Merry December!

It seems that Sachi has taken quite the liking to the snow. Between running around confused, licking every snowflake he can get, he's been prancing like it's Christmas morning!

We wanted to share with you a picture of our pup-dog in his fleece jacket in the snow. (Please note that MARC was the one that put it on him! - I knew he'd give in!... Next investment, a sweater for Sach!)

More in the Mal world - Marc just found out that his coworker Dave has 2 Mals of his own! So we're trying to schedule a playdate. Dave's Mals are 7 and 13 so I'm not sure they will be prepared for Sach.. :)

Back to Christmas Cards and Christmas Wrap.. Happy holidays to you and yours! We'll update more silly stories soon!

Sach 'n Boots

I thought you all would get a kick of out this. Marc's coworker gave us a pair of dog "shoes" for Sachi, so that Sachi would be prepared for his 1st cold winter. :)

Unfortunately they were a little too big for him.. Enjoy!!

So good news or bad news first.. let's take a breather before we begin, shall we?

So let's start..

Bad news.. in the past few days, Dogbert has reverted back to howling in the crate. We're talking pushing his body and breaking free. He is quite the Houdini and tearing the apartment into shreds. Literally. Crate training has definitely been testing our patience. Unfortunately our neighbors aren't too fond of our loud little dog;s anxiety. It's been tough but we appreciate all the support that is getting us through this.

Good news.. Sach is a natural born swimmer! He dove into the ocean when we met up with Ned, Morgen and Cooper. Although his salt water intake left little to be desired.. his runs and great personality with people and other pups made us proud! He's become very fond of soccer balls and is getting really good at fetching (when in the water, ofcourse.)

He also had his training evaluation this past Saturday. The trainer gave us some great ideas and really gave us perspective on bonding with our pup. For example, praise outweighs treats. Consistency - Structure - Affection. These are a few things that Marc and I need to practice on. The classes start on Saturday and hopefully the obedience will calm him down and make him more confident so that he's ok when he's left at home. The class is 6 weeks long and I'm happy to report that already we seem to have a lot of trust in his training! He knows Mals and is like a proud dad when he talks about the breed. It was really nice - he gave us a few great laughs when talking about his own Mals! "Remember German Shepherds think then react. Mals react then think. You can actually see them thinking AFTER they react." So true!! Silly dogs. =)

Ofcourse a blog is not a blog without pictures. Here is a photo of our "Working Dog." Marc was working at the office in Concord and decided to bring dogbert in. He quickly won everyone over and definitely was a hit!

The Coneheads!

So the day finally came when our poor little 8monther had to be "altered". The vet claimed that he did very well - a little whiny at times (although he is justified!) and of course, per Sachi, he was standing up in his crate ready to go home once the procedure was done! Thattaboy! You show them who's a pro at recovery!

So when he brought Sachi out to greet me, it was chaos at first (he was a bit excited) then I saw the cone. That cone was HUGE!! I swear, he can probably get cable service from China with that cone. Poor pup! Sachi looked so pathetic leaving the vet that my heart broke walking him out.

Fortunately, my heartache turned to giggles as our poor little dog made three (yes three) attempts to get into the car with this gigantic cone in his way. Finally, he gave up and pretty much ignored the car and my calls to get him inside! I finally had to lift him up, squeeze the cone through the door frame and off we went!

So that brings you to the present where he's as active as ever (wouldn't you think that he would be asleep after yesterday's ordeal??) He's trying to maneuver with the cone (picture a baby trying to walk and just bobbling all over the place!) but he's definitely getting better at it. He seems to have his appetite back and is back to driving Nugget insane (she's now trying to steal his treats and food! Such a silly cat. :) ) Jr has lost all fear in Sachi - I found him attempting to snuggle into the cone as Sachi's asleep (I later found Jr. kneading Sachi's butt. Too funny! Poor pup didnt know what was going on!).

He's doing great, despite the circumstances. I'll keep you posted on how he's doing. :)

Skunked!

Sachi versus the Skunk. Guess who won?

... and yep, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap later.. he still was stinky...

Sach the water dog!

We found a new dog park today on the recommendation of a friend. The park is located on the fellsway in Medford/Winchester and it's absolutely massive. It's an open field with about 20 dogs running around off-leash. Sachi thoroughly enjoyed his time there and made plenty of new friends. One dog in particular turned out to be Sachi's shadow for most of the day.

