HOME INTRO PHOTOS TRAINING E-MAIL

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Since you're here, I imagine you are interested in knowing a little bit about me, a little about my training partner and best friend, Maika, and a little about the site. You may be a long-time visitor wondering about the recent drastic changes to the layout, or you may be a new visitor hoping to enjoy a few photos. Either way, you've come to the right place. About Me My name is Jennifer and I currently reside east of Toronto, Ontario. I have been involved with animals my whole life, from hamsters to horses, fish to ferrets, but my experience with working dogs is still quite limited. I am presently attending a 3-year Marketing Co-Op program at a nearby college and I am looking forward to graduating in 2005. In addition to working with dogs, other hobbies of mine include reading, art especially pencil sketches, and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. I share an enthusiasm for classic muscle cars with my boyfriend, Shaune, whom I accompany to most of the local car shows and events. Shaune's page devoted to his red Doberman Pinscher, Zeus, can be viewed by clicking here. Shaune and I have been dating since mid-February of 2002. About Maika (and a little bit about Red) Maika is a beautiful female Belgian Malinois, born the early morning of Saturday, May 17, 2003. She is one of three females in the litter of 8 puppies sired by Magnum, out of Mutig, at The Dogmen Inc. The Dogmen, owned and operated by Mike and Petra McConnery, has not only offered me a wonderful puppy, but also facilitated a superb learning opportunity inwhich I have had the fortune of handling a full brother to Maika, Red, in weekly training classes. I have also had the experience of attending a 3-day bootcamp with Red in the spring/summer of 2003. If you are interested in visiting The Dogmen Inc. website, please click here. Mike and Petra breed German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and occasional Dutch Shepherds. Though their focus is on providing dogs and services to the military and law enforcement, they also offer puppies and dogs to the public, and bootcamps, local public classes, and specialized training for "problem" dogs. The name 'Maika' (pronounced the same as the prophet Micah, also in the Old Testament) is actually a Japanese name. The kanji that are used to make up the name Maika mean 'dance' and 'fragrance'. I chose to name my puppy Maika for two main reasons; I think that it is a pretty name, and the hard "K" sound makes it a very appropriate name for getting the dog's attention and giving a command. My goals for Maika are that of companion-protector, although I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity I have to train with Mike, and work on tracking and article search, as well as working agility. I am counting on Maika to help me gain all-around exposure to several different areas of work, and we'll only be limited by my experience and her desire to work. About This Site Those of you who have been visiting workingmal.com for some time will have noticed some changes in the recent past. I had originally intended workingmal.com to be an extensive training journal and photo album, with a collection of links and an active discussion forum. Unfortunately, I severely overestimated the time I would have to spend making updates, and so rather than have a site with the continual promise of regular journal entries that never get done, I decided to re-design the site with a new purpose in mind. The site is now strictly a photo album. I will update the site with photos of Maika as she grows, hopefully with a few good working photos thrown in. One problem with working dogs is that you're so busy working you don't have time to pose for a photograph! :) In the 'Training' section of this site, I will somewhat regularly post updates as to where Maika and I are in training, and where we are headed. I don't know at what frequency I'll be making training updates, but at the rate I have been progressing with Red significant updates might come as often as every month or two. I have done away with the forum and my guestbook, but as always I'd love to receive e-mails from others like myself interested in working with dogs (especially malinois) so please don't hesitate to drop me a line! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your stay. Also remember to check back frequently for updates to the photo album and traning section.