Pumpkin the musher
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Posts posted by Pumpkin the musher
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I clean my dog yard once a day NO EXCEPTIONS, sometimes twice, especially if I'm taking them out for a run- It's not a very pleasant experience to try to get harnesses on when somebody has a poop-foot! The more you clean up the lower your bills are for de-worming and such. Just makes sense. Plus, huskies are very prim and proper when it comes to clean. most of mine won't even step in a puddle.
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Always start slow and easy- first I would get Moody used to wearing the harness- no pulling, just having the harness on and having a positive experience. My puppies start by pulling something small and fairly light, like a chunk of wood, nothing that is too heavy or that could roll forward and run into them like a wagon or cart. Command training is a little harder- I put the dog on a single tug line from the harness, them a leash on their collar- The command for turn right is "Gee" I give the command and give a gentle tug on the leash to turn them to their right, and when they comply they get a treat. Eventually they begin to move in that direction without the leash tug; same for the left or "Haw" command. Also check out the "Sled Dog Cental" website- I believe there are some resources in Europe on their links and mentors page- good luck!
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I'm glad you posted this for everyone- I loved it!
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That's a deal, as long as I can visit Sydney...!! I actually did'nt have too many people asking for puppies after Snowdogs came out (By the way, the movie SUCKED. Had no relation to reality at all. ) Anyway, I've only bred two litters in the last 10 years and kept the majority for myself, and the ones that I sold all went to working homes, not necessarily competitive mushers, but skiers and recreational mushers. Mushing is'nt all running through the virgin snow under glistening northern lites, tho- it's hard and sometimes dirty work- clipping toenails at our place is a major undertaking- 10 dogs=16 nails per dog = 160 toenails! Feeding , especially in the winter, involves chopping frozen meat at 30 degrees below zero F, hauling water, and looking for poopsicles in the snow. Hooking up for a run takes about an hour to bootie the tender foots, harness everybody and load the sled (or four wheeler if there is'nt snow). But on those days when everything works, the experience is magical. Malamum- let me know when you'll be here; I'll pick you up at the airport in Minneapolis... January is nice in Wisconsin! And Courtnek- you're close- you could drive!
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OK, I guess I'll jump in now... :wink: As the proud owner of 10 sled dogs, (Alaskan Huskies) and one Pomeranian who thinks she is a sled dog :roll: , I can agree that there is definitely a pack mentality with a group this large. The musher has to be in control, but the job is shared with the lead dog. I'm blessed with a fantastic leader- she is 6 years old and her name is Bug. I trust her implicitly, and she knows this. I know I will never have another dog like her, ever. She has led my team, (up to 12 dogs, paired two at a time, thats about 35 feet of dogs!) past loose cows, dogs, horses, deer and even [b]ostriches[/b]. (thats another story- I'll tell ya later, promise) She passes other teams like they were'nt even there, will obey all her commands 100%. It does'nt get any better than that. Plus she's as cute as a bug- hence her name. Someday I'll be able to post some pictures, but she sort of looks like a Saarloos wolfhound, if you know what they look like.
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Well, the weekend didn't turn out as well as I'd planned. On Friday I took Aesa, a 6 yr old female to the vet cause she was off her food a bit and seemed a little down. After some tests, the vet told me that she had massive kidney failure and would not survive. She was put to sleep that day. He said that it was probably hereditary and could not has been prevented or forseen, but that did'nt make it any easier. That evening, the rest of the dogs looked for her during their social time, even little Cricket looked in her house. It was very sad to watch. On Saturday, we went for a short run, as it was about 55 degrees, and it was hard to leave her harness on the hook. Her running partner Gemma seemed to be confused as well. Travel well, little Aesa, we miss you.
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Well, this weekend promises to be cool enough for our first training run of the year- We start out with short runs of 2 or 3 miles, with lots of stops for pets, treats and water. My lead dog Bug knows something is up- she stares at me all the while I'm outside just quivering with excitement. Some of the other ones are'nt that bright... :roll: Hopefully we get a "real winter" this year and can actually go to more than one race! I'll post back on Tuesday and let you know how we fared. :cool2:
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I had originally seen the link on the "Sled Dog Central" web site, but it is'nt there now :-?
