mersonmalinois

The growth was a benign epulis! I am thrilled.

My oldest girl Ashley had a growth removed on Thursday. It was on the roof of her mouth and they believe it was an epulis. We will have the pathology report back in about a week. My fingers are crossed that it is found to be benign. I guess some breeds are more prone to epulis, like Boxers. This growth is the first any of our dogs have ever had.

I have trained & titled dogs in obedience, agility & herding. I'm in Texas. I didn't know how common obedience clubs are in Oz or how serious they are as far as competition or for pet obedience only.

The class is geared for pet owners and not those who are seriously into obedience training or competition. I enrolled Diego for the socialization factor and to work on things with distractions. He did GREAT! The others in class are really nice people and their dogs are well-mannered. Diego did everything really well and the others could not believe he is only 3 months old. He did start to fold at the end and get bored, but I would expect that for sure from a baby dog. We'll practice for next week and see how we progress. The teacher is really into the clicker (which is fine), but I had forgotten mine at home. I haven't used one in years, so I will need to work with it a bit to get my timing/rhythm down. I'm not pushing Diego hard in class. Once he gets tired, we end on a positive and watch the others. Nothing is sadder than a dog that hates a dog sport because of being forced. Are there a lot of training opportunities in Oz? We have some private clubs, but they are far from me. Petsmart is close by the house and I opt for easy!

Tonight Diego & I begin our obedience classes at Petsmart. He is 3 months old and has completed all of his vx. We enrolled in the intermediate class since I knew that a puppy or beginner class would bore me to tears. Diego knows sit, down, come, stay & stand and those were required for being in this class. I have not taken a formal obedience class in years. It is limited to only 6 dogs. Should be fun!

I don't know the rules in Oz, but here in the USA your dog would be excused for being lame.

Each obstacle has a different name for my dogs: teeter frame it (A frame) walk it (dog walk) tire tunnel chute table hup (for jumps) go weave (weave poles)

I don't think it is an issue. I've stewarded in a ring and noticed a competitor in the next ring gave his commands in German (not good German but German all the same ). As far as I know there weren't any objections - from either the judge or the other competitors. My parents are Dutch and I still use the occasional commands at home in Dutch. But, it never occurred to me to use Dutch commands that could then be used in the trial ring . What are the benefits ???? The benefits are that some languages are easier for some people to pronounce, the dog will respond to those commands and will not obey just anyone (that's why some working police/MWDs are trained in foreign tongues), and it's also fun to use a unique language that not everyone else uses. I'm sure the Dutch commands sound cool.

Why wouldn't a person be able to use another language? I am not from Oz, but am curious about the ANKC rules. Do they have a website with their obedience rules? We can use any language here for obedience, agility, etc. Since the USA is so into lawsuits, a person would likely sue if they weren't allowed to use the language they liked the best.

I am currently training my Sammie in finnish as we are moving to finland soon and thought it would be good for both him and myself. How wonderful! I LOVE Finland. I just wish everything wasn't so expensive there. Onnea! ;)

Many years ago I trained my Rottweiler Gunther in German & English. I did schutzhund with him and German is expected in that sport. He had to be pts almost 10 years ago due to cancer. I have trained two of our Malinois in French & English. I thought the French commands sounded pretty, so I went with it. I trained a Malinois puppy we bred in Finnish. I didn't bother with English since he was being sold into a Finnish home. I took him over to Finland last month. I have a new male Malinois puppy that I brought home from Spain. I speak Spanish & English, but I'm not fond of the Spanish commands. I like something more exotic. I have started training Diego in Finnish also. It's such a different language and there are not many dogs here in Texas that are trained in Finnish. Do any of you use other languages to train your dogs?

Missing Link Solid Gold Sea Meal Omega 3 fish oil capsules (one per dog each day) They have great skin & coats.

Proheart was pulled from the market here in the USA. I don't know if any vets that use it anymore. The monthly Sentinel is what our dogs receive.

I use Gold on Gold by Chris Christensen on our dogs. It is wonderful and makes their coats shine & sparkle.

I taught my Rottweiler Gunther that many years ago. I picked the word "Jade". One syllable, easy to remember, not a word others would think of to ask a dog to eat food. Pick an uncommon word that you will easily remember and that other people would never guess in a million years. Always make sure that someone knows the word in case something happens to you!

Ivan has a very successful breeding program of sport/working Belgian Malinois. Not sure if it mentions it in his videos, but his kennel name is Ot Vitosha. Many of his dogs are on the top of the podiums at sport competitions.

Ours are bathed indoors, toweled off and then put on a grooming table for drying with our metro airforce dog dryer. I don't bathe them unless we are going to shows. :rolleyes:

Hugs to you from Texas. I hope the fond memories of your boy will keep your heart warm and your face smiling. RIP handsome boy

I have fed many different foods over the years (including Euk), but my dogs do best on Nutro Natural Choice. I was given two huge bags of Euk last year from the Euk rep to try with one of my dogs and she didn't care for it. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Pastel colours would look lovely: pink, blue, green, lilac, dusty rose, etc. None of those colours are over the top or crazy, but I do think they would set off your girl in a very nice way.

They are super-cute mixes who will likely make excellent working dogs. Why are pedigrees kept with the KNPV dogs when mixes are allowed?

Who is your friend? They know Sean & Sheryl? Yes, it is a small world!!

Not really. Often "working" Malinois have mixed parentage which makes no difference whatsoever to their owners/trainers and that's how they come in varioius shades of everything. The brindles are usually DS crosses. Please know I am not being mean or rude to the working folks or the breeders of those dogs, but they themselves will tell you the dogs are crosses for their working abilities and pedigree doesn't matter to them.

I wanted to brag on a bitch that we bred. Her call name is Ivy and her registered name is HC MACH Merson's Fabled Wrigley Vines UDT ROM (and many other herding/agility titles) She is the first Malinois in the USA to earn the Herding CH, Agility CH as well as the Obedience UD and Tracking titles. She may be the first Belgian to do so. Talented dog & handler team!!! Thank you for allowing me to brag on a SENSATIONAL dog!!!

Really?? Did you notice how the decoy shut the car door once he was attacked by the dogs? I think if the hostage had been standing there and the handlers sent the dogs in, the hostage would have been toast. Please know I think these dogs are incredible, but highly dangerous. They have primary focus without sensability or descrimination. JJ, do you know how long the dogs serve in their capacity as a police dog?