Alix
UAG1 UCDX Ivraie du Ciel Rouge NA NAJ CD FMD 1/3 TN-N
Born 4-20-96
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The word Ivraie is colloquial French for "morning glory." I chose the name because of its historical significance in the Malinois world and because I was living in New Orleans at the time, and thought a Cajun-French name would be appropriate. The letter "I" is not an easy one to work with when naming a dog!
Her call name Alix refers to her "helper" personality (Alexander means "helper of mankind"). She firmly believes you’ll be better off if you allow her to help with any job, whether it is doing the laundry or mixing a batch of cookies.
Alix has a relatively modest resume. She ruptured her achilles tendon at 18 months, which has greatly impacted her ability to do physical things and remain sound. Compounding that, at age five she was diagnosed with ehrlichia, which my vet and I believed we had licked. I learned later that we did not. The damage from the disease means that Alix has great days and awful days…and we just have to play it by ear and enjoy the time we have.
Alix has trained in schutzhund, AKC events (agility, obedience, tracking), and French ring, and for certification in scentwork. Because of her injury and health problems, she is largely retired from these activities. Alix has "bits and pieces" of everything, which is both exciting and frustrating. She has a lot of force of personality and power. At the same time (and probably as a consequence of her force of personality), her injury often sidelined us. She never quits, but I can’t in good conscience ask her to work when she’s hurting.
I’d heard conflicting reports about Malinois bitches before I got Alix–some said they are the "girlscouts" of the dog world, always tattling on the other dogs, and a bit snobby. Others said they are "bitchy" and work on their own agenda. Neither description fits Alix. I think that she aspires to be a drill sargeant–she’s rather literal, very diligent, and utterly serious when on task. My HUAA girl. Off task she is a cut-up–a little Bart Simpson with a devilish streak of humor.
Special thanks to breeder Augusta Farley for this one out of Aaron v.d. Breuker Heide SchH3 IPO3 FH CGC & Toxic du Colombophile.
