Hey we are Lisbeth and Leo!

We are two Parson Russel Terriers, brother and sister, and only 4 1/2 months old. We are living with our mum and dad in Germany, but had the pleasure to visit Luxembourg not so long ago.

But first more about us. As mentioned above, we are brother and sister, born in the in the beautiful "Rureifel" region with loads of nature around us. The place where we were born into is run by a very nice woman with around about 25 years of Parson Russel Terrier breeding experience. So we can say with certainty that during the first 10 weeks of our life everything was running according to plan.

Ha!, .... now you might expect that thereafter it didn't .... but hélàs we have to disappoint you! When we were 10 weeks old we met our parents and we were fortunate to move into their home the same day. At that time my mum and dad were still a bit sad. They had lost their four-legged companion Gladdys just four months earlier, which left an empty space in their hearts. Though "empty" might not the right word. We are certainly no experts of the human heart, but we heard at one stage in our young life another theory which we liked a lot and would like to share with you ... and so she said: "If you love someone (being it human or animal), I believe that, the loved one takes a distinct space in your heart. In fact somehow the loved one becomes a part of your heart, a part of you. Life and death go hand in hand; one cannot be without the other. So there comes a time in life, for some earlier for some later, that the loved one might go, whereas you are left behind. So what happens to your heart or the distinct space the loved one filled? Well this space remains as long as you remain. It is filled with memories and moments you had together. And this is a good thing and it should make you happy! Because like this, though your loved one's body might be gone, s/he will never be lost to you."

We sure want to take such space in our parent's heart. Well in fact we are pretty certain that we already fill such space in our parent's heart. They told us once that they fell in love with Lisbeth from the first video they saw of her and with Leo the instant our dad was holding him in his arms during their first visit when we were six weeks old. Yet most importantly they show their love for us every day. Of course they are parents and sometimes they can be annoyingly strict, but then again we are young and there is still much to learn. To us, our parents are the best!

So finally our story is not so much about our stay in Luxembourg, although we really liked the place. We went to cafés and restaurants with our parents and discovered the routines in a hotel. Here we certainly behaved well, but we have to admit that it was with great effort. You should know that our dad is secretly called Mr Trouble and his genes cannot be ignored. But what would be life without a bit of fun! Overall our stay was a success and we surely will be back!

I am Loony - the horseman or better horsedog. Well, in fact my mum is the horsewoman and I am her loyal companion.

Almost 10 years ago, my mum rescued me from a French refuge called SPA (Société Protectrice des Animaux). Then I was around two years old. If you calculated right you will find that I am proud 12 years old. What I am in terms of breed? Nobody knows exactly, but I could be a Border Collie x Setter Mix.

There is not much known about my first two years and in any case this is so long ago. What is more important, I spent most of my life with mum and I have to say I am awfully proud of her. Why that? Let me tell you a bit about her before I tell you about the places we lived and our travels. So, my mum is a horsewoman! She has been working with horses almost her entire life. Her work covers everything around the stables, starting from keeping the stables in good shape, grooming the horses, riding horses, preparing the horses for shows and educating the horses but also the riders. She knows very well what she is talking about when it comes to horses. In fact as she is nowadays in addition working with dogs she knows also very well what she is talking about when it comes to dogs.

But now back to me or better us. As mentioned before I am my mum's loyal companion, hence where ever she goes I follow and we moved quite a lot. We started out in the South of France in Chantilly after my mum rescued me. Not long after we moved to the Netherlands where we lived for two years. During our stay in the Netherlands we cycled a lot around to discover the country. Well to be more concrete I was sitting in the dog-kart behind the bicycle and my mum pedaled.

After our two year's stay in the Netherlands we moved to the UK where we stayed another two years. And of course during all this time my mum was working with the horses. This of course means that my daily routine looked a bit different from city dog routines. I woke up in the morning and got ready for my day, waiting patiently for my mum to get ready too. Once we were at the stables, my mum started her work in the stables whereas I was free to room around. Sometimes I liked just to watch her and at other times I joined my canine friends to play, run around or just hang out. There are always dogs around stables which is great. Once the work day was over, we went back home and both tired and satisfied of our day's work.

