Malinois

I dont know if your going to be pleased or not Ian, but we brought the Malinois home from BSD Rescue yesterday afternoon.  I know she isn't a Vapresto dog but the poor thing needed a home.  She's a beautiful dog and judging by the way she leaps upstairs will certainly make a good agility dog.  She was a bit warey of our 2 Tervs and a bit snappy at first, but overnight and today she has settled in very nicely and my 2 dogs have accepted her without any dramas, although Timber wasnt too pleased when she polished off the remainder of his dinner.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,

Wow , she is a beauty !

 

With the car thing - have you tried using a crate?  Sometimes dogs feel more comfortable in a crate just big enough to lie down in, but not big enough to roll around on corners.  It's the only way I can get my Blitz to settle in the car.

Not sure where you can get them from, but I have seen a sort of 'dog-tube' that goes on the back seat of saloon cars.

Cruise is 5yrs old .  He was 4 when I got him .  I am going to try that seatbelt just around my neighborhood and see how it works .  Yes , is it not a wonderful thing to see a dog changing ?  The first official day of Cruises adoption , I was sitting on the stairs and he came and sat next to me .  I put my arm around his shoulders and WHAM he bit me and took off .  That was soooooooo stupid of me , I knew his background and should not have pushed that fast , but , hey , we humans react  emotionally sometimes lol .  I followed him and kept with him until I had both my hands on him (gently but firmly) , I stayed calm and tried to let him pick up on that calmness , and I got him to lay down .  He was growling like mad , and continued to do so for about 3 minutes .  Then he just roll over and gave in .  Boy , I could tell by the look in his eyes he was waiting for a negative reaction from me .  I just touched him gently and let him know he was safe .  Then I went and cleaned up my hand .  After that , he never bit me again .  Every day I touch and massage and even pick him up , and , although he still is not 100% comfortable , it gets better each day .  Every little victory is so amazing .  4 months ago he finally started having a different look in his eyes .  I can see he is starting to have some inner peace and , really , that is my goal .  Some day I will have another dog that I compete with , but for Cruise , just getting him balanced and happy is the mission .  It is just such a huge reward to know that abuse for most of a dogs life is not the end .  They can regain their confidence and zest for life .  Cruise is certainely with me for the rest of his life and I have to continue to be a trustworthy leader to him .  He is really just such an amazing dog , tooooooo smart , so much fun to be with , and lately , quite the cuddler with my roommate and myself (not with strangers) . Dana

Just a few more up to date piccys I took of Amber today with my phone, so not very good quality as you can tell by my shadow!!! She was playing in the sunshine in the garden!!

Amanda,