Exotic Dog Breed of the Month

This month, I chose to present an exotic dog breed that is not a herding dog. I give to you, the Mi-Ki (pronounced mee-kee)...

I know: how adorable, right? They look just like Gizmo from the movie the Gremlins. I want one but I think my Maltese-Shih Tzu Lucky would kill me. The breed characteristics of these little spuds includes:

The Mi-Ki is being developed in the United States exclusively as a lapdog and a show dog.

This is one of several new American toy dog breeds being created to satisfied the needs of urban apartment dwellers. [So, they're saying Border Collies don't make good apartment dogs?] In this role, one of the Mi-Ki's advantages is that is seldom barks, a major consideration in areas of high-density housing.

In personality, this little dog is said to be sociable, alert, friendly, good-natured, non-aggressive and intelligent. Unlike many small dogs, it is not wary of strangers. It's breeders recommend it as a companion for the elderly or the disabled and state that, for apartment owners, it can be trained to use a litter box like a cat [but, this ain't a cat!]. In height it is 28cm or less. Its weight is 5-8 lbs.

The Mi-Ki is a dog of rather vague origins. It probably began as an accidental cross between two well-established toy dog breeds, such as the Maltese and the Japanese Chin. In appearance it looks remarkably like an intermediate between these two There is no official word on its precise background, other than that the dog 'is thought to be Asian' and can perhaps be traced back to Penang and shares 'common ancestry with the Papillon, the Maltese and the Japanese Chin. Confirmation of the fact that its beginnings are obscure comes from the report that Donna Hall, VP of the Mi-Ki Club of America, has submitted DNA samples fro three of the foundation dogs for lab analysis at universities in Switzerland and New Zealand.

The breed has an apple domed head and a spitz-like tail curled up over its back. The muzzle varies from 1/2 inch to 1.5 inc. Ears may be erect or dropped [like papillons and phalenes]. The coat may be either long, fine, silky and straight, or smooth and lying close to the body. A beard and moustache may be present with the long coat. Dewclaws must be removed for show purposes, the feet must be shaved and in the case of the long-coated variety, the head must also be shaved. All colors are accepted.

This developing breed first appeared in the US in the 1980's and the Mi-Ki club of America was founded in Wisconsin in 1996. It has to be said that some authorities are highly critical of this breed - one going as far as saying it's not a breed at all. In AKC publications [who cares though] there has never been any mention of a breed called Mi-Ki. It remains to be seen whether it will manage to establish itself in the future.

So there you have it; my next lap dog. Holy smokes these are C U T E little spuds.

Mattie and Tam

Take one Mattie...

Add one Tam...

And you get totally adorable doggie friends!

Tam is Diane Pagel's (my herding teacher) newest addition. He comes from the mid-west. He's about 7 months old and he's totally adorable. He's staying with me for a week to learn some house manners and some basic obedience. Plus, I LOVE having a friend for Mattie that she can play with. It just so happens that Scott and Lucky are grumpy old farts and do not appreciate getting gnawed on or tackled, but Tam LOVES it! See video below of one of the many sessions Mattie and Tam have had in the family room...

Tam has gained a few nicknames since staying with us, including: Tam Tam, Tambourine, Tamarind Tree, and Tammee. Jerill of course has his names as well but those aren't really appropriate to share at this time! Perhaps Diane will let me run Tam next year in Novice and Ranch??? We will see!

Chickens and Sheep and Goat, oh my!

Last Thursday Jerill and I went to the Evergreen State Fair. It's in Monroe, WA and although it is not as grand as the Puyallup Fair, it meets our needs - it has animals, bratwurst dogs and elephant ears.

Next Spring, after the fence around the back-acre is complete, I have been promised chickens. Although I will be building a chicken coop myself, to my specifications, I am planning on getting chickens more for show and cuteness than for eggs, although the eggs are a bonus. Not that I intend to actually do chicken-showing or use their fancy feather for tying fishing flies, I just like having them around and I think Scott will enjoy it. Scott will actually have to enjoy them as it's very unlikely we'll get ducks since they require so much more work (but, I'm easily convinced too so we'll see how the chickens go and then consider ducks later on). At the fair, they had plenty of fancy chickens on display. We photographed our favorite breeds.

Ameraucanas Blue Wheaten

Black Cochin. Beautiful bird here actually won the Best English Breed ribbon

Cochins Mottled

Leghorn Single Comb White. Okay, if I am allowed to get a rooster, it will be a traditional, Kellogg's Corn Flakes rooster like this one. I LOVE him.

Pymouth Rocks Barred Cockerel

My ultmate favorite, the Silkies Beard White. They also come in tan and black and B&W too I think.

