Sunnyside ES
Sunnyside English Shepherds
Misty
'Misty'
SSacres Mist Driftin' O'er Hi Plains
DOB 2015-01-24
Tested clear for 180 / 181 conditions through Embark, only being a carrier of one overall, DM. This means she is clear of ALL 5 health issues known to be pertinent in ES (MDR1 n/n, Trapped Neutrophil clear, PRA-PRCD clear, CEA clear, Hyperuricosuria and Hyperuricemia or Urolithiasis - HUU - clear)
We got our variable black & white girl, Misty, from Hi Plains in Kansas. As a pup, she looked seal, so she was registered as such. Now she looks like (and tests as) a ghost tri. These are variations of the b/w coat.
She turned 9 yrs old in Jan 2024. Her sire, Drifter, is a 1/2 sibling to Jazz- sharing the same sire, Rio.
Misty is now 9 and has been retired from breeding. She will stay on here as a lovely, zen, breed ambassador and puppy mentor for as long as she can.
Both of Misty's parents are cattle dogs, and she has quite strong drive. She is not high energy, just drivey - although has learned to settle down in the barnyard when we're not trying to move stock - but if there is a herding situation happening she wants in like a dirty shirt. She has presence and eagerness to chase and the stock is leery of her (even as a pup). But she listens well and has learned to control herself. Here's a video of Misty this fall (2019) just walking through the pasture with me.She's not usually vocal unless she's trying to hold stock in place, whereas King was more likely to do so.
2017 Video: Misty moving free range goats back from moldy hay.
Click picture to view. >>
Misty's breeder aptly described her as sweet yet spunky. She is all wags, and hasn't yet met a stranger, but will bark when people arrive like the rest of the dogs. She's got a lovely, deeper voice. I expected that as she got older her protective instincts would kick in given her reaction as a pup in 2015. Late one night when I was crate training her, I carried her little self out into the woods to do her business. My husband, who hadn't ever taken her out, ventured into the trees to check on me because our son told him he'd heard movement in the bush earlier. Misty wasn't expecting him, and at ~12 wks of age let out a deep growl and a couple of woofs before he got close enough for her to recognize him.
Misty has a calmer presence than King- in a way- outside the barnyard, but, as a pup, took more to switch off (not a lot, just is a bit more social). She & King take turns being stronger willed, each can be somewhat slower to concede to commands, depending on the scenario. Yesterday I was taking pictures of the dogs outside- Misty sat perfectly for the 'Wait' while I backed up & squatted (YES, the universal 'come on'.). King just could not resist breaking the 'wait' to try to come to me. Today, inside the house, I placed them on the mat and gave the same 'wait' command. It was Misty who broke it while King sat perfectly, lol.
Misty 14 mos old. Ghost tri coloration on her face.
Misty is not as eager for repetition as King. She does love retrieving and tug, tho, and will shove the tug into my hands after I toss it for her when she 'outs' so that I'll tug again. Misty has a fairly hard bite - used rarely, but has that puppy tendency- that we're working on.
When indoors she often chooses to plunk herself at my feet, but she's not a cuddler.
She's a nice, big boned girl who plops her feet down when she walks. It's quite entertaining. I frequently think, "Jazz sidles, King prances, and Misty gallumphs" :) That should disappear as she grows into her big feet... (& it has- she can really fly now.)
Some anecdotes from 2015
July 13, 2015
Misty is a quiet but generally more exuberant
pup. Sweet & social, she would impetuously launch
herself and jump up on people when she forgot her
manners, but had a good idea of what she was supposed to do,
and did do it- just not all the time, lol. (2016 Update- she's now quite circumspect and has good manners with visitors and our family alike.) In the house she's generally well behaved once the original puppy squiggles and greetings have happened. (2016 -Now 100% good inside). She usually chooses to bring her bone to my feet and lay down contentedly and chew where I'm sitting.
She's higher drive with stock and was quite tough to quell as a juvenile (which was the point of getting one from cattle drovers) but has become quite self controlled and self rating as she has matured. She is able to take a hit from a goat and keep going, whereas Jazz is quite soft - while she can be amazingly ferocious in protection mode, if she gets hit unexpectedly she's quite daunted. Misty, on the other hand, isn't daunted by much... This means she can be a bit more hard headed when it comes to training, but not irritatingly so, just requires a bit firmer hand.
