Tune Up

Coal and Ryme had their tune up this week, that is, their chiropractic tuneup that is way more than just that. Coal was pretty good, with just his inside toes flared up, most likely from running on the concrete-hard, dried-out ground.  Coal is in good shape, body-wise, with good muscle tone and strength, which was all good news for me since we have two trials this month. Ryme was (again) a mess with his troublesome right rear leg. I checked back through my journal notes and this leg has been plaguing him for some time. What to do? I am trying to keep Ryme together in one piece so that he can work sheep at least on some level. Working sheep is key to keeping Ryme somewhat together, mentally and emotionally. I'm adding in some different supplements and herbs. I had already changed the dogs to (mostly) their "winter diet" back in August but there is some frozen lamb and mutton in the freezer waiting for a few cooler days, to be added to the dogs' food.

Another birthday pic of Chiefie with his pal, Ryme

Spot gets to see the chiropractor once in a while, but for now he is mostly made of rubber so he doesn't really need it. We have to budget our time and expenses for the ones who really need it. Chiefie used to have treatments but he doesn't tolerate it well, so he doesn't get an appointment any more. The main thing I try to do is trim Chiefie's long tail so it does not drag on the ground and thus pull on his back unnecessarily (this a tip from our doggie chiropractor).

Other than Ryme's leg, the boys are all doing well. I haven't posted on Spot's progress in a while, but there isn't a whole lot to report. It feels sort of like Spot and I  are treading water; we're not losing any ground but we haven't gained much either (or at least that's how it seems). The days seem to be on a crash course careening to getting shorter and shorter by leaps and bounds each week...so my evening dog training will soon come to an end for a few months. I am still hoping for another breakthrough for Spot, similar to what happened just before he turned two.

For the first time we did fall shearing on the Scotties, last week, so they got a tune up of another sort. It's an experiment so that we can perhaps better observe and manage their body condition over the winter. Some of them had six to seven inches of wool growth, since April. Our shearer said he had done several hundred head of sheep in the past week in addition to his regular day job. We were not the only ones. We'll see if it helps us.  Our shearer always has such interesting observations to share, about sheep. He noted that sheep in the fall, are stronger and fitter. They are better able to fight with being held off balance by the shearer for clipping. They have had to search more for their food to find it rather than in spring when they loll about, munching on clover. It does make sense that they would be more fit in the fall. I always learn something from the shearer.