Thundershirt

We had a bit of a ThunderSnow last night and at 3 am Daemon was trying to climb into or under my pillow to get away from it. On went the Thundershirt, he felt better and went right outside into a bout of thunder and lightning - and was instantly back inside trying to dig a hole through the bed. Lotta good that did. An hour of panic panting later he finally laid down and let everyone go back to sleep. Big Baby!

The Vortex

So for the past year, life around here had been pretty normal. Get up, put my ball on dads face until he plays fetch with me, run and play in the back yard, eat breakfast, run some more, chase my cousin Stitch that comes to play most days, chew my ball, sleep all afternoon, scream for my dinner, play fetch with dad some more. go to bed, steal all of the blankets from mom and then steal her pillow too. Get up do it again. You know, the usual. 




We do that for 6 days in a row then it's time to get in the Truck and GO FOR A RIDE.  at the end of the ride it smells like mountains and cold air and dirt trails, and dead leaves and pine trees and water/snow. and then we RUN. 


Week after week - normal routine, nothing to complain about - plenty of time and space to run and play - UNTIL YESTERDAY! Que (Dun) (Dun) (Dun) music. Ranger, now 18 months old did something I have NEVER SEEN a dog do! (Sidebar: Ranger is a dog, I the D-man, is a Peeple, just so we have that straight.) Anyway - the amazing event included our regular chase session with the neighbor dog K-C across the fence. Ranger jumps up and barks over the fence from time to time...this time when he jumped up...HE DIDN'T COME DOWN ON OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE! He was on KC's side of the fence. 

Ranger resting

In a Post Event interview - Ranger insisted it was VERY SCARY on that side, he tried to get back but couldn't climb the fence as dogs don't know how to do that sort of thing. He followed the fence around a small gate and found something he KNEW was just right - he knew that on the other side of the dog door was his bed and everything was gonna be ok! But it turned out to be the Neighbor's house - the one that give us all the treats at the fence - and she saved me by finding Papa. Papa carried me home and then we were put in our dog run for the day. 

The Cage

Well there you have it - Post-Event scariness here at home is that we are all safely in the run cage for the day, and hopefully Mom and Papa will fix the very scary Vortex that made ranger go to the "other side" yesterday.

Yo! Where's the Snow??

Seriously?? Mid-January and NO SNOW!!! We haven't run the sled ONCE this Winter. C'mon SNOW! - Well at least my cousin Angle Stitches is here to play this week. I'll just go steal her and Rangers toys until they cry uncle.

Moving in Circles

WHOA!!! Can you believe it's been 7 months since I Blogged last?? I can - First, Mom had a wild hair and we moved to Huntsville for the winter. We lived in a kennel because there wasn't a fence. It was an awesome winter of running on the scooters and sled from the front door. We were in great shape and even had a few foster friends travel through.


Towards the end of the winter, we had a puppy join us as a foster - after a week Bowyer had become Ranger and is now my Little Brother/Wrestle Partner. He's pretty mellow (wicked smart though) even if he is a scrawny little dude. Weeellllll, I thought he was mellow - until Dad put a harness on him and he turned into the Tazmanian Devil!!! Man, can that boy run!


Ok so that get us to the end of the winter. Then we moved to Gramma Karen's house. It was only supposed to be for a few weeks until we got our new house ---- hahaha - you can see what's coming right? Ya, we were there all Summer - in the basement and again we were stuck in a kennel because the yard was unfenced. Although we found a few chances to investigate Gramma's neighborhood - But man, Mom cheats so bad by shaking a bag of treats to get us to come home quick. I'll do anything for training treats - even run back from 5 backyards away!!


In September, we moved back to our first house (why did we move again? oh ya, to run from the front yard AWESOME!) I was SO excited to get in the back yard and see all my friends - it was like we never left!!

Better than I could say it...

Osmar 10 years old - Adopted 

Sled dogs ARE adoptable...


of course an individual temperment evaluation is needed for each dog, and a sled dog isn't for everyone. But the evidence is overwelmingly in the working dog to pet dog's favor. 


