The Black Streak Tira just loved running the NADAC courses this year with their wide open, flowing courses. She had plenty of room to stretch out and really cut loose!	Happiness This is a wonderful shot of Tira. She loves agility more than anything else in the world. The photographer happened to catch her at the start line of one of our runs. Yes, that smile on her face is genuine. She just loves this game!	Bang! Teeter Totters were never a problems for Tira. Stopping at the end of them, however, is another story! Tira simply never does anything slow and the Teeter always goes BANG! when she skid across to the end.	Blast off! As the year went on, Tira and Eric became a better synchronized team. Tira's intensity and focus were initially difficult to handle with all of her speed. But the team has come together and they are running better than ever.	Weave-O-Matic Tira is a weaving machine. Her speed through weave poles rivals the fastest border collies and she only rarely makes a mistake going through the poles. Clicker training paid off as Tira was trained on the weave poles with a clicker.	Grace and Beauty Wherever we travelled across Canada this summer, people always commented on what a beautiful dog Tira is. At the Canadian National Belgian Shepherd Specialty in July 2006, Tira received as many compliments on her looks as she did on her agility skills!

Tira at 2 Years Old - Tira rocks!  Her agility debut last August was impressive as she qualified (Q'ed) in 3 out of 7 runs.  In the 10 trials since then, Tira has racked up an impressive 16 Q's in Agility Association of Canada (AAC) competition and 4 Q's in her one North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC) trial.  She has earned 3 AAC titles - Agility Dog of Canda (ADC), Advanced Agility Dog of Canada (AADC), and Starters Games Dog of Canada (SGDC).  Tira will compete in her first CKC trials in the coming months.  We are currently gearing up for the AAC BC/Yukon Regional Championships where we hope to qualify for this years AAC National Championships being held in August in Vancouver.

The video at the right is from a few of her trials over the past 6 months.
[Goto Tira at 18 Months]

Tira at 18 Months - Tira recently made her Agility debut! 

 Our long planned road trip to the AAC National Championships began on August 11, 2005.  We made our first stop in Edmonton, AB where Tira competed in her first AAC Agility Trial.  Not only did she Qualify ("Q") on three of 7 runs on the  weekend (impressive for a beginner dog) but she also thoroughly charmed and impressed the other competitors including some prominent former AAC Champions!  At the AAC National Championships, we attempted to qualify for Championship competition but fell short of the required points.  Tira did very well for such a young dog and we are very proud of the job she did running Masters level courses for the first time.  We have lots of time to grow and learn in the sport of Agility and most importantly, Tira just loves to play this game!  Here are some photos from our Edmonton agility trial.  [Goto Tira at Nine Months]

Grace in Motion Tira is a naturally graceful dog. Nowhere is this more apparent on the Agility field than the dog walk. Here she is "strutting her stuff" for the crowds.	Athletic Ability Tira just loves to run and jump and play! To her, agility is just one big game and she cannot wait until the next chance to play. She has tremendous drive and desire to work with her handler on course.	Is She Fast? Oh yes, Tira is fast! She is the kind of dog that straightens out curved tunnels as she dashes through. Finishing a course under the required time limit is NEVER a problem for Tira.	Zoom! Tira flies through most agility courses. She is very attentive to her handler but just wants to "go go go" as fast as she can. This makes it challenging for her handler to keep up but, well, I do my best!	Beautiful Too! A petite and very feminine looking Groenendael, Tira can look elegant and beautiful in the most likely places. Here she is pausing for a few seconds on a table in the middle of an agility course. She was going 110 kilometers per hour just a few seconds before this photo!	The Team Tira and Eric have only just begun their agility trialing career. With 3 "Q" ribbons under their belts already, they are looking forward to lots of titles and ribbons in the coming months and years. Both love the training and the playing of this exciting Agility game!

 

Tira at Nine Months - Tira continues to grow more beautiful with every passing week.  She still has a tremendous appetite for both food and play.  She completed her second Agility class just last week and, if you can believe the comments of her classmates, she's the "best in the class!"  Fast and full of drive, Tira continues to be an eager learner and outstanding performer.  Here are some shots of Tira from our trip to Nanaimo last weekend for a NADAC Agility trial where Tira got her first chance to run a "modified for puppies" Tunnelers course...and she ROCKED!  [Goto Tira at Six Months]

The Supermodel As she reaches maturity, Tira is getting that beautiful Belgian face with those "melt-your-heart" almond-shaped brown eyes. She's going to be a very pretty dog!	Getting Big... Tira currently measures 20.5 inches and her coat is starting to fill in nicely. The little white spot on her chest is almost all gone now but her tail is more beautiful than ever.	Always Curious... Never one to sit still for long, Tira likes to know what's going on. She is always looking and listening and paying attention to everyting around her. Fortunately, she is not really a "barky" dog and only sounds off if she is frightened.	Another "Head Shot" Tira is getting quite a portfolio. One of our friends from Agility, Nicki Gurr, was kind enough to take these photos and she really enjoys photographing Tira. Nicki is also one of the few people I've met that consistently photographs Groenendaels very well.	The "Coy" Look The "over-the-shoulder" look was prompted by our Terv "Vince" sniffing something interesting. Tira, of course, thought she might be missing out on something. The result was this very cute photo!	The Whole Family Happy Holidays to all our on-line friends! This is our holiday card photo for this year. Fortunately everyone managed to look good for at least this one shot.

