Risa

Risa

Our journey with our dogs has developed through the years. When we adopted our first shelter dog, we never imagined that one day we would be preservation breeders. It is a lot of hard work with extreme highs and lows. We consider each litter a privilege to embrace with great reverence. We have evolved and we continue to learn and grow through our experiences, education, love and passion for the Entlebucher Mountain Dog breed.

Embarking on this mission, we made the decision with any litters to combine both U.S. and Swiss traditions for our Excel-Ent's family of entlebuchers. In regards to all naming; our kennel name comes first, then each litter's AKC registered name continues alphabetically sequential. We believe everything we had done up to this point in connection with our dogs, had led us to this place where we had been blessed with our first litter. It felt optimistic, meaningful and poetic for our own A-Litter girl's registered name to begin ~ Excel-Ent's Arriving At...

Of course our fun, A-Litter (Jaylah x Data) theme had to be Star Trek: The Next Generation!

We planned to keep a puppy and if it worked out, we liked the idea of another natural bob tail (two girls had NBT). We took advantage of the resources and tools available for structure and temperament testing to evaluate the merits of the litter. I could say we kept an open mind or that it was a tough decision... But, from the day they were born, one lil' hooligan chose us and we were powerless against her charms. She was given a purple collar (my favorite color) and the litter theme name Lal- Data's daughter in the episode TNG: "The Offspring" (he chose the name from a Hindi word meaning "beloved"). Yes we geek out choosing names; reflecting on the characters, races and/or planets that embody the personality traits we hope for the future. Fate kept drawing us, especially Patrick to this loveable little mischief-maker!

Risa was the first one to climb out of the box. The chunky last one to leave the milk bar. She was curious to immediately investigate new, novel things and independent enough to go off on her own solo adventures. She was a rebel that did things her own way and clever enough to problem solve puzzle toys while taking it a step farther using objects in her environment as stepping stones to climb higher places or jump gates and enclosures. Irresistible traits to many dog sports competitors, and those soulful dark eyes...

We alternate dogs. It was Patrick's final stamp of approval on Lal and he chose to name her Risa. In Trek lore Risa is paradise; a calming, peaceful planet of adventure, desires and pleasure. While that suits Risa, we are still hoping for a little more of the peaceful/calm part, as she matures! Risa is a burst of energy; always ready for fun, action and adventure. She is inquisitive and full of ideas. You can watch her wheels turn as she thinks through situations and solves puzzles or challenges to get what she wants. And she can be relentless and persistent in getting what she wants from play to attention! Risa usually wears us down but if we hang tough, she may get frustrated for a moment but then switches focus and finds something else fun to do or occupy herself. She comes up with some crazy, creative ways to keep us laughing!

The breed standard reads: Entlebuchers are generally indifferent or somewhat aloof with strangers. Risa leans toward being aloof with strangers. That surprised us; both parents are super friendly so we expected the whole litter to be friendly by default. We offered methodical neutral and positive experiences to a variety of safe, gentle, dog-savvy people. Risa started out being the first puppy to meet strangers, then without any negative experiences she became more watchful and reserved.

It was unfortunate that the Covid lockdown timing happened at an important developmental age for her. But life is rarely perfect. How we deal with challenges reveals our true character. Risa is resilient which is a quality we look for and nurture in our puppies. She is thoughtful, curious and interested in strangers if they have food, a toy or something she wants, otherwise they have little value for her. If she is to interact, she wants to be in control and take getting to know new people at her own pace. Risa is a sociable, sweet clown with her family and chosen friends. She is super cuddly and can often be found kicking back, sitting like a human in the recliner with her daddy!

Risa is also very expressive and routinely has full-out conversations with us. She pays attention to every tiny detail and observes even subtle nuances in our tone, voice, gestures and routines. She lets us know when something is out of place or if it is a key time; agility - play time, dinner time, treat time, cuddle time, attention time...! She loves toys and tug but her most favorite game is playing with her Chuckit! Flying Squirrel! She vibrates with enthusiasm at the chance to play Chuckit! Squirrel- don't dare say the words unless we intend to follow through with a game.