Here is a pair of articles from Christie Keith, for the San Francisco Chronicle: 


Part 1 of 2: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/02/10/petscol021011.DTL


Part 2 of 2:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2011%2F02%2F18%2Fpetscol021811.DTL&feed=rss.yourwholepet


If you are interested in learning more about sled dogs or adopting one, contact me or Arctic Breeds Rescue.

On Re-Homing Sled Dogs -

If you read my blog, you  know I write it tongue-in-cheek from Daemon, my two year old Siberian Husky's point of view. By doing this I am accomplishing two things: everyone gets to see the wonderful anthropomorphic character of my Husky, one that I feel all huskies share to some level, and you get to see what ambassadors of pets, sled dogs, and family members these dogs make - regardless of their "job". 


Also if you read through my blog you will see one foster husky after another. All have different backgrounds - some come from racing and mushing backgrounds and some from homes or the pound, some from conditions too horrible to speak of. All are different ages. All come to me, through Arctic Breeds Rescue, in some state of confusion or panic. All need some sort of "rounding" to their education - weather it is Obedience, Potty-training, running in harness, or simply learning to trust and play. I have been rescuing and rehabbing arctic breeds for a decade, and I have yet to have one that is "Impossible to Re-Home" or place with people, after due attention and care.  


I'm no 'behavioral expert', but I know with enough patience, attention and care every dog that comes to me will eventually find the right home - many times in a very different capacity than how they came to me. I trust that the dogs will have something good come along, and in turn the dogs trust me. 


Occasionally, I have had a dog that was "out of my experience" or didn't fit the current dynamics of my pack. Do I give up on this dog? Deem him Unadoptable and retire him to a kennel for life? No! I use my network of dog lovers and trainers and find someone with the right experience or availability in their foster program to address that dogs specific needs. Of these occasional issues, these dogs all have eventually found loving homes. 


I have had puppy-mill rescues that become Canine Good Citizens, Owner-Release pet dogs and Conformation culls become wheel and lead dogs. And yes, I have even had retired sled dogs, who spent their lives on tethers, learn to live politely within a home - learning obedience, and even how to play. One of my favorite retired sled dogs even learned to become a "shop dog" - politely greeting customers and in general being the perfect gentleman - without running off or needing a tether. The Key to all sled dogs is they are SMART - they can and will adapt and learn anything your care to teach them - they love to learn. 


I have read a lot about the "culling" incident in Whistler. And while that is a horrible horrible exception to everything Musher's stand for, I find it more disturbing that people and "experts" are saying sled-dogs kept on tethers cannot or will-not adapt to a new situation - like living with a family. I do not see how in their expertise they understand a sled dogs deep need to run, but they do not aknowledge that those same dogs have a need as deep to love and be and work with their people. The Human-Dog relationship is based on that need, that trust, and that adaptability. 


I hope you all will support that sleddogging is a way of life, and involves the dogs in every aspect of a musher's life. 


Thanks,


Nikki

Still Banana's!!!

Daemon Loves you!

Been Too Long...

Hi Y'all - the D-Man here. It's been a LONG Time since I have been able to blog. I have to give props to the blogs I read that keep it up every day - North Wapati and the Pretty Sled Dogs is my fave. 


There's been LOTS of changes in our lives the last few months - we have a new house and lots of new places to run and explore. We also finally have our  Sled - it makes funny noises and I'm not sure I like it yet. But mom and dad stay upright so they like it. Honestly, I don't know why they don't like skjoring on their belly's - it IS a low drag point. :) 


Well, I think mom has gotten her camera fixed, so I should be able to get more updates to you all soon. 


Loves, 
D

Racing Season Begins

WAAAHHHOOOOO! The Season is here! While all our friends are whining that the Rally and Herding seasons are over and they'll be locked inside all winter, Windy and I are putting our harnesses on and digging in for a great set of runs this winter. Mom and Dad are drumming up interest in the two dryland races we have and checking out new trails for us to run. 

