Updates and Luka Turns One

Luka and I took an unintentional blogging hiatus. I changed to the night shift at the hospital and that along with real life took the front and the back burners for a while; Luka's awful at typing. Since we've been gone big things have happened.

Luka turned one!!!

He got a Tuff brand dog bed, a personalized leather collar and a stunning bow tie. (Plus a frosty paw and a birthday wish). I cannot believe my little fuzzy baby is a year old and 70 pounds!

Our final progress picture. Also entitled 'Thank goodness we're done with these because Luka is getting too heavy.'

 I discovered that not only does Luka LOVE to hike, but he's actually quite good at it. For being so, absolutely clumsy on a daily basis, he's rather sure-footed and agile when we hike. We go about once a week and I haven't decided if I'm just punishing myself by giving Luka more endurance, since he seems to have an endless supply of energy already... I was hoping hiking would make him tired, but if you've owned a malinois you might have guessed that this wasn't the case. He lies down in the back seat of the car for the short ride home and then he's rearing to go again when we get in the house. I love having such a good hiking partner anyway.

Unfortunately, Luka's ear was bitten by another dog and the cartilage was damaged. He no longer holds it up straight unassisted. We are working on splinting the ear while the cartilage heals to repair the damage. I'll post a more in depth post on the event, splinting process, and progress later on. The good news is: he still looks adorable even with his broken ear. Splinting is going well, however, and in his birthday pictures you can see the splint and how the ear is standing.

The day after the bite occurred 

Luka recently began serious patrol training as well. He has finally matured enough to take the work seriously and he's doing pretty well. We are taking the process slowly so I don't lose my sweet, goofy, love-bug of a dog in the process. Right now it's a great big game to him and he loves putting his vest on to go to work. Plus, he gets to go train with his friends. Bilzen, Greta, and Luka look pretty intimidating when they want to.

Day to day life consists of lots of exercise, constant training, looking for opportunities to foster calmness, and kisses and love. I take Luka out with me so often he sometimes beats me to the car when I leave for work and I have to break the bad news to him that he's not invited to the hospital. I thank goodness everyday that I stumbled across that little fuzzy thing at the shelter all those months ago. (Well, most days I do.) We're still learning together and I swear Luka's still growing. We're off hiatus so expect more recent updates and new posts on several important topics!

-Allie and Luka

Luka's favorite things: Chewables

I swear having a dog with a strong jaw is like having a wood chipper. It takes him moments to chew through most anything. He's severed leashes, palm branches, toys of every shape and size, and dozens of miscellaneous goodies. Our only saving grace is that he prefers dog approved chewables over items he's not supposed to have (for the most part). That difficult part is finding durable, cost-effective purchases that satisfy him. In this section Luka, with a little help from me, is going to rate his favorite chewables based on taste/interest, durability, safety, and cost.