I was a dog lover since young. As far as I could remember, we had 3 dogs before and one of them was like a Spitz. Of course, I wasn't clear what were those breed when I was young. My wife also kept dog before in Japan.
Now. I have 3 dogs, Siberian Husky named Silver, Miniature Schnauzer called Wenta and Malinois named Minami
SILVER - SIBERIAN HUSKY
Having a Husky was always my dream, although people kept telling me that Husky is not trainable and they are given the bad name of "Escape King". I had done a lot of research on the web to understand the nature of this breed and their character to get along with other dog as I have a Mini Schnauzer at home. There are many huskies perform extremely well in Obedience and Agility. Huskies are trained to pull sled. Due to the nature of this breed that they love to run, but if the husky owner just keep their dog inside the house, lack of exercise. Of course, when the gate is open, their nature instinct will kick in- RUN !. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure their dogs have sufficient exercise. Shedding... no joke. Unless you have really experience it, it is not easy to convince the new buyer. They will just think may be a few furs drop here & there. However, it may be enough to make a small cushion during a shedding period. So these are some of the considerations for new buyers who wish to have a husky.
Well, back to Silver. I went to different pet shops during the weekend. In one particular day, I saw a wolf gray husky pup in a pet shop, back in my mind I know she was the One although there are other husky pups in the pet shop. Now, what to call her ? We had a family meeting, there were so many suggestions. Finally we decided to name her Silver because of her coat colour.
Instead of bringing her home straight away, I brought her to the vet to do some basic check-up. Everything was fine. When reached home, the cage for her to relax was ready as it was prepared months ago during the planning stage. Although she was a bit tired, she was curious of everything in the house. My another dog Wenta came to the cage to greet her. This was the first interaction between the 2 dogs, over a fence. I observed their interaction, it was positive.
When night came and light off, she cried. So I ended up to sleep with her near her cage. These continue for a few days, before she was used to the place and had more confidence to sleep alone. The relationship have been built up between the 2 dogs over the fence, so I slowly let them play together. Everything worked out just fine.
I soon realised that she loved to climb. So we joked was she a dog or a cat as I never encounter a climbing dog. I also slowly introduced her the family structure, so that she was clear of her position in the family. From young, she had strong instinct in pack structure. If she met another husky who was "higher rank" than her, she would be very submissive. Just like a wolf pack.
I started introducing her some simple commands when she was 6 months old. She was very playful, just like a typical husky. My weekends were all dedicated to her. While training her, I also learned a lot from her.
At that time, I was still not very sure about any formal training and what to expect in the trial ring Although I had seen many obedience competitions in Singapore. I always saw a gentleman trialing and training his dog, the team work was impressive. Months after that, we found out that he was also conducting training then we decided to send out Mini Schnauzer for training as he was due for training "long ago" but Silver was still too young to concentrate on training.
The actual training of Silver started when she was about 1 year old with the same trainer as my Mini Schnauzer as I believe he could really help me. Honestly speaking, it was no easy to train her to do heel work - to walk next to me and fetch due to the nature of Husky. Patient and determination with the right training method were all we need as a team.
After getting her placing in her Pre-Novice Trial, I was convinced that she could go up to advance level in Obedience. From there, I moved on to Novice, Intermediate and Open. Although we faced some obstacles, we also over-came those challenges as a team. I also started training her in Jumper & Agility since she likes to run and to keep her drive high. At one stage, her speed was too fast that I had to slow down to have better control. No surprise to me that she performed very well in Jumper & Agility.
I would like to take this opportunity to express special thanks for CD Trainer. Without them, I won't have clear understanding of the training concept and Silver won't have today's achievement
Blinking of eyes, she has grown from a little adorable pup to a beautiful mature dog and yet still adorable.
WENTA - MINIATURE SCHNAUZER
Wenta joined our family in 2002 as a first dog in our family. Being just 2 months old in age, and a first and only dog in the family, he enjoyed everyone’s attention and reminded us of almost all the “puppy trouble” that we could think of. He refused to sleep in cage, chewed our shoes, forgot where his toilet was, chased cat & birds and fought with our children for their socks and toys. He played with our 2 daughters well and followed what they did, like jumping on sofa and running to hide & seek in the house.
While we enjoyed watching them growing up together, we started to realize that it’s not all an ideal to let a pet dog believes that he is one of our children. He acted like a naughty boy that barked at the people passing outside our gate, and pulled his leash. That’s the time we decided to join obedience class. Upon completion of the class, Wenta learnt to listen to us, and enjoyed being a part of our family better than before.
Well, nothing could change the strong bond between Wenta and our daughters, he is still a younger brother for the girls and reserves a best place in their bed every night.
MINAMI - MALINOIS
Mina is a beautify little girl. She is only 4 months old and she has lot of prey drive. I am now training her drive and grip by using tug and ball. More story to come...