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!!!