Sled Dog Blogs

Onxy is sassy

Carol — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMT

She is doing pretty darn good! She is still on antibiotics and we will take her in sometime this week for another blood panel to see where her neutrophils are. She is still on budesinode once a day and clavamox and metronitidzole twice a day. Her stools have been amazingly normal this week. She is up to 4 cans a day of food and is doing well with that. She is full of energy and pep. If only she could gain more weight. Guess that takes time but so happy that she is doing so well.

Onyx set back

Carol — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:50:00 GMT

If it isn't one thing it is another. Onyx is still doing quite well although starting to have a bit more watery stool. She went for bloodwork yesterday after being back on the azathioprine for over a week. Her ALT has gone down further BUT her neutrophils are now almost non existant. This is probably the most dangerous side effect of the azathioprine. So we are taking her completely off it again and will do blood work in another week. I will be picking up some clavamox today. WIth no neutrophils there is a danger of severe infections and sepsis settling in. So we will be very careful in the next week to make sure she isn't drinking tainted water from the rain, or any sort of things she could possibly get an infection from......sigh.

She remains very active and chipper though so hopefully she is still on the road to a recovery. She hasn't gained much weight but that will take time as her body adjusts and she processes more food.

Always something....

Onyx is recovering

Carol — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:38:00 GMT

Onyx has been doing pretty darn good! She seems to be processing most of her food. Still not solid stools, but at least not liquid diarrhea. They are more like cow patties. The canned Iams Low Residue seems to be working for her. The best thing is that she isn't going outside (or spewing in the house) a dozen times a day. We are still giving her subQ fluids every night. She gets 300-400 ml. The second she sees us getting that IV bag though she RUNS. No one likes to be poked with a needle. But she is a good patient and very calm and accepting.

Her picture doesn't even look as bad as she actually is. At her worst (just a few days ago!) I could fit my 2 hands fingers to fingers around her middle. And at 31.8 pounds we wondered how she could still be living. BUT...she has gained a couple of pounds over the last several days and is very chipper. We are hoping that this trend continues. Our big hope is that eventually we will be able to decrease her high doses of steroids to a level where she isn't having any side effects (like elevated liver enzymes) but still process and gain much needed weight.

Onyx and dehydration

Carol — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:05:00 GMT

WOW...what a different dog we have. After leaving her at the vet on Friday and having them put in a catheter and IV fluids all day she came home a renewed dog. I knew she was dehydrated and although not severely so, just having her revitalized all day made a world of difference. I always remember that from a human stand point. If I am feeling sluggish I know it is probably because I haven't had enough water throughout the day. But with Onyx' bad diarrhea and then her day of vomiting, that really did her in.

So she came home with the catheter and another new food (which seems to be working WAY better than any other food we have tried lately) which is a low residue food. We were supposed to give her several hundred ml's of Ringers the next 2 days, slowly through her catheter. But she had different ideas. After leaving the catheter alone all day and night she decided to try and take it out herself.....Don took her to the After hours vet and they tried to flush it but she had chewed it and they took it completely out. So now we are putting sub Q fluids into her and she is still being quite chipper.

So, again...I have a ton of hope. Maybe more now since she seems WAY better mentally. She is back on the azathioprine but smaller doses every other day. She is also on a probiotic now.

Onyx crashes then recovers

Carol — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:10:00 GMT

Whew....this is hard watching this dog. I thought sure that yesterday she had given up. A couple of days ago she threw up her meals. Then just wouldn't eat. I thought that was the end.....Don was getting home Thursday night and I thought she might be waiting for him. I had a call into my vet to bring her out for bloodwork and see if there was anything else we could do.....well, Don got home last night and Onyx had a pretty good night. This morning she drank a bowl of broth, kept it down and was being WAY chipper. Running around carrying her bone and seeming quite happy.

I took her out to the vet. She hasn't lost weight in the last week (which I was sure she had and I was actually afraid to weigh her here at home!) She is dehydrated though. So I left her there and they were going to put an IV in her and re-hydrate her all day. They will leave the catheter in and we will continue to give her fluids that way all weekend. It is nice that Don is back home to help with all the dogs chores.