Two years ago we moved then to Luxembourg. My mum was asked by a couple of riders if she would like to join them in Luxembourg and work for them as showgroomer. As a showgroomer you travel, I can tell you that. Just to name some places, we went to Spain, Slovakia and even Hungary. We did thousands of kilometers over the years and mostly by car, horse truck and trailer. I even crossed the channel with a boat and by train. So I guess you can say that I am an experienced traveler.

As mentioned before, nowadays my mum is also working with dogs, which means that we spend less time at the stables during the weekdays. But of course we are still spending time there and are traveling to shows at the weekends. And if there is a need we are also at the stables early in the mornings or later in the evenings. I have to say I wouldn't like to miss it a bit.

Hey, nice to meet you - I am King! Well, currently I am age-wise still a prince, but give me a few months and I will be King! As you can see from my pic, I am a beautiful, gentle Border Collie and 7 months old.

Up to now I have been very fortunate; in fact I wished that every dog would be as fortunate as I am. I was born in Belgium where I lived on a farm with my mum, 8 other siblings, a bunch of other dogs, horses and a cat. My siblings and I had a lot of fun during this time.

When I was ten weeks old I moved in with my new family. In fact all my siblings had already left and I was the last one remaining. So I was quite happy when my new mum picked me up and I could start a new life. I guess there comes a point in time for every dog when they want to learn new things and explore the world. And the best is when you have then someone at your side, someone who explores the world with you, but also someone who guides and protects you.

So now I am living with my mum, dad and their smaller humans (they call them kids) in a nice house in the country side. I really like it there and the family life suits me very well. As said before I am very gentle and like to please my parents. There are only a few things which make me forget that my mum is around and this is for example the house cat. Though I lived with a cat before we are not really getting along. I guess my Border Collie genes are always pushing me to chase her which she doesn't like too much. Talking about the matter of chasing, well there are in fact a number of things which let me forget my surroundings. For example cars; cars are great to chase and birds and.... well I pretty like everything which moves fast. Yeah I know chasing fast moving objects or animals can be dangerous and is not such a good behaviour. So I am now learning to hold back and just letting things pass by. How we do this? Well in fact I am paying more attention to my mum and in situations where I usually would loose my head, she makes me understand that I should hold back and not follow my first impulse. I am still allowed to watch though. Of course this requires some training, but actually it is working very well and it feels good when my mum is proud of me.

Apart from that I really like to cuddle, play and run around with my canine friends including my biological mum which I see on a regular basis. And you know what? I am really looking forward to spring time and summer, when the weather is nicer and I can spend even more time outside.

Hey, I am Nala, a 5 months old American Bulldog Mix. Well being a "Mix" one could think that I was an "accident". But honestly can such a cute face be an accident? Certainly NOT!

When I was 2 months old I moved in with my mum, where I have been living now for the past 3 months. I am quite a handful and I think my mum had at first some difficulties in getting a grip on me, especially as I really like to chew on everything including her hands. I also do not understand the purpose of a leash. These things are just hindering me from bulldozing around. OK I am not so much a bulldozer but rather a high speed headless runner - or I would be if there wasn't this leash, which is holding me back.

Am I lucky that my mum is so patient and lately I am starting to listen. I still need something to chew on, my jaw hurts with my new teeth growing and I certainly also need my spurts from time to time. But I am learning now also to relax and be more quiet. And there still are so many other things I need to learn. But with my mum I am sure that I am on the good path!

And last Sunday I had real fun! I met a fully grown true American Bulldog. Wow, could she run! I always thought that I was fast, but NO. I ran, ran, ran and ran after her until I stopped because no matter how fast I ran she was faster. But she was really nice. Once she noticed that I stopped she came back and rolled herself in front of me so that I could finally jump on her and play. She only showed me once (with a growl) that I should better behave. That was when I thought that some of the cheese treats were still stuck in her mouth and that I could fish it out from there. I guess that was not so polite and I didn't dare to try it again. Luckily she didn't take it in a bad way and thereafter we continued to play for a short while. On the way back to my house I almost fell asleep sitting in the car and thought what a great day!

I am Jolie a 5 year old Labrador.

On my part I can say that I am overall a very fortunate dog. Why that? Well during my entire life I have been wanted and loved. When I was still living with my biological mum, my mum and her human helper (some call these helpers breeders) took very good care of me and my siblings. In fact the human helper is still in contact with my human mum and she is always keen to know how I am doing. I left their house when I was 8 weeks old and moved in with my mum and dad.

