Meet Ralph
I just love this picture. We call it "Morning Report," coz it looks like he is saying, "Everyone present and accounted for, ma'am. Had a little trouble with the coyotes during the nite, but sent them packing, and all is well." Ellie May won best in class with this picture at the county fair that year.
For perspective, that is a four foot high gate, and a 9 month old dog. Now when he stands up like that he looks 6 foot tall Uncle Jed in the eye. Or, if you pull up on our property in a car, he will saunter over and look you in the eye, and ask you your business. Trucks are a little tall for that, though, so he has to step back a bit.
Ralph is in the back, and George in front.
Gorgeous George and Ralph the Mouth are Anatolian Shepherds, and i cannot recommend this breed highly enough for livestock protection. They are simply amazing. And big. And smart. Okay, well, George is really smart, Ralph is smart, too, but let's just say George is the brains and Ralph is the brawn of this outfit. But Whata TEAM!!!
You are not supposed to train these dogs, you just put them in the barnyard and let nature take it's course. If you start trying to control them, they lose their instincts. And you surely don't want to mess with the gifts that our Creator has given them. Let me tell ya a couple of stories to illustrate.
One time i looked out and my bucks and Ralph were in the south field, not their pen. I go round them up, and put them back where they belonged. I looked around, but didn't see the breach. By the time i made it back thru the two gates, i see one of the bucks back in the south field again. Collected Moon again, and see that Ralph is outside the pen, laying down in front of the hole in the fence, keeping the other boys from getting out. I put Moon back in the pen, and went to get the fencing tools, while Ralph stayed in front of the hole. I went into the pen, lifted the flap, and Ralph came back in the pen, and then kept the bucks away from me while i fixed the fence. How cool is that?
There is dense wood all around us, and we have a real problem with coyotes, feral hogs, and the odd big cat. Across the road from us is a pasture that is used for a large scale cattle operation. One night, the boyz were kicking up a fuss, so Jed went to see what was up. A cow was birthing, and the boyz were laying down at the perimeter, barking so as to keep the coyotes at bay, while Ruby (you'll meet her soon, too) was with the mama, presumably to take care of the afterbirth. Another time Jed went out and found George and Ralph circling the pond and barking to beat the band, with a coyote trapped in the water. Unfortunately their concentration got broken, and the coyote got away. But am betting he doesn't come around these parts any more.
My favorite illustration is the night we heard a commotion in the doe yard, and Ellie May went to check it out. When she got out there, George was herding all the does into the barn, and Ralph was looking at the sweet gum pen (so named for the tree in the middle.) Now, at the time, there was a bobcat in the neighborhood, and she had a couple of kits. Neighbors had seen her, but we hadn't. Ellie thinks she sees something down there, and heads that way. She said she could tell that Ralph didn't want to go thru the gate, but when Ellie did, he followed her. When she got closer to the sweet gum pen, she said she saw the glint of eyes up in the tree, and Ralph went ballistic, and stepped in front of her, keeping her from going any further. By that time George had all the goats in the barn, and joined Ellie and Ralph. George then started nipping at Ellie's heels, herding her back up the hill to the doe yard, while Ralph stayed down below and kept (what we think was) the cat in the tree. When they got back up to the barn, George sounded all clear, and Ralph returned to the barn as well. Now i ask you, are they not amazing?
I gotta get a better picture of them, but they work all night and sleep all day, and am thinking "dead dog" pictures will not be that interesting. Next time i'll tell ya how we acquired these guys. You'll love it.
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