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I agree Annushka- a true Siberian is quite different from what the show style is here in the States. There is a man in Canada trying to breed back to what they originally looked like- he calls them Seppala siberians in honor of one of the founders of the breed in the west, Leonard Seppala. If I can find the website again I'll point you at it, really interesting stuff.
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I guess I would have to disagree that it is'nt ideal, up to a point. Most dogs can pull, be it a sled or a skier(called ski-jouring). I've seen skiers pulled by everything from Standard poodles, Blue heelers, Setters, Goldens Labs and even a pair of Rotties. There are certain breeds tho that would have a harder time of it- those with a pre-disposition to hip problems, and those whose builds make it harder for them to pull. The GSD's I've seen lately with the radically dropped rear ends would be a problem, as would extremely heavy boned breeds or if your dog is overweight. There are tons of races all over the U.S for novice ski-jourers , most no longer that a mile or two. the best way to get a feel for it is to attend a race and meet some of the mushers-most are very willing to share what they know. There is also allot of info on the web about ski-jouring and sledding. Have fun, but beware- it's addicting!
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I've also heard comments about how cruel I am to keep my Alaskans outside- They all have insulated houses with removable "windows" screened , of course! for when summer rolls around. . On winter days when it is above 0 F, most of them sleep outside anyway, oblivious to the house. Each house is packed with straw when the weather turns chilly, but they normally dig it all out and sleep on it outside. :-? . When we are training or racing, they have more chance of becoming overheated than too cold, but just in case we have fleece jackets for the ones with shorter coats if it ever is super cold.
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Dog bites?
in Polls
My mother's poodle bit me in rear end when I was 9, but I probably deserved it... I've owned close to 50 dogs over the course of my life and have never been bitten, or even snarled at by any of them. My little 5 lb Pom Cricket goes with me when I feed the sled dogs, and can go up to any of them. she even helps my lead dog lick out her dish.
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Sorry folks, no pictures yet. I don't actually own a computer, and do all my surfing on my breaktimes at work. Hence my lack of posts on weekends! I do plan to get a computer soon though, and you will have plenty pictures, I promise.
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Besides my 10 Alaskans, I have a 5 lb. Pomeranian- she has her own little harness and loves to pull around her little toy sled- she also loves to ride in the sled when I train my "Real" sled dogs :D .
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That is beautiful, and now I'm crying again. It was a tough weekend, both the husband and I shed a few tears. I just finished the garden I built in our front yard for her under a huge oak tree- her favorite spot. There is a rock from the North shore of Lake Superior with her name ingraved on it and iris planted along the back. In the front I put a small herb garden and of course some carrots, her absolutely favorite food.
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Dear Pumpkin: This Sunday you will have been gone one year. That last day was probably the worst day I will ever spend- I thought you would just go to sleep, die peacefulltyat home, but you were too tough. Perhaps you saw how much pain we were in and wanted to stay to help me feel better-you always were very sensitive and would crawl up on my lap if I was crying over something. For alot of years I had a few things to cry about, and your pretty sable fur soaked up allot of those tears. You did have a wonderful unique life tho. Not allot of Pomeranians have ridden for 100's of miles in a dogsled, or spent hours hiking through the woods, or swimming in lakes. You were a pretty good frisbee dog for a little tyke too, you could grab them right out of the air. Then I found those two lumps under your jaw, and the vet said you had cancer-lymphoma, and that you would maybe live 2 or 3 more months. I cried every one of those days, as well as the 2 more months you hung on. At last I couldn't watch you suffer any more, and my wonderful vet Jerry had to help you get to the bridge. Good bye sweet poofy tail :(
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I have a protein supplement that I mix in my sled dogs' normal kibble and meat ration- it's ground and freeze dried anchovies, it smells awful, but they sure love the taste. Remember, these are the same creatures who will roll in something putrid and think it's the doggie equivilent of Chanel #5 . This works good frozen into pupsicles in summer too- I don't feed alot of meat in summer cause of the storage problems and spoilage potential, but if I can get fresh fish, like carp, I will trim the meat off and feed it raw- they love it plus it has lots of beneficial fatty acids .
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I sometimes have a hard time finding toys small enough for Cricket (4.5 lbs ) She loves the tiny tennis balls, about the size of golf balls, and has a small fleece teddy bear that is just about shredded completely . The big dogs have a couple of "jolly balls" I think they were originally made for horses, it's a ball with a rubber handle molded into it. It seems fairly tough,too- all 10 can chase each other around and tug on it and it has shown very little wear.
