Hi Candice -
Harvey asked me to respond...mainly because I can type faster. Izzy is a beautiful, spoiled teenager "malinut" princess. She still has that "impish" Izzy face and still sticks her tongue out. We are attaching some pictures I took this morning of Izzy playing in the little kiddie pool I bought for the dogs. She has a great time taking her toys out. She holds her breath and puts her face in to grab the toys...keeps her entertained. Cooper is still her big chew toy. It is very interesting, Sam, who has always been low dog in the pack, is the one who can control Izzy. He gives her one Malinois snap and it keeps her in line. He and Izzy play together every morning. They bring out the Malinois traits in each other...eating trees, plants and digging holes. I will think about a yard again next year!

She is so smart...most definitely smarter than we are. We have taken her thru puppy training and also had some private training with a woman from Santa Fe who has worked with Malinois. She thinks Izzy is a great dog; as you well know, we just have our hands full trying to train her. This woman felt that Izzy is more "soft" than a typical Malinois, i.e., Izzy is more focused on people than the task/job. We were surprised by this because she still has that very independent streak and seems to pay attention to us only when she wants to. Of course we are the indulgent parents and she knows she can get away with alot. We split our time between laughing at her antics and looking at each other saying "what were we thinking?" Typical Malinois, huh?

Sounds like she is alot like Gizmo. She collects all her toys and takes them to her blanket and stockpiles them. Her favorite game is to grab something she shouldn't and then play keep-away. She knows we will bribe her with cookies (so smart). We can't help but laugh.

We plan to start an agility class this August with the local AKC group. We also are currently collecting agility equipment to set up a course at home. She seems to like the agility equipment and it would be a great job for her.

We love her and she seems very happy. If our energy keeps up, we think she will turn out to be a great dog.

Charlotte & Harvey