Hello Everybody!

Of all my dogs, Havok’s story has already been pretty well-documented. In fact, I kept a running blog post for the first several months of Havok’s life. If you want to read all about his puppy story, click here. I carefully researched German Shepherd breeders for several months and finally made the decision to place a deposit on pick male from the Kat x Barry litter at Sequoyah German Shepherds. Sequoyah is well-known for breeding dogs that have excellent health, temperament, pedigrees and working abilities. I did my best to raise Havok right, and I must say I think that nature and nurture worked together on this one. Havok is a fantastic dog. He’s the first high drive dog I’ve ever owned, but he’s so much more than that. Ever since he was a puppy, and despite his name of course, Havok has been the best dog I could’ve hoped for. He’s high drive, has a stable temperament, he’s intelligent, considerate, healthy and able to fill any role I ask of him. He helps me with private lessons and stays calm and cool even around the most aggressive of dogs. He’s an excellent puppy raiser and has always done a wonderful job socializing and teaching young pups. Together we’ve dabbled in a number of dog sports and disciplines to include IPO/Schutzhund, PSA, agility, frisbee, dock diving, tracking, protection, search and rescue, and obedience. While Zoey’s always been my guinea pig dog, Havok is the dog I can count on to push my own training abilities to the next level. His working abilities, drives and spirit have made me a better trainer.

People oftentimes ask me, of all my dogs who’s in charge? Of course, I explain to them that I’m the pack leader so they all listen to me, want to be with me more than anyone and look to me for leadership and guidance, but truth be told of all my dogs Havok is the alpha. He’s naturally self-confident and self-assured and has a certain presence about him. When he walks into a room, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, his presence changes the dynamics of the room; his body language is completely relaxed, nothing phases him. A true alpha doesn’t walk around asserting his dominance, like many people think, a true alpha is so sure of himself that he knows he’s in charge and doesn’t bother to make sure everyone knows; he knows they know. That’s Havok. He’s comfortable in his own skin, confident regardless of the situation and his presence alone maintains balance, order and structure within the pack. What’s beautiful about his being alpha is that he immediately surrenders control to me when I’m around. He looks up to me, he trusts me, he obeys me. Maybe twice have I ever had to raise my voice with him or remind him who’s in charge. The relationship we have is so harmonious that between me and him, our leadership transcends all cultural and inter-species limitations. We work beautifully together as a team, always in sync and supporting each other.

I do think it’s possible to have more than one dog soulmate in your life, and all things considered Havok is number three for me: Lady, Zoey and now, Havok. This is one of the many reasons I’ve decided to enroll myself and Havok into the single purpose narcotics detection course at Vohne Liche Kennels. We’ll get to spend three full weeks this November doing what we love surrounded by like-minded people and K9 teams. I so cannot wait to take Havok’s training -and our teamwork- to the next level.

Havok is truly a once-in-a-lifetime dog for me, and I’m grateful to have him in my life. You know how, every once in awhile a dog enters your life and changes everything? That’s my Havok. The relationship we have, the bond, the connection, the beauty and harmony of it all, it’s unbreakable.

While I do not feel my writing abilities do justice for Havok, I hope this post gives you some insight as to how wonderful it can be to raise a puppy from good genetics to the best of your abilities and to enjoy the fruit of your hard work. Thank you for reading!

-Amy