"Omen" the black German Shepherd was about the same age as Sachi and they played very nicely together. As usual Sachi was able to hold his own with much larger dogs, including a few Rhodesian Ridgebacks, the GSD and a Great Dane pup. One treat was seeing Sachi able to get up to a full speed run with another dog. He is FAST.

The real excitement of the day came when we took Sachi to the water. We hadn't seen much from Sachi to indicate that he was going to take well to the water (note previous posts with his hesitation of going into the pool!), but to our surprise he jumped right in.

Using a stick we were able to slowly extend how far out he would go playing fetch. Pretty soon he was jumping off the side and cruising right out to fetch his stick. (proud parents). He loved it! He would swim faster and faster each time, so after a few times out, we had to call it quits for him.

The audio quality isn't the best, but it was hysterical listening to him snort like a pig swimming back in!

Hiking up Mount Major

So Sachi and Cooper have finally met and they got along great! Cooper is our friends 10month old chocolate lab who weighs a good 80lbs.

Our friend Morgen had contacted us the day before to see if we wanted to join she and Coop on a hike to Mount Major and ofcourse we said YES!

Marc and I have been DYING to see how the two would be together. So Saturday came, and we woke up in the predawn hours (check: 545am! Yikes!) and headed up north to NH.

They greeted eachother with happy tail wagging and got their leashes entangled within the first 5 seconds! We were good to go. The really cool thing to see was that even though Coop is a barrel-chested lab, he and Sach were the same height and matched puppy power to puppy power!

So up the mountain we went. The view was SPECTACULAR. (Please see photo.) Although the wind gusts were roughly 25mph, the boys were happy bouncing from rock to rock. I wanted to get a few shots of the boys at the top of the mountain but I couldn't really get any good action shots because they were running around so much!

Also.. in our two weeks with Sachi.. he's recently become a teenager. In other words, poor Coop had to deal with a seriously hormonal Sachi! The date is set for the snipperoo (and Sach really hasn't shown any signs of hormones until today) so hopefully he won't get worse until the doc's appointment!

Regardless of the humpfest, Sachi did GREAT with hiking - very agile and quick with no fear in the world! He ran circles around us and didnt seem even close to tired throughout the trek. Sach and Coop met a few dogs along the trail (includinng 3other labs - so funny to see Sach has odd-man out!) Overall, it was a great hike and we're hoping to do this more often with the boys.

Detained by the Law!

It had to come someday..

So today Marc was working from home and spent some great quality time with our little pup Sachi. He decided to take Sachi to the doggie park today to keep the little pup busy.. however, along the way, there was a slight bump in the road.

dah dah dahhhhhhhhh........

As they walked to the park, they were flagged over by a police officer working detail. Sachi's first meet and greet with the law!

The officer walked over to Marc and looked at Sachi and said, "What kind of dog is he?"

Marc: "He's a Belgian Malinois"

Officer: "I thought so."

Uhhhhhhhhhh!

So the officer continued to ask Marc where we got him - Marc explained that he was from a rescue. Apparently, Mr. Popular continued his role as the best dog ever and the officer had to comment on what a beautiful dog he is! The officer requested the Rescue's website... so maybe there will be another Mal in the neighborhood soon! :)

Actually, today was a great day. I came home from work and met Marc and Sach at the doggie park where Sachi ran with the best of them - boxers, retriever mixes, a little yorkie and even his good pal, the Whippet! Also, in the distance, we saw a guy walk what looked to be a Mal. Unfortunately he was a ways away, so we couldn't flag him down. Hopefully he'll join our doggie park soon!

I also wanted to share with you a photo of our little pup. These are two photos of Sachi trying to squeeze under the doggie gate (we lift it so that the cats can run under for their personal space). His sad face cracks me up because he just wants to be next to me all the time, and he doesn't understand that his body cannot squeeze under there like the cats do. :)

Mr. Popular

Sahchi has quickly become Mr. Popular in the neighborhood. Kids run up to him to pet him, dogs sprint to him, adults want to know more about the "baby german shepherd" that walks around. It's amazing to see how a dog changes your life.

Today the little pup made 3 new friends in the neighborhood: 2 puggles and a grumpy old terrier. They were able to walk together for a little bit then the little yippers had to go home. Great times in Bremen Park!

