Merry Christmas

All of us here at Kohoutek Siberian Huskies would like to wish you all a fantastic Christmas and all the best for 2010.

Hello from Talia

Big sis Kayla said I could come and introduce myself to you all. My new mam and dad came to my breeder on Saturday to stay and meet me. I have lived in the kennel with my mum since being born so have not spent that much time in the house. Kayla was left outside and I came in to get cuddles from my new mum and dad. I made them giggle a lot by being cute :-) I didn't get to stay in too long before my breeder put me back with my mum so that Kayla could come in and the adults could all have a beer or two.

Kayla and my dad Zak apparently fell in love on Saturday night and played together all evening and then cuddled up together to sleep for the night.

On Sunday Kayla, Zak and the mums and dads all went out to a show, apparently getting there was very difficult due to a lot of heavy snow. Zak took first place in the class, another bitch bred by my breeder took second and Kayla took 3rd (she hasn't had much showing practice recently so mum was just pleased she walked on a lead).

They all came back at lunchtime for a cup of tea and to picked me up to take me to my new home. My breeder cried as she said goodbye to me. I was a very good girl on our long trip home, I didn't pee, puke or poo on mum (apparently Kayla did a lot of that when they picked her up as a pup). Kayla was in her crate (so she could just get used to the smell of me) and I was cuddled on mum's lap. I refused to go to sleep the whole 8 hour journey I poked my nose at Kayla to say hello and tried to climb and explore everything in the car (mum said I was like a wriggly worm).

We reached my new home at 9.30 pm and my other big sister Skye came back from gran's and they came to meet me. I was really excited and wanted to explore my new house. Kayla is a great sister she was a bit jealous on Sunday night but by Monday we were great friends. She is happy to play chase and wrestle with me and even lets me cuddle up to her a bit :-) Big sister Skye doesn't like me at all :-( She growls every time she sees me and snarls if I go up to say hello. Luckily Kayla comes over if Skye is grumpy with me to tell her to behave and I sit and bark at grumpy Skye heheheheeh.

I like my new home and have had fun in the snow and fun nipping mum and dad's feet and making them yelp hehehehehe. Can't wait till I am allowed to go out for walks and also looking forward to the first humans that will come visit and cuddle me.

Big news catch up

Mum hasn't had time for blogging lately so thought we would log on today and give you a run down on what has been happening here in Scotland.

I am really enjoying my racing mum says I am a monster now, I just want to scream and pull all the time hehehehehehe.

I had my second race weekend of 28-29 November in the Black Isle near Inverness. It was a very wet muddy weekend and we were all overjoyed to be invited to stay with some new friends (mum and dad were cooked a lovely 3 course dinner) rather than trying to get the caravan to a forest with no facilities. Me and dad did really well and we took first place in the scooter class both days. I got a lovely trophy and a medal for dad and we made lots of new friends.

Weekend of 5-6 September was the British Husky Club race in Elgin. Was a lovely cool, crisp weekend. I took second place in our scooter class both days. Mum was so proud as we were only beaten by the team who won at the last Culbin race. First day we were 4 seconds slower than them second day 40 seconds. the musher Matt is very fit (dad is not hehehe) so mum says we did brilliantly. A lot of people who criticize my breeder as breeding dogs that "don't run" are really sitting up and taking notice of how I am doing! Again we made some more new friends and mum says she is learning a lot by helping other people get their dogs to the start line and stuff.

It has also been decided this year that dad and me will compete in the big famous race at Aviemore in January. There is no single dog scooter class but some of our new friends offered to loan dad a spare rig and one of their dogs as a running partner for me. So last weekend I went to meet my new friend Blue. He was a bit scared of me but we got on well and dad did a 2.7 mile run with us both on the rig. After a short rest everyone ganged up and made mum take us out on the rig for a run :p Mum was terrified heheheeheh and had a few steering issues but I ran my little heart out for her. Blue got tired halfway round so I got a bit angry at him for not keeping up! To mum and dad's amazement Skye did some pulling. Usually if she comes on the scooter with me she makes me do all the work and just runs along behind me. Dad had put her on the scooter alone to follow me and mum so he could make sure mum got round ok. He didn't expect Skye to pull but to everyone's shock she did. Dad was able to keep pace behind me as for the first time ever Skye took the weight of the scooter and when Blue got too tired he took him and Skye came on the rig with me. She didn't pull and let me do all the work on the rig but she did manage to at least keep speed with me till the finish. I was very tired with doing most of the work myself on the second run! Mum and dad were really proud of us both :-) Blue's owners are going to run him a bit to get him fitter before we have our next training session.

