There is some useful info on this old thread and I thought I'd add some info I found in my own search for a short hair farm dog: Some excerpts from the USDA web site: "Livesock Guarding Dogs Protecting Sheep from Predators" "It is important to understand the distinction between herding dogs and guarding dogs. Herding dogs (border collies, Australian shepherds, and others) move sheep from one area to another by biting, chasing, or barking at the sheep. Herding dogs work according to signals (verbal and hand) from a handler, and they are generally not left alone with the sheep. Guarding dogs usually do not herd sheep, are discouraged from biting, chasing, and barking at sheep, and act independently of people. In 1986, the University of Idaho conducted a survey of approximately 400 people who used livestock guarding dogs. These individuals reported on 763 dogs, 95 percent of which were recognized guarding breeds. Great Pyrenees (57 percent) and Komondor (18 percent) were the most common, followed by Akbash (8 percent), Anatolians (7 percent), Maremmas (3 percent), and others (7 percent). The rate of success among the breeds was not different, but behavioral differences were noted. More Komondors bit people than did Great Pyrenees, Akbash, or Anatolians, and fewer Great Pyrenees injured livestock than did Komondors, Akbash, or Anatolians. In a recent evaluation of yearling livestock guarding dogs, Great Pyrenees were rated significantly higher than Anatolian shepherds (83 percent of 59 Pyrenees versus 38 percent of 26 Anatolians rated as good). Anatolian shepherds were rated lower primarily because of their higher tendency to injure or kill sheep. Most dogs in the 1986 Idaho survey were aggressive to predators and other dogs, although Great Pyrenees seem to be somewhat less aggressive to dogs than other guarding breeds. The Great Pyrenees comes from France and Spain, and the Akbash comes from Turkey. The Akbash comes in both a short hair and long hair line.

Bart, CB is Coryneum Blight. It is not often a bad disease in the east but I got a very bad case of it from a tree I purchased out of a California nursery. It is nearly gone now, but not quite. I would ignore that line. Well, in general its not a bad idea to use dormant copper every now and then on stone fruit due to its good activity on both CB and bacterial spot. Copper can build up in the soil over many years so on the other hand L/S should be used most of the time. L/S is indeed lime sulphur and any good garden center should have it pre-mixed. It is possible to brew your own but for small amounts it is cheap enough to buy the pre-mixed version. Scott

Thank you Fruitnut. I love your greenhouse. I especially like the link to the place where the man got his netting. They actually have metal netting too. Since I am wanting to make a permanent structure, that will be perfect. The problem is always getting the widest netting possible for the roof and then having supports for it. The sides are easy. We just finished a 25' X 50' X 8' tall garden enclosure using steel and concrete. I am hoping to find a way to not have to put pipes across the "roof" or at least not as many pipes. The man in the post did give me an idea. He has some eye bolts in parts of his uprights. Nothing is attached to them but I am wondering about using tension wire for the roof spans. I already purchased 600 feet of 1 5/8 schedule 40 galvanized pipe. It is pretty heavy duty stuff. My frozen, I had the same experience as you. I hated catching things in my bird netting. The biggest thing was a 8 foot long coachwhip snake. He was dead when I found him or I don't know how the heck I would have gotten him out of there. Poor thing.

Dahlia boy~ I may have to draw my imaginary sword if you got the last of King Salmon! I found it, I found it, and I'm on my way to get one. Plantlady, I love your quail. The most exotic birds we see here are herons over or in the creek, and banded pigeons. Could your 'fat birds' be gray/black with obvious orange marks and chests? Possibly Varied Thrushes? They are the fattest birds we see here. http://thebirdguide.com/digiscoping/photos/varied_thrush.htm