Hank Goes Away

I am sorry to report that Hank and Daemon did not get along, and Arctic Breeds Rescue was kind enough to take him back as a foster. Hank and Daemon's mild seperation anxiety and food guarding were exacerbated in each other's insecurities. There was a scuffle and and ER visit, but I'm happy to report all are just fine. Daemon and Hank are now both under going some re-training in seperate locations.  Additionally, in D's case he is a spoiled brat and getting a 'de-punking' - as in he has to earn everything, his toy, his treats, his fetch time, his place on the bed, etc. D is a fairly obedient dog - and an exceptionally well behaved Sibe so he has gotten away with quite a bit the past 6 months, and I have to say I have enjoyed being lazy with him and Windy. However...that's over and time for everyone to get back to work and earn our keep! After that...we will look at fostering again.

Meet Hank (aka Penske)

Meet Penske/Hank: 

He's a very happy lovey boy:

He and Daemon have a similar size and gait - I think they will run well together. More to come on that later :) 

Hank (aka Penske)

We have a new foster - Penske - aka Hank (that's what Brad calls him, and he answers pretty well to it, P or Penske make him cringe and run so we re-dubbed him.)  He's a lanky sweet happy Alaskan Husky of about 5-6 years. Unfortunately, he's been starved into some bad habits - like counter cruising, dumpster diving and food guarding (not against people thankfully!) We are working on getting him a bath today and getting a picture, so we can track his progress. 


He's a very pretty guy and you can see a picture of him as a pup here: http://racerscycleservice.com/?page_id=10

Summer...It's been nice! Part II

OK Like I said - I  am ready to get back to Training. We got a taste of it at the Davis County Fair a couple of weeks ago. The BEST part was it was MUDDY from rain the day before. We got to pull Dad all over the Fair letting everyone know about classes at our training club, and learning to SIT when people pet us.

After our runs, Mom and Dad took us over some of the Agility toys, and then through the park. We went up to another toy that looked a lot like the Agility A-frame, and since I had just done it - I knew just what to do! I charged right up it and .... over....and INTO THE BIGGEST POOL I HAD EVER SEEN! I Paniked and jumped right out over the side! NOT FUNNY DAD! I was wet all over...eeeww!

So it turns out this was the training pool for Splash Dogs (Dock Jumping - http://www.splashdogs.com/ ) and Dad was just trying to cool me off. But apperently Retrievers chase their toys into the water - FOR FUN! They must be crazy! I wasn't going anywhere near any more "pools." - though mom has promised she'll take me to the lake and teach me to swim properly. 

The next day we did more of the urban-mushing demos and then (to make up for the dunking) Dad took me to do the COOLEST THING EVER!!!!!!! Lure coursing.

No, no, you heard me right - lure coursing - the stuff they do with Jack Russels and other small rat terriers. But the group that does it here sets it up like an Agility course with a foxtail that we chase around the course.  MAN OH MAN I WANT THAT FOXTAIL! GOTTA GET IT GOTTA GET IT! I took off and 18 seconds later I was done - I didn't even miss a tunnel! Wow was that fun! Can't wait to go again!  I'd post a picture, but the video is SO much more interesting. Check it out here: http://www.coursealure.com/about.html

Summer...it's been nice.

So Windy and I have had a LOVELY Summer off from running and training. It's been nice. Actually, we haven't been bored. We have been Babysitting! We have had our 'cousin' Stitches over about once a week all summer, and we also had our very young (but not small) friend Misty come over for a few weeks to learn to play.

At first Misty was very unsure of playing with Me and Windy but after just 3 weeks she was happy to come play at our house and graduated from her "confidence" course. 
This is Misty, in her favorite place - her porch.

Stiches is our cousin, she is a year old Pitt-bull that is petite and sweet as a button. Except when she steals my TOYS and puts them under the bed, where I can't reach them.  I'm sure she will continue to come play with us regularly.

Although Stitch is a Pit-Bull she bears a striking resemblence to her cousin Windy:

Windy is in the background, Stitch snuggled up in the foreground - Don't they just LOOK like cousins!?! 

As for me, I'm happy to be getting back to my training.

The Siberian Retriever

So, Daemon has always been a bit "off" as far as Siberian Huskies go. You see, Huskies as a rule do not fetch, retrieve, or recall (come when called) on demand; no husky is safe off leash EVER. This is just the way of having a working dog that RUNS for a living, and one I am totally comfortable with after 20 years of Siberians.