We are going to try ANOTHER dog food for her too. A low residue food. And after seeing what her bloodwork is today we will probably put her back on azathioprine. The vets say that this is the only thing that is going to pull this dog through. Gosh , I just hate drugs with such bad side effects. But we are at our wits end with Onyx and praying that she will get through this and have many happy years.

Onyx the fighter

Carol — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:51:00 GMT

This girl is just amazing. I think most other dogs would have given up and died. She is still a bag of bones. She had 2 very bad nights with explosive diarrhea. But today has been a good day for her and she acts like nothing is wrong. Today I have just fed her hamburger. Cooked, very lean burger. She is on metronitidzol again but a lower dose. She only weighs 32 pounds so drugs affect her differently than if she weighed her good weight (which is probably around 50 pounds, which she has never seen). I cut back a wee bit on the budesinode to see if that would cut down on her water drinking just a tad. These steroids really make them drink a lot of water. But in her case it becomes a horrid cycle. Drink a lot of water...go out and have that water course through her body and shoot out the other end...come back in...drink more water...well, you get the picture.

So far today she hasn't had any diarrhea. A small loose stool (which for her is great) and isn't drinking a ton of fluids tonight.

Keeping the hope.

Continuing on the shy dog theme

Carol — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:23:00 GMT

I am going to try and cut and paste a long post that I emailed to a friend of mine who was having questions from an adopter of a shy dog.

_____________________________________________________

Most of the time a husky introduced into a household with family dynamics especially a small child is very traumatic for that dog. He pretty much only knew a dog yard and lots of dogs around him before he came to your house. He still doesn't know where he fits in, how to interact with a family or how to trust new people. This is pretty common for a sled dog.

Here are some things you should be doing.

1) for his trust issues he needs to understand that WONDERFUL things come from his family. I would carry around pieces of chicken, cheese or even kibble if he is super food motivated. Each time you walk by him just drop him a piece. Don't make him take it out of your hand....just drop it. He has to begin to understand that great things come from you. Don't make a big deal of it.

2) too many people try and pet the shy dogs TOO soon. It should be on the dogs terms at the start. If you "push" the dog too much then they can go the other way and become worse. Again, it is all a trust issue and what they can expect from you. It IS good that when he comes up to you that he loves to be petted. This is a good sign. He just doesn't trust enough to be approached right now. He has to do the approaching. Again....if he comes up while you are sitting and you can pet him...give him a little treat. And be sure not to go overboard on the pets. YOU make the decision when to stop petting him. Get into noticing his body language. Stop petting him before he is ready and then don't touch him. Let him be quiet beside you.

3) Yes...expectations are always high with a new pet.....most people want a plug in dog and these rescued sled dogs usually aren't plug in...Often takes a year or 2 even but oh the reward is so great.....so don't get too upset if you think he isn't coming around fast enough. When he figures things out and becomes more at ease it will all fall into place.

4) getting him in and out of the house is worrisome. You are just creating more angst when you have to herd or corral him...I always approach a shy dog from the side...meaning I turn my side to him and keep my palm down in front. A shy dog REALLY needs to see where your hands are at all times. go slowly.

What might help is to put a loop line on his collar. He wears it all the time. Don't make it long enough that he can step through it...just dangles to his elbow...not big enough that he can step through it with his other feet......then when you have to hook him out go gently sideways up to him and GENTLY grab the loop....so you aren't touching his collar or putting your hands where he can not see them. Remember...his main problem is trust and when he can't see your hands then he freaks out. I would tie him out with this loop also.

5) exercise. He should be walked every single day. There is nothing better to building trust and having a happy dog. He might not walk well on a leash but what I do is this:

Make sure his collar is tight so he can't slip it....you can walk him with the loop too. Some dogs trash around and pull, don't worry about that. YOU are the walker. Stand TALL....look forward, be positive....don't let him dictate where you are going...just take a firm walk down the road and back. If he is pulling too hard just stop and stand there...don't look at him...don't say anything to him (and by all means don't yell or punish him--he really doesn't know what you want)...just stop.....once he settles down and you feel a slack on the leash then go again. You may have to do this for weeks. But dogs LOVE to go for walks....once he understands that he can only walk when he isn't pulling then it will all fit for him. Too many people yank their dogs around, put them on prong collars or just quit walking them because they don't have the patience. Try to understand from his viewpoint. He just needs to understand what you want and right now he is having a really hard time figuring that out.

