Been a Leerburg member since Febuary or so, so I guess it is time to introduce myself and my female Malinois Sasha.

A short blurb about me .. 45 yrs young, been around dogs most of my life .. I spent 25yrs + working with the local municipality, mostly in emergency first response in regard to enviromental services. Now retired ..

We picked up our Mal from a local breeder almost a year ago now and it has been quite an eye opening experience. Especially coming from dogs that were more on the difficult side to train .. training a well bred Mal is a treat. Our family has been truly lucky to have this animal.

We have the dog into all sorts of activities. I do Tracking, CKC Obedience, Scootering and Shutzhund training and my 15 year old daughter does Sheep herding, and Agility training with her. That is one busy happy dog!

Me and Satch at 7 months

Sasha and a fetching buddy

Sasha's Pedigree From what I have researched about her pedigree is the fathers side is mostly from FR stock from France and her Mother's side is Belge NKPV working stock

Good to hear some of your story...busy dog generally equates to good dog.

I can't help but comment on the long line photo with the "fetching buddy"...I hope that lil girl's ankles are free and clear!!! Mind you, this is coming from someone who is filled up with 3 freakin rope burns at the moment. URGH!!! Graceful one that I am...

Oh, and what is scootering?

Nice looking dog!

Hope your daughter didn't throw that toy with the rope still wrapped around her ankles.

I always thought your sig picture was cool. That is one busy dog. Makes me feel a little guilty

Is Sasha's fetching buddy your daughter? She's a doll, cute Croc shoes too

Great to see that the dog has plenty to do.....she is a cutie.

Yep, I agree, capris+crocs+long lines= OOOWWWIIEEEE......

 Quote: Michele McAtee

Oh, and what is scootering?

Scootering is fun that's what it is! http://www.dogscooter.com/ I had a Malamute Wolf X that I used to exercise by tying him to a bicycle and using a sled harness to go up the fire trails in the park. I'd do 20-30 miles with that knucklehead it was some of the most fun I ever had with a dog. Though the quick stops when he had to go for a poop would put me over the handle bars from time to time. I got pretty good at watching his butt and when it'd wink I knew to grab the brake!

I bought a Full size Blauwerke Willy scooter for my daughter that she doesn't use and now just use the old kit from the Malamute. It's a heck of a lot more safer than a bike, especially with the 'Muscle from Maline' in the harness she is a speed demon. The Malamute was strong as a ox but my 50lb Malinois is so much faster it is a whole different ride, and to tell you the truth I don't think she is any less powerful.

 Quote: Sandy Moore

Is Sasha's fetching buddy your daughter? She's a doll, cute Croc shoes too

That's Angelika she is actually a child we babysit before and after school. She loves Sasha and runs the dog ragged, much to my chagrin. As she and the other kids basically unobedience train the dog!

Sasha is a retrieving monster she will chase and return a ball or frisbee whatever you have until the cows come home. It has really helped me with the tracking that we do as she is so focused on the game it makes my job as a handler easy. I wish I was more physically able to take the tracking to a SAR level.

 Quote: Carol Boche

Great to see that the dog has plenty to do.....she is a cutie.

Yep, I agree, capris+crocs+long lines= OOOWWWIIEEEE......

Yeah I'm pretty lucky that I'm pensioned off so I can spend hours with the dog. After spending years working in service for the public. To tell you the truth I'd much rather spend time with the dog.

The long line was a special precaution for the occasion of my 6 year old boys birthday. We had 25 kids over in our 1500sq ft bungalow and I was worried that the dog would make a move towards a kid, but as it turns out she was a complete lady. You can never be to careful though with any dog around any kids

When I started training protection the dog started to try to assert herself with the kids and we had to rethink stuff. We worked really hard with the long line and the leave it with the kids and it didn't take long for her to know that the kids were off limits. I have a video of her when we were proofing her with the kids that will make you proud. The kids were bouncing on the sofas, climbing the walls, running in circles and jumping over the dog etc. Sasha just stays in her platz or sitz, pretty wild that a dog with so much drive and a breed known to be sharp can be so mellow when asked for it.

My oldest son and 14 yr old daughter on the field shepherding. Cute pic ..

Lucky doggie. So glad you found a perfect fit for your family. I totally get you about prefering the company of dogs over most people...

Thanks, it's a real pleasure to be around a dog that has so much potential with proper training. My only wish is that I could train her more seriously with SAR tracking.

The lady that we started off with tracking through drive is a really talented trainer, she owned one of the only FEMA certified dogs in this neck of the woods. Just unfortunately we keep not having the stars align in the sky with my health and I as much as I love being in the bush with my dog working I'm hard pressed to follow anymore.