Zahar vom Leerburg

August 2007

I thought it might be time to give you an update since Lowen will be turning one year old shortly. We have been fortunate to continue training with Dave Blank at Joliet Schutzhund, and she is progressing nicely. She recently just moved to biting a sleeve (pictures included) and the very first time she was shown the sleeve she hit it with everything she had and carried it proudly back to the truck. Dave is pleased with her progress, and needless to say I am as well. She is a dream to work, and we have encountered hardly any issues with her development (other than having a green handler!).

Recently, I was asked by a teacher (also my neighbor) to bring Lowen into her classroom to talk about and answer some questions about Schutzhund and to show her to the class (pictures included as well). She went from biting a tug in prey drive to walking through the class to let the kids check out her tattoo in less than a minute without one mouth or nip. At the end of the class, literally 30 kids ended up running up to us to say good bye (again, pics included) and though everything she was relaxed and comfortable. She did a lot to dispel the stereotypes about bite training and Schutzhund dogs to the classes and the teachers. All of this behavior is consistent whether in the house or on the field. She is as rock solid as they come.

I have also included a few pictures from the Bernard Flinks seminar we attended in Columbus, OH in May. She got a chance to work with Bernard, and she met her littermate Nikki (fostered by Charlie Snyder). They got along fabulously, as did Charlie and I. He's a great guy.

I will keep you updated as we progress in our training. I am always amazed at her temperament and intelligence, and feel extremely lucky to have these genetics to work with in my first working dog. Thank you for everything.