This weekend we go to collect my little sister Talia and I also have a show this weekend. Mum and dad are very excited to be getting my new sister at last!

Scary Talia Pics hehe

These are the latest pictures from our breeder. Doesn't Talia look scary like a big fat bulldog heheheheh.

Apparently it was her first time in the living room and she just froze in such a big space.

My weekend of good deeds

This weekend me and Skye were out doing our bit for sled dogs who are less fortunate than us.

Saturday was the Moray Winter Festival where Santa is out and the Christmas lights get turned on. We spent a cold afternoon giving cuddles and having mum and dad tell people a bit more about us huskies. Got to get into a bit of mischief with my friend "Little Skye" too hehehehe.

Sunday was another hug a husky day in Decora DIY store. We did the morning shift with our friend Marley or the wookie as he is also known). Finally we have found Skye's talent. She is no good for showing or racing but guess what she is really great at fundraising. With her pretty Disney face and different coloured eyes people make a beeline for her (I get a bit jealous of that hurrumph). She is very good at sitting next to the money bucket making cute faces and has very good pleading eyes according to mum.

Mum says she is so proud of how good I am with toddlers, I walk up to them (or just sit if they are a bit scared) wag my tale and smile then give them a sweet husky kiss.

Back to cute pictures of me

I mentioned in my blog about my last shows that I made a new best friend. Mum finally got the pictures of me and wee Emma lying together on the floor.

Meet Talia

Sigh mum wants to show you my new sister's latest pics grrrrr. My sister has a aname apparently mum and dad decided on Talia.

Our First Husky Race

This weekend saw our first rally as competitors. Me and dad entered the one dog scooter class. We had only been training for distances of a mile and a half as mum had been told that was the usual scooter distance. Much to our shock it was decided to use the same 3.6 mile trail as the bigger dog teams were running.

On Saturday me and dad took 3rd place behind huskies who had rather fitter mushers who are more used to running than poor Dad, they finished only 3 minutes behind the leader and Dad said he had held me back a bit worrying that maybe the distance was too long for me.

Sunday Mum and Dad considered maybe not running me for the second day as I had already been run harder than I had been used to. Mum and Dad decided to see how I was at the start line and if I didn't seem keen we would scratch her from the race. They need not have worried as I was screaming with excitement and me and Dad managed to finish second on a trail which was wetter and harder work on the second day. We finished only a minute or so after the winner which was a fantastic achievement.

Mum and Dad are so proud of me and say for a little dog I have such a big heart and such determination and we are all very excited for our next rally at the end of November.

Mum says as racing people think my breeders breed dog's who are not good runners that a lot of people were surprised at how good Iwas. Oh and mum survived camping in the caravan with no electricity, hairdryer or hair straighteners hahahaha. Mum is high maintenance and does not like roughing it heheh.

The photos were take by George Michie http://www.georgemichie.co.uk and we have also changed our website address to http://kohoutek.weebly.com/

Kohoutek is our chosen kennel name which has been provisionally approved by the Kennel Club.

More pics of my baby sister

Apparently my little sis has opened her eyes so my breeder sent mum more pictures today.

My weekend of showing and new friends

Well was a busy weekend for us. Friday I was at the groomers to make me even more beautiful and then we had a few hours journey to stay with some fellow husky friends of mum's. There were 2 very very naughty husky boys there they kept erm er trying to hump me. It was quite hard work fending them off when both were trying it at same time! They also have a cat um yum yum so the weekend involved lots of hiding the cat from me (and mum wonders why I wouldn't eat my kibble dinner harrumph)

To keep the peace after a while they were shut outside and I stayed in the living room with the humans. Apparently they all thought I was such a lovely quiet girl (they really don't know me hahahaha). I am not used to spending lots of time with young children but the children there were very well behaved and respectful to me. I got lots and lots of cuddles especially from the little girl Emma (she says she loves me). While everyone was chatting and me sleeping there was a big bang that scared everyone. The humans thought it wasa firework coming through the window but it turned out to be a baloon hahahahha. The children then got out the remaining balloons for me to play with. I entertained them padding it till it flew up in the air and bounced it like a basketball ( I am so clever) then I chased the children round the living room to get the balloon back. Sadly after a while my paw was a bit heavy on them and I burst it. Was a shame as we all were having so much fun and the children were so happy as there boys won't play with balls and things.

