MACH Wingssong The Seventh Samurai MXB MJS OF T2B
Oct. 25, 2014
Samurai was named in honor of my Japanese aunt, Chieko, who
passed away shortly before we adopted Samurai. His registered name was taken
from the classic Japanese movie, “Seven
Samurai”.
Samurai, who was a troubled, reactive puppy, was named after
the movie’s character, Kikuchiyo.
Kikuchiyo, the seventh samurai, was a brash, silly farmer.
He only pretended to be a samurai, but in the end, he became a hero. We gave
Samurai this name in hopes that he would someday find his way from being a
crazy puppy to being a good dog.
It was a very long journey. Samurai’s reactivity made it
difficult for him to go to classes. I trained him mostly alone and then added
classes as a distraction. From the beginning, I didn’t dare hope that he would
ever be able to go into the ring. Later, my highest goal for him was an Open
agility title. Even earlier this year, I thought he might not ever have enough
focus to have consistent weave poles.
Then, we nearly lost him summer before last due to chronic
digestive problems that made it a constant battle to keep weight on his skinny
frame. After being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disorder, we changed him to a
raw diet supported by Chinese herbs. Samurai gained weight and became stronger.
His tummy no longer hurt as much, so his attitude improved, too.
We are very proud of our brave little Samurai and look
forward to many adventures to come.
