A long awaited arrival

If you know me, or have even read my mini profile, you will know that I have wanted a Belgian Shepherd for quite some time. Well, ladies and gentlemen, my dreams have finally come true!

Meet Reckon.





He's my 4 month old Belgian Malinois. Born 10/10/2010! I love him so much already, Amigo doesn't seem to mind him so much, because when puppies come home, she gets lots of cookies! When we brought Beezer home, Amigo gained a wee bit of weight:)
Beezer is having a hard time adjusting, as he's not a fan of puppies to begin with. I'm hoping with a little time and patience they can become great friends!


Little Reckon didn't have a name for the first 4 days after I got him(I picked him up Sunday Feb 20th), and I was a little worried he would end up being called "Bob!" I went through hell trying to find the perfect name to suit him. His original name was "Faust", but I wanted to change it. First I started off with other "F" names. Fiddle was first, then Fiddler, but those didn't fit.
Then he was called Dibs, which was followed by Fits (because no other name "fit"), but that wasn't quite right either. Finally I narrowed it down to "Reckon" and "Punch." I liked Punch because his original name meant "fist" in German, so it tied in nicely, but I couldn't decide. So set up a poll on Facebook, and voila! Reckon is has become!

I do think it suits him nicely.




His previous owner did a fabulous job socializing him and starting his obedience, so I couldn't wait to continue his training. He's super friendly and outgoing. Nothing fazes him in the slightest, which is soooo nice to work with after Mr. Scared of Everything Beezer!

I should mention that his previous owner loved him dearly, but wanted a high drive Mal for French Ring, and unfortunately Reckon just didn't fit the bill. I was told that he might be suited for SchH, so we'll give that a try.

Needless to say I was psyched to get my high drive Malinois home! I just pictures this fiery ball of energy who tugged like crazy and was go go go!

Instead I got this:




WTF?!? For goodness sakes, here I am wanting this high drive off the wall dog, and I get this blob.


I know he needs to settle in and there's some sort of adjustment period, but come on! I figure he's teething right now(and he has a slight overbite, which I hope will improve as his adult teeth come in), which is why his tug drive is null. When he does want to bite something, it's usually my arm, or the backs of my legs. We do have some things to work on...


Good thing he's handsome!!




This is the kennel where he came from: Lescaut Kennels in Quebec.

And pictures of his mom and dad http://www.working-dog.eu/wurf-details/7499/de-Lescaut

Expect more photos and updates to come!!

Cirque du Soleil for dogs?

I think I may own the first dog, or even animal, to ever be invited to join Cirque du Soleil. I'll make millions. Or get laughed at...

We already know that Beezer is odd. Well, I've noticed more and more lately that he also sleeps, stands and routinely goes about his life in odd positions.

I mean, this does NOT look comfortable:




How many dogs do you know that can bring their back legs up to their chest? And be comfortable?!

He certainly is bendy.




Here he is in the car. His back feet are on the third row bench seat, but his front legs are stretched just behind the front seat.



I think I'll start making him jump through hoops on fire just to step up his game a bit. I really don't know what the Circus of Supernatural Bendy people are looking for...

Yay, I'm running away to the circus!

A New Trick!

Here's a video of Beezer's latest trick:





Get it? He's lifting his leg to "pee" on command. It was all done with shaping and clicker work. I'm so proud of him! This is from a dog that I swore would never have hind end awareness, let alone any cool tricks!

He really is the Bee's Knees!

Jan Trial

Amigo and I went to our first trial since Nationals this past weekend. I decided to just do 1 day, as I had 6 dogs this weekend, and didn't want a whole weekend of chaos!

Tissot, the GSD had her first go at an agility trial. Considering she hasn't had any training since the summer, and the fact that she seems a bit "off", she did very well. I put her into Gamblers and Jumpers, and she tried her hardest and did her best all considering. Her "mom" is going to take her in to see the vet and maybe the acupuncturist as her whole posture isn't quite right.


Amigo's and I first run was Gamblers, which is our most challenging class. But we nailed it! She got the mini gamble twice AND the main gamble. A great surprise which earned us a "Q" and a second place!



Then was Standard, but she crossed behind me, and touched the A-frame, so we didn't place there.

