Mind games....

Have you ever tried to play the "Chinese Box" games (or similar things)? Mind games, or puzzles are a great way to keep the brain in shape....and they have them for dogs too!!!
Phoebe was introduced to her mind game toy yesterday....Oh boy was she excited to sniff out the hidden goodies! She is still on the "beginner level", but that is fine for now :-)
See the cute video of her solving the puzzle here: http://prikoh.multiply.com/video/item/14/Brinquedo_da_Phoebe?replies_read=2

For examples of other dog puzzles, check out the selection on YouTube - Nina Ottoson is the designer of the game we have;
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Nina+Ottosson&search_type=&aq=f

They say that 30 minutes of "mind games" makes the dogs tired just like they would have run around for 1 hour...! And it is a good tiredness - varied stimuli - physical and mental is a key to good doggy development :-)

Enjoy!

Challenging the house rules...

Here again!

House rules.... NO jumping on the sofa...NO jumping on the bed....do NOT bite people....NO stealing of shoes, socks, NO chewing of furniture etc etc... Come on - are we asking too much!? :-)

It makes me laugh out loud every day now that I catch Phoebe happily yapping, hanging out in the sofa or on the bed chewing one of my socks :-) It is the exact behaviour that one should expect of a puppy her age - challenging the rules! A stern NO, a pointed finger, and if needed, pushing her off the sofa is what is needed now. Do NOT let her get away with it or she will sense the "weak soul" and think that if it was OK once, then perhaps, maybe it IS allowed!?

We just LOVE her to death - being stern does not mean she does not get a lot of cuddles and praise when she behaves.... She can now even perform "sit", "lay down" and "stay" quite well!

Oh - and between all of the above....food and sleep are still high on the list!

Later!

Growing...

Tried to weigh Phoebe this morning - I cradled her in my arms and checked the combined reading, then let her go and did my own... We only have an analouge set of scales, so it is rather inaccurate. My guesstimate of her weight is a little over 5kg - when we picked her up she was 4.1kg, so she is putting on weight nicely! She has recently been dewormed, and in a little more than 1 week, she will receive her booster vaccine injections - this should cover her until next summer.

First "wilderness" experience!

Hi dear friends!

We just got back home after our overnight camping trip in the forest. Drove the car to "Østmarksetra" and walked 5 km to Hauktjern lake. On the way there we had to stop and cool down in a lake....! Even at 17:00 in the early evening it was 30+ deg C! Phoebe jumped in the water without hesitation, so I guess her experience jumping out of the canoe has not upset her too much! After a sweaty walk we arrived at our chosen campsite.

Hauktjern is a popular rock climbing area in the forests east of Oslo where I have camped many times before. It was not surprising that we had a group of people with 3 other tents for company. A quiet evening was enjoyed by all, including sharing a couple of bottles of wine between us. Phoebe got a lot of attention and fell asleep content by the small fire...

Eating and drinking certainly was not a problem for her on the trip - she got to use her new collapsible canvas food and water bag that I had bought for her in Edinburgh.

It does seem like her legs are getting longer every day now - she certainly set a good pace on our walk...that is, when she wasn't distracted by a jogger...butterfly...leaf....!


Walking home today was hot, even in the morning, so we had several more "pit stops" to drink and wade in the water along the way.

A thoroughly enjoyable camping trip was had by all - a shame though that Priscila could not join us, but I am sure she was enjoying her trip to Frankfurt to meet her friend Silvia :-)
Until next time - enjoy the summer!

Home and away...

Hi again!

This week I had to go to Edinburgh from Tuesday until Thursday on a business trip. My dad looked after our little Phoebe during the daytime, and Priscila had her all to herself in the evenings....! It went very well according to them both - even so, it was hard to be away from her.... Yesterday, Priscila went straight from work the airport to fly to Frankfurt to visit a friend, and my dad went off to collect his visa at the Indian Embassy..
You can imagine that both Phoebe and I "wagged our tails" when I opened the door yesterday evening and we saw each other again!

On our evening walks we met 2 dogs - the neighbour whom used to have Huksies was out with her son's dog that she was looking after. Phoebe actually wanted to play, but the other bitch was "in heat" and acting a little grumpy...! Later we met the Am Staff (Pitbull) dog again. This time there was a lot of wagging of tails and sniffing, and the owner gave Phoebe some dog snacks that she LOVED!

Tonight we are taking the backpack, tent and fishing rod to spend the night in the forest - there is always a first time for everything annd Phoebe needs to get used to sleeping outdoors as well as in her comfy cot....

Have an excellent weekend!

Another day at the office...

After lunch we went to visit Priscila and her boss, Karin at the National Hospital. Karin used to own a Siberian Husky and was sooooooooo curious to meet Phoebe! We have a fellow, dog-loving ally there - she said that on occasion Phoebe may sit in her office, but I would rather not impose - after all, they are in the forensic medicine institute and work under "clean conditions" when they are in the labs. Anyway - it is nice to know that Phoebe has friends!