Sussex Speckled

Wyandottes Golden Laced. These also come as a Silver Laced variety, in grey.

We fell in love with this friendly Angora Goat. Such a cutie pie. Jerill was smitten by its persistence to be petted on the nose (and that crazy head of hair it has!)

Okay, various people have told me to not get a bunny because the predators will eat it eventually and I'll be sad. HOWEVER: if I were getting a bunny, it would be an English Angora Rabbit like this. I mean, seriously, those ears and that face?!? It's like a bunny-version of mattie. Grey, fuzzy wuzzy that I just want to squeeze and dote on.


If you think skiing or golf are expensive hobbies, have you ever thought how much dough must go into horse and buggy showing? Sheesh! Gorgeous horses and tack though.

After the fair, Jerill and I stopped by Diane's farm in Carnation. I had left Scotty in her barn while were at the fair. We had a herding-date with Scott and Roo that evening. Diane is preparing Roo for the Nationals coming up in a few weeks and I was trying to work on Scotty's outwork more. So, what we do is stand at opposite ends of a huge pasture field - about 600 yards apart, and then send our dogs and watch them lift the sheep from each other . We have walkie-talkies and can tell each other what is going on with our respective pooches. This particular session went extremely well for both our dogs.

To prepare for these sessions, we have to sort out 5 sheep to use, from a flock of 20 or so sheep. The sheep know why we're there so they are more than eager to run away. This is when a dog comes in handy!

Open the gate slowly. Call dog to 'walk up' so that sheep start to move through the gate.

Here they come! Close the gate! Close the gate! Scottie "LIE DOWN!"

Darn; got more than 5. You can see Scott coming through the gate. He then was asked to bring those 7 sheep back to me so I could push the ram and ewe #1 (Callie the Sheep) back through since we don't want to work those two.

You know you are from Washington when...

I got this list from a group on Facebook. Thought it would be a nice filler to the blog this week... I've added in my own "yes" and "no" for everything that I do actually do!

You know you are from Washington when...

1. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw and Issaquah. (yes)
2. You consider swimming an indoor sport. (no)
3. You keep snow chains in your trunk but they've never been used. (yes)
4. You see a person carrying an umbrella and know they must be a tourist. (no)
5. Eating seafood isn't anything special. (yes)
6. Your lawn is mostly moss and you don't really care. (yes)
7. Your daily commute to work involves riding a ferry. (no but it does involve a bridge that floats)
8. You know the difference between "showers followed by rain" and "rain followed by showers". (yes)
9. The sight of Mt. Rainier is still awe inspiring. (yes)
10. You're extremely picky about your coffee. (yes)
11. You yell at the TV if they pronounce the name of a city wrong or make an inaccurate Seattle reference on "Frasier" or "Grey's Anatomy." (yes)
12. You rarely wash your car because it's just going to get muddy again tomorrow. (yes, did this today in fact!)
13. You wouldn't dream of putting an air conditioner in your house. (yes)
14. You go to Eastern Washington to get some sun. (yes; wine country!)
15. You can drive from your home to a lake, a river or the Puget Sound in 20 minutes or less. (yes)
16. You've seen or know someone who has seen Bigfoot. (yes)
17. You remember where you were on May 18th, 1980. (yes)
18. You get a terrible sunburn on the first really nice day of summer. (yes)
19. You look forward to SeaFair and all its related activities. (no)
20. You take a heavy coat and a hat with you for a day at the beach. (yes - Long Beach, WA!)
21. You have learned to assume Christmas will be rainy, not white. (yes)
22. You've owned the same bathing suit for years because you never have a chance to wear it out. (yes)
23. You still can't believe the new Seahawks stadium is open air. (yes)
24. Your phone book contains a tide table. (yes)
25. You only visit the Space Needle if you need someplace to take out of town guests. (yes)
26. You or someone you know works at Boeing or Microsoft. (yes, many)
27. You "Do The Puyallup" every year. (no - we do Evergreen though)
28. You feel guilty throwing something away that could be recycled. (yes)
29. You use the word "sunbreak" and know what it means. (yes)
30. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee. (yes)
31. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners. (yes)
32. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon. (yes)
33. You never go camping without water proof matches and a poncho. (yes)
34. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation. (yes)
35. You can point to at least 2 volcanoes even if you can't actually see them through the cloud cover. (yes)
36. You wear shorts when the temperature gets above 50 but still wear your hiking boots and parka. (no)
37. You switch to your sandals at about 60 degrees but keep your socks on. (no)
38. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain. (yes)
39. You buy new sunglasses every year because you've lost last years pair after such a long time not needing them. (no)
40. You measure distance in hours. (yes)
41. You often switch from heat to a/c in your car in the same day. (yes)
42. You use a down comforter in the summer. (yes)
43. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them. (yes, yes I know how to use them too!)
44. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. (I would if I had kids)
45. You choose your vacation spot according to the best latte stands. (no)
46. You purchase a new car and the 'Northwest Package' includes a built in umbrella holder. (no)
47. Your children don't get chicken pox; they get 'rust spots' instead. (no)
48. When you think 'big hair', you think of Kent. (yes, and Lynnwood)
49. You can't make it two blocks without seeing a Starbucks. (yes)
50. When you hear people from Eastern WA say they're going to the coast, you assume they mean Ocean Shores. (yes)
51. You make reference to the new neighborhood going up down the street and people have to ask, "Which one?" (yes)
52. You can't believe that people in Spokane actually have yellow grass in the winter and green grass in the summer. (huh, never noticed!)
53. You know how to pronounce geoduck and know that it doesn't quack or have feathers. (yes)
54. You expect snow for Valentine's Day, not Christmas. (yes)
55. You get upset when a store doesn't carry your favorite brand of bottled water. (no)
56. You can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai food. (yes)
57. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Tully's. (yes)
58. It's not a real mountain unless it has snow and has erupted within the last 200 years. (yes)
59. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark even though you only have an 8 hour workday. (yes)
60. You've ever stood alone on a deserted street corner in the rain. (yes)
61. You can tell its summer because the rain is warmer. (yes)
62. You know what a Frango is. (yes)
63. You think the "Middle East" is Ellensburg and the "Far East" is Spokane. (no)
64. You realize no education is required to be a weatherman. Just predict, "Partly cloudy with a chance of rain." (yes)
65. You have an earthquake story, and so does everyone else you know. (yes)
66. You can identify seven different types of rain. (yes)
67. You can identify five different cities by smell alone. (yes, well, definitely three - Tacoma, Tukwila, Enumclaw)
68. You thing espresso was invented in Seattle, along with Starbucks. (no)
69. You know what 'Sodo Mojo' is. (yes)
70. You can turn in any direction and be within a stones throw of an Indian-run casino. (yes)
71. You think summer starts in July and winter in September. (yes)
72. It's not a real windstorm until your lawn ornaments blow away. (yes)
73. You know exactly where Tom Hank's boathouse was in "Sleepless In Seattle".(yes)
74. You know who J.P. Patches is. (yes)
75. At least one of your neighbors has a hot tub they haven't used in over a year. (likely)
76. You know who really 'let the dogs out'. (no)
77. You become frightened by the bright yellow orb in the sky until the 9-1-1 operator tells you it's just the sun. (no)
78. You've used every setting on your intermittent wipers. (yes)
79. You know you better enjoy the snow the first day it falls before the rain washes it away. (yes)
80. You marvel when the autumn leaves stay on the trees for more than three days before the rain knocks them to the ground. (yes)
81. You can't imagine living through a tornado or hurricane but you secretly think earthquakes are kind of fun. (yes)
82. You give directions using the Puget Sound and Cascade mountains as points of reference. (yes)
83. You lose your sense of direction if you go east of the Cascade mountains. (no)
84. You know at least 5 different ways to kill slugs. (yes)
85. You know at least 10 different recipes that call for blackberries. (yes)
86. You are not sure of the color of your house because of all of the rhododendron bushes planted in front of it. (yes)
87. You know the difference between a rhododendron and an azalea. (yes)
88. You know what a Dick's Deluxe is. (Yes)
89. You or your family member live "in the woods". (yes)
90. You can endure 100 days of rain and wind but an inch of snow means school cancellations. (yes)
91. You consider an antique anything mad before 1970. (yes)
92. You know someone whose house has been partially crushed by a tree. (yes)
93. You know the difference between an evergreen and a deciduous tree. (yes)
94. You don't know what a turnpike is and have never paid a toll to drive over a bridge. [[UNTIL THE STUPID NARROWS BRIDGE. Gig Harborians=Angry. :] ]] (yes)
95. You own a barbeque that has rusted. (yes)
96. You change your wiper blades more often than your oil. (no)
97. Your idea of dancing is nodding your head vigorously. (no)
98. You use your defogger and your AC at the same time. (yes)
99. You don't own anything made of wool. (no)
100. When someone honks at you, you think they are trying to say "hi". (no)
101. You get a least 5 e-mails a week from friends asking you to come see their band. (not 5)
102. You know what a 9-inning lunch is. (no)
103. You think you're working late if you stay past 3 pm. (yes)
104. You have more unemployed friends than friends who have jobs. (no)
105. You prefer one mountain range to the other. (yes)
106. You know the state flower (Mildew). (yes ;) )