Summer musings

Returning to our kennel is a Freya daughter, Velvet (Meecha as she was known in her former home).  Like so many who have been affected by the horrible economy, Velvet's family found themselves unable to stay in their country home, and mournfully contacted us.  Hopefully there will come a time when she can rejoin them, but meanwhile, she has made herself at home here. 

Velvet is so very much like her mother, smart, built for speed, athletic, and more than her fair share of intelligence.  After close to a month of feeding her premium food spiked with homecooked, vitamins, fatty skins and honey, she is up to optimal weight and even more energetic than she was previously.  I can't wait to put her in harness once the weather cools off.

Speaking of which, it has been a record breaking summer heat here.  Bleh!  I really need to move someplace colder...

Bandit has been doing well so far, and this weekend he gets his microchip.  This will be a bit of a relief knowing he will have his medical information on file so that if he ever gets out or lost somehow, and if they scan his chip they will immediately know he needs medication.  Bandit is thrilled to have his little sister back, and loves playing with her.  Velvet's best buddy, though, is Ghost, who isn't so little any more.  He is a gorgeous nearly grown boy!  With a small break in the heat, I can start preparing him for the Lexington show.  He has the freeze down pat, but needs work on stacking and heel.  He's pretty smart though, so I know it won't take him long.

Moony the Bully

Lately Moony has developed a disturbing habit which I'm having to train her out of.  I can only assume that while I am not there during the day, she is allowed to snatch things from other dogs and keep them even attacking them for the item.  The key here being that she keeps the item she fought for. 

This morning I gave Princess an egg, but before she could get out the door with it, Moony was on her.  Fortunately I was only a long step away, and was able to grab Moony, get the egg and give it back to Princess and put Moony in her room.  This is not the first time she's done this, and I believe it is because Jim has let her keep the items she's stolen.  So, not only do I have to train Moony out of being a bully, I have to train Jim in to not letting his little girl be a bully.

Unfortunately, Cowboy is learning from her example, and tried bullying Demon.  Fortunately, I was right there to stop them the first time.  He tried it while I was in WV and Jim stopped them, so hopefully that will be the end of it as long as Moony is shown that being a bully is not rewarding.

Cherish the Moments

Bucky is a unique soul.  He loves to play, but he also loves to cuddle.  This morning he insistantly crawled into my lap while I sat in the recliner.  He curled up in my lap (overflowingly since he's a pretty big dog), leaned his head into my chest, and stretched out his forearm to lay it over me.  Never had I had a dog that was so 'humanly' expressive of his love.  Most are like Yukon, content to hug and love in a canine fashion, but not Bucky.  That just isn't good enough for him, he wants so much to imitate how Jim and I show love for each other.  It is touching in a way that is difficult to explain, but oh so wonderfuly fulfilling.

This morning he sat with me like that for close to an hour even though I know it is a bit uncomfortable and probably too warm for him.  The devotion of this boy is simply incredible.  In harness he pulls his heart out, and will lead or follow equally willingly, though he prefers lead (problem is he gets distracted easily, so I have to put him with a dog that doesn't get distracted from running).  At home he is incredibly loving and loves nothing more than to be petted and loved on.  Well, maybe he also loves laying in front of the AC when it is warm out...

Yukon

Yukon is probably one of my most enigmatic dogs.  Serene and contemplative when he's not playing.  There is a sadness in his soul that is buried deep in his eyes.  He has known betrayal and abandonment and is afraid at times to trust and love unconditionally.  It has taken three years to finally let go of his hurt and realize that we will never allow that to happen to him again.

This morning he came to me full of love and the want for reassurance and company.  He approached with tail wagging, a shy smile, body canted, ears back and head slightly lowered showing me respect and love.  His tongue licked my lower jaw first, then my face as I rubbed his ears and belly.  Knowing he had my acceptance of his attention, he put his front paws on the chair between my knees and leaned closer so that I could hug him.  His head rested firmly on my shoulder in a return hug as he let out a sigh of contentment.  I could feel the unconditional love, respect and adoration from him as clearly as I might my husband or son.  He trusts me, and his faith is in me.  I'm sure he felt my love, respect and adoration for him as well. 

Our relationship is built on respect, trust and love.  He respects my ability to provide for him and knows his world is controlled by me, at the same time he trusts that I am benevolent and will make sure he does not go hungry, and I will protect him from fear and pain.  More than that, he loves me because I provide for him with love and has learned I would not betray that love.

For my part, I respect his power, his strength, agility and sheer athleticism and I provide him the venue to explore and revel in his power.  It is beautiful for me to watch him run, and being a part of his pack when he runs is like no other feeling on earth.  We are one, and we run because we can, and it is pure joy.  I trust him that he will never lash out at me and will respect my wishes as I have his best interests at heart when I ask something of him.  I reward him with love and with special treats for his good behaviors and for a reward for running with the pack. 

I also respect he is a forever young and inquisitive mind, and keep alert for him getting in to things he shouldn't.  But there is no fear in the admonishment, no bullying.  He has learned that I would never hurt or bully him in to something he did not want to do, but I will intervene when his or another's safety is at risk. 

The three years it has taken to build this relationship with him have been well worth it.

Cowboy, Ghost, Ace and Princess, or how I lost my house to the dogs again

A friend asked if I had room for another running dog as he didn't want to show any more.  After a bit of a discussion, I asked if it would be ok if I tried to rehabilitate him back to the show ring.  The problem was that he had been terribly frightened at a show and did not seem to want to go to another show.  And so it was that I met my friend down in Bowling Green and picked up Cowboy.

