Elphaba-Elphie

Cherished It's Not Easy Being Green of Twinpine CDX, BN, AX, AXJ, DD, WWD, VGSX

Elphie's Pedigree

Elphie's health clearances:

·         Hips – Excellent

·         Elbows – Normal

·         Shoulders - Normal

“Elphaba” was whelped March 20, 2012, one of 10 puppies in the Jethro x Betty litter. The theme of the litter was fairy tales. Steve loved the book Wicked, based on the classic fairy tale The Wizard of Oz. He named me after his favorite character Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked, and because her skin color is green, he decided her registered name would be Cherished It’s Not Easy Being Green of TwinPine. She answers to “Elphie.”

As Elphie is a Jethro daughter, she is a natural addition to our family. We are thrilled that the entire litter (5 boys and 5 girls) turned out so nicely – structurally and temperamentally. Betty produced confident puppies!

We are fortunate to have a puppy from this litter, as Kim Woollard is a breeder who takes excellent care of her dogs and raising her puppies. She socializes them in a variety of ways, so that by the time the puppy is ready to go to its forever home, the new owner is welcoming a well-adjusted new member into the family.

Elphie was selected from the litter based on the potential for correct structure and conformation, as well as performance aptitude, which she showed at the tender young age of eight weeks

She quickly adapted to the pack at the Likevich household. The first evening she came home, she walked right across the threshold without hesitating. She is full of energy, and can go and go for several hours before settling down for a short nap. Then, she is ready to go again.

Bee, our female Golden, took an instant liking to Elphie. She thinks she is Elphie’s mother, and has been a tremendous help in showing Elphie the pack ‘ropes’ and keeping her puppy shenanigans in line. Our male Swissies, Walt (now deceased) and daddy Jethro, were less inclined to embrace Elphie right away, but they eventually accepted her as part of the family and are very tolerant of her antics and high energy.

Planning to show Elphie in a number of venues, we starting her training early. As obedience is the cornerstone of all canine performance events, Elphie and Steve attended Cleveland All Breed Training Club’s puppy and socialization classes. Then at the age of four months, Elphie and Steve enrolled at Linda MacDonald’s HY-BAR Training facility, where they’ve been training in obedience ever since.

Taking advantage of her amazing energy, we also exposed Elphie to many of the non-impact aspects of agility at an early age, gradually introducing her to jumps once her growth plates closed.

Thus far in her early career, Elphie has more than fulfilled her performance potential:

·         In obedience she attained her Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title at the age of two and is currently prepearing to compete in the Utility Class level.

·         She attained both her Novice Draft Dog and Draft Dog titles in one weekend of back-to-back draft tests just a couple of weeks following her 2nd birthday.

·         In agility, she completed both her Excellent titles in a very short time period.  and is currently competing in the Masters class.

·         All this resulted in her being one of the youngest Swissies to attain the Versatility Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (VGSX) title – well under the age of three.

Elphie’s personality is blessed with a drive to work and perform blended with a sweetness that shows itself in her love for her family and her pack.  Her temperament is not dominant, as she is more of a follower of her Golden Retriever “mom,” Bee and her sire, Jethro.  Elphie gets along well with dogs outside of her pack, too.   A very biddable girl, she is ready to “go” at a moment’s notice, eager to engage, seeking approval.  Elphie has a robust comical streak, and she is always happy.  In fact, our nickname for her is “Joyful.”   She certainly has brought a lot of joy into our lives.