On Tuesday, May 27, we welcomed a new addition to our family — Karsen Andrew Turcic was born that morning at 10:10. Annie, AJ and Lucy are still getting used to having a baby at home. All of them are very gentle with Karsen, but it’s interesting how they all have unique ways of “dealing” with baby. Annie is the most patient, which we expected. She will stand back and watch until she is told it is OK to get close to baby. AJ is the most unsure about Karsen, although he wants to give him kissies all the time. I think he’s suffering a little bit because he’s kind of a “mommy’s boy” and mommy has been really busy. I’m trying to be better about giving him some extra attention and Daddy is giving him more attention, too. Lucy will give Karsen kissies every chance she gets. She particularly likes to lick his feet. Boxers are wonderful family dogs and I can’t wait to see how they become friends with Karsen as he grows.

AJ gives Karsen a kiss.

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Lucy
Lucy (aka WooWee) is our first “home grown” boxer. She is from Annie’s litter and we have been so thrilled with her. She is hysterical — providing us with plenty of entertainment. She also is the protector in the house. Like AJ, Lucy loves to go to dog shows. Her favorite game at home is chasing the red-dot laser all over the house and yard.

Maybe we need to add a K to Lucy’s name — Lucky.

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AJ
AJ (aka Jayj) is our second boxer. Here he is pictured doing one of his favorite things: catching snowflakes. He waits for them to land and then he pounces on them. AJ also loves dog shows, chasing shadows and playing Jolly Ball (a ball that has a smaller ball inside of it).

The first time I picked him up (he was 8 or 9 weeks old), he immediately reached his nose toward my nose and gave me a sweet boxer puppy kiss. My heart melted and he came home with us a few weeks later (puppy picture below). To this day, he adores “kissies” and he will gladly give one to whomever will let him.

AJ is the stereotypical boxer when it comes to attitude: a clown. One day he may be catching bugs, snowflakes or shadows, the next day he’s “talking” to us trying to convince someone to tug the other end of his favorite rope. He’s also a buddy. He’s the kind of dog that will stick by your side, follow you around. He aims to please. He’s a gentle, loving boy, and protective like most boxers are.

I hope that everyone could have the opportunity in their lifetime to have a friend like AJ.

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Our dogs aren’t just for show, they’re also part of our family. Check back here for some fun photos, silly stories and more.
If you don’t already know them, let me introduce you to our boxers. Today, I’ll start with Annie (aka Nana).

ANNIE
Annie is our first boxer. She holds a special place in our hearts. She loved the social part of dog shows, but her tendency to ham it up in the ring didn’t help her career. Now she’s a couch dog. Since Annie came from good lines and has some wonderful qualities, such as her friendly disposition, we decided to see what kind of puppies she would turn out. In 2006, we bred Annie to a Canadian/American champion named Dakota (http://berlane.net), and the result was six happy, healthy pups. We named them after Peanuts characters. There was one white puppy, and we named her Denali after the snow-capped mountain in Alaska. The others were Linus, Sally, Schroeder, Marcie and Lucy. It was heartbreaking saying goodbye as five of the puppies left us to go to their new homes. Lucy lives with us. You will meet her another day.

Annie had a difficult labor, and we made the decision to spay her. We didn’t feel it was fair to put her through that again. So far, we have learned a lot from Nana. One of the most memorable lessons she taught me is: if you hear your buddy doing “crazy dog” in the next room, you may want to check on her (or him).

I was hanging upside down blow-drying my hair in the bathroom and I could hear Annie doing “crazy dog” around our master bedroom. Occasionally, she would come into the bathroom, do a hockey stop, then tear out again. She was “playing” with AJ (you’ll meet him later), who was in his crate because he was a tiny puppy at the time and couldn’t be trusted not to potty on the floor while I was getting ready for work. Bent over with my dryer and brush, I chuckled. She was being silly. I could hear her flying over our bed like superdog. I flipped upright since my hair was almost dry. As my eyes adjusted, I saw something on the floor. At first, it didn’t register: red streaks. It was blood.

I could actually see where Annie had done her hockey stops in the bathroom. Heart pumping a little faster now, I peered around the bathroom door and into our master bedroom. For a moment, the pumping stopped completely. Annie was standing in the middle of the room with her tongue hanging out. She stared up at me. Around her it looked as if someone had been in a violent fight. There were red streaks everywhere: on the carpet, on our bed, on the clothes my husband left in a pile on the floor (his own fault). “How did you get it on the wall?” I asked her. She tilted her head, puzzled.

I had to contain Annie and her bloody toenail, so I put her in the shower. I closed her in and she put one eye up to the frosted glass door. “Hey, why am I in here?”

After I was finished freaking out, I got to work treating every stain. I was 45 minutes late to work.

It was not funny at the time, but looking back, it is.

Next: Meet AJ

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Hi everybody! I had a fun weekend at the Bell-Vernon Kennel Club dog show. There’s this cool lady who gives me liver and turkey and boxer zerberts — she was there. What a coincidence! We ran around for a little bit and people clapped. On Saturday I got a blue ribbon and a purple and white ribbon. The first time I got a purple and white ribbon was exactly two years ago. Pretty weird, huh? Mom and Dad were excited. I got another blue ribbon on Saturday and everybody kept telling me I did a good job. After more treats and boxer zerberts, I was pretty tired. I slept all the way home! If you want to see pictures of me at the show on Sunday, check out the conformation pictures under Boys on my Web site.

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Neither Annie or I have been to a show lately. She’s busy taking care of her new family, and mom and dad won’t let me play with the puppies. I was getting a little lonely sometimes. I’m not used to someone else getting all of the attention.

Finally, I’m getting ready to show again. This weekend they are taking me to Puyallup. I’m a little nervous because dad won’t be there, and usually when we go to the shows, dad is there and gives me lots of treats. That’s really the best part. He has to work on Saturday, so mom is taking me there and I will get to play with Cindy Crawford. She’s got treats too.

I hope the judge picks me. It makes mom and dad happy, and then they buy me new toys. Nothing is better than toys!

See you all there.

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I’m not sure if this is the first blog of it’s kind. For the sake of my people’s egos, we’ll stick with that idea. This is the first ever ShowBlog. Written by the canines, for the canines (and peoples too).

So you are probably asking yourself, how is a dog writing to a blog? After all, we lack opposable thumbs, which makes it difficult to use the spacebar. If you are asking yourself this question, then you obviously have never been owned by a boxer.

In the weeks and months ahead, I will describe here, in whatever detail I feel like at that moment, just what my people put us through for these crazy dog shows. You wouldn’t believe the abuse we take.

Stay tuned…

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