Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Home Life
Home Life
Jewel has settled firmly into life here with two humans and 25 other dogs. She is one of our eight indoor dogs (that sounds scary to some, but it is actually quite nice). She also spends a lot of time out in the dog yard playing with the sled dogs and making a nuisance of herself to others. She runs like a maniac through the dog houses and chained-out dogs, who seem to regard her as an insignificant annoyance!
I’ve taken Jewel on a lot of daily runs. I’m still using the Halti, which she balks at for the first few minutes then we settle into a nice walk or run. I’m really curious about putting her in harness in the fall to see if she’ll continue to insist she’s not a sled dog. That’s totally fine if that’s the case, but she so enjoys running and playing with the other dogs I wonder if she’s changed her mind.
We’ve had her on a mild dose of Thiroxin for a few weeks now, and there are some signs that her mild hair loss (behind her ears and on her chest) is reversing. We’ll keep her on that to make sure, but if she has a thyroid problem it’s pretty mild.
Jewel is also now listed on the Basenji Rescue and Transport (BRAT) Web site, since she is some kind of basenji mix. BRAT seems to be a great group, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.
She also continues to hone her burrowing skills. We keep a couple of blankets on the sofa (dogs are allowed when humans don’t need the seat space), and Jewel will completely roll herself up in one or more of the blankets. We’re constantly concerned that she’ll suffocate herself! But she seems to love it in there, and also burrows under the blankets on the bed, snuggling up to any warm bodies that might be available for warmth. This all reinforces our belief that she would prefer being a southern latitudes dog!
Jewel has settled firmly into life here with two humans and 25 other dogs. She is one of our eight indoor dogs (that sounds scary to some, but it is actually quite nice). She also spends a lot of time out in the dog yard playing with the sled dogs and making a nuisance of herself to others. She runs like a maniac through the dog houses and chained-out dogs, who seem to regard her as an insignificant annoyance!
I’ve taken Jewel on a lot of daily runs. I’m still using the Halti, which she balks at for the first few minutes then we settle into a nice walk or run. I’m really curious about putting her in harness in the fall to see if she’ll continue to insist she’s not a sled dog. That’s totally fine if that’s the case, but she so enjoys running and playing with the other dogs I wonder if she’s changed her mind.
We’ve had her on a mild dose of Thiroxin for a few weeks now, and there are some signs that her mild hair loss (behind her ears and on her chest) is reversing. We’ll keep her on that to make sure, but if she has a thyroid problem it’s pretty mild.
Jewel is also now listed on the Basenji Rescue and Transport (BRAT) Web site, since she is some kind of basenji mix. BRAT seems to be a great group, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.
She also continues to hone her burrowing skills. We keep a couple of blankets on the sofa (dogs are allowed when humans don’t need the seat space), and Jewel will completely roll herself up in one or more of the blankets. We’re constantly concerned that she’ll suffocate herself! But she seems to love it in there, and also burrows under the blankets on the bed, snuggling up to any warm bodies that might be available for warmth. This all reinforces our belief that she would prefer being a southern latitudes dog!
