Thursday, December 29, 2005
Still not enough snow for us sprint mushers and I'm still training off the 4 wheeler for I haven't wanted to load up the dogs and go out to Goldstream where trails are OK. But we are doing a lot of skijoring and the Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association has put on 3 races so far with good attendance. I find it amazing that about half the dogs in the ASPA races are rescues either from the shelter or from SCL. I have been consistantly racing my SCL adoptee dogs Misty and Blackberry and they are doing great. Misty has lost her "baby fat" and is sleek and has gotten a lot faster this year. I ran her in one race with Borax and she was outrunning him. Of course, Borax is 9.5 years old, but still has a lot of speed left in him.
Kiche (SCL) is still incredibly shy and timid. She does love to go to the dog barn on cold nights though!! We haven't run her much on the 4 wheeler as she seems a bit afraid of it and also going up the steep hills on the way out of my house.
I have 5 foster dogs from the shelter. 2 moms and 3 pups. They are all almost to the adoptable 8 week age. Siren is 20+ pounds and a little tank. Very smart and a very adventuresome pup. She was the single pup to a healthy mom, Chance. I have run Chance a few times. She is a very good leader and skijoring dog. She is very out of shape but I raced her Sunday in the 2 dog class with Chanel for 1.4 miles. She did great. I had run her before for 2.7 miles and she just kept driving the whole time. I'm hoping to find a home for her and her pup.
Chiclet is almost done nursing her puppies, so as soon as she dries up a little more I'm excited to put her in a team. Her puppies, Snickers and Skittle are adorable and very social. Some people came up to look at them today and they will probably adopt Snickers. It will be heartbreaking to let them go, but I know that I will find them all great homes.
Kiche (SCL) is still incredibly shy and timid. She does love to go to the dog barn on cold nights though!! We haven't run her much on the 4 wheeler as she seems a bit afraid of it and also going up the steep hills on the way out of my house.
I have 5 foster dogs from the shelter. 2 moms and 3 pups. They are all almost to the adoptable 8 week age. Siren is 20+ pounds and a little tank. Very smart and a very adventuresome pup. She was the single pup to a healthy mom, Chance. I have run Chance a few times. She is a very good leader and skijoring dog. She is very out of shape but I raced her Sunday in the 2 dog class with Chanel for 1.4 miles. She did great. I had run her before for 2.7 miles and she just kept driving the whole time. I'm hoping to find a home for her and her pup.
Chiclet is almost done nursing her puppies, so as soon as she dries up a little more I'm excited to put her in a team. Her puppies, Snickers and Skittle are adorable and very social. Some people came up to look at them today and they will probably adopt Snickers. It will be heartbreaking to let them go, but I know that I will find them all great homes.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
What a frustrating winter so far! We are still training dogs off the 4 wheeler. I suppose we could load up everyone and take them out to Goldstream somewhere, but it is convenient to run them from the house when conditions are marginal.
We take Kiche (SCL) sporadically. She does not like running up the hill, but once we turn around she has a pretty tight line. She is getting used to being handled a bit more as she is put in the dog barn every night. I have to walk her up on a leash but she anxiously awaits for me to come and get her for she knows that she will sleep someplace warm.
We have been putting Misty and Blackberry (both SCL adoptees) in lead in different teams. Misty is amazing. She has a ton of drive and great attitude. The dog doesn't like to stop and is always leaping in the air to keep going. Blackberry continues to be a driving force with my 5 male speedy dogs (although at 9+ years of age they are slowing down!).
We have 5 total shelter fosters here at the moment. Chance had one puppy the day after she was brought to the shelter. Her kennel mates (Roulette, Decker and Nickel) were all pulled into SCL and adopted. I can't wait to try out Chance when she weans her puppy (Siren). Chance is a compact powerful dog that is very friendly and loves to be cuddled. She is a good, but rough playing mother. Siren is a wild 5 week old puppy who beats up on her mother (and us!!). She is going to be a large dog and very beautiful. She is mostly black with white mask, white feet and chest and white tip on tail. She has deep blue eyes.
The other mom was brought in as a cruelty case with 2 puppies. Chiclet weighed 31 pounds when I brought her here. They had spent 4 days at the After Hour's Clinic getting pumped full of fluids. Chiclet had no milk and lucky the pups were still alive. But they recovered quickly. Chiclet now weighs 44 pounds and is looking quite nice. The puppies are 4 weeks old and although on the small side, they are thriving. They are both very sweet puppies, especially Snickers who loves to be held and cuddled. Skittle is a bit more wild and her and Siren play a lot (even though Siren is twice her size!!). I have never had little puppies before and it is a lot of fun and a lot of work keeping them fed and socialized. Both families are living in the dog barn.
We take Kiche (SCL) sporadically. She does not like running up the hill, but once we turn around she has a pretty tight line. She is getting used to being handled a bit more as she is put in the dog barn every night. I have to walk her up on a leash but she anxiously awaits for me to come and get her for she knows that she will sleep someplace warm.
We have been putting Misty and Blackberry (both SCL adoptees) in lead in different teams. Misty is amazing. She has a ton of drive and great attitude. The dog doesn't like to stop and is always leaping in the air to keep going. Blackberry continues to be a driving force with my 5 male speedy dogs (although at 9+ years of age they are slowing down!).
We have 5 total shelter fosters here at the moment. Chance had one puppy the day after she was brought to the shelter. Her kennel mates (Roulette, Decker and Nickel) were all pulled into SCL and adopted. I can't wait to try out Chance when she weans her puppy (Siren). Chance is a compact powerful dog that is very friendly and loves to be cuddled. She is a good, but rough playing mother. Siren is a wild 5 week old puppy who beats up on her mother (and us!!). She is going to be a large dog and very beautiful. She is mostly black with white mask, white feet and chest and white tip on tail. She has deep blue eyes.
The other mom was brought in as a cruelty case with 2 puppies. Chiclet weighed 31 pounds when I brought her here. They had spent 4 days at the After Hour's Clinic getting pumped full of fluids. Chiclet had no milk and lucky the pups were still alive. But they recovered quickly. Chiclet now weighs 44 pounds and is looking quite nice. The puppies are 4 weeks old and although on the small side, they are thriving. They are both very sweet puppies, especially Snickers who loves to be held and cuddled. Skittle is a bit more wild and her and Siren play a lot (even though Siren is twice her size!!). I have never had little puppies before and it is a lot of fun and a lot of work keeping them fed and socialized. Both families are living in the dog barn.
