Dennis Loxton, the Western Silvicultural Contractors' Association and BC Forest Safety Council for granting express permission to reproduce the following article for the benefit of visitors to our site.Īt the end of this page look for the link to an amazing story of a family pet that protected its family from a Bear attack.īear Dogs: A Silvicultural Tool by Dennis Loxton. You will be amazed at just how much protection there is in a Great Pyr! But this article shows the Great Pyr at work in the rugged country of British Columbia. And some of us have seen the Pyr in action as livestock guardian dogs on the farm or have seen the guarding instinct as it protects the home and family. Here are real life accounts of the Great Pyrenees used as Livestock Guardian Dogs in the protection of reforestation workers and shepherds in the interior of British Columbia.Īs pets and show dogs, we know the Great Pyr well. It’s a bit all over the place, introducing characters and possible story threads that it abandons, which accounts for what feels like a somewhat bloated running time for a dramedy that’s essentially a three-hander, and that wants to be - despite dramatic moments - a comedy.īut the leads and the lovely scenery make up for some of that, and the quietly compelling “brother’s keeper” storyline - with lots of detailed farmwork and local color, make “Rams” well worth your time.Ĭast: Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Michael CatonĬredits: Directed by Jeremy Sims, script by Jules Duncan, based on the Icelandic film, “Rams.” A Samuel Goldwyn release.Livestock Guardian Dogs at Work Another Side of The Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog That’s a shortcoming of Jeremy Sims’ take on this material.
Veteran Aussie character actor Caton makes Les easy to hate, easier to pity.Īnd Richardson makes the most of a character of a certain age who is somehow drawn to Colin, even if we can’t quite see why that would be. He lends a little sparkle to the feud moments, and is terrific getting across Colin’s panic at seeing OJD symptoms and the awful trauma of a losing animals he coddles and compliments every morning. Neill, a formidable actor and these days, gentleman farmer/vintner in his native New Zealand, is perfectly cast as Colin. What had been “cute” with an edgey subtext now turns serious as government-mandated testing and “destroying the flocks” sets in.Īdd to that the fact that this being Australia, it wouldn’t be Christmas (arriving in Australia’s summer) without brushfires. She’s about to be tested, and not by the judging she pitches in to do at the fair.Ĭolin spots it first, the symptoms of the deadly and contagious “OJD,” Ovine Johne’s Disease.
The new pink-haired vet ( Miranda Richardson) is a “pommy,” a Brit who’s just settling in. This remake of an Icelandic dramedy of the same title and tone from a few years back fills the background with neighboring colorful cusses of the “If you’re gonna farm sheep, farm REAL sheep (“not” Merinos) variety, grown men not shy about measuring a ram’s competitive value by reaching under his hindquarters and weighing his testicles. And still he loses, and cowers when Les goes on a tirade.
But he always raises the prize-winners, always lords it over his “weak” sibling and indulges in the occasional drunken flip-out - with firearms - at his bullied younger brother.Ĭolin is more conventional and conscientious. Older brother Les is a slob and sloppy farmer, fond of spiced rum and Humble Pie t-shirts and vintage R & B. They’ve split the land handed down to them, each raising the family bloodline of sheep in their own way, and even compete for the love of one shared sheep dog - “Kip” to Colin, “Floss” to the other. Sam Neill and Michael Caton play loners - feuding brothers Colin and Les - stuck on adjacent ranches, never speaking, bitter rivals whenever there’s a Merino sheep judging contest at a local fair. Breeding and bloodlines are sources of whimsy and trauma in “Rams,” a winning dramedy set in Australian sheep country.
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