of the three of us children.
In the WWII years, with my brothers away in service and me in college, he would rotate the dogs among the "security posts" around the farm....the various barns and the two family houses. As my father's health failed, he cut back on how active he was in farming and raising beef cattle. When we lost our last English Shepherd from age, my younger brother, (home from the war, just graduated from college and taking over the reins of farming) chose to purchase birddogs, English Setters. They were wonderful companions and hunters, but not the same as English Shepherds in MY estimation.
When my husband, my daughter Penny, and I settled back on the farm, we could have pets once more. Before we found an English Shepherd, we had Border Collies, and we truly loved them, but we needed the protection of the English Shepherd on the farm, three miles from neighbors and town. When we lost our last Border Collie, we finally found an ES breeder in Mississippi....he had the black and tans we loved. So now you know we are happy campers!!!!!
Penny has bragged about our wonderful Black and Tans of today. They never change, just like the first ones I knew and loved. I remember them all, several dozen in all. When they died we wept but embraced that new puppy, knowing he or she would happily move into our family, always so giving and faithful.
Alice,I grew up with Border Collies (among a few other breeds). We even raised a couple of litters of Border Collies from Coppie, my female. She was a herding STAR, and the farmers snatched up Coppie's children. She was so well trained, and we were inseparable. (I have always told folks that SHE trained ME how to train dogs. We had cattle then, and SHE trained ME how to direct her to herd them.)
Ten years ago,when I moved back to the farm, we started thinking about having a dog again. I wanted another Border Collie, but my mother and uncle held out for an English Shepherd ......black and tan....like they used to have here on the farm.
Apparently my great grandfather would order two English Shepherd pups, always males, from a breeder in Tennessee or Kentucky....we don't know which state. He didn't breed English Shepherds, but when those mail-order English Shepherds died of old age, he would order another pair. My grandfather raised one litter of black and tan English Shepherds at one point, and then he couldn't bear to part with any of the puppies, so the farm had at one time, a population of eight English Shepherds. World War II invaded the peaceful farm life, the two sons went off to war, my mother left for college, and eventually the last English Shepherd died of old age..
When my uncle (who lives on the farm now) returned from war, he bought bird dogs and had those for years. I loved those bird dogs as a small baby. In the winter, I would snuggle against the soft silky hair of an English Setter in front of the fireplace in my grandmother's living room. THAT was a little piece of heaven!
We didn't restore English Shepherds to their rightful place on the farm until eight years ago. We have pictures of the English Shepherds posed with my ancestors through the generations that look identical to the ones we have today. I am the fourth generation of English Shepherd lovers on this farm.
Oh, my point in all of this is to say that it took only took a few days for that first English Shepherd puppy to erase all my doubts and eliminate my prejudice for Border Collie. I loved Coppie with all my heart, but there IS a difference between Border Collies and English Shepherds. Coppie would have been considered very calm and stable (English Shepherd-like) as a herding dog. Even as a small puppy, Delta demonstrated that special connection and people sense that make English Shepherd such a wonderful companion breed. (as well as a herding breed.)
Penny SanfordLast night, Delta, my oldest "girl" invented a new game. She faithfully waits for me through the long late hours I spend working at night. We call my work area "The Nest" because it has EVERYTHING from the porcelain I work on at night to files and correspondence. Delta curls up in a recliner to watch and snooze and open her eyes at any sound I make. It is so comforting to have a 75 pound bundle of unconditional love listening to one's every breath so close by.
I recently bought some Pig Snouts for very special one-on-one treats for those private moments I can spend with each of my girls. So I gave Delta a Pig Snout which she primly took from my hands and laid between her front paws. She left it there for a bit as I sculpted into the night. After a bit, she crawled out of the recliner, took her Pig Snout in her mouth, and prissed off into the depths of the sleeping household. I thought she was going to hide it for later, something she loves to do. But NOOOOO, Miss Delta proceeded to priss into each bedroom, carrying her fragrant treat by the sleeping noses of her five sisters, returning to The Nest to crunch quite loudly and quite contentedly.
Was it any wonder I had to disperse five more Pig Snouts when the other girls rushed into The Nest in a sleepy confused state of salivating jealousy? Based on her prior behavior, I do not think Delta was waking the clan to join in on the treat. Rather, she was quietly but effectively saying, "I'm special......look at what Penny gave ME!"
It is a never ending drama in our house!
Pen
All of our girls are "Go-Go" girls. They love to go....anywhere, anytime....with any of us. For all six to bound into the van and go together is quite a treat. We loaded one dog bed so the shortest (Daisy) could more easily see out and then take a nap when she was tired. The bed proved to be a favorite vantage point for two or more girls at a time.