From the start they took real good care of me. They provided me with the right and healthy social contacts and I was introduced to all different sorts of environments. In order to give me some more structure and get a grip on my high energy level (you know that I am a Labrador), I also participated in obedience courses. Well the trainer were still sort of old-fashioned and it was not always fun. In fact my mum says if she could start with me again we certainly would not participate in such courses. But in any case a lot has changed since then and it has been a long time ago.

Nowadays we actually have fun in an activity we both participate, which is the "Mantrailing" and lately even "Dogtrailing". During this activity I am following the scent of either a specific human or a specific dog who is "lost" until I find the human or dog. My mum has to be super concentrated as she has to read my body language and has to understand what I want to tell her and where she has to go. I am in the lead and she is basically following wherever I go. It seems that I am pretty good in that and in addition I enjoy it very much.

Hey, I am Luther, a beautiful 2 1/2 year old Rottweiler.

I am indeed Mister Security, and will tell you more about it in a few moments. My life started as a well-cared-for puppy at a breeder's kennel. When I was 8 weeks old I moved to my first family. My hopes were high, but unfortunately, this was not a very good experience. At this place I was mostly kept in isolation and the humans there mistreated me. Surely, this family did not know how to handle me, which was the reason why the breeder intervened. At this stage, I was 8 months old. In fact, the kennel contacted my dad, whom they know since a long time and asked him if he would like to have a look and meet me. You know my dad is a dog handler working in the security domain and has a lot of experience.

Once my dad saw me he did not hesitate a bit and immediately took me in, which was my lucky moment. I joined my new family and met with my new sister and older brother; both are beautiful Rottweilers too.

As said, at that sage I was 8 months old. During the first period my dad gave me time to arrive and to catch up on some basics - you know getting to know different environments, situations, people, noises,... well essentially catching up on things which I missed out on before.

Finally when I was 18 months old, my security apprenticeship started. The 3-week basic training encompasses different aspects including obedience, agility and protection work - with the protection work split in two parts. During the first part, I learnt how to really use my teeth and bite the assailant. Of course during the training, the alleged assailant is well protected and nobody gets hurt. During the second part, I learnt to attack the assailant wearing a special muzzle with the aim to stun the person in such a way that s/he cannot attack anymore. In French this is called: "La Frappe Muselée". The three week basic training was pretty intense and of course, through I am already in the field I am continuously learning and training.

Now you most probably wonder if while being in the field my skills were ever needed? Well YES!

One evening, when my dad and I were on our guarding' duty a very aggressive man approached my dad. The intention of the man was clearly to hurt my dad in which instance I used the "Frappe Muselée". Of course, I surely did not decide that move on my own; I always work in close cooperation with my dad and follow his command. In any case, due to my brave intervention the man was stunned and did not dare to move until the police arrived who took him away. My dad was very proud of me!

This is how my working life looks like!

When I am off duty I love to hang out with my family. At home I am huge cuddle bear! I also enjoy going for walk and to chill out and relax.

I am Boone.

Before I tell you more about myself I want to share with you a funny thing: The photographer had problems to get a good shot of my face because I am of an admirable size. So now you see only part of it. Well in her defense, she is not very experienced yet so maybe over time she will improve.

Back to me:

I am 7 year Old English Mastiff and weigh the considerable weight of 72 kg. I have been living with my parents and my little sister since almost a year. Before that I spent six months in an animal shelter.

When I came to live with my mum and dad I was severely underweight. But in light of my strongest passion which is FOOD, I caught up rather quickly. It also seems that I looked rather sad when I arrived in my new house. Well I guess I was sad at the time. Though in the animal shelter they were trying their best to look after me, it still is a shelter and I was missing my family. In addition my muscles were weakened and overall I was not the strongest. But with the love and care of my mum and dad I recovered nicely. And now I even got a winter coat to keep me warm and healthy during our walks in the cold.

Looking back I am very fortunate that I found my parents and both of them are really proud of me. It seems that I am doing everything right and I always behave at my best. I guess it is just in my nature; truly I could not hurt a fly. And I made a recent discovery! Can you imagine - playtime is fun! I had forgotten about that and am glad that Zola, my little sister, reminded me of that.

