Emma Gray (2)

Choosing a rating can sometimes be a little hard. Some people give 4 stars for good books, and only 5 stars for truly exceptional. I give 5 for good books I really like, and put the exceptional ones in my category for 'dogs-favorite-books.' Then I put in details and just hope from them a person can gleem if it sounds like their kind of book or not. This was a book I enjoyed of a 23 year-old who takes over an isolated Northumberland farm with her 4 collies.

I have read a number of books on show more herding dogs. I find he details with the care needed for sheep interesting. This book has a fair amount of it but not too much. I love hearing about the dogs that work with the sheep and there is a good amount of it, although the main theme is Emma choosing and living out in the isolated farm, and what she does working with sheep on other farms.

Here is when someone mentions the opportunity:
‘Ah, I was thinking of you the other day. There’s a little farm just a few mile from me that’s come up for let.’ He looks at me and pauses, sensing my interest.
‘Go on’
‘Aye, it’s through the National Trust. They call it Fallowlees. You’re probably not bothered now, but you can always give them a ring and get the particulars. Mind, it’s a rough sort of spot, very remote, no mains electric, stuck in the trees.’
‘Sounds like it’ll suit me down to the ground,’ I say, with a giggle, half joking. But the moment he’s gone I go and look up the number for the National Trust.

Then here is where she is describing two of her dogs:
"From the word go, the two of us have been a team. I was not an experienced trainer, but she and I worked through it all together, both learning as we went. She is the most loyal dog I will ever own. She will sit and gaze into my eyes. I am her world. She does not have the strength of some sheepdogs, but what she lacks in raw power she more than makes up for in pure effort. If I were to set her an impossible task, she would persevere to her last breath rather than let me down. Whether we are out checking the sheep, gathering lambs for dosing or just sitting together in my car, having lunch and listening to Radio 1, we are inseparable. I doubt I will ever own another dog like her."

"Alfie is the goon in the team: think of Scooby-Doo with the brains of Homer Simpson. People often can’t believe he’s a collie because he is as smooth as a piglet and built like a lurcher with long legs and a deep chest. He is a true athlete and can run for miles and miles without tiring. Dog owners call it ‘having a good engine.’ He is obedient to the last – but sometimes ‘obedient’ can be another word for ‘stupid.’ If I ask him to lie down and get side-tracked, he will stay glued to the very spot until eventually I come looking for him ten minutes later. I would take sheep out the same gate every day for a week and on day seven Alfie would still need to be told what to do. But he is a great work dog and very honest, and no matter what situation he gets into he is always listening for my commands and has full faith that I will not see him wrong."

Near the end she has a sentence that a lot of us feel, "And once we were on the subject of dogs, well, I cold probably talk for ever." show less

Choosing a rating can sometimes be a little hard. Some people give 4 stars for good books, and only 5 stars for truly exceptional. I give 5 for good books I really like, and put the exceptional ones in my category for 'dogs-favorite-books.' Then I put in details and just hope from them a person can gleem if it sounds like their kind of book or not. This was a book I enjoyed of a 23 year-old who takes over an isolated Northumberland farm with her 4 collies.

I have read a number of books on show more herding dogs. I find he details with the care needed for sheep interesting. This book has a fair amount of it but not too much. I love hearing about the dogs that work with the sheep and there is a good amount of it, although the main theme is Emma choosing and living out in the isolated farm, and what she does working with sheep on other farms.

Here is when someone mentions the opportunity:
‘Ah, I was thinking of you the other day. There’s a little farm just a few mile from me that’s come up for let.’ He looks at me and pauses, sensing my interest.
‘Go on’
‘Aye, it’s through the National Trust. They call it Fallowlees. You’re probably not bothered now, but you can always give them a ring and get the particulars. Mind, it’s a rough sort of spot, very remote, no mains electric, stuck in the trees.’
‘Sounds like it’ll suit me down to the ground,’ I say, with a giggle, half joking. But the moment he’s gone I go and look up the number for the National Trust.

Then here is where she is describing two of her dogs:
"From the word go, the two of us have been a team. I was not an experienced trainer, but she and I worked through it all together, both learning as we went. She is the most loyal dog I will ever own. She will sit and gaze into my eyes. I am her world. She does not have the strength of some sheepdogs, but what she lacks in raw power she more than makes up for in pure effort. If I were to set her an impossible task, she would persevere to her last breath rather than let me down. Whether we are out checking the sheep, gathering lambs for dosing or just sitting together in my car, having lunch and listening to Radio 1, we are inseparable. I doubt I will ever own another dog like her."

"Alfie is the goon in the team: think of Scooby-Doo with the brains of Homer Simpson. People often can’t believe he’s a collie because he is as smooth as a piglet and built like a lurcher with long legs and a deep chest. He is a true athlete and can run for miles and miles without tiring. Dog owners call it ‘having a good engine.’ He is obedient to the last – but sometimes ‘obedient’ can be another word for ‘stupid.’ If I ask him to lie down and get side-tracked, he will stay glued to the very spot until eventually I come looking for him ten minutes later. I would take sheep out the same gate every day for a week and on day seven Alfie would still need to be told what to do. But he is a great work dog and very honest, and no matter what situation he gets into he is always listening for my commands and has full faith that I will not see him wrong."

Near the end she has a sentence that a lot of us feel, "And once we were on the subject of dogs, well, I cold probably talk for ever." show less