My first husky, Lakota was reliable off leash as long as we were in the front yard. He would sit on the front porch and wait for me to come home from school. However, if Lake realized that for some reason he had left the front yard - usually after chasing a bicycle - well, then he was gone for days at a time. Deep down Lake was a typical prey driven, wandering husky. And I learned a lot from him.


Windy, my current female - has the record for "most consecutive days escaped" - something like 270 days in a row and has rarely been allowed off leash in a public place, unless controlled by her "good girl" electric collar - a tool I would not have considered using on a dog for any reason until Windy exhausted my rather extensive training knowledge - and I learned how to use it positively so that Windy actually LIKES her e-collar. Windy loves squeaky toys and loves to rip any toy or small animal that ventures into the yard to shreds. Windy is the quintessential hard-headed hard-to-train Siberian Husky. And She would NEVER deign to fetch a toy! The upside to having a dog this difficult to contain is my yard is now Fort Knox and I can take in fosters with some of the worst escape or prey habits and can retrain them.


So, back to Daemon being "off" - when he came to us his name was Buddy and if I had waited to get to know him a little more before we redubbed him D - I would have noticed how fitting Buddy was for him. Daemon...well...He's what we call a "siberian retriever" - he's never far from Brad or I (he truly is a "buddy"), has a reliable off leash recall, he is instantly obedient and plays fetch endlessly. He comes out to the front yard with us when we are visiting neighbors. If I had had him as a first sibe, after a childhood full of Labradors,  I would have expected all sibes to be as easy to train as he is. I can't even imagine- or explain - the disaster that would have been! But as one in what will be a lifetime of Sibes, I know he's one in a million - and I will probably never be lucky enough to have one like him. He breaks all the rules of being a Siberian - but at least he breaks the rules, and that makes him all Sibe. :)

Form, Fit, Function - the total package!

I read this quote on Karen Ramstead's North Wapati  Kennels Website/blog. (aka "The Pretty Sleddogs" from the Iditarod) I tried to find an author for it but all the quotes say author unknown: 

Pedigree indicates what the animal should be.

Conformation indicates what the animal appears to be.

But, performance indicates what the animal actually is.

I have had Siberians for going on 15 years. I love that I can love and trust my dogs with my life and they return the favor. But until Brad got Daemon, (aka: Buddy, Chewbacca, PAW, Zorro) I did not understand the incredible POWER of these SMALL dogs and the patience and care that must go into proper breeding of a dog to keep it's performance at the level that their work requires. I am no stranger to training dogs, and the effort required to train a Northern Breed in obedience, house manners as well as their 'chosen profession.'


 But,  I am baffled by the breeding process and have no desire to try to learn it. It's amazing that someone can see that this fearless little ball of fluff will turn into this Sweet Strong Handsome Gentleman:

Daemon: 8 weeks

 7 months

  

                  18 months - full grown 56 lbs/23.5 height

However, I am completely thankful and awed by the responsible caring Siberian breeders that I know and rely on to keep the future of these dogs sound. To Jane at Lobolair for allowing us to parent  the most amazing Siberian I've ever known - Daemon/Buddy - even if he does fetch (off leash!) :) To Of the Midnight Sun and Kczar for keeping the Monadanock strength going. For Kaylenberg for answering all my questions and keeping all three Siberian lines going (Show, Seppala Sleddog, and Racing). And of Course to North Wapati for being my newest source of information and Sibe comedy on your blog. 




Here are a few more showing Daemon's size and strength - 


Compared to an Average sized Alaskan Husky - and Dad -  D alone pulls him at an average 6-8mph on the scooter for short runs and 4-6mph for longer runs. I weigh under a buck 50 and D pulls me at close to 10mph!  One Dog!!!  

Compared to Windy - an average sized but somewhat lanky female. D's tailbase is above her back.  Oh! and check out the size of his hamstrings!  As soon as I get a video of his powerful lope I'll post it!

