Joey

Little Joey is the dog that simply doesn’t fit any frame. The strangest, the funniest and the cutest little punk. He is a champion already, simply because he managed to survive after being born with just a little over 100g with little body so skinny and underdeveloped that I could fit him and his 2 brothers in my palm. Yes, he is a champion and a dog with not one single worry in his pretty head. He is simply happy; open to everything and everyone we meet and always ready to explore life.
Remember when I said he doesn’t fit any frame? Well he is supposed to be a dog, but doesn’t really enjoy the one thing most dogs usually enjoy – chasing. Running is not his thing at all; instead he prefers to play a cat. Climb and jump and go places none of my other dogs ever considered going.
He is supposed to be a loud and barky Croatian Sheepdog, while he really doesn’t know how to bark properly. His voice is broken – Joe Cocker style, and he prefers to sing. And I must confess he is actually good at it!

He is the most innovative dog I ever had, remembering so many cool tricks on its own, but has so much fun doing his stunts, that he doesn’t really care if he get’s rewarded for any of it or not. So at the age of 10 months he knows tons of behaviors and only understands one cue – lie down. And he is so proud on his stunts that he actually goes and shows his tricks to šČE or any other dog he wants to impress.

He is a dog of a zillion facial expressions, and always finds a perfect one to put me in a good mood.

And he will never ever understand the concept of luring. Why follow when you got a better idea yourself, and why repeat when there are so many new things one can try.

He is such a unique little thing that I simply stopped trying to make him an ordinary puppy. Instead I am trying to learn how to be an extraordinary trainer and the best companion for all his adventures.
Unfortunately he had to end his agility career prematurely due to the fact that he was diagnosed with Lumbosacral stenosis. He had a brief episode of lameness but is perfectly fine since, so he is still living a very active life, I just figured jumping is not good/neccessary for his condition, so we waved the sport goodbye and are having fun with herding and hiking.