Start With Real Sheep Experience, Not General Animal Love
Ask a Dorper carer candidate what sheep work they have actually done, because enthusiasm for animals does not teach a person how a flock behaves at a gate. Dorpers are strong, quick hair sheep, and someone who has only handled goats or horses may be surprised by how a ewe ducks a catching arm or how the whole flock piles into a corner under pressure. Ask whether they have moved sheep between paddocks, restrained one for a foot check, and recognised a sheep that is cudding contentedly versus one sitting apart grinding through discomfort. Specific past flocks and hard lessons learned beat a candidate who says sheep seem easy.
Test Their Eye for a Sheep in Trouble
Ask what they would watch for each day in a Dorper flock and listen for flock-level thinking. A good answer names the sheep that stops coming to feed, the one lagging on the fence walk, scouring that soils the rear end, and lameness that shows as a shortened stride or a grazing sheep kneeling on its front knees. In warm weather the sharpest answer mentions flystrike risk on a dirty rear end and treats it as a same-day emergency call to you, not a note for your return. Ask directly what they would do if a Dorper were found bloated, cast on its back, or tangled in fencing, and favour the candidate whose first move is calling you or the sheep vet while keeping the animal calm.
Fences, Dogs, and the Questions About the Paddock Itself
Ask whether they will walk the Dorper fencing daily and what they would do about a breach, because a carer who only checks from the gate will miss the sagging corner where sheep and stray dogs both enter. Follow up on security habits: will gates be shut and latched every time, will they keep their own dog out of the paddock entirely, and do they understand that a neighbour's loose dog is a call-you-immediately event rather than something to handle quietly? Dorpers exploit weak fencing cheerfully, so also ask how they would get an escaped sheep back without chasing it across a road, and whether they have a vehicle, a phone signal in the paddock, and a torch for a night check.
Feed Knowledge That Separates Sheep People From Guessing
Ask the candidate what they would feed a Dorper if the hay ran short, and treat the answer as a genuine filter. Sheep have a well-known sensitivity to copper that goats and cattle do not share, so a carer who would happily borrow goat mineral or cattle feed for your Dorpers is a risk even with the best intentions. The right answer is that they would feed only what you left, in the amounts you wrote, and phone you before substituting anything at all. Ask too whether they know not to chase a sudden grain increase for a thin-looking sheep, since rapid feed changes upset a ruminant stomach, and whether they would scrub the water trough rather than just refilling it.
Availability, Honesty, and the Trial Visit
Ask the practical trust questions plainly: will they be there twice a day every day, who covers if they fall ill, and will they message you a photo and a line each evening without being chased? Arrange a paid trial visit while you are still home, watch them catch and release one Dorper, and see whether the flock settles around them. Agree the emergency order of calls, the vet's number, and the point at which they should act first and explain later. Once you have chosen, KinsLe's Care Pass gives that Dorper carer temporary access to the written routine those answers produced, so the trust you tested in person is backed by checks they can follow.