Our second Standard went a lot better, and earned us a "Q" and a second place.



Then came Snooker. My least favourite class. It kinda went like this:
Red jump, Obstacle, Red jump, Obstacle, Red jump, Obsta...Look... a TUNNEL, and tweet. We're outta there.

Even though I was exhausted, I didn't want to end the day with that run, so I waited until the end of the day to run Jumpers, which is her favourite.
Maybe we should have quit after our second Q of the day...
To tell the truth, it was a very difficult course, and she did very well, but she decided (and from my lack of handling), that straight lines were more fun.
If you listen to the video closely, you can hear commentary from the audience. They're impressed with her speed and pure joy at the sport at 13 years young!

BC Lions Demo 2010

For the past 3 years, Julia has been invited to do the half time show at the BC Lions game. Amigo and I have been honored each year to be apart of the team that shows off their skills and pumps up the crowd for what I believe, is the best half time show during the entire season!






I always love showing off Amigo's agility skills. She loves running in front of a roaring crowd, and it often on of the crowd's favourites! She isn't bothered by the loud noises, screaming people, and the usual chaos that is present during a Lions Game. She takes it all in stride, just doing what she loves! Plus there's lots of cookies to be had at every turn:)

Here are some photos from Aug 2010's Demo. These are the best photos by far (thanks Frank)! I'll try and post previous years photos another time.

New Years on Pender Island

For New Years, Sue invited Jody, Emma, Jess and I up to her cabin on Pender Island. We were allowed dogs, but had to lessen the load a bit, so we narrowed it down from our normal 10, down to 5. Ryan, Seven, Beezer, Tycho and Kepler were the lucky ones to spend the whole weekend with us.

I've never been to Pender Island, or any of the Gulf Islands for that matter. It's beautiful! And it was made even better with gorgeous weather.

We got out for a few hikes during the weekend, which gave us a chance to see more of the island, and for the boys to burn off steam.







We even did the polar bear swim!



OK, so not us, but the dogs didn't mind taking a dip in the frigid ocean















Cutest baby ever. This is Mya

A New Year

And so many new changes!


I haven't gotten around to blogging for a while because things have been super busy.

I have decided to become a full fledged adult. I moved out! That's right everyone I can now tell people that I don't live with my mom. However it does complicate things a wee bit. I'm still pet sitting (cause I can't give up that sweet gig), and when it comes down to pin pointing my exact location, my friends do have difficulties.

It may go something like this

"Wanna car pool?"

"Sure."

"Great, I'll pick you up."

"Awesome, thanks! I'm at home."

"Which home?"

"Mine."

"Yours yours, or your mom's? Or are you pet sitting somewhere?"

And as you can see I now have to narrow it down from 3 possible places to just one. I do like keeping everyone on their toes.

Now you may be wondering about the dogs. Don't worry, they're still around. Now they can get spoiled in 2 homes. My mom and I are sharing custody of Amigo and Beezer. I get them during the week, and during the day on weekends, but I have my mom take them on weekends so that I can sleep in (they're not known for being late sleepers)


But wait, there's more!!

More you say? Yup, not only did I move, but I also went to Mexico, started fostering Itsy, and got a brand new MacBook Pro! Holy amazing, a brand new computer, and a place to call my own, plus a shiny new TV!! What a great start to the New Year!

Oh yeah, and I guess you want to hear about this foster dog.


Don't let her looks fool you.......




Cute? Yes. Annoying as all hell? Double yes!

This little things packs quite a lot of personality into her whole 15 pounds. I have been hiking her for Animal Advocates for some time, but Judy just didn't have the time and energy to put into her So I agreed to foster her when I got home from Mexico. Oh my, hiking her is one thing, but living with the little apple head is another.

She's come leaps ad bounds since she's been with me ( almost a month now). She hasn't had any accidents in the house or fights. She sleeps through the night in her crate (she actually gets bonus points for sleeping in, unlike my dogs), and we're really really really working hard on the CONSTANT barking and jumping up.

Amigo and Beezer are basically waiting for her to go home. At least she shows them respect! I have high hopes for her in the agility ring. She's quite athletic and smart, so it'll probably do some good to exercise her apple shaped brain.

All in all it's been a very exciting end to the New Year, and I look forward to what 2011 brings.