Happy First Birthday Duke!

Looking at a litter of pups, it's really hard to figure out which one will
grow up to become a good working dog.

Five weeks

Duke came from a litter of seven, four were male and three were female.
We knew we wanted a male, so that helped us narrow it down.

Eight weeks

But still, how do you know which one will be good with cattle?

Thirteen weeks

One was obviously shy right off the bat and wouldn't even come out of the barn to socialize with the rest of the pups.

Four months

The other three males were pretty even when it came to their personality,

but Duke was the only tri-coloured male.

However, you can't judge a dog on looks alone.

Six months

Duke was the first one to come up to his new master, stay and socialize with him. As this dog would be spending most of his time with him, it was important that the two of them got along. So far, our choice seems to have worked out.

One year old!

Duke is turning into quite the handy "cattle-yak" dog. He has a lot of natural instinct and is very effective, but not too aggressive, when moving the yak and cattle. Some of the yaks are pretty snorty when he's around and he handles it like a gentleman. It's hard to believe he's only one year old as he seems like an older, level-headed dog already!  

P.S. He'll be getting a special birthday treat tonight :-)