Also a first for Sach - Marc took him to the doggie park in Eastie (per recommendation of another doggie playmate we met this morning!) He thoroughly wiped himself out (see pictures above) by chasing a Whippet friend around the park. The whippet's owner was amazed that Sachi could keep up with him! I wish we had pictures.. so next time we go, I'll have to catch some action shots for all of you! We have one tired pup. :)

Trying times..

Sorry for the slow updates! A lot has been going on, so we're glad to have a moment to write a quick update!

One week in and things have been..... interesting!
Sachi's doing great with the cats - Nugget has learned to growl when he pesters her for too long, and Junior is getting used to him... slowly. It's tough for Junior to have a gigantic shadow following him around all night and day!

I'm hoping that they will snuggle together soon - wouldn't that be the cutest? :) (You better believe that I'll be snapping away with my camera when that day comes!!)

So many of you know.. it has been a very trying week - our little man seems to get a bit anxious when we're away. The first time we left him alone was to go grocery shopping . We have learned that crating him is not a good idea! So lesson learned - no crating for this little pup, unless we want our curtains torn to shreds and barking up the wazoo!

After that experience, we left him uncrated to roam the apartment.. 1st day, 2 hours to himself = not good idea either. We've found all of our boxes shredded, the dog food bag hanging off the counter and just utter chaos. Picture tornado with wind speeds of 500 mph!) Each day we would come home to the apartment in pieces. Very stressful. We needed a solution and pronto!

So we did what any new parent would do: research. We knew it was a form of separation anxiety (he was PERFECT when we were around). The web taught us that more exercise, finding ways to keep him busy while home, and ignoring him when we go in and out of the apartment would make a difference. Well, after 5 full days of insanity (and a battle lost - our leather couch was pulverized) we decided to call in the pros. We called the MSPCA, friend's referrals on trainers, the vet, etc.

An animal behaviorist came in on Sunday and gave us a few ideas. A drained bank account later, we had a plan. We learned that have to outsmart him. Keep him guessing. Keep his attention going by giving him jobs while we're away (according to Marc, we're suppose to give him our taxes. Imagine little Sachi typing away for us. HA! "Grr.. parents dont know how to handle their money.. grumble grumble" :) ) So away we went!

Monday morning, we already saw a change. Don't get me wrong, it definitely was NOT an overnight change. Just less destruction. By Tuesday, he's definitely minimized his destruction. I lost a wicker basket, a few pair of socks, and a few books, but to us, that's a success!

So things are slowly getting better and he's staying busy. As long as the destruction decreases, we should be ok. We love the little guy and we just want to make sure he knows that he's finally in his forever home. :)

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

GREAT NEWS! JR has finally moved from his spot in the storage closet and met his new brother! :)

Here is a picture of Sachi's "big" sister and brother, Nugget and Junior. Nugget is a Seal-Point Siamese made of a LOT of sass and a lot of sweetness. JR is our family purrface. He's also a Siamese and lives for making us laugh - he's not a normal kitty, he loves playing fetch and sometimes gets scared by his own shadow!

He's ok, Junior, trust me!

Soon to be best buds!

Sachi's Big Adventure

We're a few days in to being parents to our little pup and things are going great! We brought Sachi to Marc's parents house and as you can see, he felt right at home.

Here's a picture of the twins with Sachi (we're still trying to convince their parents to adopt Neiko! Brothers having brother mals.. it couldn't get any better!)

Miss M wanted a picture with the pup.. such a great photo!

Sachi's first steps into the pool.. he was hesitant at first but it had a great time once he managed to get all 4 paws in!
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Things are going great! So far we've had a great time in teaching him to "Come" on command and yes, he loves his treats. :) He's also had the opportunity to walk along the Charles River and meet new friends, including a very sweet, older golden retriever! It was interesting -so many people stopped us along our walk to comment on "what a beautiful Mal" he is and how well behaved he was! The little pup made me proud. (Although, he ran with his tail between his legs when this little Chinese Crested barked at him. Poor Sachi! I agree Sach, a 5lb dog CAN be intimidating. :) )

He's doing great on the leash - although he's still pulling a bit when he's distracted (Squirrel!!)

