And since I missed last weeks Alphabe-Thursday…. S is for Spay (and neuter) your pets. Last week my son and I took a trip to another Icelandic Sheep breeders farm to pick up two more ewes and to exchange one of our rams for one her rams. We also went to pick out a Pyrenees or Akbash guard dog. You see Twila, bless her heart, picked up and found homes for over 30 Pyr/Akbash dogs. A lady had picked up a couple Pyrs and Akbash dogs to protect her flock of sheep and was under the impression that only the alpha male and female would breed…well 30 puppies later she had a serious problem. Most of these dogs had very little human contact, where thin and all sorts of problems. Twila knew we had children so she picked out 3 of gentlest guys for us to look at and see if we would give one a try.
A scared Thor...
Twila had picked out 2 Akbash and a Pyrenees for us to look at. She told us before we even saw the dogs she knew which one we would choose. And she was right, this guy was scared but friendly from the get-go. It was quite a sad and maddening thing to see these poor dogs quivering in fear. We had quite a time trying to get him from the stable where he was temporarily housed to the back of our pick-up, but with much patience and coaxing, Thor made it.
Isn't he just the saddest looking dog?
Twila and her crew saying their good-bye's.
The other passengers going home with us...
Now for a few pictures of our travels up to Twila’s. Did I mention she lives many miles back on a single lane logging road, out in the middle of no-where, off-grid? The last time we were up there we were certain we must be lost and were going to be pulling into some militia hide-out, in the middle of winter. This time I felt a bit more confident about where we were heading but had to do the driving, which I hate doing. The road was muddy and a bit slippery in place and very bumpy. So bumpy in-fact we broke our rack and had to stop and repair it…
Sawyer doing a quick fix job.
Blackfoot, the ram we traded.
The side of the road. I was afraid we slide down.
The view of the mountains on the way back down.
We made it home very late that night, so we unloaded the ram and the ewes and left Thor in the back of the pick-up, safe and secure. The next day we introduced him to Dugur and the ewes. It wasn’t until he jumped out of the back and stood next to Dugur did I realize just how big Thor was..
Dugur with Thor
Dugur weighs in at 110 lbs, not a small guy. I have no idea what Thor weighs but he’s big! Dugur and Thor had a few very minor altercations and seemed to settle into the role of Thor being the alpha with Dugur as his side-kick. Thor was very relaxed around the sheep and the chickens, thank Heaven, we were unsure how he would be with the winged critters.
Pals
Dolce Bacchus, the new handsome ram.
Beautiful face...
Happiness at his new home!
Thor was pretty bashful the first couple of days, hiding out in the sheds. But he is gradually warming up to us and is proving that these dogs are wonderful! Such a testament to the breed.
Bambi, a moorit badgerface ewe. One of the new ewes.
The ewes are settling in well too!
Alice or Ali for short...
Thor waits for me by the gate, in the morning. He loves to be scratched and loved on. He jumps back and cowers when the gate clanks or if you have a shovel or pitchfork.
Waiting patiently...
We’ve slowly introduced the kids to him and he seems really happy around them.
Tori and Thor
Please remember if you are looking to add a Pyrenees or Akbash to your family, consider adoption. There are literally hundreds of these beautiful dogs in shelters across the nation waiting for homes. Please look here…
and here…
if you are considering a livestock guardian dog or a 4-legged friend. And please spay or neuter your pets.
Happy boy...
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They had 4 separate sleds out and ready to go to accommodate us. Each sled had 40 paw power! The sleds were quite comfortable and included a heavy blanket and an elk hide to snuggle in.
Dancing Aspens Farm Blog 