Saturday was the Scottish Husky Club Open Show. It isn't one of my favourites as it is in a small hall and very noisy when other dogs are howling and I am trying to sleep. As mum has whiplash she had to ask the judge if she could stand me and if my breeder could do all our running in the ring as if I pulled on the lead it would hurt mum's arm. Luckily the judge was a nice lady and said this was fine. Well it got complicated as my breeder was in the ring with his boy in a class. The judge split our class into 2 and ran the first dogs, then someone held my breeder's dog while he ran with me, then he went back to his dog. Eventually it came to my turn for the judge to go over me and run me alone so she said for all dogs to relax while we waited for my breeder. We had to wait ages and I fell asleep and mum was just so embarrassed at holding up the class so long. eventually I got a 4th place and mum was pleased especially as we had caused so much trouble hehehe. My new husky friends and our breeder all did well too so it was a good day for everyone.

Sunday was the Working and Pastoral Breeds of Scotland Association of Scotland Championship show. This one was a really really long day. Again mum had to ask the judge if she could stand me and my breeder run me. Again the judge kindly said yes. the judge was very nice, at the moment I get very bored at shows when I just have to stand and I wouldn't look at her so she fed me some treats :-) I love the trotting and showing off bit although I kept looking for mum and wondering why she wasn't running me. Eventually after the judge deliberated a lot and asked the ages of me and another bitch she got first and I got second. Mum was very proud and pleased and the judge said the only shame was that I didn't have an interested expression (mum says she needs to find something other than food to take in the ring as I just stare at her hand and don't look interested in the judge or in being there). Our breeder got best bitch and my new husky friends also did well too.

Mum thinks it was a good weekend and that it was so much more fun staying with people rathern than a hotel and I miss my new friend Emma. She rang her mum at the show to see if I was coming back to their house. Mum is waiting for her mum to send a picture she took of us sleeping on the floor together.

My new baby sister

Sorry again not had time to come visit all my friends blogs. Mum had a vomiting virus and then this weekend a car crash so life here has been hectic.

Anyway today mum got something that cheered her up, yes pictures of my new baby sister, woo hoo another dog for me to be in charge of.

Mum says isn't she just the most adorable thing you ever saw? (in my opinion certainly not that would be me of course pff)

Exciting news

Well mum wants me to tell you that my baby sister was born yesterday :-) It had been a bit of a dramatic week, the mum was overdue giving birth and when the breeder took her back to the vets it was bad news. She was only carrying one pup and was most likely going to have a caesarean. Mum was told she could go on the list for the next litter of pups my breeder was expecting and was very disappointed :-(

Then yesterday we had some good news (well mum says it is good news) Mishka gave birth naturally to one healthy pup and as it turned out it was a dark red girl. My breeder didn't want a red but knew that mum has a big weakness for dark reds so called to give us first refusal on her :-) Mum was dead excited and as it almost seems like this pup was made to order for her decided that yes rather than wait to pick from the next litter she would take the one special little pup that Mishka had :-)

No pictures yet but mum will be showing them off as soon as she gets some.

New friends and other news

Mum has found us some new friends to play with and also to train with for the races when they get their rig.

For our first meeting we went for a walk with Little Skye my usual playmate and Kano and Meika our new friends down at Roseisle Beach and Forest. Mum didn't take the camera as she decided that she wanted to concentrate on making sure the day and meeting went well. We had a good couple of hour walk to get to know each other than had an hour play while the humans chatted more. Kano was the only boy and at first he wasn't interested in any of us but towards the end he realised we were all girls and was much more interested hahaha.

