My pets really tie me down!

Thank you! There are 27 of the sheep that Gaius guards and we have never lost one! We also have a herding dog that is an Australian Kelpie which is a rare breed. He wasn't in the video. I bet I can find a pic because they are so rare looking... Hope this works. This is Max working... He looks like a small doberman with huge bat ears and a long tail...

DSC_0455.jpg Photo by ChandaOliver | Photobucket

I should have added our website if anyone was interested in seeing it. www.clospepe.com There are a couple pics of me scattered throughout too. And another video of Wes my super fancy hubby, hehe

Max is gorgeous, too! How much do you pay a working dog? (Maybe working dogs should start a union?) I checked out your website, too. I don't know much about wine, but my boyfriend drinks wine sometimes. I obviously can't promise anything, but I'll mention your site to him. I know he's tried some white wines (not his favorites) and burgundies lately.

I wanna hug your sheep! They look so cuddly!

Oh, I forgot, I wanted to ask another question: Is Gaius named for the Battlestar Galactica character, by any chance, or it's just a name you liked? Cool, either way!

Creek Spirits Mad Max (he's Australian, hehe, I didn't name him) was $2,500 at 10 months old with a lot of training already started. Luckily the ranch paid for him so I didn't have to. I finished his training by myself so now he would be worth much much more.

He gets paid in the highest quality dog food, fresh eggs, and runs around the property while I drive the golf cart (his favorite thing) and lots and lots of love.

Gaius is really Gaius Pepe. He was named after Gaius Julius Caesar, but we were watching a TON of Battlestar at the time too, hehe.

I can't imagine what it would be like to live on a farm, some of you have enough animals to be considered a farm? I have a beagle and a cat, sometimes I'm so in love with them, and other times I wish I could find someone to take care of them instead of me. I say that because the dog, Homer, barks at everything, he knows when a car is going to be coming around the corner, if someone will be coming over, so it's basically the barking I have to deal with, the cat doesn't bother me, I'm more of a cat person. We just got our beagle fixed after about 5 years, and the vet said he would probably calm down a bit. It seems so too now so I'm happier!!

Yep, I live on 10 acres out in the boonies. Most of the time it's wonderful, but it's a lot of work. It's like I said before about having my fur babies. I love them and my life would be empty, heck, it wouldn't be living by my definition if I didn't have them. But there are times when I'm worn out or taking care of the farm feels like too much I envy people who don't have the responsibility.

Gaius cost $2,500 when you bought him? I didn't know dogs sold for that much! Not that they're not worth it (whatever dollar amount he's worth now with all that training doesn't come close to what he's really worth!).

I'm definitely not a farm gal, but I'd like to visit some farms. I'd like to go to one where the animals are not killed or abused. Not sure how many kinds of farms run like that, but there are some that just take care of the animals. Like Farm Sanctuary. I'd love to "meet" some horses, donkeys, chickens, and whatever else is in residence. Maybe not a bull. They're a little scary.

All of my working animals were quite expensive. I am lucky though because I didn't have to pay for them. I live on my in-laws farm and I just 'work' here. They pay for what they want and I just slave away and take care of whatever they want taken care of. Turned out to be a much bigger project than I had expected. With my illness it is hard for me to manage the flock and the dogs and moving them around the vineyard and so on.

When I was breeding it was HORRIBLE for my bipolar, being up all night and the stress of lambing and so on... I had to stop breeding because of it. I just can't do it anymore.

At this point all I can do is barely feed all of the animals every morning and evening and even that is a struggle for me.

And by the way, NONE of our sheep are EVER killed or eaten. Not in my lifetime!!!!!! They are actually a very rare breed of miniature sheep that are about $900 each which is very expensive for sheep and they are not even the eating variety anyway.

So no worries here. The only thing we eat are our chicken eggs and we are overrun with eggs right now. Anyone want some???

I understand how overwhelming caring for multiple animals (or people) can be. I also have panic disorder OCD, and agoraphobia. I once had two hamsters, a cat, and one guinea pig who turned into three! (About a week or two after I bought her, she had babies!) That doesn't sound like much in comparison to your herd and dogs, but it was too much for me, and I had to give away the guinea pigs. That really broke my heart.

Your farm looks and sounds lovely, despite the hard work.

Maven if you're ever in my area I'd be happy to introduce you to my crew!

I'll remember that! It would be cool to meet some people from PC someday. As much as I enjoy my privacy, I would be happy to meet you and risk the possibility that you're a "Single-White-Female stalker type," LOL!

Pets are quite high-maintenance, aren't they? :P I love my four little dogs and I realized I lucked out tremendously in regards to health issues, but they do get stressful from time to time. Especially when they go on a non-stop barking tirade. Oh, the joys of small dogs!

I have a question for the OP (or anyone who has a cat/dog household) about how their dogs get along with their cats. Did you have any difficulty introducing them at first? Were either one of them (or both of them) in their puppy/kitten stage when they initially met? I have a small dog that used to live on our street before we rescued her. We're not sure of her past, but we're pretty sure she was abandoned. She has issues with fear, which often leads her to act out around strange animals and people. It took her awhile before she got used to our Chihuahua. So, on a scale of "maybe it'll work" to "don't even try it", do you think she would get along with a cat?

I've always wanted a cat, but my relatives don't really like them. So I always told myself that I would get a cat once I move out of my parents' house. Of course, when I move out, I'll be taking this particular dog with me because she's practically glued to my side and goes nuts when I'm gone, lol. If it's unlikely she'll get along with a cat, I will definitely postpone my plans to adopt one from a shelter. But I really, really want one! *sighs*

Hahalebou, I have cats and dogs. The dogs came here as pups, actually one of them was born on the farm. Of the cats, three arrived as kittens, one as an elderly lady. I absolutely, postively do NOT trust Ivan the Rottie anywhere near the cats. He will kill anything as small as a cat. Since he lives in the barn and keeps it rat free that can be a good thing. The cats all live in the house. They are not allowed to go outside, so they will not come in contact with Ivan.

Al, my Lab, is now a very senior citizen. He kind of lives in his own world now. In his younger days though he was afraid of the cats. When he came to live with us as a pup we had one bad-A cat who would slap the snot out of him just because she could.

In terms of your rescue dog with fear issues, I believe it could work out. How does she handle smaller animals? If she's OK with them she might be OK with a kitten. Have you considered getting a cat from a shelter? Maybe they would allow you to bring your dog to the shelter to meet the cat before you adopt it.

I definitely want to adopt a cat from a shelter. Our Chihuahua is smaller than her, and occasionally I'll see her sort of "track" her with her eyes and I have to distract her, but other than that she seems to be okay with her. I'm hoping that the predatory stare will stop when we get her fixed, although it's really pricey and we make too much in a year to get a discount. Sigh.