6) new people-----same with the treats. Your friends should totally ignore him BUT when they are there, just toss him treats. Don't look at him...don't interact with him....just walk past and drop a treat. He needs to know that people aren't scary...that GREAT things come from them.

7) hubby---many dogs have a fear of men.......have your husband talk in a higher voice to him. Sing-songy kind of. Most dogs in training react to higher sounds in the human range.

Good luck!

Onyx off a drug

Carol — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:10:00 GMT

ARGH. Took Onyx in today for blood work. Only 12 days on the Azathioprine and her ALT (liver enzyme) went from a normal of <10 to near 700. Caused by the azathioprine. Unfortunately she already got her dose today. So on Saturday will completely take her off this drug. She will remain on budesonide and hopefully this will help her. Her red count is also down (can also be caused by the immunosuppresant drugs) but her blood protein level is back in the normal range. Last bloodwork it was really low and this is sign of severe starvation. So, although she hasn't gained any weight since last time (32 pounds) at least her protein levels are in the normal range. Her stools have been pretty good today (and by that I mean no projectile diarrhea). She SEEMS to be digesting food now. I will up her intake to see if she can handle a few more calories.

Chanel has cushings

Carol — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:29:00 GMT

Confirmed. Pituitary dependant cushings disease. sigh. So today I pick up a relatively new drug to see if we can just improve her quality of life. This is a disease that is not cured. It is just managed. The drug is called Trilostane. Instead of destroying the adrenal glands like the popular cushings drug lysodern, Trilostate works by inhibiting an enzyme that turns cholesterol into cortisol. Excess cortisol is what causes all of the cushings symptoms.

So I will head out soon to pick up the drug and hope for the best. Chanel IS 13 years old and has lived a great life. I would love to have her around for a few more years but only if she can be a happy and content dog. I don't want her to exist and suffer only because I don't want to loose her.

Onyx and vinegar

Carol — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:08:00 GMT

OK.....there it is. When I was "talking" to Yanert, "apple cider vinegar" popped into my head. OK.....I'm a strong believer that this vinegar mixed with honey and gargled and sipped will kill off any start of a cold. It has been my mother's home recipe for decades. So when that came to me I thought "why not?" So I started adding 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (organic and not highly processed) to each of her meals. So far this seems to be doing something for the good. She doesn't go out 10 times through the night, her stools are formed although not very solid (but beats the huge splatting that she has been doing for months) and they are few and far between.

I cut out the I/D dog food 2 weeks ago (huge yellow splats of corn was just getting to me). I have been having her on a Royal Canin canned perscription food plus lean cooked hamburger. In fact, I buy the leanest burger I can find (7% fat), boil it up in 3 cups of water and then drain off that water so even more fat is out of the burger. She was still having splats on that too.....wasn't until I started adding the vinegar that she seems to be able to digest some food now and I am hopeful. And at least with some digesting she may be getting the drugs into her system instead of having them shoot right through her too. She is still on budesinode and azathioprine, once a day. I have cut them back a little as she has been on really high doses.

So, crazy as it might sound I think her system is reacting in a positive way. I have hope again.

Onyx 2 steps forward 1 step back

Carol — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:16:00 GMT

Well...isn't this an improvement. I am optimistic at the moment. People reading this will probably think that I am very strange....but the other night I was laying on the couch in a real funk, looking at my emaciated dog, tears coming to my eyes thinking of her death....So, then I asked Yanert (that is another lonnnggg blog post that since his death at 3.5 years old last November I haven't been barely able to even talk about him) to send me some advice about Onyx. Well, this "thing" just popped into my mind and I decided to try it. I'm not going to say what it is at the moment for I know that Onyx sometimes has a little "bloop" where she can be OK for a day and I think I have got the problem licked.....but after 2 days of this new regime she is not splatting, her stools actually have "turd forms" to them and she isn't going out through the night. She seems very chipper.