I'm looking forward to being able to use her with the stock. Until she can consistently go amongst the stock calmly
without pulling on the leash trying to chase them, I'm not
using her to herd except in emergency situations
(thankfully few and far between). She has had the
presence to move the stock since 10 wks, but needs to
become reliable at listening and only working when
I want her to prior to being put into service. But I'm
expecting her to be VERY useful as she
matures. 😍
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June 30, 2015
Misty today, lessons in leaving stock alone..
July 14/15
Misty went on her first outing with me today since I got her due to not having full immunity as a young pup, then me becoming very ill for 3 months in early April. **NOT** exactly my ideal timeline for socialization but... She behaved beautifully!! Sooo very pleased with her. She traveled quietly in her crate to and from town. Then handled the introduction to a new dog (my parent's) with cheerful excitement even when he was less than welcoming. Then, despite having had no exercise yet today, she settled calmly and quietly at my feet in completely new surroundings after a short on leash intro to the area, listened to my directions, quickly learned good manners around people eating, was friendly and interactive to people there... Just a real sweetheart. 💕💕
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Misty is fantastic with new situations, people and surroundings. Her main vice is that she can be dog aggressive on her own territory. She gets along with some of our dogs, and has a hate on for others.
She absolutely adores car rides. 😍
July 28, 2015
Misty is a 'go getter' type dog. But today she showed me that she has the ES nurturing side, too. We have a doe who seriously dislocated her wrist (front knee) and had to have surgery. We also have a doe that recently miscarried, so she is also penned separately. Today was the first day I allowed Misty near while I did the chores (King and Jazz, being lower drive, have accompanied me around these two on other days).
Well, Misty surprised me! Even though she was off leash, she neither tried to chase nor jump on either of them, just quietly sniffed and licked them 💕 💕
That didn't stop her from turning around and chasing the chickens shortly thereafter, lol BUT, she was nothing but sweet, calm and gentle around the two does 😍
August 4, 2015
Just dropped everything to go save Misty's life!! Wow. That was close...
I heard the ducks creating a kerfuffle. Got 3 girlfriends for my welsh Harlequin Drake, so thought they might be having a run in with the lgd. No, but a chicken was feeling suicidal, and had flown into the rescue lgd pen. Thankfully it's warm out and the lgd was sunning herself and had decided not to go after it.
Chased it and got it out of there, all the while wondering why Misty hadn't shown up yet... Called her a few times as I was heading down, and she usually responds right away... Checked everything out, and started to head back up to the house, but glanced into our other pasture and thought it looked like something dark was close to a roll of fencing, but could just have been shadow through the tall grass, so *almost* didn't go check. It was Misty. She had got her collar tangled in an old hanging flower pot that must have been blown there by the wind. It was tangled in the fence, and she had tried to escape this scary pot she was attached to and twisted her collar tight around and through the wire. I had to force her closer to her nemesis to loosen things enough to unwind everything. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to stop and wait for help once things got so tight, even though she was very scared of the attack pot. I'm very thankful that after the first little resistance, she allowed me to force her close to the pot to unravel everything. Whew!!
She's happy to be back up at the house!
August 5, 2015
Took Misty to a friend's place yesterday morning. They have geese and turkeys in addition to chickens and ducks. (and cows/pigs/horse, too, but we didn't get up there...). So I worked with her outside the fowl fence, continuing to teach her to leave them alone, settle down, sit, etc...
She definitely has drive. She will be a really good dog when she's done, and probably excellent on cattle. But those birds... they're just sooo exciting!! lol
Took about 1.5 hrs of working with her before she could sit somewhat calmly on a loose leash beside the fence. BUT... she got there! 😍 Happy with how the lesson ended.
Then last night I gambled and took her off leash into my goat /chicken pasture. The chickens were bedded down for the night, so they weren't there to distract. She was curious about the goat kids and thought that after sniffing them, they might be chase able. They were!
Took some firm corrections to make her back off, but... she finally stood and watched me work with one that needed some attention. Again, lesson ended on a good note 😍
Miss Wags *is* a real sweetheart. Gritty, but sweet.
August 9, 2015
Well, now it's time to rave about Misty 😍
Home alone yesterday, so didn't have a human helper... Took Misty into the shed with me to look after our injured doe. She was laying down, so Misty had to give her a gentle face wash and ear cleanse ;) The doe was comfortable enough with it that she stayed laying down!