Hey! I am Zola.

As you can see I am a beautiful Boxer in my best years - 4 to be exact.

Before my parents adopted me I was living in a different house with another family. Unfortunately they underestimated the time they would need to allow me a balanced life so that I ended up spending too much time alone.

Being too many hours on your own (especially as a puppy) does not really help to become fully clean and house-trained. Much to my regret I had also developed a habit to destroy things - in my defense: who would not do the same as a puppy and with nothing else to do.

Anyhow, that was the moment when this family came to the conclusion that it was not really working out between us and they decided to give me up for adoption. I was then 8 months old.

Luckily this was also the moment I found my parents and a new life began. Funny enough when I moved in with my parents I did not pee once in their house, though there still was the issue of gnawing things to pieces. But my mum and dad patiently taught me not to destroy things when I am on my own. In fact I learnt what it means to spend quality time with humans, going for walks, playing, some discipline though and lots of cuddles. The precious time with my mum and dad in return helped me to let go and to stay relaxed also during times when they are not present. I stopped the unwanted behaviour of destroying things. Nowadays when my parents are out I use this time to take a nap.

And then there is Boone, my huge brother, who came to live with us a year ago. He is more of the relaxed type; secretly I call him Mister Chill. With him around I always have company and I can follow his example as regards the chilling! Well almost follow his example ... My mum always says that I am an energy bundle. I guess she is somehow right and I am the living proof that canine dynamos exist! But what is more fun than running and jumping around? I also have a passion for fast moving objects; they are soooo tempting to chase. But lately I am learning how to better control myself and stay with my mum and dad instead of running of. This makes our walks much more fun and they are rewarding me for my good behaviour. My mum always says that I am the dog she always wished for, which makes me really proud and happy. My mum is the best!

My name is Bayleigh. I am a Herding Dog Mix, but to be honest I very much look like a Sarplaninac don't you agree? Well my mother was one and I definitely come after her.

I am 1.5 years old and am living since a few months with my parents. I did not have the best start in my life. As puppy I escaped being put down and was rescued by a shelter in Slovenia as were my 3 sisters. We were all four very sick and rather weak. Two of my siblings died.

When I was strong enough I was brought to the "Shiloh Ranch" a Croatian rescue shelter, where they took really good care of me. They also found my parents.

Now I am living with my mum and dad in a village. With Campino (number 1) and Lotta (number 2) I am proudly part of the "Chaos Crew" as number 3. I haven't been living with them for a long time and I think with my arrival the balance was lost. However we are all working hard to re-establish it. My mum and dad are taking really good care of me and showing me how I best fit in. Right now I am learning to respect the limits my mum and dad are setting. At first I was not too happy about this new concept, but in return they are maintaining the peace and harmony at home. This allows me to completely arrive, settle down and since then I can relax. It feels like everything starts to fall into place and I am even able to learn new things. For example I had sort of difficulties to lay down when my parents asked me to do so. I just couldn't do it. But today for the first time I could let go and lay down. Of course I am not a German Shepherd and I still don't really understand the purpose of the exercise, but as long as my parents are happy and I get some treats life is good!!!

My name is Campino, the "Chaos Crew's" number 1.

I am a Border Collie and 6 years old. Most of my life I spent with my parents; in fact I came to live with them when I was 9 weeks old. Before that I had a great time with my real mum and siblings and got to know other dogs and human beings (including the very small ones).

Since I arrived in my parents home, they took and are still taking very good care of me. I participated in various dog group trainings when I was little and later on I was allowed to start with my passion the "Mantrailing".

I am living with my mum and dad in a small village. With Lotta and Bayleigh I am proudly part of the "Chaos Crew", how my mother likes to call us. Well in a way we are just that! With Bayleigh's arrival we lost a bit our structure and balance. Due to that we are keeping our parents quite busy. As I am the "Chaos Crew's" number 1, I thought it was up to me to keep everybody in check including Bayleigh. But my mum showed me lately that I don't have to use my teeth on Bayleigh but that she (my mum) resolves conflicts and maintains the peace. I personally like this new way of living together especially as overall I like our "baby bear" and life is much better living in harmony than under tension. Hence we are moving into the right direction.