Big Skye took a real liking to him she gave him lots of kisses and was keen to play with him we thought it was the start of a beautiful relationship but he reuined it by trying to hump her. She isn't quite sure what to make of him now hahaha. Me I was flashing my bits saying come and get me ahahah. We all got on well with Kano, Meika didn't play much she is a bit grumpy a lot liek Skye used to be. Little Skye wasn't sure what to make of it at all she is not used to being around so many dogs so she was a bit quiet. At one point Big Skye managed to get me on my back (I am usually boss) so Little Skye joined in and jumped on me while Kano supervised. Mum said the look on my face was hilarious, I was so not amused I am boss and will get them all back.

Last weekend we all met up again to have a bit of a training run. Our new friends haven't yet got their rig so they attached Kano and Meika to a bike, Little Skye won't run she prefers to lie down in the grass on her scooter so they put her next to me on my scooter to learn the ropes. The men drove to the training point in the van while us women and Kano had a 20 min walk.

Our first run was me and Little Skye and Meika and Kano (big Skye sat this one out) it was great fun having someone to race against, we were flying and the humans got very muddy hahaha. Meika is quite lazy like Big Skye and doesn't pull so we swapped partners. They put Kano on my scooter with me and Meika and Little Skye on the bike. me and Kano had a little tiff first of all as we both wanted to be boss. After that we were fine and we had a lovely run together, mum says we made a really good team :-)

After that we went to our new friends house to play as they have a lovely big garden. me and Kano had a bit of a fight over a plastic bottle (well it smelled of dad so he wasn't having it) but mum pulled us apart. Just after that Skye and Meika had a big fight, poor Skye got bitten quite bad (she had to go to vet next day as it got infected and she is still feeling a bit sorry for herself). After that Meika was kept away from the rest of us who all had a lovely play together. Kano and Meika are both rescue huskies and have not been with their owners long. Kano is a lover and ladies man and Meika seems a bit unsure of herself. She is a lot like Skye was when she was younger in that she seems quite nervous of other dogs so can be a bit agressive. Hopefully she will chill out and learn to like us.

Yesterday we all met up again, no playing or running though :-( Yesterday we were doing a bit to help sled dogs who are not as lucky as us. A local DIY garden centre opened its Santa's grotto this week. They allow Sled Dog Welfare to have a lot of hug a husky events leading up to Christmas to raise money. Some of our other friends did the first 2 hours and then we came along for the next 2 hours.

Mum was a bit nervous that I would be naughty and try and play with Little Skye all the time or that we would all fall out. However she ended up being very proud of us all, I did try a couple of times to sneak up to Little Skye for a play but obeyed mum when I was told off. We spent a couple of hours having lots of people come to pet, cuddle us and ask questions. Mum was so proud that I behaved so well, I was really gentle with toddlers (she was nervous as I have not been around really young children and she was worried i might be a bit boisterous and jumpy and scare them) and gave them gentle kisses and cuddles. If any children were a little bit unsure of us we sat nice and wagged our tails and smiled till they let us kiss them. Big Skye was really funny she kept woo wooing and talking to people. A few were a little nervous of that so mum explained we don't really bark so we woo woo and make talkative growls. People always think growling is agression so mum explained that it is how we chat and that she has whole conversatiosn with us.

Little Skye and Kano were a little bit naughty hehe. Kano went into the winter wonderland and saw a moving model and kept barking and pawing at it, he is so silly hehehe. Him and Little Skye decided they wanted to investigate the shop more and dragged their owners round the shop to look at tinsel and toys hahahaha.

We had a family come over with an old lady in a wheelchair who asked if she could pet us and have photos taken with us. Me and Skye gave her lots of kisses and cuddles she thought we were lovely, we didn't behave quite as well for photos in true Sibe style we kept turning the wrong way hehehehehehehe.

By the time our shift was coming to an end we were all worn out. It is really hard this cuddling everyone work. We all lay down and tried really hard to keep our eyes open. Mum is really so proud of me and wishes all those people that labelled me a horrid vicious dog could have seen me yesterday being nice and patient with people and being very gentle and cuddly.