He's a very sweet gentle soul with a lovely smile.  It took less than an hour to finish the introductions, and soon he was good friends with Bucky and Princess who thought I brought her home a boy toy. 

Needless to say, she had to be kept separate from him as she, Ace and Freya decided that would be an opportune moment to go in to heat.  All thought of beginning Cowboy's rehab training had to be set aside while I dealt with keeping the girls away from him, and housetraining him not to mark everywhere.  It was also hard to get his attention away from raging hormones, so I took the time to earn his trust, give him time to adjust to his new home, and learn the ropes.

Cowboy was an immediate hit with the younger boys, being about the same age.  They romped and played and played and romped around the acre of yard.  With the older boys, he was a new face and was treated with friendly uncertainty, but no aggression.  Moony soon took charge of showing him around and teaching him about his new home.  At night he slept by my bed in the crate while the girls were in heat, a welcome change from having to shuffle him out and the girls in and vice versa during the day.  He loves the crate, and even when it is open and he is inside while the girls are out, he can often be found laying down in it.  In order to make things easier on us and to fulfill my promise to ensure that the epilepsy gene is not passed on, we had Freya spayed.  This was a very hard decision, as she is a tremendous leader dog and her work ethic is amazing.  It was hard to decide it wasn't worth the risk to breed her again.  Our foundation hope now lies with Princess and Ace.

Ghost also loves to play with him, and is getting so big!  Soon it will be time to take him to the shows.  His training is coming along very well, however, it has been hard to get him to the Kennel Club practices since my husband now goes to school in the evenings.  But we will be gearing up for puppy matches starting next month.

Meanwhile our AC gave out, so we had to get some window units, and our roof was torn up by a storm.  Fortunately the insurance helped pay for our new roof, but not the AC.  It will probably be some time until we can afford to replace that.  Oh and my husband's car was on its last legs, so we traded it in for a 2012 Subaru Impreza.  Great gas mileage, and I'm pretty pleased with the pep and features.

Over the past few weeks, Cowboy's confidence and comfort level has grown and he has become an integral part of our family and pack.  He loves the big yard and loves being able to play with the other dogs.  This morning I was able to allow the girls to interact with him without him attempting to mount even though Princess played with him.  Cowboy seemed completely uninterested in anything but play, not even a sniff, so we should be ok.  It will be a relief to not have to shuffle dogs in and out for 5 or 6 months.  With that out of the way, I should be able to concentrate on Ghost's and Cowboy's show training.

Dog cookies, Iditarod and other things

In an effort to ensure our and our dogs' diets are more healthy, we've been pretty busy around here.  So far we have baked up eight dozen dog cookies (frugally, they are half the cost of store bought and we know what is and isn't in them), 40lbs of homecooked dog food, 10lbs of chicken jerky, 5lbs of dried fruits, planted 22 sweatpea plants and have a dozen tomatoes almost ready to plant.  I also have two dozen carrot clusters ready to plant in a week or so.  Of the things, we probably still have about 3lbs chicken jerky, no fruit, two dozen cookies because we baked more last night, and 10lbs of homecooked dog food.  The plants are doing well, and my orchard is beginning to bud.  Of the 9 fruit trees I've planted, 7 are still looking good, so I'm hoping we might actually get a couple of fruits this year.  Spreading diatomaceous earth and planting natural deterrants around the orchard for wild animals, so hopefully the fruit will last long enough to harvest.

Been trying to get the dogs out at least every other day for walks, and spending at least an hour a day in the dog yard playing and running with them besides them being able to spend the rest of the days and nights in the house if they so please.  My bond with the pack is stronger than ever and it is fun and amazing to be a part of their social interaction.  They never cease to amaze me with their devotion and loving natures.

Ghost is growing by the day and his adult coat is almost in.  He has the most beautiful pattern, and it accents his lines well.  He is going to be one striking boy!

Bandit has been doing well, and we hope he will continue to do well now that we know exactly what level of medication he has to be at.  So though we are busy with spring planting, cleaning and repairs, at least we are not in a state of emergency.

On the mushing front, I have been very happy to follow the Iditarod with an insider package.  Just wish I had more time to use it.  However, today has been very riviting, and I hope to watch the live finish in just a few hours.  Aliy has given Dallas Seavy a run for his money, but unless he has a mishap, it looks like Dallas will take the win.  It is still a running game between Aliy and Ramey Smythe for second though, but she's staying a constant mileage ahead of him.  This has been one of the most exciting races in years!

Puppy Love

Ghost has been doing very well with us, and has quickly become a beloved member of the pack.  Each of the dogs have taken turns playing with him and making him feel welcome.  He has two surrogate moms, Moony and Ace.  Both girls dote on him as if he were their own. 

Lately he and Princess have become playmates, and she plays with him quite a bit.  I even caught him playing with Samantha and even Demon.  Yukon will play by running at him with his roar then jump over him as he cowers.  He'll also let Ghost chase him around.  Bandit and Ghost play constantly, and we have to keep an eye on them as Bandit sometimes doesn't know when to stop (meds impair his judgement).  Bucky too will get a little rough, but generally backs off when Ghost whines.

This morning (March 9) Ghost outgrew his puppy pen, he learned how to jump out of it.  Since he was big enough to get out on his own, we figured it was time he was allowed to go in and out on his own.  This morning I took down the pen. 

He is growing so fast!  He is becoming a beautiful dark gray along his back, but his neck is light white still with a line of gray on either side of it up to the top of his head around his mask.  He is getting to be one gorgeous boy!