The Cutest Thing Ever Is...

A pipsqueak Shiba Inu herding pipsqueak Babydoll Southdown Sheep. It's like a (very small) match made in heaven.

I had wanted at some point to get some Babydoll Sheep. They always seemed very "charming" with their faint little smiles, small size, and gentle nature. Now I can get my fill by visiting them at Ewetopia!

Shiba Inu are not what can be considered a herding breed, as in, they have not been specifically bred to specialize in that task, in contrast to Border Collies. There is no native herding dog in Japan. I like to consider this breed, however, as more of a jack of all trades dog. For me, this describes a dog that is not a specialist, but a generalist, a multipurpose dog who has many potential uses, such as pest control, hunting (baying, pointing, flushing, retrieving), companionship, watch dogging and alerting, and garbage disposal.

The term "proto-collie" seems very apt in describing the behavior I observe in my Shibas, and I have had a lot of opportunity to compare and contrast as my dogs have competed and been successful in traditional Collie/Cattle Dog/Shepherd/Sight Hound events. All the instinct is there for herding, hunting, guarding, etc, but it just has not been heavily selected for and is often buried (in some cases deeply) due to stronger selection for conformation, with more focus on selecting for an "easier" companion temperament.

So, while I can't title or compete with any of my dogs in Herding Trials, I can certainly give them the chance to explore their primitive instincts in between dog shows, and marvel at how versatile this breed truly is.

Babydoll Southdown Sheep

Seriously, aren't these the absolute cutest sheep you have ever seen? I think they look like they are smiling :)

Here is a link to the National Babydoll Sheep Association. I think since they are much smaller than a traditional sheep, selective grazers, make nice spinning wool, and have modest needs, that a pair would do pretty well on a small 'gentleman' farm/property like mine.

I would have to supplement with grass hay, as the grazing would be limited. They would have shelter in the spacious Hen Hut at night and I would love to get Grym started on sheep or goats while he is still young.

I wonder how the Shibas would react? They really enjoy the run of the place and I am not sure I want to deal with them eating sheep poo, picking up parasites, and rolling in it. I suppose I could fence in some smaller areas where the Shibas don't go anyway, and feed them mostly grass hay/grain.

I do think it is wise to keep the birds and future animals seperate in their own areas away from the house pets purely for cleanliness reasons as I don't have multiple acreage. Grym was constantly eating the chicken poo, getting diarrhea, and all the dogs were getting chronic eye infections from rolling in it. Also, the chickens were comming up on the patio and that was quite a mess.

I built the chicken yard and "remodeled" the Hen Hut because of that, and lock the birds in for a week for worming. Although all of the dogs' stool samples were negative for parasites, I wormed them all as well and treated the eye infections. No problems at all since keeping the chickens in their own space. I have to assume the same rule should apply for keeping sheep.

I would love to sell the wool, and breed them for meat (so darn cute tho, I would want the butcher to do the deed). Maybe I just need to wait another 10-15 years till I can buy more land?