Food, food - oh, glorious food!

Mjau Woooof!
Cats and dogs are....animals! Oh yeah!? Instincts rule - water, food, sex - in that order...
BUT - there is so much else! Playfulness - moodiness - boredom - joy - affection and tenderness.... All of these aspects come to light when you spend enough time with your furry friends - they are so GREAT to be with :-) They have their little moments - like today - Priscila and I are watering out a piece of "Klippfisk" (Bacalhau - salt-dried cod) to have for dinner.... Overnight it was sitting in a bucket inside our shower cabinet, away from the animals....
This morning, we changed the water and Priscila left it on the kitchen bench.....ai ai! A little later, whilst I was outside with Phoebe, Nexus had managed to overturn the bucket, getting a drenching of "fishy water".....!!! RIGHT! Thats IT :-) Into the shower with him....(more on that later)... Priscila and I sit down to watch a TV show on her computer when I suddenly say, "Mmmm, what is that noise?" "What noise?!" AI AI AI AI - Nexus has "fished out" the pieces of fish from the bucket (God knows how, they are almost as big as himself)... He is sitting happily on the kitchen bench, nibbling on one of the pieces of fish...!!!! I had seen Phoebe trotting along happily between the kitchen and veranda, and I therefore went after her to see what had happened to the other piece! We found her licking her lips and we thought that the game was up....or rather, the fish was lost...! I opened up the roof of her house to find the piece of fish hidden away for later....!!!??? I guess she was not hungry enough....heheheh...
Oh well......kids are kids.... They now seem to have formed a perfect team - Nexus climbing onto the "higher ground" and Phoebe picking up the "manna from heaven" :-) Priscila and I WILL have our bacalhau dinner tonight...... (rinsed in buckets of water and coocked in the oven should be safe....hihihi) - Later!

On tour with the Siberian Husky Club

Every Tuesday, the local Oslo area part of the Siberian Husky Club goes for a walk in the forest.
This was the first time since summer that Priscila and I went together for this walk. I borrowed a young dog from Ingvild Jørgensen (of Rodeløkka Kennel), Priscila "strapped" Phoebe to her through an old climbing harness....The walk in total was 7 km with a break at approximately half way. On the walk was also Line Løw (Kennel Huskyville) with 2 puppies - 11 weeks Dolly and 6 months Snøgg. At the break, Phoebe and Dolly played like crazy! Dolly seems very dominant and tried to "put Phoebe in her place", something she did manage quiet well! They are very closely matched in size despite the age difference (Phoebe 15 weeks). When Dolly became more tired, Phoebe gained the advantage slightly because of her longer back and ability to turn Dolly over....! See this video of them playing - http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/58/Phoebe_and_Dolly
Because of the muddy weather, you can bet they got DIRTY!!! VOOOOF! :-)

Playfight!

Nexus and Phoebe are getting good at playfighting together! This picture is taken of them in the evening during their "evening playfight session" - you will notice in the video (http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/57/Playfight) that they are quite slow and half-hearted about it.... It had already been a long day!! Miiiiiiiiijau, voooooof! :-)

A day in the forest...

Yesterday we went for a long walk in the forest - the sun was shining, blue skies and quiet hot!

We drove the car to Sørkedalen School where we planned to start our walk. As we pulled off the main road, we spotted my mum walking along in the same direction! It turns out she had planned to walk the same route as us, packing 4 kgs in her backpack and wearing mountain boots in preparation for her hiking trip at the end of this week...!

We walked 5kms uphill stopping at the 3km mark at Finnerud where we drank water and had a quick snack - onwards up the paths to Kobberhaughytta (Copper Mound Cabin). Here we stopped for another snack and drink of water before we walked on the road downhill again to the car.... On the road back out of the Sørkedalen (Sørke Valley) we saw my dad on his bike! It turns out he had ALSO been in the same parts - in fact he had tried to call me whilst resting at the Sørkedalen Shop and Cafe... Priscila and Phoebe are getting indoctrinated with the Norwegian "Out on a trip, never a sour face" (ut på tur, aldri sur!) mentality...

When we came home, Phoebe had a nice dinner and promptly fell asleep like a sack of potatoes! 10kms is quite a trip for a little girl! Looking forward to many more nice trips with the family in the future! MjauVoff :-)

Priscila and mum posing for the camera - Phoebe hides in the bushes....!

Phoebe sniffing out the blueberry bushes

Phoebe and me outside Kobberhaughytta cabin (Copper Mound Cabin)

Sniffing around...

Phoebe looking for something to eat....!? (on top of her dog house)

Phoebe posing for anatomy study...

