I agree! I didn't realize the BC/Lab combo was not likely to produce a dog good around baby animals. We adopted this dog at 8-9 months of age, and she is now 3 ½. The only other baby animals she's had exposure to since we've had her are the poultry and she is so good with them - she will lie still and let chicks crawl all over her. She would never deliberately harm them, though I could see it accidentally happening because she is all retriever and ball obsessed. If someone were to throw a ball - or even a stick - in the vicinity of the poultry, she would be so focused on retrieving it, she might incidentally hurt a bird. For that reason we have a rule about no throwing sticks or balls around the birds
I've considered trying to train her as a LGD to some extent, because she already acts in lieu of one around here. She and our other (also poultry safe) dog sleep in a dog igloo in the chicken yard at night, effectively deterring predators just by their presence. The other dog is more of a patroller, and I've seen her get into the sheep pasture and go trotting around the perimeter fence, stopping now and then to smell things. I let her do this, figuring that having her scent around the perimeter is something I want.
Unfortunately, neither is a big dog - around 40lb. The BC/Lab (Sammie) is the size and physique of a BC, but with lab coloring and fur (and a retriever, not a herder).
Interestingly, while Sammie has never shown an inkling of threat towards any of the animals here, when a wild rabbit makes its way onto the property, it is fair game. I'll never forget watching her chase a rabbit around last summer. As the rabbit zigzagged through my free-ranging flock, so did Sammie, in hot pursuit. Birds were flapping and scattering in all directions but Sammie remained focused on the rabbit. I figure if anything was going to swing her towards chasing birds, that was it, so if she didn't then, she probably never will. She also goes after squirrels that come into our yard. And, when we go to our barn to ride the horses, she has many times chased deer and - more to the point - when we flush a coyote, she will take off after it in hot pursuit. She has chased numerous coyotes off the barn property. My concern there is that she is roughly the same size they are. One on one, she chases and they run, but I'm concerned if she encountered a pack of them and they ganged up on her, she would be vulnerable. However she has the speed of a greyhound too, so maybe she could outrun them? I dunno….
In any case, it is sweet to see how excited she is by the lamb. And this morning she will get to meet a new one. I looked out the window and minute ago and another ewe has lambed. I have yet to go down and see this one - my coffee was still hot after all - but I will head down there soon to check it out.
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