(Note: The correct kennel name would be Vidxium, both her co-owner and I missed the typo, Vidixium, and now that's she's titled we're unable to correct it.)

Best of Breed (1pt) @ North Country Kennel Club Show (November 2022)

Best of Breed (1pt) @ Medina Kennel Club Show (March 2023)

Best of Breed (1pt) @ Medina Kennel Club Show (March 2023)

Best of Breed (1 Pt) @ Nango Circuit (June 2023)

Winners Bitch (1 Pt) @ Nango Circuit (June 2023)

Winners Bitch (3 Pts) @Tioga County Show (August 2023)

Best of Breed (5 Pts) @Tioga County Show (August 2023)

Best of Breed (1 Pt) @Erie Kennel Club (January 2024)

Championed, Best of Breed (1 Pt) @Erie Kennel Club (January 2024) 

Taika is my heart dog, my best friend, and the one who essentially gave me my life back. Due to disability, I was unable to finish college or maintain a job. I was struggling so severely that I barely left the house, and certainly never alone. I decided I wanted my own dog, one who would be easy to maintain for grooming and care, wouldn't be too interested in other people, intelligent with an independent streak, and who would be alert enough to make me feel safe again. Initially I was looking at a German Shepherd, but my sibling convinced me to look into Xoloitzcuintli ("they're ancient and they have less hair.") I had heard of the breed many years prior, in middle school Animal Science class, but at the time had been told they were extremely rare, so I never thought I'd even see one, and they fell off my radar. With my sibling prompting me to look into them again, I fell head over heels in love with the breed as it was described by breeders and owners of them. 

While my initial getting of Taika was, admittedly, quite impulsive, I will forever be thankful that I did. I was anticipating an aloof dog initially, who wouldn't much care that I existed (or outright avoid me), when I went to meet her. Instead when I crouched down to be level with this four month old naked thing, she ran up to me, put her paws on my chest, and nibbled my nose. She ignored me the rest of the day, but that initial greeting stole my heart. She came home with me the next day, and slept in my lap on the drive home. I never really experienced what people call a "heart dog" until Taika, despite having grown up with many, many dogs. 

Taika was wonderful at home, and took to basic training very well...until we went out of the home. Then she was very timid, and I remembered the person I got her from (who was fostering her litter as the dam wasn't able to care for all of them) mentioning that she didn't really socialize them as much as she would have liked. So we signed her up for an obedience class. The first class was incredibly embarassing for me, but it also taught me a very important lesson about Xoloitzcuintli. I had introduced Taika as the my service dog candidate (as at home she had already established a natural cardiac alert.) So imagine my embarassment when I go to the class, and my puppy ducks behind me and growls at the trainer! Lucky for us, the trainer absolutely loves a challenge and was quickly quite taken with Taika. So we broke out deli ham, and spent an extra half hour encouraging Taika to take the high value treat from strangers. Which she did! As she came out of her shell, it became clear that she was ultimately a very confident dog, who was willing to try anything I asked of her. She passed her CGC, and got evaluated as a good prospect for service work. So we started the journey of training a service dog.

Six months later, that trainer had opened her own training business and invited us in to do Introduction to Agility (something we had talked about months prior.) She hadn't seen Taika in quite some time, so when we showed up and Taika greeted her enthusiastically (and probably going "where's the ham?"), the trainer was delighted, and impressed! Impressed enough that when they needed an extra hand helping with their daycare program, I got hired. I hadn't had a job in many years, but at this job Taika could be with me, even though she was still in training for service work. It opened up a huge number of opportunities for me, and introduced me into the world of dog sports and showing.

Taika is now a fully trained and working service dog, but I will never advertise Xolos as being a good fit for this work. It takes a very particular dog, and the fear period between 6 and 18 months is so intense that many will struggle during this time. However, all of the struggles made me a better dog trainer and handler, and I have now been professionally training dogs for clients, and teaching classes. Taika is my demo dog, and assists me with addressing reactivity in client dogs. She charms everyone that she meets, and is a wonderful ambassador for the breed. 

She is fairly social with strangers, willing to politely greet anyone and allow them to pet her, but also easily ignores anyone when I ask it of her. Stable in any environment, she still will attempt anything I ask of her, which has made her a very fun dog to work with in Agility and Rally. She has matured to be dog-tolerant, and will play with almost any dog, but sets very clear boundaries. With familiar dogs she is playful, goofy, and affectionate. Taika has always had an excellent ability to settle, but will also go, go go! for as long as I ask her to. She's not eager to please, but she's eager to be with and work with me. On duty (SD work) she is very stoic and serious, but off duty she is goofy, lively, and her legs are made of springs! Overall I find her temperament and behavior to really be the epitome of Xoloitzcuintli, and that paired with her excellent conformation made me absolutely giddy with Erin, her co-owner and owner of her parents, agreed to her being the foundation of my kennel.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for Taika and I, and to hopefully share some of that Taika-brand charm with others in the form of her puppies.