Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Is your oldster still working? Ben's never been a working powerhouse so he's always been used fairly lightly. Every time he gets ill, I say, that's it, he's done, I won't ask him to work anymore. And then he goes back to work again. Oddly, usually slightly better. I've recently learned (thank you Robin!) how to fix his slashing in on his outrun at the top, and now he can gather sheep without feeling the need to rush in at the top. His enthusiasm for the whole thing rocketed! He's twelve. Am I pushing things here? Typical tasks include, gathering sheep in a small (3 acre) field and setting them out to graze, catching and holding for various tasks, and the Big Gather, which involves hunting sheep in the back part of the property (up a hill out of sight, down in hollows, in woods, and across a pond). Ben only does stuff like this a quarter of the day. I'm actually kind of new to the whole, raising dogs to old age, thing. I "borrowed" a dog once who came to me at the age of 12, and died a bit short of fifteen, but he had terrible arthritis and was very limited his last couple of years. At twelve he was pretty rickety already. Ben had very slight stiffness problems last year but these have gone away since I switched him to 100% raw. Should I slow Ben down now before he has problems? this is a weird thing to think of since I've always been sure Ben would be a mess by this age, with all his problems. Instead, he only seems to be improving. I am not complaining by the way - I am amazed and glad this dog is alive still and have frequently informed him he's not allowed to die before me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Sabre's 13 now, and still wants to go out with me every day and work. He just can't hear much. So, I use him when the tasks are obvious and don't require much flanking. He's still great at loading calves into the trailer, and when I'm gone with the trialling dogs, the person who puts sheep up at night can use him--he knows at night they get put into a certain area, etc. And he's still the greatest with moms and new babies. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Sara's breeder had a working bc on their dairy farm who refused to stop working until she died at 16. Her owners gradually limited what they permitted her to do. As a dog who had lived in a barn w/the stock, she refused to become a house dog - she would visit for a few hours and then want to go back to the barn. The last year or so she "worked" only the barn area, helping to move the cows. She had some arthritis and couldn't do much jumping, but she seemed to be happy. She died in her sleep in the stall where she slept most of her life. So while I wouldn't think Ben could do the work of a much younger dog, why not let him do whatever work he can that doesn't endanger him or anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted February 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 he's still the greatest with moms and new babies. That's the thing. I'm trying to let Cord and Gus learn this task, but Ben's still tops here. For some reason, although Cord is Mr. Eye Dog and never misses one when gathering a group of fairly homogenous sheep from all over the hill - he has to be watched carefully or he will let the ewes with lambs drop back one at a time until I have, well, one ewe and maybe her lambs and maybe not. Gus will be terrific but right now has to increase his patience level. Ted will, by far, be the best - he'll have all of Ben's instincts and the finesse Ben totally lacks. He's already handling ewes and lambs in the small paddock with great grace. But he'll need another lambing before I'll trust him to gather ewes and lambs blind. So, when it's time to switch out the grazing flocks, Ben handles the nursery flock. The ewes with older lambs are starting to range out much further so that's what got me wondering this morning about his continuing to work. As I said, he's not allowed to die, so I don't want to actually hasten that event in any way! His sight and hearing are perfect, by the way - well, except for the CEA. As Ted continues to come on, this won't be an issue next year - he'll be the go-to dog and Ben and Cord will be backup. I'd love to see Ben still working at 13!! I'm glad to hear stories about dogs that do work into their teens - any more, please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsnrs Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Our trainer's girl just finished her WTCH in ASCA at age 11. Our girl is 10 and still wants to work too. N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Mac worked the cows in a limited fashion until about thirteen or so, when the spondylosis and other issues slowed him down too much. When the cows figured out that he couldn't take care of himself, we stopped taking him out any more. For some time, Megan was keeping an eye on him and, should a cow head his way, she would take care of that and drive the cow off. I'd just let him keep doing what he can, when he can. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.