Whenever a new animal comes to Bedlam Farm, we work to establish trust and communication. There are several reasons for this. First, there are times when we need to control animals like sheep and donkeys, get them into the barn for medical or breeding reasons. There are questions of safety. We want them to be calm around us, to not panic when they see us, harming themselves or people. We want them to feel at ease around people. These new sheep avoided us for several days, especially the two young ones.  We study communicating with animals. It is important to us. Maria has a natural gift for communicating with animals, and so do I, although I often keep my distance with the camera. Or a dog.

If you feed an animal too often or too much, they can become aroused, obnoxious, associate people with food. We seek a balance. Each morning, Maria comes out to the sheep with a small bucket of grain. At first, they were too skittish to approach. She is quiet, patient. She waits for them to approach.  Today, for the first time, they all approached us and ate from her hand, and from the bucket. As we build this foundation of trust and interaction, we withdraw the grain. Now, when we shake the bucket, they will come into the barn. They do not run away when they see us.  Food is the first foundation of trust. If an animal knows you are the source of food, they will pay attention to you and come to see you as safe. If you overdo it, they will only see you in that way.

But it is only the first, especially with dogs. Training is the most important language for communicating. More about that later.