Originally we'd been thinking of getting an LGD (livestock guard dog) next spring, but after the recent weasel incident, we decided we needed to get one sooner. Orrin found a few different options for sale on kijiji, and went and picked up our new dog Thursday night. She is a Maremma, with natural protective instincts, although we will help her hone them to our particular farm and set of animals. She's 4 months old and white. We will be training her to spend much of her time around the sheep, so that she will align herself with them, and treat them like family. She will also learn the boundaries of our property, or in this case, the workable property (pasture, house, chicken coops, garden) and then will protect everything within the property from predators that might try to come into the area. I wanted to give her a tough-sounding name, as we have high expectations of her protection abilities. So, I thought Xena would be good – totally cheesy, but I never actually saw the show, I just figure the character was tough. Orrin told me that name is TOO cheesy (apparently he's actually seen the show). My second choice was Athena, who was a warrior in Greek mythology. Orrin's choice was Zoe, after the tough chick from Firefly, our favorite TV series. Oliver had to be the tie-breaker – Athena or Zoe? He chose Zoe. Zoe it is! Now let's see what you can do, Zoe.
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