Workin' Like A Dog

The Maremmas are responsible for keeping ALL my animals safe, in multiple locations. It’s an awfully difficult assignment, but so far, they have been successful. They accompany me each time I feed the 56 chicks in the milk room and look in the brooder to familiarize themselves with the little critters. They  stand by while I feed the leppie calf and then position themselves for the rest of the day where they can see the sheep in the lower pasture, the chickens who roam the upper pastures, our yard (which would mean "me"), EmmaLouMoo and Mister, my Paint horse, in the south pasture. Nothing gets past them very easily and if someone or something new comes by, they wind up out front, checking things out.

I finally turned out the little guinea birds with the chickens. They seemed to be smart enough to stick close to the rooster for the most part, but if they get to lagging behind they tend to wind up trapped or lost somehow as they are not smart enough to walk AROUND  a gate, or to the END of a fence line to get to the other side where their friends are and tend to panic. I do like how they flock up though, traveling as a little pod. They are a little noisy, very flighty and erratic in their movements and of course, they have been locked in a small brooder for weeks so the Polarbears, aka BWDs (big white dogs) have not really seen them, because they were not in the milkroom brooder with the rest of the chicks.

Randyman and I were working on putting up a fence for the rams and noticed only 4 of the 5 guineas were around. Soon after, I headed off to find something and he went to the pasture and saw that Cletapotamus had a dead guinea between his front feet. Now this could well have not been Cletus' fault. It IS possible that a hawk or something originally nailed the guinea as it was headless. Cletus never did kill a chicken outright as a pup, but would pin it and lick it naked until it died of shock, but this bird, he was being very possessive of. Randy came and told me.  I asked if he had taken it away to inspect it. He said “No, he was growling at me and wouldn’t let me near”.

Well, I know Cletus very well and the dogs respond to me and but not so much anyone else. Cletus is VERY vocal and always has been. He moans, he grumbles, he howls. It’s all bluff, but I would never want anyone besides myself to test that theory and I don't blame Randyman one bit for not following through with taking the bird and disciplining the Potamus, who has the size to do a considerable amount of damage to a person, but that really isn't his temperament. He's 'all bark and no bite' so to speak. 

I approached Cletus and he grabbed up the bird while making loud, throaty growls that were admittedly pretty blood curdling.   Being possessive and guarding something from ME is a bad decision, no matter how the bird got killed. I suspect he was the culprit, however. I told him the bird was NOT his and he was NOT to grab any more of them. His growling became even more aggressive so I grabbed him by his scruff and gave him “what for”, while taking the bird away from him. I then showed it to him, said "NO" again, popped him across the muzzle with it, with another resounding “NO” and marched to the back yard. First he looked surprised, then he groveled submissively, clearly mortified by my behavior toward him, but still he continued looking for the bird, as he slowly followed my path, sniffing around, hoping to find and consume it. I gave the bird to Cider to enjoy and ignored Cletus, who I then locked in the lambing shed by himself for the afternoon, to let the whole experience sink in. It was easy to see, later, that he was, indeed repentant. 

However, unwilling to risk having him repeat his mistake, diminishing his effectiveness as a poultry guardian, I got the remote spray collar and fastened it to his neck. He was TOTALLY devastated. Nothing deflates these two dogs more than having to wear "THE COLLAR". He moved cautiously, head down, attempting to be  invisible and was thoroughly humiliated and humbled. 

These two are highly intelligent and very 'soft' dogs. Cider would have just wagged his tail and nabbed another bird in his enthusiasm over being free. I have found that my Maremmas learn faster than any breed I ever had, they just respond differently. Things like basic obedience and recall are not high on their list of priorities...mostly just things related to their job of guarding, but their relationship with me is still a high priority and it's obvious that my displeasure affects them deeply.

I really believe it was just too much of a challenge seeing these noisy, erratic little birds who were strangers to Cletus, running through my flock. It is also a strong possibility he didn't realize they were OUR additions as I had no opportunity to show them to him personally. These two are masters of discretion and can tell in the herd in the back, which are my cows and which are ranch cows. I know Cletus would not intentionally do anything wrong, as he is really a big, sweet clown. Since then, the guineas have been free to run by him, over him and under him and he pays them no more attention than any of the other poultry we have and they are now as safe as a bird could possibly be.

It’s amazing to me, that all these dogs have to do is understand something is OURS and they protect it with their lives, even against their own desire to capture and play with or dine on it. Their sense of honor is almost incomprehensible. We could learn much from their example.

It’s very hard for me to resist these two. Their eyes are very expressive. They communicate more through looks and body language than people can with a whole host of words. I don’t always understand what they are trying to tell me but they are most definitely telling me something, nearly all the time.

 One of the things I can read clearly, however, is the overwhelming power of affection they possess. If I am overwhelmed or in a lot of pain, it is a comfort just to walk into their presence. Bruno is my solid and dependable protector. Even from his spot in the pasture, he is always aware of where I am, what I am doing and is at my side instantly if something happens or someone new appears. When the kids come to visit he immediately takes the grandkids under his protection. His quiet strength and steady devotion give me courage on some of my darkest days.



(Watching over Abby, whom he sees only 3 days a year)

  Cletus has a way of always making me laugh at his antics and silliness, or of slithering over my lap so most of his weight remains on his hind legs while he ‘hugs’ me with his enormous head. It’s one of the best feelings in the world, second only to holding a child.

Much of their days are spent sparring and wrestling. It can be very intimidating to watch but it makes it easy to see these dogs were developed and equipped to repel wolves in the Italian Alps. The blood curdling roar, apparent viciousness and speed with which they take one another down is chilling, yet they have never drawn blood on one another. They have an uncanny ability to 'pull their punches' and I have witnessed Bruno do so many times when disciplining stock that tries to steal their dogfood or commit other such felonious offenses, never so much as leaving a mark. It looks 100x worse than it ever is, when used on 'friendlies'. I shudder to think what it would be like, however, to be a coyote or other predator foolish enough to  challenge them.

And yet, with their charges, they are incredibly gentle and longsuffering.

After 3 years of observing them, I am still amazed by their behaviors.  Each day I ride the 4 wheeler out to the pasture where Emmalou grazes and drive her to the milk room. Yesterday I was in a lot of pain due to aggravating an old back injury. The dogs, who always precede me and clear everything out of my path, this time ran far ahead to EmmaLou and attempted to bring her in themselves. Bruno ran behind her and pushed, Cletus was in front of her trying to coax her to follow. She has no respect for them so they were unable to garner her cooperation. Still, I was impressed by their attempt and it IS the thought that counts. When I  bring the sheep in, the dogs are pretty quick to pick up on that and lead them in before I have to drive them, as the sheep willingly follow them. 

It would be nice to have an actual herding dog to send after Emma, considering my physical limitations will increase.  
The four dogs we have now are really more than we ever planned on having, but Scottie (#4) sort of just got dumped here. Nevertheless, I have been putting thought into who will come to fill the incredible void Cider will leave here with his someday inevitable passing. 

My needs are certainly different than they were when my youngest son got him for me as a Christmas gift years ago. He was the perfect solution to my needs at that time. These days, however, I could use a dog that can help me with some of the chores and still be a service dog. Cider has been a champ about bringing me pillows or blankets when I am incapacitated, picking things up to hand them to me when I cannot bend down, or if I drop them, and other helpful tasks. Whoever must fill his pawprints needs to be able to learn those skills and some others as well, such as occasionally helping me up and doing a little light herding work.

I realize that is a pretty big order, but I know there is a breed out there that is perfect...and I believe, thanks to my readers, I have found it. Thank you all for your input!


There is nothing on earth, quite like a dog.