Farm406

farm406 46 Kim Baker's first Old English Sheepdog was her dairy partner when she worked in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. "That dog would go get the cows up and bring them to me; she would push them toward the milking barn for me," she recalls. "She was amazing." Kim and her husband, Jim, a fourth-generation rancher, have been raising and utilizing Old English Sheepdogs on their Hot Springs, Mont., ranch for six years. Old English Sheepdogs were developed for herding. The Bakers use their dogs to herd their Angus-Charolais cattle. "Ranahan works great when we're on horseback," explains Kim. "Tizzy works best in a pen – they have no fear of livestock. Rannie is a big country dog; he works faster and goes further than the girls, so he works best out in the pasture." Like some of the larger dog breeds, the Old English Sheepdog have some common health issues to watch for, such as hip dysplasia, heart and eye diseases, and collapsing, for which Kim tests her dogs. "I think part of the problem is these dogs with their long heavy coats get too hot and they collapse in the heat," she says. "I keep my dogs' coats trimmed down and make sure they can see. My dogs have been super healthy." Old English Sheepdogs are smart and fearless, yet gentle enough to be around children. "They'll wash the kids with their big tongues," says Kim. "They are steadfast, smart, loving and dedicated to you and whatever you want to do." Old English Sheepdog Rancher Kim Baker sits with her Old English Sheepdogs, Ranahan, Tiswin and Tottie, on her family's ranch near Hot Springs, Mont. Baker has been raising and training Old English Sheepdogs for six years. Tiswin, an Old English Sheepdog, gets in front of a calf to turn it back to the herd on the Baker ranch near Hot Springs, Mont.

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