 

Tira at Six Months - Our little girl is growing up and up and up!  The now leggy little Tira continues to enjoy life as a socialite and a student.  She continues to learn excellent manners with both people and other dogs while she is learning lots of other important obedience and agility commands.  Here she is in all her cuteness! [Goto Tira at Four Months]

She's Getting Big Little Tira is growing up fast. At six months she weighed in at just over 13 Kg (29 lbs.) at was just over 18 inches tall at the shoulders! Most of her adult coat is in and she now has all of her permanent teeth. Quite a beauty if I do say so myself!	"Do You Mind?!?" You might wonder how a little dog gets so big so fast. Well, here's the answer. Tira is a little food hound. Meal time is her favorite time of day. We do limit her food to keep her in "Supermodel" shape and she has to work for her dinner too.	Looking Sharp, Tiramisu Tira is doing great in her "Trainng Program." She has a good start on all of the standard Obedience skills like SIT and DOWN and STAY. Her manners are taking a bit longer since she is such an exhuberant puppy but she is doing great in Agility (especially the tunnels!).	Those Long Legs Like most Belgians, Tira is doing the "up-and-out" growing thing. First we see her legs get longer, then she grows into them, the her legs grow longer, then she grows...well, you get it. Here she is in one of her "leggy" phases.	Sammy Skunk Keep Away Sammy Skunk is one of the favorite toys around here. Tira and Vince are enjoying a game of keep away. Of course, playing on the furniture always makes the game more interesting. Tira and Vince play together every day and are now training in Agility together!	Tiramisu, Stealth Dog Tira likes to peek at us over the back of the sofa. Unfortunately, she probably won't be able to get away with being so stealthy in the future. At the rate she is growing, she probably only has 5 more weeks or so before the jig is up!

Tira at Four Months - Our little girl is growing up and up and up!  The now leggy little Tira continues to enjoy life as a socialite and a student.  She continues to learn excellent manners with both people and other dogs while she is learning lots of other important obedience and agility commands.  Here she is in all her cuteness! [Goto Tira's Third Week]

Our Little Poser Well, when you're cute and you know it, why not use it! Our little Tira has become quite a poser everytime the camera comes out. It's hard not to catch her looking adorable.	She's a Supermodel At four months, our Tira is getting quite a set of legs on her. Here she is doing her best impression of a supermodel on a Paris catwalk. Isn't she just "Miss Thing"?!?	Family Snapshot Here's a shot of all three of our Belgians. Vince, the brown guy on the left, is Tira's favorite playmate for a daily game of "Chase." Badger, the black guy on the right, is Tira's favorite chew toy although we are working hard to discourage that behavior!	It's Mr. Tug-man As we are training Tira, we are using play as a positive reinforcer for correct behaviors (alternated with food as a reward). Mr. Tug-man is just her absolute favorite toy. Eric and Tira spend hours tugging and chasing him around the house.	Tira and Zeuss Here is Tira with her cousin Zeuss (see the "K9 Buddies" page here on our site). Tira gets along very well with all of her cousin and friend dogs who are frequent visitors here at the Chateau Belgians.	Good Old Lucky Luc Here is Tira with her "comfort" toy, Lucky Luc. Tira's breeders - Viviane and Mylène were kind enough to put Lucky Luc in the crate with Tira when she first flew out here to us. Tira still plays and sleeps with Lucky Luc every day.

Tira's Third Week - Wow! The time seems to be going by so fast.  Our little girl is growing up and getting taller and cuter by the day.  While we did get in a lot of activities this week, it seems that we never got the camera away from the house.  So all of Tira's outside pictures this week come from out backyard.  She had a terrific week playing and exploring.  [Goto Tira's Second Week]

Tira in the Weeds! Little Tira has certainly made herself at home. Here she is in one of her favorites spots behind the house. She likes to peer down the hill to the left at Vinnie and Badger.	Tira on Safari It's been a little dry here in Victoria this spring and it seems that the sun has shown almost every day since little Tira came to live with us. Here our little girl gives you her best imitation of a wolf in the wild stalking her prey!	Growing Like a Weed Our breeders assured us that little Tira would be "on the small side" but she seems to be growing like a weed. At 14 weeks she is already 16 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds! Still a beauty with lovely long legs and enchanting eyes.	Brother Vince and Tira As you can see, our "cranky" Belgian Vince has really accepted his new little sister Tira. Their daily games of "chase round the table" and "chase round the sofa" bring us lots of giggles and they both love it too!	The Explorers We see great things in the future for these two already. Vince and Tira have been on several outings together and little Tira follows big brother Vinnie where ever he leads. I expect Vince will try to get her into trouble - or maybe it will be the other way around!	My 3 Belgians! Here's a cute photo of Petra in a big "group hug" with her three belgians. That little head there in the middle is Tira saying "hey! I'm in here too!"