The kittys are ok so far - Junior has yet to come out of hiding. Actually, correction: he knows to come out when Sachi is crated for bed. A bigger surprise is Nugget, who we thought would be the toughest critic. In front of us, she growls and hisses at Sachi like he's a big nuisance. However, I've caught her a few times tapping him with her paw and sprinting away! Too cute! We're keeping our fingers crossed that they become good friends soon.

We're dealing with a bit of separation anxiety but we hope that once we get into a routine, he'll be ok. :) Marc and I have been testing him - leaving the apt for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 15minutes to see how he does. It's only been a day since we've been testing this and he seems to be getting better and better as we increase the time. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ok, back to Dog Whisperer - we love this show!

Welcome Home Sachi!

Let us introduce you to our latest family member, Sah Chi (or spelled Sachi.) Sachi is a 7month old Belgian Malinois, born in Oregon and now living in the wonderful city of Boston, MA!

We received him from the ABMC Rescue (American Belgian Malinois Club - malinoisrescue.org) after an at-home visit and a visit with his foster mom, Ann. After what seemed like forever, Ann was happy to let us know that he's all ours! Clearly, we're more than thrilled with the news!

He has an incredibly sweet disposition and this blog will chronicle his new life with is big brother Junior (a 2year old Siamese kitty) and Sai (aka the Nugget, a 3year old Siamese). Pictures will follow.

Let us rewind a bit and let you know what's been going on in the past few weeks... well, years.

Marc and I decided a LOOOONG time back that we were ready for a new addition into our lives. We had discussed several different breeds of dogs and we just couldn't could agree on what type of dog to bring into our home. Flash forward to the research (and surveys) of what "types" of dogs would fit into our lifestyle.

Criteria: Short-haired (we get enough fur to pick up from Junior!), active (we didn't want a pup that couldnt go for a run with us), and size - well, we would need to find one that would fit with our cats and us in a 700sq ft apt!

After many many discussions, we finally agreed on a German Shepherd. Ofcourse a GSD (German Shepherd Dog) didn't follow allllllll of our requirements, but it was the only type we could agree on! Fast forward to breeders (and issues on size and grooming) and more research, Marc came across the Belgian Malinois website. Malinois were known for their intelligence, loyalty and looks. It also helped that they were a medium sized dog with a bit shorter hair than the GSD. BINGO! The search was on.

Marc applied for an "Active" dog named Duke from the Rescue league. We received a quick response back from Rebecca, who would be doing our at-home interview to pretty much talk us out of getting a Belgian Malinois. With Rescue dogs, there are typically tough backgrounds, and the volunteers at the Rescue League want to make sure that you're dedicated parents and that you're serious about adopting a pup for a forever home. We met her pup Tucker, who was the most handsome, happy dog. We were in love (Rebecca wouldnt let us keep him, unfortunately! :) ) She mentioned that there was a potential puppy available in MA that was currently being fostered.

We drove out to western MA to meet with Ann, a loving Foster mom with 2 Mals of her own! We walked to her yard and were greeted by the sweetest pup by the name of Sachi. "I guess he's not afraid of men" Ann said, as Sachi sprinted right up to Marc. It's funny. He had this big grin on his face and its true - we were totally in love. Unfortunately, although we met him, it does not guarantee that he's ours. So we emailed Ann about 1000 times for updates on how he's doing, if he's claimed, what's the next step, when would we find out... which leads us to where we are now!

Sept 2, 2009

We receive an EXCITING email from Ann that he's all ours and that we could pick him up on Saturday the 5th. LET THE SHOPPING COMMENCE! With treats, a dog bed and toys later, we were exhausted. He was coming and we were ready!

Sept 3, 2009

We're waiting...

Sept 4, 2009
and waiting..

Sept 5, 2009

The day was here! We were to head to Pepperell to meet with Ann and another Foster Mom, Betty, to meet with Sachi and his brother Neiko for a playdate! Here are a few photos from Sachi's fun day with his brother and foster mom:

The agility course where Sachi impressed us with his quick learning.

Neiko and Sachi - I dont know how to flip pictures yet!
This is Neiko, Sahchi's brother (he's such a sweetie and still up for adoption!)

After a fun day... it was time to bring our little man home.. Sachi's first ride in the bimmer..
Excited to go to his new home!!
although he didnt last long on the car ride home.. this little pup was pooped!

Time for a break! Ill update more in a bit