The Kids!

Arwah was born in 2004 & has matured into a wonderful, stable dog. He was quiet on the flight from Seattle to San Francisco, but has not stopped talking since! Seriously, he is extremely vocal in all aspects of his life! He whines, moans, groans, sighs, grumbles, woos, even makes noise when he yawns! When I'm instructing classes & use him to demonstrate he translates for the student dogs! Arwah even named himself! We were debating between a few very good name choices when I sat on the kitchen floor one Friday night & asked our new puppy: "what is your name?!" He very clearly announced "Arwah!" I wrote down how it sounded (which was the correct spelling) & did an internet search. Arwah means spirit, soul, life force & vitality in Indonesian.

Arwah is a light seal sable in color, stands 27.38" tall & weighs around 75 lbs. He is an enthusiastic worker & lots of fun to train, although I do notice more independence in the past year. We are taking a break from rally, since he has gotten ring wise & chooses to stand wooing at me instead of sitting on many of the stations requiring sits. It doesn't help that this is a real crowd pleaser & we get lots of laughs (they'd not be laughing if it was them in the ring!). Anyway, we've got plenty of other things to focus on & keep us busy, so at some point in the future we will get back to the rally ring & finish those LAST TWO legs to complete his RAE (Rally Advanced Excellent requires 10 "double Q" legs, we've got 8!).

Nicknames: Ar, Wahzoo, Wahzoobee, WB (stands for both Whiney-Butt & Wild Boy!), Goose (as in Silly!), Rah-rah.

Turbo is Arwah's little 1/2 brother (same father) born in 2007. We picked him up in WA on our way back from the 2007 National Malamute Specialty in WI. Turbo is a dark seal & will probably mature close to standard size- 25", 85 lbs. Turbo has some fears, so we're working on building his confidence. While a little slower getting started, he's looking quite lovely in obedience now & I was happily surprised with his 3 rally performances to earn his Rally Novice title (scores of 98, 96 & 99 out of 100 & all in the ribbons in the B class- 4th, 2nd & 1st!). He's taken naturally to carting & loves agility. He's very sweet, though I see much more of the independent Malamute nature in him. He's unbelievably athletic, bouncing 5' straight in the air like a giant Fox Terrier & able to balance on his hind legs! These working bloodline dogs are very high drive & energetic. Turbo has a strong prey drive. When Turbo is a little older we'll put a back packing title on him, too.

Nicknames: Turby, Roo, Turbarooba, Turby-man, Turby-myster, My Little Turbine, Mr. T.

Scandal is a Smooth Fox Terrier born in 2001. She is approximately 15" tall & 15 lbs. Scandal was diagnosed with IBD (Inflamatory Bowel Disease) in 2005, so is on a limited diet & very low dose of prednisone to prevent flareups. She trains in obedience & rally & is a great demo dog in my classes. Scandal used to be *extremely* reactive, but has made wonderful progress. There are still plenty of sights, sounds & smells that can over stimulate her, so focus & impulse control are on-going. I believe if Scandal were a person she would be labeled ADHD & prescribed medication. She often has a tremor in her front legs, occasionally tail-chases & sometimes screams at the top of her lungs in excitment. While she loves dogs outside the home, Scandal must be carefully managed with my other dogs, as she has that terrier "hair trigger." She does best when not elevated onto furniture, which is a hard rule to maintain with a small dog, as part of the joy of having a little dog is being able to cuddle & snuggle with them. Though "dominance" is not considered a politically correct term any more, call it what you like, there is no question Scan is status-seeking & would rule the world if allowed. As has been the trend, my dogs have been increasingly challenging, educational experiences. Maybe there is something to that saying about getting the dog we need. I'm just glad Scandal is not the size of a Malamute! All that said, Scandal is my little shadow, has been a trooper & good sport with her Malamute brothers & loves the structure & ritual of obedience work. She is working towards her RAE.