Hi again! After more than a week with a bad stomach, Phoebe is now "back in business"!
Yesterday was her first day at the Puppy Kindergarden - she was reeeeeeeally excited about learning "sit", following the nice tasty, smelly fishball and generally hanging out with the other "kids" !!! :-) She was the only example of a sled dog there, but there were several different "birdhunting dogs" (fuglehund), as well as a "elk hunting dog" - this reflects the Norwegian interest for hunting...! Since Phoebe will grow up to be a working sled dog anatomy is important - I took a photo of her on top of the doghouse for an anatomical study. I am pretty "green" in this area but perhaps Hans Christian (the King) would have a comment or two!?
We shall see - I guess she needs to grow a fair bit more before we can tell - MjauVoff! :-)

Sleepy head!?

Miiiiiiiiiijau....... Cats are known to sleep a great number of hours every day.... Priscila enjoys a good afternoon nap before we have dinner, and this time I caught Nexus and her napping together....! Wake up, wake up! Mjau Voff :-)

Nexus enjoying a good scratch :-)

Mjau? Nexus, like all cats, enjoy their morning "toalette" - after dipping his paw in the waterbowl he cleans his face - next on the list comes a nice scratch behind his ear....ahhhhh, what could be better!? Mjau mjau! :-)

Priscila and the kids :-)

Finally we managed to get the 2 kids together in one place for more than a second... So here is the first family portrait! MjauVoff! :-)

Nexus stretching out

Nexus is not only the King of Furniture (climbing onto the sofa, chairs, tables...), but has started to claim a large stake of the floor space! Here he is stretching out on the floor, staring into the camera lens....hehe :-) Miiiiijau!?

Not *quite* perfect harmony...

Phoebe and Nexus seem to be getting along quite well! Nexus drinks from her water bowl while she stands next to him eating.... They are now able to stay within close proximity without any fuss - that is until Nexus suddenly remembers to hiss and Phoebe barks to play!

Animal planet :-)

Phoebe on tour with the Siberian Husky Club

Yesterday I took Phoebe out for an extended walk with the Oslo-region group of the Norwegian Siberian Husky Club - she finally got to mix it up with the "big boys" (mostly female dogs actually!) She was soooooo excited to meet everyone, licking their faces, playfully interacting, submitting... On the walk from Sognsvann to Ullevålseter she kept pace with the adults and even tried to stay out in front.... A potential leader!!?? :-) I turned back slightly over halfway to Ullevålseter and walked back down to Sognsvann with Kathinka whom had with her Naledi and Emilie - two beautiful females. Also on the walk were Ingvild of Rodeløkka Kennel and Line of Huskyville Kennel - a very nice walk! Phoebe and I are looking forwards to the Tuesday walks that we will join :-)

Nexus warming up :-)

Our little boy Nexus is now happily walking around the house - "looking for trouble"! As I write this, he is playfully biting my trouser leg and approaching nose to nose with Phoebe... If only Phoebe would leave his toys alone! This video: http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/55 was recorded of him playing with his toy before Phoebe got hold of it and dragged it into her bed to chew it to bits...heheh!
He is now eating well, using the catbox in the bathroom and generally walking around trying to establish the new world order in the house...i.e. HE is the KING...Phoebe a mere "peasent" to look down on from up high.....!

Nexus!

MIIIIIIIIJAU!

Today we picked up our little boy, Nexus! He is one day younger than Phoebe - a silver tabby British Shorthair cat! He is sooooooo friendly and loveable :-) When we came home, I went for an extended walk with Phoebe so that he could explore the house in peace and quiet. After one hour I came back and we had a "meet and greet" session between the "brother and sister"! Phoebe was desperate to play and displayed all the "proper" dog signals - friendly bark, lie down on front feet, jump back and forwards again... What could Nexus care about all that!? He just went "hhhhzzzzzzzzzzzz, miiiiiiiiiiijau!" and arched his back... He even made a noise like a spitting cobra to scare the strange creature off. During all this Priscila and I kept careful watch on the two in case something should happen - as it was, there was not any physical contact between them and Phoebe soon realised that Nexus didn't want to play.

Now Phoebe is sleeping on the floor next to me in the office and Nexus is in the living room charming my wife and her friend to bits - he is simply the most charming cat ever!

Mona - thank you for giving us the privilege of knowing Nexus in our life :-)

Julussdalen - Johanne's cabin

Our friend Johanne kindly lent us her cabin in the *middle* of the forest for the weekend - thank you!! It is situated in the depths of the Fir pine forests of central south-east Norway.

The landscape is covered in soft moss on top of sandy earth - I have very fond memories of this type of forest from my childhood when we rented a small red loggers' cabin....

Phoebe enjoyed the soft feel of the moss - rolling around or just sitting blissfully enjoying the sensation.....ahhhh, what a dog's life!

She is also becoming much more energetic when pulling in the harness....! I was inspired by seeing the neighbour on a pushbike being pulled by one of his Alaskan Huskies - looked like great fun!! It is just a little bit too early yet...next summer should be OK.

We went home early so that we could pick up our little boy - Nexus! More on him later...

First time in harness....

It is about time Phoebe got a feeling for pulling in a harness.....