Registered Name:

IntCH Excel-Ent's Arriving At Risa CGC TKN AX AXJ NF SWN SEE SCE SIE

Pronounced: "RYE-sa" or "RYE-suh"

Risa's Knicknames:

Roni (as in Rice-a-Roni), Ricey, Baloney, 1/2 of the "Wonder Twins"

Risa's Star Trek namesake

Risa’s Breeders- Excel-Ent's Entlebuchers

Joyce and Patrick MacKay

Risa- You Tube Video Links

AKC Agility: AKC Novice Agility Debut
AKC Scent Work: Excellent Containers

Risa has a natural, effortless communication style with most dogs. She loves to chase and play. She has a higher herding drive and can get too excited with longer periods of intensity and high energy. We make sure she takes breaks to bring herself down while playing with toys and chasing ball/frisbee or she can decide to possess the prize and change the game to keep away (which is not cooperative fun). In typical herding breed fashion, she can get over aroused by too much duration / too much movement intensity which can push her to the point where she has a hard time being thoughtful. Knowledge is power so we use that in training and life.

Risa is clearly a "daddy's girl" and she likes to think she has him wrapped around her paw. Patrick runs her in agility. It's the sport he enjoys most and is very good at, earning the knickname Twinkle Toes by our local agility friends. Risa LOVES agility whether competing or playing in the yard, she can't wait to run fast, zoom through tunnels, jump and bark with happiness. I also fell in love with the sport of Scent Work, yet have not been able to entice Patrick to catch that addiction so I train and compete with Risa in Scent Work. She is very talented and really enjoys it!

My goal is to find something new to try with each dog. It is good to keep learning and the experience can be so memorable when we are both out of our comfort zone relying on each other. I find it a great way to get to know and bond with a puppy. My new adventure with Risa introduced us to the International show ring. I had heard about IABCA- International All Breed Canine Association, but had not tried it. What a wonderful experience! The personal and thorough attention going over my dog was refreshing. The judge having our breed standard right there to refer to made a huge difference for me. The written critiques added a depth of knowledge to my understanding plus transparency and authenticity to the evaluations. I highly recommend IABCA over AKC Conformation due to the many flaws in AKC's program that they cannot or will not fix. It was a much more meaningful experience.

•   Risa earned her first titles: AKC Scent Work Exterior Novice (SEN) & Container Novice (SCN) September 20, 2020, at 17 months once covid restrictions allowed limited masked trialing.
•   Risa earned her UKC Novice Vehicle (NV) & Novice Interior (NI) titles October 3, 2020.
•   Risa earned her AKC Scent Work Interior (SIN) title November 14, 2020.
•   Risa earned her first AKC Agility titles Novice Agility Jumper (NAJ) and Agility FAST Novice (NF) March 6, 2021.
•   Risa earned her conformation International Championship (IntCH) through IABCA August 21, 2021.
•   Risa earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) & Trick Dog Novice (TN) titles September 3, 2022.
•   Risa earned her AKC Excellent Agility Jumper (AXJ) title January 29, 2023.
•   Risa earned her AKC Scent Work Interior (SIE) & Container Excellent (SCE) titles April 23, 2023.
•   Risa competed in the AKC Agility Invitationals in Orlando Florida as one of the Top 5 Entles, December 2023.

Risa's Stats

DOB: 4/12/19
Height: 19.25"; Weight: 48 lbs.
AKC#: DN57341101
OFA PRA EB-PRA81/0F-PI Clear
OFA Hips EB-395F30F-VPI
OFA Elbows EB-EL154F30-VPI
OFA Patellas EB-PA115/23F/P-VPI
OFA Eyes ECR EB-EYE161/54F-VPI
CHIC#: 165379
Risa has passed all her health certifications.

Additional health testing:
Gonioscopy
Advanced Cardiac Echo EB-ACA19/45F-VPI Clear
Ectopic Ureter testing Normal/Clear (OFA does not certify for this)

We plan to breed her Spring 2024.
Please email for an application, if you have interest in a puppy from us.