A Shepherd's Watch: Through the Seasons with One Man and His Dogs. David Kennard

The subtitle of this book could read 'Through the Seasons with One Man, His Sheep, and His Dogs' as you will learn more about sheep than herding dogs. Not that there isn't plenty about dogs too, just that due to the nature of the business sheep take up more words. How he found time and energy to write a book is beyond me. After watching the film 'Nanook of the North' I was struck by how physically grueling Inuit life was. This book gave me a similar sensation. My mom runs a 100 head goat dairy which is similar to a point. Barn goats however require much less wrangling than pastured sheep, nor do they have to be shorn or dipped. Kennard raises his sheep primarily for meat, so vegetarians be warned. He raises about 1000 head on several approx. 300 acre sized pastures. Its not the free ranging type of shepherding of the Scottish highlands of old. Still his dogs are very useful to him. He is a capable, low key writer. The book is a series of chronological vignettes of the sheep ranching year. It should be of interest to anyone interested in an authentic sense of modern animal husbandry without getting mud and dung on their boots. The dog interest is a bonus for those who interested in reading about working dogs. Of all the working dogs I've read about sheep herding dogs seem to have it the best. They can work for ten years or so, whereas the Inuit used to kill their sled dogs at age five and racing greyhounds average worklife is two years.

A totally wonderful book. Beautifully written and authentic. Don't miss this one!

Enjoyed reading about the lifestyle and of course those incredible dogs of his. I recommend it strongly.

This is the best book of this kind I've read since James Herriot. In a way David Kennard is more powerful because instead of serving the farmer he is one and has to survive on what he can do as a farmer. He has a deep appreciation of the land and the environment around him coupled with a strong sense of history. His writing is excellent, the pace good and the stories wonderful. It is wrapped in a package of an eventful year in the life of his farm. If you enjoy reading about nature, man and his interaction with animals, you'll enjoy this book.

David Kennard keeps more than 800 ewes who produce some 1,200 lambs each year on his scenic, windswept farm on the North Devon coast. This is the story of a year in the life of his flock, his farm, his young family, and the five border collies he trains and relies on in his work. Given his background, it's no surprise that he knows sheep and shepherding through and through, and this knowledge, together with his understanding and love of his dogs, radiates throughout the book. In addition, he is a keen observer of nature, and writes with remarkable beauty, grace and humor. Anyone who is drawn to the age-old, elemental life of a shepherd -- a vanishing way of life of simplicity, hardship and profound satisfaction -- is sure to love this book.