After feeding and watering her, I went to give her her next set of shots. Beauty was up, eating. Misty was just standing there watching, ears and tail lowered, wagging slowly. (Nurturing, nonaggressive stance)
Giving needles, especially large bore with meds that sting, can be a bit of a rodeo. I inserted the first one. Beauty started to lunge forward, then stopped and stood still. Great! Thought, "She must be getting used to this procedure." Lol
I was busy, head down, semi embracing the goat to reduce movement. Misty was beside me, but I thought nothing of it.
Released Beauty, she circled round and started eating again. Walked over to give next shot. Same process, other side. Misty again chose to be beside me, but near the doe's head. Beauty flinched, but stood rock steady. When I glanced up, Misty was quietly standing in alert mode- tail and ears pricked. That's all it took to hold her steady, and that's just the amount of pressure Misty chose to use! 6 mos old! What great instincts!! 😍
August 23, 2015
Misty at a friend's place today. She went for a walk with us hunting for their lost cows, then sweetly visited with their injured little girl in her wheelchair. She was undaunted although attacked twice by their mama cat when the cat escaped the bedroom by sneaking around the wheelchair. She was even introduced to 3 bear hides, including a grizzly - high interest, although reasonably cautious. She was well behaved in the house regardless. Very pleased.
Nov 9, 2015
Misty and her guy yesterday. Also got her hopping up onto the bale on vid. (Dont worry, he catches her and places her on the ground when he does this so she doesn't jump down on young joints). But can't upload it.
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Worked the recallers 'collar grab' and 'it's yer choice' games with her today, along with introducing her to sticking her nose in a muzzle. She's doing well.
December 14, 2015
Misty & Beyza yesterday (yes, I untangled them shortly after snapping the pic).
Misty was on a long line. She's becoming quite good - usually very calm- even with the chickens and ducks, but there is still the odd occasion where she figures she needs to tackle them, hence the line.
Beyza is also usually calm, and very accepting of our ES, but can get quite rambunctious in trying to play with them. She's so big, she can hurt them accidentally, so she, too, was on her chain.
Sept 28
Misty & King had a litter of pups, unexpectedly. See our Blog to watch them grow!
Oct 2016
Brief, amateur vids of Misty moving ducks...
I said something to her in the beginning that the recording didn't catch, but along the lines of "let's move the ducks, girl". You'll note she ignored the goats that were present.
Far from the impetuous puppy she used to be, she is now calm and stays well back. I love her self rating ability. The ducks are moving in the right direction, so no need to hurry them. :)
I haven't herded anything with her for a couple of months, and it's been much longer since I used her on the poultry, but her memory for what is desired is fantastic.
and moving bucks ...
This started as a video of the bucklings, but the lighting was really poor so I turned it into a brief herding gig with Misty. I'm really pleased with how she's self rating and choosing where to place herself to cause them to move in the desired direction. You'll note that I don't give her any specific instruction on that beyond, "put them away." She herds from a knowledge of where I want them 'put away'. Love this dog :)
The first time I praise her in the video it's b/c she growled softly under her breath to get them started moving, but it was too soft for the recording to catch.
The barking you hear is not her, but another dog that was unhappy that he couldn't join in.
Nov 11 2016
We took the pups on an outdoor excursion to the barnyard today in a calf sled & crate due to mucky conditions. See blog for that story.
However, while down there, I wanted the does to move back closer to the puppy crate, so I just allowed Misty's natural presence with stock and her intuitive knowledge that I wanted them moved that direction to move the does back up to the crate.
Video of Misty moving does...
Then I asked her to move them a bit more, which she did. The last bit, where she's getting a bit more excited, she's noticing Monty, my high drive dog, reacting to the does from the other side of the fence and figured that maybe she should be doing something. However, she recalled beautifully. Love her response. :)
Update 2019:
I haven't used Misty much for herding lately since I've been concentrating on raising and training the two younger dogs (Laddie & Opal). However, as she has matured, she has become a force to be reckoned with, making her much more suited to large stock than goats and poultry. That said, she is still a calm, quiet, people friendly dog with a good recall. I call her my 'Zen' girl. She's pretty good with our new kittens, being fairly neutral in her response to them. She is enough dog, however, to protect her food bowl, whereas Opal lets the kittens eat her food.
 InShot_20200517_190649539 |  83883329_3137036522985494_64609922276225 |  One of the first times with chickens |
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 Misty & King coming on the run |  Misty snuggling with her guy |  Meeting the goats |
 Misty.jpg |  Misty Jan 10, 2016 (1) |  Misty Apr 5, 2016Misty's seal (red highlights) coloration |
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