Autumn sunshine...

Three out of four of the precious women in life - Mother-in-law Isolete, my sweet wife Priscila and Phoebe (my own mother Angela not present)

Phoebe enjoying a few UV-rays on a beautiful October day!

Phoebe showing off her "wild-type" wolf-like colours.

Yesterday we had a long walk in the Frognerpark enjoying the beautiful autumn sunshine...! Even if we associate polar dogs with snow and wind, there can be no question that they (like us!) enjoy the magic light that comes with changing seasons...the autmn crisp and clear, winter blue(s) and dark light, brilliant spring sunshine on snow and the endless summer days...

October is certainly one of my favourite months - when I go out on the grass in the morning with Phoebe we enjoy the first real frost on the grass and the nostril- and lung-clearing crispness to the air...aaaaaah!

Sex, Drugs and Rock&Roll....!?

Or rather - in the animal world; Water, Food and Sex (procreation)! Since Phoebe is still too young to start thinking about having puppies, and she gets enough water from us....that leaves FOOD! Our little girl is in danger of becoming picky about eating - ai ai. Once in a while she just seems too bored to finish her meal.....at least her own! We have now caught her many times "red-handed" (or is that pink/red-tounged?!) whilst she clears little Nexus food bowl! His food is sitting on a shelf and she is just able to reach it...! I believe she is hoarding the food - she certainly does not suffer any shortage in our household - but sometimes she simply decides to steal what she can and if Nexus even approaches her bowl she will chase him away and start eating... She could be trying to "dominate" Nexus...simply because she can! I have cut back on her rations slightly, and will leave her only 15 minutes or so to eat up before I remove the bowl. She is served sometimes before, sometimes after Nexus, and his food is moved to a "safe" location as soon as he stops eating! Phoebe is now finishing her food....even licking out her bowl - heh :-) She now weighs in at 14kg and has just passed 5 months of age...

Oh - the other day we decided to give Nexus a raw egg - we had seen a cat in Turkey in June trying to lick / eat the sticky eggwhite and we thought it was soooo funny! Nexus had his egg mixed and ate some....before Phoebe came to take possession....! See for yourselves: http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/65/Phoebe_eating_raw_egg
Mjau - voff!

Phoebe pulling HARD :-)

Wooo voof!?
On the last Tuesday walk I talked to Line (a local Siberian Husky musher) about training a single dog like Phoebe into becoming a good sleddog... First off - sled dogs are "born to run", but NOT born to become GOOD sled dogs...
The "danger" of being a single dog in a household is that there are no real standards to compare oneself to. A typical mistake is to use a Nome-harness when going for a "sniffsniffpeeshitwalkingaround-walk" and think that he or she is getting some "pulling training". I firmly believe there should be a separation between working and resting/free time, and walking around in a "non-work" mode whilst wearing a harness and pulling just a little sends the wrong mixed signals. Similarly - when on a bicycle with your dog, it is all too easy to let it "just run along", even if it is with the harness, and the aim is to cover distance... DON'T pedal like crazy all the time - slow down, even put on the breaks and let the dog feel how it is to REALLY pull something...at any speed... This also becomes important in shaping and evaluating the "honesty" of the dog. The dog should work hard, even if she is tired and close to exhaustion! Siberian Huskys have a reputation for only giving 80%, saving the last reserve for survival situations - an excellent quality for a polar dog, but perhaps the reason why many (most) long-distance racers choose to run Alaska Husky dogs.

In the endless debate of "Nature vs. Nurture (influence of genes vs. environment) - I am a firm believer of both - a sled dog is born AND trained - enjoy the Saturday afternoon video of Phoebe: http://andersf.multiply.com/video/item/64/Phoebe_pulling_hard

MJAU VOFF!

Phoebe's "twin" sister!

As Phoebe now grows more into her adult fur, her colouring becomes more distinct, showing a nice black tone above her white and brownish-red and white hairs... Back in Sweden her sisters are growing nicely - Elektra is a beautiful and happy bitch.....and she is Phoebe's "twin"!!!!

Photo by Sandra Olofsson

Sandra - I hope that Phoebe can meet her sister to see how they differ in personality! See more pictures of Elektra here: http://galleri.huskylyan.com/#17.0
If she is anywhere close to Phoebe (Amber) in personality I am SURE she will be a good sleddog when she grows up - Vooooo voooo voff! :-)

Siberian Husky Club Autumn Meeting

Voooooooo vooooo voff! Last weekend we went up to Skramstadseter in the mountains east of Lillehammer - we were attending our first Norwegian Siberian Husky Club meeting! There were lots and lots of dogs, maybe as many as 100!? Phoebe had a great time "mixing it up with the big boys"...... Of course she was very happy to meet her "boyfriend" Bardus - Johannes GIANT puppy ;-) On Saturday there was a sprint race - since Phoebe is still a bit too young, I borrowed a dog from the Huskyville kennel - Ingvild and Torbjørn were very kind to let me have Romulus. I tested him in front of the bike and he PULLED! We were lined up and off we went on the first stretch of the 2.2 km circuit.... Just as we came up to the first curve, Romulus sat to have a s**t....! When he was done, he wanted to run back to the start area where "daddy" was standing..... hehehe! With some help from Didrik we got going in the right direction at least.... A slow trot later we came to turn into the last homestretch..... Ingvild was standing there as a track guide and OF COURSE Romulus wanted to stop and hang around with "mummy"! After a bit of dragging from a helper as well as pulling from my side we sort of started going.... We got passed by 2 competitors on their bikes and THEN Romulus got the point and started running after them....like he was on fire! Ah well - poor boy - he has never run as single lead and never in front of a bike. This just goes to show that sleddog pulling is a matter of trust - man and dog - and that "practice makes perfect". Obviously some dogs are "born to pull", but this does not mean they will be able to do everything we ask of them....certainly if they have not had previous training!! Of course....next year I will put Phoebe in front of the bike....and improve on our LAST PLACE! Even some people running with a dog were faster than us....hehehe!

The weekend was the first taste of frost, ice and snow....that eventually turned into mud - OH GLORIOUS MUD! The good thing was that Phoebe had her first taste of the white stuff.....vooof voooooof!!! She was also an example for the other dogs - standing quietly on the cabin porch the whole day - wagging her tail at strangers - humans and 4-legged ones :-) See more pictures in Priscila's Multiply (she took most photos): http://prikoh.multiply.com/photos/album/90