Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[abifae]

What a fantastic dog! And sounds smart too! I bet she'll train fast, just in general.

 

[Farmfresh]

It is funny how some dogs are just naturally like that. My old dog Tramp, my first Husky/Shepherd mix when I was a kid, would herd like that. He would bring up the horses and line them up, cut out the one you needed from the herd and round up chickens when they needed rounded. He would also let chickens steal his food as well, so a pretty unusual old boy! He never had formal training either.

I wonder if it is just a certain gene set. There have certain lines of horses that "have cow sense" when they are first born. Those horses with "cow" are some of the highest priced cutting and roping lines of horses out there.

 

[savingdogs]

I do think it is in the genes. I'm more familiar with border collies. I remember one that I had herded a group of BALOONS into a circle. She is one of the ones we placed on a farm.

I think Zoe is behaving like a catahoula because ridgebacks are not like her....

I finally made my soap just now. I tried "Black Amber and Lavender" as the scent, it smelled so good from the bottle.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have a friend with both animals to herd AND a Catahoula. Her dog at least is no herder. She acts much more like the coon dog blood that they carry. Maybe it is just the mix that gives her that certain something and then again perhaps there is a sheep dog hidden in her mutt blood lines?

At least my old Tramp dog was half German SHEPHERD as an explanation.

I am so glad you are getting into soaping. You are going to love it!

 

[savingdogs]

Oh, I've been soaping for about a year or more now. I DO love it. This is the product I'd like to sell to help support my goat habit. I unmolded my soap this morning, it smells so good! I really bought this fragrance for just my sister for gifts, but I think everyone will like it. I save the prettiest bars for gifts at this point and we wash with the unpretty ones. I'm working at having them all come out pretty. I want to try Freemotion's method of using a (new) kitty litter box and cutting them into squares and then rounding the edges with a potato peeler. Have you seen her pics? Glenolam makes gorgeous soaps too, but I'm not doing colors or swirls or anything fancy. I want to specialize in "natural" soap and will do quite a bit of unscented. Everyone I shared it with really liked the unscented, I was surprised. Scents bother me so I made that for myself and I was amazed that the family requested more of that. That certainly makes it cheaper! I found the fragrance to be the most expensive part. I have just used Crisco for my oil, pretty simple recipe, but it works great. Have you ever tried that recipe?

 

[Farmfresh]

Never have done the Crisco recipe. I never have that around!

I almost ALWAYS make unscented soaps. If I ever make any with a scent it is something natural and very light. I don't like scented soaps either. I am making a soap more for what is DOES and not how it smells. Most of my soaps are very mild, very moisturizing or have some medicinal properties ... like my sulfur soap.

 

[savingdogs]

I normally don't buy Crisco either, just for soap. I was having a hard time finding oils reasonably priced and happened upon that recipe. It comes out so well, I haven't changed it, I just change what I ADD to it. I realize I need to branch out to other oils at some point, but it really makes a nice moisturizing bar and is very cheap. I substitute goat milk for the water and add honey and oatmeal, but the recipe is just Crisco and the lye, nada mas.

I like my soap for what is not in it too. I realize Crisco isn't the greatest oil, but it is safe to EAT so I don't mind rubbing it on my skin. We do not actually eat any Crisco though.
I did add about an ounce of lard this time because my weight was short on my crisco can. We'll see how that effected it. My new molds are AWESOME, I'll have to take some pictures. The goat head one is so cute. It makes me want to wash my hands.

 

[Farmfresh]

Most of my fats and oils are very cheap or even free!

I get lard when we buy a hog to be butchered and that same butcher will give me beef suet (and they will grind it like hamburger very cheaply). I buy my olive oil at Sam's Club. I get the word out and I have had lots of friends give me free lard and oils as well. I barter soap for shea butter with a friend who sells the soap in her African import shop and barter Sulfur soap for Vitamin E oil from the local herb store (he uses the sulfur soap personally).

 

[savingdogs]

Here is a picture of the freshly unmolded soaps. The ones on the right are the "gift" ones except those balls.

 

[gettinaclue]

Why would we laugh? They look great!