Dear Peg,

I’ve been meaning to write you for awhile and tell you just how happy we are with our Ginny. She has blossomed into such a wonderful dog, and we all love her.

She has exhibited all the traits of her English Shepherd heritage from an early age—she caught her first baby rabbit when she was four months old, and had already shown herding instinct by that time. She also showed a strong desire to watch over our little Rosemary (who turned two in June) from the time she was just a few months old. I loved seeing that watchful, devoted, “mother-look” in her eyes when she settled down beside Rosemary.

In the petrified puppy that we brought home last April, it was hard to imagine a tough stock dog emerging. She didn’t seem at all like the confident pup you had described to me. The folks who helped make the connection with you and brought her home to us had gotten a puppy of their own on the same trip, and he was obviously more bold and outgoing than Ginny was. It was a bit disconcerting, but I could tell she was just over stressed from the travel and being around other dogs, etc., and I hoped she’d be herself again soon. It took a few days, but I could tell each day that she was more relaxed, and eventually I saw that “happy” look in her eyes that I’d been waiting for. Even when we moved shortly after we got her, she didn’t get shook again. She had figured out that she belonged to us, I guess. The only thing I still see is that she HATES riding in a vehicle, but our other dog was that way, too. I guess she’ll just have to run along with the pickup when we haul salt to the cows.

I’m glad she seems to have the varmint hunting instinct, as we have plenty of gophers and rabbits. She went crazy the night we caught a coon in the sweet corn last summer, and I expect she’ll keep them out herself next summer. She hasn’t met a rattlesnake yet—something I don’t look forward to, but which is bound to happen in this country—but she is lightning-quick, and perhaps may be able to kill a snake herself. I saw her nearly catch a sparrow today. At least I know she’ll let me know if something’s wrong. She definitely has that “Alert” bark that I knew I could trust in our old dog.

Ginny was pretty scared of the milk cow when I started taking her along to help with chores last spring, but again, it wasn’t long till she would bark and try to chase when I started chasing the critters. She’s done most of her practicing on the bottle calves we raised last summer, my milk cows, and the bulls we put with them. She has NO FEAR now, and will tear into the big bulls with vim and vigor, getting right in their faces to turn them, or swinging along from a tail for emphasis. She is learning to watch the gate while I pitch hay to the calves. I’ll put her where I want her, and she just dares those calves with a look to “Try and get past.” That’s the closest to a strong eyed dog I’ve seen her, but I’m glad of that. I like the “loose eyed” trait of the English Shepherd—that’s one reason we chose her. I’m so glad she’s not like a Border Collie or Heeler.

We’re still working on refining her technique in some ways, such as learning to keep the herd together, or learning to bring a stray back, rather than just chasing it wherever it happens to go. She’s also learning that there are times when the best help is to stay put and stay out of things, such as when we’re bringing cows up the alley. I’ve occasionally had to down her pretty forcefully to get her to quit, but usually one “Whoa” is sufficient. For such a tough, bossy dog, she is amazingly soft and easy to correct. Another thing I really love about her.

Ginny has been so easy to train, and in spite of my busy-ness with life, chores, and three children, she has done remarkably well with minimal “official” training time. She just wants to please so badly. I’ve never used treats, just a word and pat of praise is enough to make her happy. Even though I’ve been her main “boss,” she listens to Ben well, too, and goes to help him with the heifers when he goes out to feed. One morning they got out the wrong gate, and she heard him hollering at them, and went tearing over to help him get them back in. Sometimes I think she has a special spot in her heart for me, but she definitely loves us all. She does come to the porch door and bark for me when I’m late getting out to start chores... :-)

She respects the boys pretty well, though I’ve had to emphasize to them not to be rowdy with her and encourage her to jump on them or nip at them. She LOVES Rosemary, and has always been super patient with her, letting Rosemary climb on her, pull her ears, put her fingers in her mouth, and do all manner of annoying things to her. She barks when strangers come, but has never been threatening. She’s friendly to them and begs for petting, but politely; she’s never jumped up on people. We got one of the nicest compliments on her from my grandfather, who visited last summer when Ginny was about five months old. She came in to say hello when the company arrived, and then settled on her mat. Later, when we went for a short walk, I must have said something about her age, because Grampap replied, “I didn’t realize she was a puppy.” She was pretty big already, and so mannerly he thought she was mature.

Well, I hope I’ve remembered all the things I’ve wanted to tell you about Ginny. She’s totally zonked on the rug by the door— “her spot”—right now. We are so happy we got her, and so pleased with how she’s turning out. And I am by no means a spectacular trainer. We were just devastated when our old dog died, and thought we’d never have another like her. Ginny is all we loved in Jill, and more, because Jill didn’t have a herding instinct. Thanks so much for raising such a great pup!

~ Ruth