This might seem "new age", spiritual or just plain crazy to some, but I do believe that if you leave yourself open to the thoughts and feelings of the universe, often you will hear and see things that you normally would pass over.

She may relapse and start splatting again and then this post WILL be crazy....but for the moment I have hope again.

Onyx. 1 step forward 2 steps back

Carol — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:40:00 GMT

Well....the new drug doesn't seem to be working. I had high hopes last night as I fed her late and added some of the cholestyramine powder. It is made for humans and comes in "delicious" orange flavor. I just mixed part of a packet with her food. For the first night in years she didn't go out at all through the night. This morning she had splats but nothing severe. As the day wore on though it seemed she got worse. I don't know if it is the combination of all the drugs or that this particular one she is reacting to. She had liquid diarrhea most of the day, including in the house and into my yard shoes......

So tonight I just gave her a little food, soaked with some of the cholestyramine. So far so good. Maybe it is too much food. Maybe the drug combo...maybe maybe maybe. It is frustrating and heartbreaking when no one can figure out what can help this dog. In the meantime I look at her emaciated skinny body and wonder how much longer she can go on.

sigh.

Onyx and drugs

Carol — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:04:00 GMT

Well, we are into the chemical soup now. She had a very bad night last night. A lot of diarrhea. I think she went outside 5 times through the night. Food just goes straight through her.

So I called the vet and she called in 2 more drugs that I picked up tonight at Fred Meyer's. Metronidazole is one of them. This is commonly used for diarrhea if something like giardia is suspected. But Onyx has been tested for that and doesn't have it but often it can flare up with repeated diarrhea episodes.

I also was given a drug that is often used in people to lower cholesterol. But it is also supposed to stop diarrhea. It is called cholestyramine. It comes in packets of orange flavored powder you mix with water. yum. sounds delicious.....for a dog??.....So when I got home from work tonight I sprinkled some on her food. With her weight only being 33 pounds (she has gained a pound back in the last week amazingly enough) I doubt she is supposed to get the whole packet. So I will be curious to see if it does work. I think if we can just get this horrid diarrhea stopped then maybe she can absorb some nutrients.

Never in my life did I think I would have a dog on this many drugs. I myself wouldn't take this kind of chemical soup but when it seems to be the last resort, well, I guess I'm willing to try almost anything for Onyx.

Cushings Disease

Carol — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:47:00 GMT

The name kind of makes the pit of my stomach turn and my heart lurch. This is a disease mainly of older dogs where they get tumors either on the adrenal glands or on the pituitary. The result is an extreme over production of cortisol which can cause all kinds of havoc in a dog. Chanel may have it. Chanel is one of very few dogs that I have had since an 8 week old puppy. She was a wheezer and there wasn't much hope for her life. I took her thinking that at least I could give her a good year of life rather than her being put down at a young age. Well...Chanel turned 13 years old on June 4th and ran great all last winter.

But this spring she started drinking huge quantities of water and being pretty lethargic. I took her in for blood work and her liver enzymes are elevated plus her white count is low. Both signs, along with the increased thirst, of Cushings. I didn't do anything for a couple of weeks as I researched the disease. Some people opt not to treat at all. The prognosis is about the same....a life expentancy of 2 more years. But without treatment, a cushings dog pants a lot, drinks tons of water, can become incontinent (luckily Chanel can hold it for a long time and rarely goes in the house) and gets a large layer of fat that develops around their abdomen resulting in a very big pot belly. Their joints start to disintegrate, their muscles mass disappears and infections are common. But they can live 2 years like this as the disease progresses. Or you can treat....there are many different drugs and some of them have bad side effects. But, if one can work then it can hold the disease at bay for awhile with a better quality of life.

Chanel went in for the Cushings test yesterday. After fasting and initial blood draw, they give them a very low dose of dexamethiprine then take blood at 6 hours and 8 hours. I brought her home after the initial blood draw and Don took her back (I was working that day) at 6 hours and I picked her up an hour later and sat with her until the 8 hour draw. It was sent out and the cortisol levels will be checked. We won't get results back for 2 weeks so I will be reading and thinking about the treatments.