After all, she is already 3 months old! It is too early for actual pulling, but Johanne has kindly lent us a "puppy harness" so that she can get a good feeling for leaning into it to pull...

Today on our evening "walk" she actually got the hang of it, leaning into and pulling through the harness... That is, until her attention was caught by a jogger....a leaf....a......!?

Gooooood girl! :-)

Growing up!

We know how it is with kids....
The time they spend with us is all with a final goal of independence!

To encourage and teach Phoebe these things, her 2-legged mum and dad have provided her with a new house!! YES - she now has a house on our veranda...and boy, it is huuuuge!
Actually - it is so big that we are already dreading the day we have to move it...
I now alternate with giving her food there and in the kitchen - she has already settled down there to take a few naps...

Mjau - voff! :-)

Going to the vet....

Today we went to the veterinarian to get Phoebe's booster vaccine shot. She (the vet) was very nice - we chatted for a good bit about drug development (which I do) and her interests in behavioural science (which I also share from my PhD days as a neuropharmacologist)...
Whilst Phoebe was distracted by some goodies that was thrown on the floor the vaccine shot was given - she didn't even blink, just kept on happily eating!
The vet commented that Phoebe seemed to be in perfect health....gooooood girl :-)

I got to put her on the electronic scales - turns out my guesstimate was quite off!
She now weighs 6.7 kgs - up from 4.1kg when we picked her up in Sweden...!
It will be interesting to see at what weight she finally ends up - Siberian Husky bitches typically end up at 16-22kgs as adults. No matter what - her "power-to-weight" ratio will be excellent, I am sure!

Jeg fant, jeg fant...! (I found....I found...!)

This morning at approximatly 10:00 I struck gold!
Or rather...Phoebe managed to pass the gold ear ring out with her faeces without further incidence...phew! Transit time was 14 hours...
Cleaned up the ring but don't have any disinfectant in the house.... Wonder if the neighbour wants it back!? He said he would boil it....eeehh....whether or not he uses it ever again is a different matter.....!

Naughty girl....

Yesterday on the way out for our evening walk we stopped on the front lawn to chat to a neighbour. They have a 11 month (young!) dog, full of energy and "jump up and down" enthusiasm..... He stayed on the veranda whilst his "dad" talked to me and Phoebe...

He was crouching down and she was standing up to give him a small "love bite" on his ear...

WOOOPS! There she did it....SWALLOWED HIS SMALL EAR RING!

Oh boy..... How embarrasing.... He said, "no problem", I said, "I will look for it tomorrow as she goes....." Mmmm - I think it might be lost forever, and hopefully it will not cause her any digestive troubles! Ach - KIDS!!! :-)

Later today we are going to the Veterinarian for her routine 12-week boost vaccination.....

Have a dog-filled (=fun-filled) day!

Anders

"A Walk In the Park....!"

Hi friends.

My wife's friend from Brazil, Silvia, is here to visit us. Yesterday we went for a nice walk in Frognerparken / Vigelandsparken - Priscila, Silvia, Phoebe and me.

First we passed via the "dog play yard" - dog owners from all over Oslo gather there to let their dogs run around (or is it to run amok!?). It was a bit early for Phoebe to hang out with the leashless dogs, so we walked on into the actual Vigeland Sculpture Park. This was also very good training for her, as she met thousands of people. She now knows that we do not stop and sniff / greet / say hi to everyone on our way....! Even so, everyone who saw her and are remotely interested in dogs would comment on her good looks :-)

We certainly made the day for a young Norwegian girl whom had her picture taken with Phoebe, as well as a young Dutch girl whom had recently bought a Siberian Husky cuddly toy, and now got to meet one IN REAL LIFE!
Perhaps some future recruits to the SH community!?

At one end of the park we stopped for a few minutes whilst the (human) girls took some pictures - suddenly someone called me in English... Rememeber that I went to Edinburgh for a business trip recently!? Well - Warren one of my business associates did mention that he was going to Oslo to visit his brother.....and there they were!!! What a small world! Introductions were made amongst the 2-legged ones, and Phoebe was wagging her tail to meet the new people...!

All in all - a very good Sunday was had by all!

Anders

Playing around....!

Tonight Priscila, Phoebe and I went out for our evening walk - on the way Phoebe met a Jack Russel terrier that she has seen before... This time they played very well together :-) A little further on we met a MINI dog - a Danish-Swedish Farmhound (Dansk-Svensk Gårdshund). See the race club website: http://www.rdsg.no/

Milla (as she is called) is soooo cute - she and Phoebe spent 30 minutes RUNNING around whilst playing.... I am very glad for her since she now needs more dog-oriented socialisation. We will attend the "puppy kindergarden" at the Oslo Dog School beginning on 18th August and we will be regular attendees at the Siberian Husky Club Tuesday walks so she should get plenty of socialising!

Tomorrow we are picking up my wife's friend Silvia at the airport - it will be Phoebe's second trip to Oslo Airport Gardermoen arrivals hall :-)