This Killed My Calves

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[PoisonBreaker]

The woodpecker is telling you there are bugs in that section of your barn, I would inspect for carpenter ants there.

[stephanbuist]

Hey morgan: tip here form a mountainbike instructor. if you wear a helmet over a cap with a button on top. you put youself in danger. the helmet dispurses the impact at a crash. But the point on the cap will focus a hit straight into your skull with a chance of braking it. its safer without the helmet then with a cap underneath. Please be safe my man!

[lauriemartin]

Morgan do not beat yourself up. This is the first time you had calves die. You did not know you had a problem until they died. You are correcting the situation right away.

[wanderingnorth]

this is advice with abbey, so if your not looking for it disregard. this is only to offer some if your looking for it.
in the beginning of the video, when abbey was chasing the cattle, id urge you to make a choice about her future with how she was behaving. frankly, her bahavouir is dangerous. i have seen dogs behave like this get corrected by the cattle, and often it is violent and harsh. it takes a solid and stable dog to recover from it, something i dont think will be the case for abbey.

personally, id reach out to herding people or a trainer who is knowledgeable, and job swap her. id show her how to watch over cattle, and herd them back into their pens if they wander out. she clearly has a urge to chase and id see a benefit in find an outlet instead of asking her to stop (which, to be frank, is rare is success. it often leads to a unfulfilled, and misbehaving dog).

i know she was purchased to be a live stock guardian dog, however at some point you have to listen to the dog in front of you. i think there is still a place on the farm for her, but it might not look the way you expected. i think there is a lot of good that could happen if you swap what abbey is doing. from herding them into fresh grass, to helping you collect escapees, to roaming around with to cattle and watching over them, i can see her being very successful in that.

currently, a lot of her behavior is genetic, being rewarded by you, or is self fulfilling (like stealing the cow treats to play with). as well, a lot of this is age to! big dogs mature at 3 mentally, so she still has time to even out.
i would recommend some change though. from what i saw and know, a lot of this seems like she has desires and needs that aren't being address, and telling her to "stop" or "slow down" isnt going to do much.

also, absolutely no judgement here! i cant imagine how much of a handful she is. best of luck with her!
EDIT:
im not advocating for rehoming at all! i think the best next step is putting her in a pen (or something similar) when you cant show her what behaviors you would like & its important. like around the cows for example, don't take her up with you. and then taking 20 minutes, twice a day, to really focus on her and what you want. is sniffing them okay, laying around them, is taking their treats okay, etc. making sure she actually knows what is and isnt okay might help a ton. i wonder if part of this is not understanding what is and isnt okay.
i noticed in the video you had verbally told her no for sniffing, walking near them, and existing in their space. however after chasing, she ran up to you and you pet her. i worry it might be rewarding the behavior you don't want, while also not allowing behavior that isnt harmful in fear of her doing what you don't want.

my worry is her getting hooked by a mother cow if abbey chases a youngster. i've seen it and its gruesome, and i worry both the impact on her AND YOU. i've watched it and nobody should have to see that. i wouldn't want it to make you less confident around the cows or more timid (which i believe was a issue in the past you had talked about).
id connect with a trainer, and work on showing her right from wrong and being as consistent and clear as possible. regardless what you decide, because frankly please take anyone's (including mine) training advice with a grain of salt, please just make sure she is safe.

i worry her current behavior is going to end really badly, and id advocate for something to change. best of luck Morgan

[KathrynCarbone-uv]

Stop blaming yourself for the baby boys’ deaths, please. Your diligence discovered the problem and you’re committed to the solution. Bravo!!❤❤❤

[eric]

Morgan : "I want the calves to be born at a certain time"
Heifers : "Well hell-o Handsome, ya want to hop over here and visit with me?"

[novakid]

Yesterday I lost half of my flock. They got badly attacked by a fox and my rooster and his oldest baby got badly hurt. I'm hoping I'll find some of the birds I'm missing and that those who are hurt heal well. I love watching your videos as a comfort when something bad happens to my birds

[TrainingwithHuskies]

I just wanna start that I'm not judging your handling or training bc I've watched your videos of you putting in the work with Abby, I think these clips are just great examples of a dog from a pet quality breeder who sold to a working home. Abby is beautiful and perfect the way she is but also an excellent example of how genetics effect dogs. All working dogs take time, and you've done wonderful with her, but I love seeing the differences between Toby and Abby and how much of a natural working bred dogs can be. I know Abby came from a farm but not every puppy is working quality and it takes decades of selective breeding to produce successful working dog lines.

[Dan_Slee]

You do a great job with your dogs Morgan. Just a suggestion... when you got a lot going on and Abbie is acting up, best to eliminate her from the situation rather than to set bad habits that you don't want to have to take time to break. Also, when you do work with her around the cattle, make sure you give her jobs to do. She's amped up and wants to help and be involved, and if you don't give her a task... she'll find one herself that might not be helpful.

[bonniehairston]

Please binge watch The Incredible Dr Pol! When the babies passed I was shouting at the videos that Dr Pol always gives a shot of selenium when cows can't stand and are failing fast. He's in his 80's and still pulling calves up in Michigan. PRICELESS

[karlmckinnell]

While preventable, not your fault and the fact you have done your due diligence to address and remedy the issue shows you care.

[thudson]

Where's Abby's remote control behavior correction collar? She was doing really well when you were utilizing that device and training.

[MC-qbjg]

I'm so glad you got an answer. You do the very best with your animals.

[TheMonkeyGreen]

man you have to be harder with that dog, you are encouraging the behavior

[TeeDee]

Selenium is actually needed for every animal, even humans. Where I live, in Finland, industrial cattle feed have been added selenium since 1969. Nowadays it has been added to the fertilizers which plants modify to be more easily used by people and anímals.

[katherinekelly]

So in India there are areas where the ground water is high in arsenic, at levels high enough to negatively affect human health. So a Canadian vet hears about this and knows some areas in Canada are naturally high in selenium. Cattle experiencing selenium toxicity are given arsenic as the two will bind together and no longer affect the patient. She checked and found arsenic poisoning in humans can be treated with selenium.
Canadian lentils are high in selenium, Indian cuisine uses a lot of lentils so she arranged to ship a bunch of containers to India and set up a double blind study for 3 months or so to see if Canadian lentils could lessen the arsenic load in these folks. And it worked ! Always fascinated to find more evidence the ‘the dose makes the poison’ and yes, there can be too much of a good thing

[tericamcginnis]

First, you could have edited out the rambunctious Abby dog. You didn't. Hats off to you! Second, So sorry again about the calves. I place the responsibility with the vet! When we know better we do better. You are an amazing example to your viewers. Keep doing you. We are all learning together thanks to your transparency. Have a great rest of your day! 🐸😎

[kc]

I appreciate your humble acknowledgement of responsibility. You are learning from any mistakes and I know the loss breaks your heart the most.

[basista]

2.31 to abby after she chased the cow….”it’s probably my fault” while he strokes abbey on the head 😂

[N-A-uwfp]

You’re talking to Abby with words she can’t understand you! 😆🤣😆 It’s hilarious to watch. It’s like you’re reasoning with her. Stick with one word commands that she can follow! 😂 Good luck!