There are many things one just isn’t good at – somebody's not good at driving, others cannot skate and others won’t ever learn correct punctuation in Czech sentences ;-). Having a dog sounds easy. Anybody not involved will imagine taking a dog for a walk is the only duty of a dog owner, plus maybe a couple of vaccinations and some food issues. I used to look at it in this simple way too back then. Now, however, as the owner of two young dogs I can see a great deal of obstacles we are yet to overcome and it’s just me who will either manage or not to get them over with. In spite of certain experience I already have, there are things that wouldn't have even come to my mind before... This first one is just a trifle (I don’t want to get too serious straight away, do I? ;-) but have you ever tried to take a picture of a puppy? A puppy is a restless creature, will not sit down for a minute, and when it does sit down, the moment you...
On Monday September the 28th 2009, a bank holiday in the Czech Republic, we began our drive in the direction of Vienna. Early on when my husband asked me where we were going to pick up the newest addition to out family, I answered him reassuringly that it would only be a short distance from Vienna. Well, lets just say I was under estimating slightly....We actually nearly ended up in Hungary, almost right up to the border! The weather was unexpectedly beautiful, the result of the Indian Summer, which allowed us to enjoy the stunning beauty of the Austrian country side, the beautiful landscape of the vinyards, picturesque Austrian farms and wine cellars full of Styma; with so much to occupy us, the time simply flew by! We arrived promptly at noon to pick up our little Ginger. We quickly completed all of the formalities and began our journey home where Taffy and a pile of temporarily neglegted duties were awaiting us! I must admit that after the disastrous 1st car experience for...
On Saturday September 13, 2009 Taffy started on the training course in Říčany-Strašín. I originally wanted to start with the training before the summer holiday, however, I completely forgot that they do not do training during the summer break. So I had to leave it until September. This was not such a disaster though as I am training her everyday at home and in September she will only be 8 months old. The first class, not surprisingly, was very chaotic as a large amount of people came with dogs of various ages and breeds. After everyone was registered and had paid their entrance fee the trainers divided us into groups according to the age and size of the dogs. In our group, sadly, there were no Rottweilers, but instead German and Belgian Shepherds, Irish Setters and even big Schnauzers! From the moment Taffy was out of the car she was overcome with nervous energy and excitement and did not wish to settle down and as the rest of the session would show, she...
I cannot even begin to describe how much I have been looking forward to getting Taffy!!! On a daily basis I have been viewing her pictures and I look forward at the same time to receiving new ones! On March 15th my husband and I finally began our journey to get Taffy in Slovenia! The journey was absolutely wonderful with an incredibly beautiful drive through Austria and on through lovely and picturesque Slovenia, a country which I admit one can have a very distorted picture of these days! Slovenia is a lovely little country really; on normal sides of highways and roads, as well as in ditches, the surfaces were covered in various lovely flowers like snowdrops, crocus that one normally finds growing only in private gardens in the Czech Republic. During our trip through Slovenia I never stopped being amazed at sheer simple beauty of the place and how closely the people actually live with nature. I do not meant to imply that the local population lives like peasants, after all,...
Next to the Rottweiler, the Alaskan Malamut will always be the best breed of dog for me. There are several reasons for this including their beautiful fur and beautiful facial structure. In addition, I love their liberal minded character and the fact that they do not bark, but instead howl! If however an individual desires to use the Alaskan Malamut as a house guard for example, it will not work and may in fact damage the dog’s natural character. Alaskan Malamuts are sweet and gentle, they generally love people and are not meant to be house guards or people protectors. There are rare instances where an Alaskan Malamut can be naturally aggressive and useful as a guard dog, but this is the exception rather than the rule. In general though, their size alone will be enough to keep most people at bay and gain the respect of any strangers and keep them out of the yard, especially when they encounter 3 of them! When my husband and I began discussing what type of dog we should...
Most people find it rather difficult to describe themselves, for various reasons. However, describing interests and hobbies is far easier; everyone knows what he or she is, or is not, interested in. In this regard, I am no different! I find it incredibly difficult to write about and describe my good qualities and skills and I really feel embarrassed to even do such a thing. The same goes of course for my bad qualities, but maybe that has more to do with the fact that I am afraid there will be more of those than the good ones! :-) However, the one thing I have known about myself for as long as I can remember is that I am definitely a dog breeder and I truly love it with all of my heart! The first dog I ever had in my life was given to me on my 15th birthday by my parents after many years of trying to persuade them. I originally only wanted a big dog, more specifically, a Husky dog. But after years of trying to talk my parents into it I got a little desperate and was even...