After visiting Priscila's colleagues, it was time for Phoebe's first trip with me to my office in the Science Park here in Oslo. We only spent a couple of hours there, but she had the chance to say "woof" to a couple of colleagues and a small, fluffy, white haired "exotic dog" (can't remember the name of the race..). She settled down really well in the cage that was placed underneath my office desk, and promptly fell asleep :-)

At home, Priscila had a nice pre-dinner play session with her - see the video here:

http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/54/Priscila_and_Phoebe_playing_the_living_room

Enjoy!

Grrrrrowling at dogs and outdoor pursuits...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr - voff!

Believe it or not...Phoebe is a brave little girl....at least when she has my legs to hide between....! On our walk yesterday evening she met a large, muscular, male Am Staff (American Staffordshire) - also known as "Pitbull"....! He was gentle enough, peeing and scratching his feet in the grass to show that he was "the MAN"... Phoebe just stared at him and started going, "grrrrrrrrrrrr, voff, boff!!" She is simply saying - "I don't want to play - do not annoy me....." Cool girl :-) When Priscila tried to put her toy "Porquhino" dog in front of her, she started growling at it! That is until she realised she was not alive.... hehehehe

Today Priscila, Phoebe and our friend Rodrigo went to Sørkedalselven to try to assemble our Ally canoe properply for the first time.... It went surprisingly well compared to our last aborted attempt.... Phoebe was running around in the grass, and she even came with us in the canoe for a short paddle.... She was very curious to look at the water passing by until she decided to jump out...! We rescued her out of the water again..she shook herself off, but soon shivered with the chill... All wet and miserable we paddled back and after drying her with my t-shirt I put her in the cage in the back of the car where she could relax abit... A very eventful day for all!

Thanks to our friend Rodrigo for the help in assembling the canoe! Thanks amigo!!

See a couple of videos here:

http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/52

http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/53

L8R!

Eating well, running around, visiting...

Me again :-)

After a few days of reluctant eating, we bought Vom and Hundemat (type 25) wet dog feed (contains chicken, beef intestines/internal organs, salmon and added vitamins). You bet her appetite kicked in with a taste of real meat added to her dry food pellets! Yum, yum!
Her activity level seems to have improved (maybe my imagination), and she has been busy exploring the neighbourhood. Yesterday she went for a run around on the lawn with her mum, Priscila - it is all Priscila can do to outrun her... Phoebe will certainly be a fast dog :-)
See the video of them here: http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/50

Today we all went to visit the kennel of Johanne Sundby, one of the more experienced Siberian Husky racers in Norway. She has given us a lot of good advice and support along the way to aquiring our dog - many thanks to her! She has been lucky to receive a puppy from Hans-Christian Ørjestad (aka "The King"). With parents in the elite of Siberian racing, "little" Bardus is bound to have a good future as a sleddog. I was very happy to see that they got along very well together, despite the fact that 3-month old Bardus is much bigger than 9-week old Phoebe.... Did I mention MUCH bigger!? Phoebe is a careful "foxy" little lady in comparison - doesn't mean she can't try to steal his food! See a video of them here: http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/51

See you soon!

Forging ahead into a new world...

Voff!?

Its me- Phoebe again...
Did someone ever tell you that Siberian (and Alaskans for that matter) Huskies are extremely adaptable!? After only the 2nd day here at her new home with us, she has slept quietly all thorough the night (except for a pee-break at 05:00 in the morning...)

Yesterday she went for a long walk and said hello to 6 older children, 5 adults (including 2 of them in electric wheelchairs) and the caretaker out with his petrol-powered lawnmower! If a little sceptical and frightened a first, some encouragement can turn her from shaking with fear into a little girl wagging her tail and licking the hand of the person greeting her - thats our little good girl! We also went through an automatic door and took the lift 2 floors to get into my mothers apartment... Once there she drank some water and promply fell asleep on our feet whilst we sat at the computer where I helped out with some computer "expert advice".

Voff, voff - I am going to run fast and pull a sled when I grow up! Aren't I?!
See you soon :-)

Phoebe enjoying the grass...

Here again!
Just wanted to show you all a picture of our beloved Phoebe enjoying the grass outside where we live here at Hovseter... Everyone who meets her praise her good looks.... What do you think!? Fishing for complements on her behalf!? Me!?
MjauVoff!

Animal Planet.....READY, STEADY, GO!

Hi dear friends!

Time for a quick entry in my new BLOG..... From the title of the blog, you may guess that the subject is related to....Mjau, Voff - animals! My wife and I have started adding members to our family...

First off is Phoebe - our Siberian Husky bitch.... She is such a sweet girl, and if all goes well, a potential sled dog leader - at least both her parents run as lead, and given good nurturing, there is a possibilty! We shall see what the future brings :-)

At the moment, sleeping, eating, peeing, s******* and exploring the world by smell, touch and sound is what interests her.... More later - time to take her for a quick walk outside.