Almost instantly, the windows fogged from the excited noses pressed to the glass. I had to run defrost in front and back the entire trip. Because of a week-long ice storm last Christmas, Sunny and Katie, our two youngest, had never enjoyed this Christmas outing. Sunny is our 65 pound lap puppy (she loves to crawl into our laps when we occupy a recliner), and we fully expected her to perch on my mother's lap. But Belle, the third oldest girl, crawled up and claimed her marvelous view from the front seat. Katie ran from window to window checking out all the views. The veterans, Delta (the oldest) and Kelly (the top dog) didn't miss a single light bulb.
At one point Katie decided those lights following the van were too close, and she let loose a high pitched, teenage "wawawoooooOOO". Actually, I think our van was an unusual attraction for the local population. More than a few times, a vehicle would pull along side, slow, and then drop back and behind the van to follow for a few miles and watch the noses and ears and tails that bopped up and down in the van.
The girls were all quite tired from this pilgrimage. After checking out the house for burglars under the beds, etc., they found their favorite spots around us, tackled a special treat of a pig heart, and drifted into contented puppy dreams.
I wish for each of you the contentment and love these little ladies have brought to our lives.
Penny SanfordI think those little machines with soothing, relaxing noises should include puppy snores and snort-snores. Much more relaxing to me than some silly ocean waves! :-)
With the arrival of Katie, Sunny adopted my mother and became her therapy dog, licking her hurting joints, and asking to crawl up in the recliner when Mama is tired or stressed. She will go to sleep instantly stretched over Mama's lap, and a good part of the chair. At 70 pounds, she FILLS the lap and chair. Surely she cannot be comfortable with the position she takes, but she just loves HER lap buddy, and will growl at any of the other girls who come up for an ear scratch.
Katie is now my nap buddy. I have to wait until she is asleep to move her to my favorite position, stretched along my back. When we wake up, she nuzzles my ear and neck with her little velvet nose. She has such a gentle mouth when interacting with all of us. She KNOWS her job is to take a nap with me! She is the baby, and her pretty plume tail stays in its appropriate submissive position until she goes to the bedroom with me for her "job". Then her pretty little plume reaches for the sky as she prances to the bed to begin her assignment of snuggling with me. She is a little joy!
All of our girls have CHOSEN their particular assignments in the household. I'll write more about the others later. I just don't want to bore you with all the details here at once, especially since I am new to the list.
Penny
Kelly, Delta, Belle, Daisy, Sunny and Katie
We have given up trying to spell most words like "pig's ear" and "out" and "bone" and all the special words....Now we have to continually come up with new phrases to say the same thing: "porcine appendage", "escort some ladies to a restroom", and "hard skeletal part".....among many others.
What is a delight is to see the older girls "translate" for a new puppy. The latest addition to the pack will be intently searching her little memory banks for an understanding of the phrase or command which we patiently repeat with whatever appropriate action....Finally, one of the watching older sisters will say something in a huff to the puppy, and then the puppy can immediately do whatever it is we wanted in the first place. Sitting for a treat, Go to _____(a specific person), Lets go take a nap......
Each time we add a new puppy to this "tribe", the next youngest dog becomes the Nanny, playmate, teacher and disciplinarian. The older girls have such an attitude of "We've paid our dues, it is _____'s turn". Only when the play sounds like too much fun or maybe a little too serious does one of the older girls join in.
Our girls also have a different "Private Personality" for each human member of the pack. Belle will be different with me privately than she is with Mama or with Unc privately. Same for the other girls. They do so love their private time with each of us. Unc will take a single dog for a ride around the farm; Mama and I try to spend time with each dog individually wherever possible. Nap times are good. We can say, "Katie, lets go take a nap," and only Katie will get up and pad after one of us. The same goes for the other dog.
Daisy, smaller and more "Artistically Well Proportioned" gets her food in a special blue bowl. She knows she is the only girls with a blue bowl, and Heaven Forbid if we accidentally use HER blue bowl with another girl. To keep her from eating her ration of food and then some of the food belonging to another sister, we put her just outside the kitchen behind a child gate. Well in her precious mind, that has been interpreted as: I get fed first in my very own dining room in my very own blue bowl, and my people see to it that none of my sisters get to my food! I MUST be special! Her whole attitude turns on like a lightbulb when we say, "Daisy, lets feed you first!" The other girls wait paitiently for the little princess to prance by to Her Private Dining Room! I wonder if they understand the ruse?
It is so wonderful to share about these little bundles of joy with others who truly understand. Most folks just don't believe ES are THAT smart!
Penny
Kelly, Delta, Belle, Daisy (Taking poses because Mom is making happy noises
over me), Sunny and Katie (me too, Mom! I'm special too!)
It is such a delight watching the older dogs teach the youngest addition to the family how to catch a mole. Our back yard includes a fenced in orchard, so mole eradication is a popular activity. Front yard moles don't fare much better because of our small army of ES, we have "front door dogs" who go out the front and are trusted to stay around without running off, and the younger "back door dogs" who need a fence to control their curiosity.
Pen
Kelly, Delta, Belle, Daisy, Sunny and Katie (I've bagged two moles so far!)