I am Lotta, "Chaos Crew's" number 2.

Before I tell you more about me I need to put the record straight: Though I surely am a princess I am far from LITTLE!!!

But now more about me. I am a 4 year old Terrier Mix originally from France. I do not remember anything of my real mum and also the humans who gave me up for adoption are not memorable. In any case I was put up for adoption when I was only 6 weeks old. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I am sick and need medication. I am suffering from epilepsy and during my first seizure I almost died. Luckily since then I am stable with the right medication and the care of my parents.

I am living with my mum and dad in a small village and am proudly part of the "Chaos Crew", with Campino and Bayleigh. The three of us are keeping my mum and dad busy. We are quite different from each other in almost every way: appearance, character, temperament. This also means that we know how to push our parents buttons from different angles.

Bayleigh only came to live with us in March and we are still trying to find our balance. In addition we have a new trainer or better my parents have a new trainer - I don't really need training you know - which at times is really annoying. We are supposed to respect each other, which includes that I shouldn't attack Bayleigh anymore. Hey, I am the second in command in the house so I should be allowed to show my teeth from time to time don't you agree? AND, I am sure that I am able to put Bayleigh in place (she is only 10x bigger and heavier than me - so easy peasy). But hélàs, now my parents are in charge!

Well I have to admit (not to them of course - I still have to show some resistance), I feel somehow better with more structure in the house and it is a good thing to have parents you can rely on!

I am Lana, a 1 year old German Shepherd.

I did not have the best start in my life, but am lucky that I found my mum and dad.

My first weeks in my life are a bit fuzzy and I cannot remember much.

The first five months were rather sad from what I can remember. My previous owners did not really know how to handle me, so I ended up in their basement. Only from time to time I was allowed to come out, but mainly to serve as a punching ball for the small kid living in the house. When my parents arrived I could hardly walk as my muscles were weakened. I was literally crawling over the floor to meet them.

Since then:

I was lucky that my mum and dad decided that they wanted to take me home and a new chapter began. However, my past did not leave me unaffected; I am easily overwhelmed and

overexcited. As a result I do not always behave at my best. For example when someone is coming to the house it can happen that I hold the persons arm with my snout. I always realise it and do not leave any marks, but I know it is not polite. Sometimes it feels that I cannot stop barking at raindrops, the neighbour's cat, a bird which passes the window. And then cars! What can I say, as soon as I see one I feel the urge to jump into it. My mum and dad have real difficulties to hold me at these moments. Sometimes I wonder what happened during the first months in my life that I am so frantic and cannot control myself.

But with the efforts and love from my mum and dad things are improving. For example I am recently starting to enjoy being touched by my mum and dad, I manage to calm down quicker after being overexcited, I can let go and relax for brief moments which I show with deep exhales and sighs. I know it is still a long way until I reach my balance, but every day I take a little step in the right direction ...

I am so glad that I found my mum and dad. They are helping me to work on my issues and despite my flaws they love me very much.

My name is Jules. I am an American Bulldog, 5 years old and living with my mum and sister in Luxembourg City.

Of course my mum is not my real mum - she is human; and my sister is not my real sister - she has different parents. But we are family! My mum is doing her best to look after me.

I have to be a bit careful what I am saying, because she is the one writing down what I am saying, but then again she promised to be honest and just write whatever I am saying. Just to give you a hint, she can be quite annoying.

Overall however I have to admit that I have been really lucky in my life. The first nine weeks in my life I spent with my real mum and my first human mum in a very nice house with a huge garden, kids and loads of other dogs in Germany. My first human mum (she is still somehow my mum) took very well care of me and I love her to bits. When I see her, which does not happen too often, I cannot stop slobbering her face. We have a special connection. Then I moved in with my new human mum and her son. I was first sort of overwhelmed, coming from a village and quiet surrounding and moving into a city with busses, cars, lots of people, lots of other dogs, different smells, different noises.

But I got used to my new surroundings and I think that I am a rather balanced dog. Sometimes a bit too energetic though; I cannot stop jumping and running. But these are just short moments. For the rest of the time I enjoy sleeping, relaxing, being cuddled and occasionally I am allowed to help my mum when training with other dogs. I know she is very proud of me because I am always behaving at my best!

Life is good!!!