On one hand, she has had an amazing life. And to make it to 13 years is great for a wheezer!! (also her 2 brothers have already died of other things). But, selfishly, I don't want to put her down if I can make her more comfortable for awhile and dampen back some of these symptoms.

I'll update when we get results.

Onyx Biopsy

Carol — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:15:00 GMT

Well, at least we know. Diagnosis from the biopsy: Moderate to severe lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophilic enteritis with central lacteal dilation, mild multifocal chronic LP gastritis.....

We have done just about everything diet wise as you have read in previous posts. Even the supplements like Digestin and GI Cell support that have worked really great for a couple of our other senstive digestive dogs have not helped Onyx. From an expert in Seattle the only treatment are 2 different immunosuppresant drugs. Since Onyx did terrible before on prednisone she is now on Budesonide every day. Added to that is Azathioprine. That is the "nasty" drug. Careful monitoring of neutrophils is critical as this drug is very toxic. But....if we don't try something then Onyx will die. The vet in Seattle said only 50% of these dogs get better and live. sigh.

She is down to 32 pounds. A bag of bones. Her energy levels and attitude though are almost like any other dog. She still has her beautiful sleek black coat (even while shedding!) and her eyes are bright and cheery.

We have also switched her food. Something I swore that I would never do (and I become quite obnoxious on my soap box about this) is to feed a "dog food" with corn in it. We have Onyx on Science Diet I/D both dry and canned. The dry food has the first ingredient as corn. No dog should eat a diet of corn!! I'm so against all these dogs foods that have corn, especially as the first ingredient. But obviously Onyx can't process anything else. So, now her stools are nothing but yellow corn. ugh. BUT...our vet has ordered a different very low fat dog food. It should be in soon. I'm curious to see what the ingredients are. It is not a Science Diet food. (If you read most of the labels on all the Hills/Science Diet regular foods, they are full of corn and corn products. Why????---cheap fillers that turns to fat. No wonder our pet population is obese)

She doesn't seem to be processing this food either. The vet did say it could get a little worse before her body starts to react to the drugs and begin the healing process. She is on pretty high doses right now and the object is to get her stabilized and digesting food, then start to slowly wean her off the high doses to where she can maintain with the smallest amount of drugs.

So we continue to battle with this disease. I will keep this updated as to her progress.

Onyx has surgery

Carol — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:51:00 GMT

Well....after months (years) of going around and around with Onyx and her diet, she had exploratory surgery today. In the past we kind of managed to keep her at 40 pounds by changing her diet frequently. Seemed that she would do well on one food but after a week start having blowouts again. We would change the food and it would happen again. We tried dog food of various kinds and cooked chicken. We had her on many different drugs (metronidizole, prednisone) none of which worked and only made it worse. She took Digestin and GI Cell Support for months which really helped another one of our sensitive dogs, but they didn't work for her. Her weight has been dropping and her protein levels in her body are low. So she is basically starving to death even while eating 4 times a day.

So she got 7 samples taken from her intestines, stomach and liver. The results should be in early next week and we can maybe find out what is really going on with this girls body.

Shy dogs

Carol — Thu, 20 May 2010 05:30:00 GMT

Strawberry was a very shy dog at the shelter. Her new owners renamed her Ruby. We had her here for a few days until her travel arrangements were made. One thing I always try to impress upon people is to the "right" way to approach a shy dog. This will be a first blog (of several) where I will try and explain all the different things we do to work with a shy dog and bring them out of the shell.

First is to never pet a shy dog OVER it's head. A shy dog really needs to know where your hands are at all times. When approaching a shy dog, your hand should be out in front of you, and you should approach a dog very quietly and gently. Often turning to the side will help the dog relax rather than facing them head on. The dog will pick up on any anxiety, fear or forcefulness from you. Let the dog sniff your palm. A human sweats a lot through our hands and scents are very important to a dog. Turn your hand over. Let them sniff the top. If the dog is not fearful or pulling away you can pet it under the chin. But again, don't go over the head. Let the dog see where your hand is going. If you keep it in front of the dog they are usually way more relaxed and receptive to a scratch under the chin.