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I should have a pre-made list that I can just paste in...here goes
Cricket- 1 year old Pomeranian
My sled dogs:
Bug 7 yrs old
Merlin 7
Happy 7
Zeus 7
Aesa 5
Bernie 4
George 3
Tynan 2
Woofy 2
Gemma 2
One Cane Toad, Hazel, about 12 yrs old
One Newt ,Alfie 26 years old :o
Two Oriental Fire Bellied Toads about 4 yrs old -
A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a "show of breeds" that our local humane society puts on as a money raiser. Most folks haven't seen real sled dogs so I always bring Merlin; he's seven years old and my main puppy trainer lead dog. He is very stable, calm and non-reactive, and also happens to be a unique color- almost all white with a black patch over half of his face. (Hang on, I have a small dog tie -in here somewhere..) Anyway, this year Merlin decided to shed late and was a mess, so I had to pick someone else. Well. some are shy, most were shedding, except for a young male named Bernie, who had never been to one of these functions before, and is strong enough if he has a mind to to pull me off my feet. I could see myself being dragged the length of the auditorium by this lumox... So I throw caution to the wind and took Bernie,as well as Cricket, my 4.5 lb. pomeranian. What a odd couple that was. It was even stranger when we were seated next to a women with a 180lb English Mastiff :o Cricket, being a typical Pom decides this dog must be barked at and subdued immediately, upon which he tries to lick her and knocks her down with his tongue; which incidentally, was bigger than her. Later in the day, she decided to bark at the rear end of this monstrous dog and got taken out by tail wagging. Very funny to watch. Bernie had never seen a dog bigger than himself and tried numerous times to crawl under my chair. I got home covered with dog slobber and hair, but had a great time. Bernie earned his gold star too, he was a perfect gentleman.
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Hi Katherine- I live in Wisconsin, and race Alaskan huskies. I started with Siberians, but got tired of coming in last in all the races. Most competative mushers use Alaskans- Siberians have become too heavy boned and short legged, while Malamutes are simply too big- Don't get me wrong, they are both lovely breeds, but they have been bred to conform to an AKC standard, not a working standard. Alaskans are really mutts- allot of different breeds have been added over the years to produce what the Alaskan is today, like hounds, Irish setter, greyhound, and Border Collie. The latest mutation that is burning up the sprint racing circuit are Alaskans with some German shorthair pointer mixed in. Incredibaly fast dogs. As I said before tho, I do Mid-distance, with mileages around the 25 to 100 mile length. My guys have some Malamute mixed in and weigh about 45 to 65 lbs. . Again, check out sled Dog Central- there is a mentor list -perhaps you can find someone near you to help you out.
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Hello, fellow musher! I currently have 10 Alaskan huskies and train for mid- distance races- I've been mushing for almost 25 years now, and am glad to see that the sport is becoming more popular. Where are you from? If you haven't already seen it, check out a sight called Sled Dog Central- Huge sight with lots of info, mentors, discussions and equipment resources.
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Thanks guys! :)
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Hmmm.
Cricket: Crickey Poo,Shnoozle,Poofy dog, Moo Cow :o (She's a black and white parti)
Bug: Bug-a-loo, Boo
Merlin: Squirrel (? I'm not even sure how that started), White.
Happy: Happy-Mal, Malamute(she looks like her mother, who was half Mal.)
Aesa: Aesa,Aesa funny face-a (said while singing :wink: ) Sausage.
Zeus: Dr. Zeus, Old man.
Bernie: Washburn, (his real name) Bernie-boo.
Tynan: Ty, Wolf, fur ball.
Gemma: Gem, Coyote.
Woofy: Goofy, Yellow pup
George: Red, Collie dog, Crazy George.
And of course, the group name when they all decide to start howling at 2 AM in the morning: HEY IDIOTS!
We're having puppies!!
in Breeding
Posted
Well, I made the official determination last night, Happy, one of my best dogs, is pregnant, and will be having her pups about Oct 13th. Th father is George, my back-up leader, who has some really nice bloodlines from Alaska. I plan on keeping most of them, the only reason for selling any would be because they wee too big or too small, and of course they would only go to other mushers or skiers. I;ll do my best to try to get a friend to post some pictures, and I'll keep you updated!!