Sentry, Baymule’s Livestock Guard Dog RIP 11-11-24

[Baymule]

I am really excited to have him. We had Paris years before we had sheep and Trip was a year old when we got sheep. While both have made good guardians, neither one have bonded to the sheep. Paris is location bound to her backyard. That is where she is happy and secure. Nothing I have done has been able to change that, so I leave her with the ability to always go back to her safe place. Trip is bonded to us and the grand daughters. He is especially protective of baby lambs. He wants to survey his kingdom from the middle of the driveway. It was quite a challenge to get both of them to accept the sheep and protect them. None of it was their fault, it was me putting the cart before the horse. Both of them have taught me much more than I have taught them.

I have wanted a puppy for some time, but never felt the time was right until now. Sentry will be right next to the ewes when they lamb. He won't be able to be in with them, but we will make supervised visits, spending time with them so he can learn what is acceptable behavior at an early age. I have a few cranky older ewes that won't let him get by with much, so I will have to watch them too, so that they don't hurt him. The lambs we have now go to slaughter in November, right after new lambs start hitting the ground. By that time, he should be too big to pop through the cow panels and I can give him more room and slowly increase his time in with the sheep.

I'll document his progress and bring y'all along with us!

 

[RollingAcres]

Awwww!!! Congratulations on the new addition!

 

[Bruce]

What a good time for me to have caught up on all my "watched threads" or I'd not have seen this one!
Congrats on the new pup!

 

[Hens and Roos]

Congrats!

 

[drdoolittle]

He's a gorgeous pup! It looks like he's fitting in well already! My 2 pups are around the same age.....I think they're 13 or 14 weeks old now......about 60 lbs!
I'm so happy you found this guy, I think.he'll be great.

 

[Baymule]

Today Sentry learned that cedar tastes bad. Ewenique was happily chomping on the greenery so he bit some off. It didn’t take but seconds for him to spit it out.

I turned Ringo the ram in with Ewenique and Scottie. Ewenique lost no time in butting Sentry. I caught a pic of Ewenique threatening Sentry. He whirled around and skeedaddled!

Just as quick, he came right back.

Trip asked to come in the pasture so I cracked open the gate. Sentry jumped on Trip, overjoyed to see him, licking Trip’s face. Trip growled, but I think he likes the puppy. Ewenique sized Sentry up for another head butt, and Ringo came over to check him out.

Sure enough, Ewenique butted him again.

I watched several hours while Sentry followed the sheep trio. Scottie is wary of him and will run, causing him to run too. I yell NO! and he stops and looks at me. I put him back in his pen. We’re working on it.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Lol its so much fun watching them interact with each other, the settng of their boundaries , and pecking order that goes on in the animal world....I am having puppy envy Bay, he is a beautiful boy....

 

[Mike CHS]

Ringo gave me a whole new perspective on ram behavior. Max is becoming the same so I'm leaning more towards most problems with rams is the handlers lack of handling and not the rams.

 

[Baymule]

@Mike CHS even with just being turned in with 2 ewes, one of which I’m pretty sure is in heat, Ringo still came to me for praise, scratches and to get his face stroked. He was posturing, curling his lip, making that deep growling rumble, and would stop to come to me for attention. He knows he is loved.

 

[Ridgetop]

I watched several hours while Sentry followed the sheep trio. Scottie is wary of him and will run, causing him to run too. I yell NO! and he stops and looks at me. I put him back in his pen. We’re working on it.

We corrected Angel as a puppy from chasing the sheep when they were turned out. She would stop chasing them and start sniffing around with the other 2 LGDs after the first exciting race through the gateway by the sheep for grazing. Now, at 10 months old, she runs after them when they race out of the night fold, BUT we have noticed that she is not chasing them, she is running head of them so that she will be in front and between any dangers they might meet as they run into the field. They are just in her way! LOL

Wonderful timing for the puppy, just before lambing. So much easier to work with him on proper newborn etiquette at this young age. And you still have older lambs to knock him over if he plays too rough.