Here is one of him after he pulled me and Windy over 6 miles. On runs where Brad would take all three dogs out with D in lead - he will pull everyone at his pace for as long as u leave him in lead - Brad, the scooter, Windy and Os together weigh about 350 lbs.  350lbs moving 10 -12mph (3 dog power) - makes us awfully thankful for good brakes too!

Osmar Goes Home

If you noticed there were no Osmar Pics in the last Blog. 


Last week he found a forever home in Ketchum, ID. Keep chill Os we love you. 


And if you visit Sun Valley, stop by the pet shop and give him a head rub. 

Paw Powered Camping

Here is a photo tour of My First Camping Trip.


We went to East Canyon State Park this weekend for my first camping trip:


Our Spot was really nice:
There was a creek and plenty of room for all the dogs. 

Dad went Fishing, and Mom made the bed in the car.  They made me sleep in the front seat. I was not impressed. My usual spot is between mom and dad but dad kept telling me there wasn't enough room. So I sat backwards in the chair and laid my head between the headrest and the door so, at least I could watch out the back window for boogie monsters. 

Then, Windy and I just hung out while Dad made a Fire. Here is one of  Dad and mom together at Dinner time.

The next morning Mom took us Bikejoring, while Dad made Breakfast Burritos. You can see how good we dig in and line out. We got to Run with our friends Kali and Koda. 

 

We had a nice run, and mom made us do our Obedience Exercises for our breakfast. I was really Hungry! After that mom left us tied to the fence while she ate breakfast. 

We got REALLY bored being tied to a fence, so Windy taught me how to chase mice in the field. First she showed me how to scout the mouses. Then to chase it into it's tunnel and how to Dig up the tunnel and get the mices. We had great fun and the people had a laugh or two when they were watching us.  We dug about 6 holes before mom said "that's enough" and moved us to the car. Then she filled in the holes with what dirt we could find, though most of it was on us, as you can see from my picture at the top and Windy's below. 

Finally, we were tired:

Keepin' up

Hi Ya'll!


Things around our house have been very busy lately...Urban Mushing Class, and Rally class and running and running whenever we can convince (either with puppy dog eyes or traditional husky yowling) mom and/or dad to go scootering with us. Even though they are busy with their New Business or Graduating from School, or Being Sick (which mom is a lot lately) they always make time to take us running.  


Now that spring is here we go out for a long run at least once a week as long as it's not pouring rain like it has been for weeks! We went out with Dad on Monday and he had a surprise for us - a new line for all three of us mutts to run and have a real lead. Windy, Os and I all took a turn in front. It was fun with Os in front - Like a real Team. Then it was Windy's turn and she's so little that Os and I just scooped her up and pushed her along. Then it was MY turn. I was so excited I just took off and drug everyone along with me. Os and Windy didn't even have to pull, I'm big enough to pull both of them, dad and the scooter all by myself! It was a fun fun run! (Jane - Yes he's the biggest of the 3 dogs by far, 58  lbs now! He's 23.5 in at the withers and 27 in long. He is JJ from ears to toes, but from the ears forward he is all Abby ;), he's got 10 lbs on Os and 20 on Windy. Daemon may be big but he's got tons of endurance.) 


We are training in Rally - Me with Dad and Windy Loo with Mom. We are doing really well and hope to start competing by the end of the summer. Mom thinks Rally is Obedience for Sibes, cuz we never know whats coming next and it keeps us interested. Mostly though, I get liver treats and dehydrated peaches so, it really doesn't matter what's next ;).  We are also being the Demo Dogs for mom and dad's second Urban Mushing Class and now have other dogs to run and scooter with. It's really exciting to be the lead on a trail with 4 scooters and 6 other dogs behind you. We get a lot of stare's and "that's so awesome's" but nothing beats the freedom to RUN!

Our Foster brother Osmar is still here with us and Mom is still looking for a forever home for him, though he fits in just fine here. He doesn't try to eat my food or play with my toys so I figure he's a pretty good guy. He is way mellow and just hangs out in the yard watching kids and birds  most of the day with Windy, while I guard the stairs for mom and dad to come home. I guess we all have our jobs.