Meet my mixes
It all started with a German Shepherd
As I kid, I grew up with a German Shepherd. I mean, didn't everyone back in the day? Of course, as an adult I wanted another perfect dog just like the one we had when I was a kid so German Shepherd it was. There were a few German Shepherds in my life and a GSD mix. Actually, no idea if the GSD mix had any GSD in her, but that's what we were told.
Years later, after discovering flyball a Border Collie made sense, because back then it was mostly Border Collies. Border Collies and Border Jacks (Border Collie x Jack Russel). After bringing home a Border Collie, I was in awe. Yes, I still love GSDs, but I discovered I also love BCs and they are much more portable for traveling. Dragging around a 500 crate is no fun, but a 300 or a 400 is a piece of cake. During my years of playing flyball, I got to know and love many other breeds and mixes and even had several different breeds and mixes. Currently, I have 2 little mixes at my feet; Elf and Flea, who are the stars of this blog post today. These two littles, or pointies, are my office mates and co-workers who make appearances on all of my zoom calls and yes, they also choose to play noisy bitey face while I'm on zoom.
Elf (RR's Crouching Witness, Hidden Dragon)
Elf is a 10-year-old Border Collie x Whippet mix. Some people refer to whippet mixes as lurchers, but more commonly her mix is just referred to as a border whippet, and yes, even though she isn't registered with any registry, she has a fake full registered name. What does the name mean? nothing really. Her dad was named Dragon and her mom, Witness. I always thought Border Whippets were kind of funny looking (I mean that lovingly), so I just thought a silly name would be fitting for her.
She's a crazy little thing and has paid me back for her name by being especially naughty. At 10 years old, she still destroys dog beds, regardless of how expensive and durable they claim to be. She is the only dog I've ever had who has chewed things up, and she has made up for all the other dogs who didn't.
What's her personality like? Well, like a Border Collie, she loves to work and is always ready to have fun. She's quick, agile, smart, and a bit crazy at times. But, she isn't all Border Collie there needs to be something in it for her. Yes, since she loves to chase and work, it's pretty easy to convince her she wants to do something. But, I'm only human and I'm not rewarding all the things all the time. So when it comes to loading up into the car after an adventure, while a BC would run and jump into the crate, she walks in slow motion, then stops 5 feet away, and I have to remind her that she's getting in the crate. She's also pretty finicky. When we travel, she goes on her hunger strike and dumps her food in absolute disgust.
She thinks she's a malinois at times and even looks like a mini pointy mal. One time somebody accused her of being a poorly bred mal on Facebook. hahaha
Elf is docile, and good-natured with any dog she meets.
She used to play flyball and she currently does lure coursing and nosework on occasion.
Way back when Elf was about a year old, I created videos for my dogs. Here's Elf's.
Elf Video
Flea (BC's Red Hot Chili Pepper)
Flea is a 6-year-old wee little mixy mix, and yes, he too has a fake registered name. What exactly is Flea? His breed mixes are Border Collie, Whippet, Staffy, Border Terrier, and Jack Russel Terrier. Even though I knew the approximate percentages of each breed, I did an embark test for fun. The only thing that I think surprised me was how little staffy he has in him. I think I figured that would be a little higher since his head is shaped like a staffy.
So what is Flea's personality like? He's been serious since he was 8 weeks old. He absolutely loves to work. He's calm and thoughtful when learning and rarely loses his head. He's also a fabulous couch potato and loves to sleep on my lap, always under a blanket. He might freeze without his blankie. He sleeps under the covers and is like having a little heating pad in the bed.
He can be a bit timid at times and isn't crazy about new people trying to meet him. He prefers to say hello on his terms. Sometimes his little terrier attitude comes out, but for the most part, he's a perfect little dude who would never do anything wrong.
Flea trained for flyball for about a year, but I retired before he debuted. Currently, we dabble in agility, nosework, FastCAT and dock diving. I put together a little video after a 2-day seminar with the amazing Tracy Sklenar of Agility University. God, I love her (Tracy)! I get a little teary-eyed when I look at all the progress we would make in one weekend when she came here. Flea and I haven't done much in agility, because I'm a terrible handler and have been a lazy trainer the past few years.
Flea being awesome, despite his human not being at all awesome
Those are my littles. I can't wait to learn about your littles, bigs, mixes, or purebred dogs, because all dogs are awesome!
0 Comments