We had 6+ inches on our farm. Sunny and Katie had never seen snow before. They thought it was the best toy in the world! (What am I going to do when they want to play in it next weekend?!?!?)
That first day, while the snow was still falling, they hid under the back steps and jumped out to bark and bite at the snow....For two days, they have stayed inside only long enough to thaw out, then they ask to go out again. The older girls took it in stride. From that first untouched blanket covering the back yard and orchard (all fenced in, but open to the girls), we now have a zillion little paw prints covering the orchard and back yard like polka-dots.
All are sleeping (and snoring) as I work to fill a kiln tonight. They are such joyous guardians, ever on guard to my slightest sound. Delta is asleep in a recliner near me, opening only one eye if I even sigh. What a joyous sense of protection and security!
PennyIn our lopsided household, there are two human female residents, four daytime female workers (we have outgrown the studio, and the old farmhouse is office and shipping department) and six female English Shepherd dogs. The dogs choose among themselves who they will protect throughout the day. They don't give much attention to the men who work in the studio during the day, but they adore the women who work in the studio and the house.
Except for my uncle who lives with us. He is not a "soft touch", often rather gruff in voice and often he just ignores the little non-verbal doggie messages we love to interpret. But the six ES ADORE HIM! I have lost more than one "pet" because the dog suddenly decides to "win him over". Now our youngest, Katie, has decided it is time for her to win Unc's heart. She crawls up in his recliner when he vacates it just so that he will have to ask her to leave. She voluntarily crawls up in his lap, at the same tie wild horses could not hold her down in either my lap or my mother's lap.
The two who sleep in his room used to be my "babies", but they have chosen him. Of course Unc loves it. The behavior of our girls can most aptly be described as "flirting". They wiggle and twist and bat their eyelashes and lick their lips and crawl up in his lap and vie for his chair or a trip in the truck to check out the farm.
It just isn't fair! :-) Mama and I work so hard to pet them and pamper them and meet their every need, and those little furry hussies just throw themselves at Unc!
Pen
Delta (Mom, I will always be your first and "Top" dog and you are my first
priority!)
Kelly, Belle, Daisy, Katie
Sunny (I like Mom's soft fluffy lap the best. Unc has boney knees!)
I must tell you this one, and I know there are many, many similar stories out there, so please share your experiences where the dog is smarter than the human.
Daddy told me as a little girl when I was given my first dog, "Honey, you have to be smarter than the dog to train a dog." He said that so many times to make me think of the way to teach the dog something. It applies to human-to-human training also!
Last night, while watching an old movie with a barking dog as part of the foreshadowing, Belle would sprang to attention from a dead sleep in Mama's recliner and barked. Belle is the chorus director for barking, so the other girls waked up barking, not knowing what they were barking about.
Now barking is the one area where we need constant work in this family of six energetic ES. So, I thought I would try clicker training. Without the cute little clicker which I WILL purchase, I clicked with my tongue/mouth. The girls stopped instantly at the new sound, and I bragged and rewarded them with a doggie biscuit.
In a few minutes, the "TV dogs" barked again. I calmingly told the girls that those were "TV dogs", a phrase they know and usually respond to by laying down and going back to sleep, ignoring the "TV dogs" from then on.
But Belle, quick on the uptake, let out a "lets see if this works bark"...which was chorused by the other girls right away. Then they sat down instantly and looked at me. (In order to receive any treat around here, they must sit first.) That let me know that they were barking at the TV in order to receive a treat! They were training me! I didn't reward them this time. But I found something for them to do for me a little later that warranted a treat.
I love these little girls more than words can express. I will try clicker training, but these little ladies will keep me on my toes.....Gotta be "smarter than the dogs....."
Penny
Well, because I have no children and because I absolutely ADORE our six ES, friends and acquaintances thoughtfully ask about the "Girls" all the time.
In that vein of things a proud parent brags about, I want to tell you about Katie's new behavior.
Katie has always been an especially snuggly, gentle little girl. Two mornings ago, when she wanted me to get up NOW, she brought my shoe to me...in bed. I thought that was particularly perceptive since the only thing they associate with shoes is "NO"....Like all of us on this list, we have lost some shoes to puppy antics. (I prefer to say my shoes have been "personalized" by the dog.)Katie must have figured out that giving me my show was a way to communicate her wishes....such intelligence!
This morning was her most amazing behavior so far. She found (tucked in a basket in the guest room) a decorative box that contained some cookies....It was one of those special gift boxes shaped, in this case, like a Nutcracker. The package of cookies inside had NOT been opened. There are no teeth marks on the box, not even from carrying. She laid the box on the floor by the bed, between her paws, looked up at me, and made a faint noise.
To be honest, if I had not been awake, she would most probably have ripped into the box and consumed the cookies AND the cardboard box. I praised her and opened the cookies (of course) to share with her.
I wonder what will greet me tomorrow morning! :-)
Pen
Penny Sanford
penny@pennysanford.com
www.pennysanford.com