Good Shepherd Farm English Shepherds

RC (now Max) - a Holly/Sawyer pup:

(Max is out of the first litter we had here and is a brother to our Rudy. His owners faced some health challenges that coincided with the challenges of a bossy, adolescent dog.  They implemented a NILIF philosophy to good effect and reaped the reward - I'm particularly proud of the intuitive nature, love and loyalty Max has shown toward his people)

I've included the latest picture of our boy gazing out the window, waiting for the squirrels and bunnies to come out and play. He loves to boss them around, tells them to get out of the yard or out of the trees. He evens bosses the crows around, he does not like them at all!
 

The last time I wrote to you we were having serious family issues, Jeff was sick and we weren't sure if we would be able to handle Max. Jeff was in the hospital for several weeks and we now know it was related to his diabetes, He's been diabetic since he was 5, but started having problems regulating his blood sugar. his medication was changed and he has been doing very well for the past year. I am so glad we stuck it out with Max, he is such a wonderful addition to our family and I can't imagine life without him. 2 things happened; on Max's 2nd birthday a miracle happened, it was like overnight he changed into this affectionate, caring, intuitive companion that we were hoping for. 

The other is in regards to how intuitive he is, he has on several occasions woken my husband up in the middle of the night when his blood sugar gets too low. Jeff is just amazed, at first he was annoyed with being woken up but then he realized that if Max hadn't he might have had an insulin reaction. When Jeff is away, Max never leaves my side and I am forever grateful that he is with us. 

He is learning new things every day and has started agility classes, he loves the intensity of the games and the complexity of the courses is right up his alley. Not quite like herding livestock but he's pretty good at herding our family around.