Malachi (Celhaus Pjesma u odjek olujo)
1 year 8 months – 3 years 6 months

I hadn’t heard from Malachi’s mom for quite a while.  Then she sent some great photos and an update.  Enjoy!

“He’s doing good.  Happy 99% of the time. Just loving life and doing as he pleases.  He’s gotten a lot lighter with age, and looks a lot like his mom to me.  He topped out at almost 80 lbs.  He’s still a giant dork.  He’s a lab with an attitude, extremely over-friendly to EVERYONE, including complete strangers that show up in the yard, in which he is either too concerned with a toy to pay attention to, or runs the toy over hoping they play with him. I should have named him Casper he’s so friendly. He still acts like an 8-week-old pup meeting everyone.  Pretty much the worst guard dog ever-not quite the German Shepherd I wanted, but he’s what I got and has so many quirks he’s fun to live with just from the antics even if he’s a failure of a German Shepherd. Haha!  He’s my special kid, and a good buddy.

He finally settled down enough to enjoy training, and now competes in rally and has his advanced title and started in NADAC agility.  He loves it, though he’s still in the mode where both he and I are learning, but the game to him is just to run really fast and do stuff before listening to commands, all while sassing and screaming his fool head off every time his feet hit the ground.  He’s super-fast so keeping up with him is a challenge sometimes.  One trial as we finished the course, he ran out the gate and started visiting with everyone.  Not quite what you’re supposed to do there, buddy.  Got a little bit disqualified, but he’s enjoying it and that’s all that matters.  He has his titles in intro regular and tunnelers, and this year I’m going to move into novice.  It’s really hard to get practice and trials in this area so we’re advancing a bit slowly.” 

Malachi at 3 years
1st photo:  totally relaxed
2nd photo: “Malachi telling me he needs his toes cleaned.”
3rd photo:  “Toes cleaning wipe out.”
4th photo:  “What a dork!”
5th photo:  “Saying prayers trick.”
6th photo:  “Splash pool with fountains my mom bought him.”

Malachi at 2 years
“I ended up adopting another dog, Buck, last year that had basically been homeless or in animal control most of his life because nobody could step up to the plate with him.  An extremely intelligent dog, but very much has his own agenda.  He’s some kind of shepherd mix.  On first meeting, Buck was pretty standoffish to most dogs, and when he and Malachi met, both growled at each other, and then were immediately friends and played for an hour straight.  They absolutely love one another. Total peas in a pod.  Malachi doesn’t like anyone or anything getting too close or lying by him (including me unless it’s his choice! T-T) but he and Buck lie up against one another and share beds, toys, food etc. They also love wrestling, so it’s been good for them both to have one another.  It’s adorable how much they like one another. I think they would be lost without one another.” 

last photo in this series:  “Car camping”

“He gets pretty crabby when even I give him kisses. This is a sequence of what happens when he has to sit by me and then gets a kiss. It makes me laugh that he gets so crabby about it. 

Malachi at 1 year 8 months
He loves loves, loves playing and screaming at his jolly balls, always needs a toy, chasing bubbles, doing his war dance, playing in any form of water, and most favorite– the laser pointer.  He’ll do anything for that, so it’s been pretty instrumental in training him.  Weirdest dog ever who wants that as a reward, but pretty much the only reason I could train him to love baths, blow drying, clipping his nails etc. In fact, if you get the hairdryer out for your own hair, he runs in and FORCES you to blow dry him to try to get the laser as a reward, and if you don’t blow dry him, he bites at the hairdryer until you do. 

Even getting him to do agility when we were training. He wouldn’t listen or pay attention and the instructor was trying to make him work after I couldn’t get him to do two correct obstacles in a row and he wouldn’t do it for her either, .and the instructor is like he’s just not ready, and I’m like let me try this…and pulled out the laser pointer and he snapped to attention and did 6 obstacles in a row and then got his reward to chase the dumb red light.  Everyone thought it was hilarious that is what he works for/his highest reward.  I admit it’s a hollow reward to me, but he loves it so that’s all that matters. His other favorite hobby is watching TV, and he likes fighting the TV if there are animals on it, “fights” them. He really hates Hugh Jackman especially. Haha!

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