Hi all. I've been a member of the forum for a while now but never introduced myself.

I'm fairly new to dog training, but I've been working with my rescue mix for 3.5 years now. When we got him he was TERRIBLE on the leash and very animal aggressive, but good with people. It's been a wild ride, but Spiffy has come a long way. He is a Canine Good Citizen. I was able to get an ILP on him as a border collie and he's achieved his RA title, with two legs towards his RE. I found a wonderful trainer in my area who follows the same philosophy as Ed, and we've become good friends. I enjoy competition and decided that my next dog would be either a GSD, a Malinois or a Border Collie.

As luck would have it, a few weeks ago, one of the women I train with found out about 3 female mali pups at a shelter nearby. They were left at a feed store in Puerto Rico and picked up by a woman who does rescue down there. She was told that the breeder could only sell the males for police work. She had them shipped up here to find forever homes in snowy Massachusetts. They were about 10 weeks when they arrived, though we don't know their exact birth date.

With a good reference from my trainer I was able to adopt one. She is going to hopefully be a Flyball dog and a Schutzhund dog, if I don't screw it up. So far she's a lot of fun when she's not biting the crap out of my hands. She is nuts about the tug and also food.

Meet my new mali pup, Rockit:


And this is me and Spiffy at a charity dog walk last spring:


Spiffy is not a big fan of Rockit, but he is tolerating her. Here's a more recent pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/happylittletree/2343819508/sizes/l/

Luckily I have two great trainers to help me tame this little chupacabra, but you may be hearing more from me in the coming months as I dive into the world of Schutzhund!

Cheers,
Anne

A big hello Rocket and a scratch behind the ear. Here's a sock to shed while I say hi to your mom.

Hello Anne, I'm one of the smart a$&es around here. Lots of sports people here. You're in Mass.? Then you'll be interested in the M. Ellis seminar coming up in June. Check around here you'll find the contact people connected to what promises to be a great weekend.
No Rocket, you may not have another sock.

Nice to meet ya Anne.


If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Great looking Mali puppy. I think you named her appropriately

Good pic of her and Spiffy together.

 Quote: sandy moore

Great looking Mali puppy. I think you named her appropriately

Good pic of her and Spiffy together.

Ditto....I still want to know how y'all get the "sitting still" photos.....Ember will sit still if I give her drugs.....

 Quote: carol boche

...I still want to know how y'all get the "sitting still" photos.....Ember will sit still if I give her drugs.....

That's why I have so few pictures of Lear when he was a puppy. I did get lots of pictures of a black blur, however.

Why she just looks so angelic!!! What do you mean she bites your hands?? Not THAT face.....!!

Thanks Randy! I did see a post about the Michael Ellis seminar and I am hoping to attend. Right now I'm reading Susan Barwig's Schutzhund Theory and Training Methods, and I have a copy of Gary Patterson's book on tracking too. But you can never have too much training for the trainer and I love seminars. I attended one with Claudia Romard last year and it was great. I also got to observe at her club one night...lots of fun.

As for getting her to sit still for photos...well you just have to be really quick with that camera button!

Gotta go...the little bugger just took off with my hair scrunchie!

Welcome Anne!

Rockit is beautiful - I'm sure training her will be a most wonderful adventure for you both! How fantastic that you found such an amazing puppy through a rescue - not that it never happens, but I'd say a shiny new Mali pup is a rare find indeed!! And Spiffy (great name, BTW) has the most gorgeous face!! Love those markings...

I'm in Cambridge - maybe we'll see each other at the Michael Ellis seminar this summer! I don't have a working breed, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of TRYING to train my Ridgeback, Oscar... (I'm pretty sure he enjoys it too, but only for the food )

Have fun here, can't wait to hear about all your progress with Rockit - and best of luck finishing your competition goals with Spiffy!!

~Natalya

OOOooooh....so cute and fun for you!!!

Nice story 'bout your pups, thanks for sharing. You will have SO much fun doing schH. Oh, and Ellis...this IMO, is a must go! In fact, I am trying to see if I can swing it, and I'm in IOWA!

Sooo cute! I WANT ONE Rockit and Spiffy are lucky to have found you!

My current dog came from Mass. then moved to the REAL snow. I guess the east IS snowy this year and REALLY snowy next to Puerto Rico

Congrats and welcome!