Looking for a new job

Carol — Thu, 13 May 2010 06:13:00 GMT

I am wracking my brain.....what can I do for work that involves dogs? Training? Boarding kennel? Baked treats? I have been a waitress at the same place for almost 7 years. I love working nights so that I can have all of my day time devoted to the dogs. Skijoring in the winter time and hiking/biking/running with dogs in the summer time. BUT.....I really would like to quit and find something different to do. I'm not good at sitting on my duff all day in front of a computer. I need to have an active job that keeps me moving although I am good at routine stuff like computer data entry. Don keeps throwing out ideas and I keep cutting them down. I have been out of the "normal" work force for such a long time that I know I don't want to go back to an 8 to 5 job. But what to do???? That is my dilemma at the moment. I am a firm believer that once one door closes another opens. Maybe I just need to quit my current job and let fate take its course as another job or possibility for working for myself materializes. But that is always a scary proposition as I still have to feed the dogs every day!!

I have never been out of work. Never, in my life. Something always seems to drop into my lap just when I need it. I'm used to working hard and used to working long hours. I've done a lot of things from my "career" job of a chemist, to substitute school teaching, baking, waitressing, cooking, bed and breakfast owner, maid, bartender, secretary......should I go on?? I have a ton of skills. Just need to formulate all I can do into that fabulous job preferably working with animals that doesn't take me away from the house for 10 hours at a stretch. Picky? I guess. At my age I am glad that I can have choices and that I am quite happy doing a variety of different things.

I know it will all come together for me. It always does. I've never gone hungry, nor have my dogs. I just need to get the confidence and nerve to make another plunge into something different.

Skijoring at North Star

Carol — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:39:00 GMT

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Don took this video of me skijoring with Shaman Millie and Blackberry, followed down the trail by Sara Elzey and her dog Dylan. Now that spring is here and the trails are melting I love having a few videos to look back on and dream of next winter.

Older dogs

Carol — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:12:00 GMT

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I love my older dogs. (Of course I love all of my dogs...) I can't understand really how any musher can get rid of their old dogs. After those dogs have run their hearts out for you, have been in your life for many many years and that many people have raised from puppies. I guess my bond with my dogs overrides the mentality that they are a farm animal and once their working life is over, then it is time to get rid of them. As they age and change, mellow and settle into their older bones, the geriatric dog brings a song to my heart as I watch them run and play and lay in the sun peacefully. The husky is a tough breed. They don't have a lot of inherited diseases. Their mixed breed genes keep them from many of the woes of the purebreed dogs. In my video, Beans turned 15. Another dog tottering through the frames is Crowe who is soon to be 14 years old. Star will be 15 in May. 5 dogs are heading to 14 this spring and summer. Many are turning 12 or 13 this year.

I think of them in their prime. Their speed and their athleticism. Many of these older dogs are still running and it still thrills me to take them out even though we can't go as far or as fast. Just the joy on their faces of the run makes it all worthwhile. I don't care about winning or racing all the time. (although we do both at times!) I just care that I can give my companions a satisfying and happy life with the geriatric years full of activities and love too.

Misty and freedom

Carol — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:13:00 GMT

You can read about Misty on my web site under "successes." It took her quite awhile to trust anyone and over the last several years this little girl has just blossomed into one of the sweetest dogs that we have. Lately I have been loose dropping her at the truck after a run and taking walks with her and a couple of other dogs near the truck. So today we decided to see how she would do on a loose walk from our house. We took her with Ivy and Mardy who are great about coming when we call them and never run off out on our many walks. Misty did great. She will become one of our free running dogs. You could tell she was so excited about a new environment. Although she runs consistently in our skijor teams it has taken awhile to be able to totally trust her off leash. She has proven herself to be able to take on long hikes. We were probably gone for an hour today on the trails around our area. We ran into a neighbor on the trail with his BIG wolfhound mix. Misty was apprehensive with the new dog and with a strange person but she skirted around them nicely and we kept on our merry way. It is always nice to introduce dogs to long walks in the woods. The nomadic instinct of the dog pairs up nicely with our long hikes. We are looking forward to summer and many walks and runs with our dogs.

