Our current pack- Mystic and Luca

Our Dogs

Mystic

Mystic is our 5 year old 52lb Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix.  We have had him since he was a puppy, so he is not really a rescue, although adopted from a rescue.  He enjoys agility and some nosework with Luca.  He is pretty laid back for a herding breed but typical personality wise in that he wants to be constantly near us.  He is fixed, registered with AKC Canine Partners program as Mystic Fluffybutt and has his CGC title.  We will be testing for the next level of CGC, the Community Canine next week.

Luca

She is our almost 2 year old 110lb Black Russian Terrier rescue that we adopted at 8 months of age.  We had to go through a pretty extensive adoption process to be allowed to adopt her, including a home inspection.  She was spayed prior to adoption, at approximately 4 months.  We were told she is a Black Russian Terrier & Mastiff mix, but we do not see the Mastiff, except when she drools at meals and after drinking.  If we had a dollar for every time we were asked if she is an Irish Wolfhound, we could pay for our new hound and have change to spare!  Further research suggest she may be a smooth coated Black Russian Terrier, and she certainly has the temperament and personalty of a BRT.  No matter what she may be, we love her.   She is a 110lb lapdog and loves to snuggle! 

She has completed basic Schutzhund obedience work but she did not care for the bitework and we chose not to force that. She loves tracking and nosework which we continue to train her in regularly. She is also registered with AKC Canine Partners as Luca B Longlegs and will be testing for her CGC next week.

She had a rocky start in life and that, combined with her natural breed tendencies, has made her fearful of new people.  Luca is the epitome of a one family type of dog.  She is slow to give her trust to others.  She is almost a completely different dog than when we adopted her and is definitely a more confident, relaxed dog. Because of previous incidents and the general public's lack of knowledge in approaching dogs, we choose to muzzle her in public.   This is why you will see a plastic basket muzzle in some photos of her.  We take our dogs many places and this allows her to work on behavioral issues, safely.  We do not want to put her in in a position that could end in euthanasia and it is important that she join us in our family activities, so a muzzle is a win/win for us. The other question we often get is if she can defend herself.  The answer is yes.  She knows she is a big dog and can muzzle punch and use her weight to the best of her advantage, as evidenced by her play sessions with other dogs. She can eat, drink and lick to to her heart's content as well.

Luca was recently diagnosed with Idopathic Epilepsy.  After her first seizure, our vet sent us to a veterinary neurologist at a specialty center in Denver.  We were fully prepared to pay for an MRI, which our vet said was a possibility.    It turned out to be unnecessary, as all signs pointed to her being an otherwise healthy dog.  She is on Potassium Bromide for now, and hopefully she will not need more but we are fully prepared to give her all the support she needs.  A 110lb dog having a grand-mal seizure is not a fun sight to see.  We sit by her and talk her through it and, so far, there have been no cluster seizures.  We continue to live life the way we always have and let her do all that she has done.