Inside Dogs

Carol — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:51:00 GMT

We have a lot of dogs in the house. 14 usually. They like to find their favorite places to curl up for a nap. These can change from one day to the next. Blackberry, in the first picture is not only curled up in a dog bed but rests her head on a pillow. ahhh. comfort. There is always a dog on the love seat. Robin and Jewel are sharing this one. Mardy (the Irish Setter), Misty (white) and Blackberry round out the dogs in this picture. Mardy and Misty are sharing a king size pillow. We have blankets, dog beds, bed pillows, crates (doors are always open) and rugs around the area. Did I say I lived in a kennel? This is really the dogs house, not mine!! I periodically fix the blanket on the love seat, but the dogs love to pull it out at the bottom to snuggle against. There is no real hierarchy as to who gets the couch. It is first come first serve!

More skijoring March 4th

Carol — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:59:00 GMT

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A great skijoring day on fast but a little bumpy trails. Hard to hold the camera, my poles, and take steady pics when you are doing 18+mph. Blackberry (on the right) and Millie in lead. Shaman in wheel. Blackberry and Shaman both came from our animal shelter. It is a well matched speedy team that is a joy to run.

Meat

Carol — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:14:00 GMT

All through the winter we feed twice a day. In the morning the dogs get a rich meat "soup". It starts out as a 50 pounds block of either a mix of meats or chicken. This block just happens to be chicken.

We score the meat with a circular saw:

and then cut it into chunks with an ax.

This we keep frozen until we want to use it. Each night we pull out 2 blocks (10 pounds) and thaw it over night. In the morning we add boiling water to make a nice meaty warm broth for the dogs. This keeps them well hydrated all winter. As the weather gets warmer we cut down to 5 pounds each morning and as summer comes on we switch over to some soaked kibble as it is hard to find frozen meat blocks up here through the summer. We do like to broth in the morning year round and feed in the afternoon. In the summer fresh water is available every day. Some people use large bowls or coffee cans on the sides of dog houses but we like to dump the water every day and make sure they have fresh each day. Since our dogs are mostly either in the house or in large fenced in yards, we put single large bowls of water in each area. We have never had a dog turn up its nose at their beverage in the morning.

Play Time

Carol — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:47:00 GMT

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Social time is very very important in a huskies life (or any dog for that matter). Even on the coldest of days when many of our dogs stay in the house or the dog barn, we let them out all together in a huge play group. Dogs are very social animals and love to play and interact. Some dogs only like 1 or 2 friends. Other dogs love to play in a large group. In our kennel there always seems to be one or 2 dogs that are the play instigators. Shaman and Jenny are probably the hardest players. They are both from the Fairbanks animal shelter and have been with us for several years. Shaman is the cream colored boy in the video and Jenny is the black pointer mix. They can always get the other dogs to join in and run around the yard at top speed.

People have often talked to me about shoulder and wrist injuries in sled dogs. I rarely have that problem and I think it is because I let my dogs free run most of the time. A dog on a chain often runs around in its circle in the same direction. This makes muscles that are not balanced. Too, with the chain pulling down on the dogs collar, many sled dogs can develop chiropractic problems. With a free run kennel, the dogs turn, jump, run and are able to stretch out their bodies and their muscles on a daily basis. Even after a summer of not running in a team or skijoring, our dogs are all in great shape and start off the winter training able to do more miles without any injuries.

Many people are worried about fights. We have had a few and they are very scary. All of the dogs are neutered and spayed so that definitely helps. But we also respect the hierarchy of the dogs themselves and the dogs have great respect for us as the ultimate last word in the kennel. I don't suggest that people just let their chained up dogs loose if they haven't done a lot of research on pack mentality and hierarchy. I hate to see dogs chained up all of the time and try to suggest starting with just a couple of dogs at a time. The rewards that come back from having a free run kennel are great and the bond that you have with your dogs can't be described.