Now for some news which mum thinks is really exciting (hmm I am not so sure) our breeder's bitch is pregnant to mum's favourite boy of theirs and she is due to give birth next week. So in a few weeks there should be a new addition to our pack :-)

Perthshire Open Show

Sorry haven't been on in a while its been busy here! My last show was the Perthshire Canine Club Open Show on 26 September. It was held at Perth Racecourse which was a lovely venue and it was a glorious sunny day.

Unfortunately it was another case of me being the wrong kind of dog at that show. The ones who got placed were all much more skinny racing type than me. I was also a bit naughty as I was just out of my season and still a bit grumpy and sore. I was happy for the judge to look at my teeth and feel my front end but no way was he touching my rear end. I was dancing like a spinning top mum was so embarrassed heheheheeh.

Never mind was a lovely day and we had a lovely scenic drive back via Braemar which was very nice according to mum.

My breeder and their dogs went to the Belfast Champ show on the same day and they all had a great day taking most of the Sibe placings. Mum has decided that for next year she is going to sit down with our breeder and look at all the shows and who is judging them. She wants to be more organised and even if it means traveling further choose the judges who like my type of husky. This year was all about seeing if racing type judges would like me and although a couple did mum now knows that its not really worth going to shows with racing husky judges.

We only really have 2 shows left for the year now Working and Pastoral Breeds of Scotland and the Scottish Husky Club Open show. Winter is going to be all about learning to race :-)

Recent shows

Sorry haven't been around much lately, life has been fairly busy here! I have been keeping mum and dad on their toes with lots of naughtiest while I am in season hehehe.

Last weekend was the big Darlington Championship show. It was a long journey from here so we set off Friday morning. Skye stayed at home (she likes the break from me). Mum arranged to meet up with an old friend for dinner on the Friday night (they lost their dog this week and her son really wanted a doggie cuddle). We went to the parents of mum's friend first as mum hadn't seen them in 15 years. I got lots and lots of cuddles and fuss there. Then we went to a pub/hotel for dinner. As there was me and a child they gave us a room of our own in the back to have dinner in. The staff and customers gave me lots of lovely cuddles and mum came to the conclusion that she is definitely sticking to dogs and avoiding kids :-)

Our B & B had lots of intersting animals, 2 cats which mum had to chase before getting me out the car and lots of sheep and horses. Mum kept a firm hold of the lead and wouldn't let me chase any of them :-(

Saturday was the morning of the show and I didn't feel too well, my tummy made weird noises but mum thought all was ok as my poos were solid.

It was a bit boring for mas as being in season meant I had to stay in my crate and mum only got me out a couple of times for a quick wee. She notices I wasn't very lively and mentioned it to my breeder who said if mum had any Paracetamol to give me half one. No one had any :-(

My breeder took me in the ring as mum has learned that all showing is politics and the better known the face is the more likely a dog is to get a place. Mum and dad hid from me while Kevin took me in the ring :-( I really wasn't in the mood for showing. I stood nicely for my breeder Kevin but really had no enthusiasm for trotting round the ring, ears where back, head down and I had to drag my poor legs.

This was my first go in the Open Class (the one the top dogs are usually in), it was a big class for sibes 18 bitches. The judge got rid of 9 of them and that left us in the final line up for the judge to choose from. I didn't get placed this time but I did make mum's day by being in that line up when the bitch of a lady she really doesn't like much got binned hehehe. My breeder was really proud of me he said to mum that she should be over the moon that we made the line up. I was the youngest in that class up against champions/bitches with some CC's and my breeder said that considering how poorly and out of sorts I was (had none of my usual attitude and sparkle) that it was a great result.

We didn't stay to watch the rest of the show mum felt bad that she had't realised just how bad I was feeling (it's tough being a woman and being in season) so she wanted to start the journey home and get me some Paracetamol.

The journey home seemed forever, I slept most of the way but during the last leg I was fed up of being sore and in the back alone and cried. Mum was unusually soft and let me out my crate to sit on her knee. I dedided to cheet myself up by making her as uncomfortable as possible and trying to balance by digging my claws in her hahahahahah.

I am fine now was back to my usual bouncy self on Sunday and causing mayhem.

Apologies for not posting on everyone's blogs mum has been busy being preoccupied with her new car and also busy as she has started evening photography classes.

Going to be a busy period coming up we have a show this Saturday and then we start training in earnest for my first racing season. Also mum is on tenterhooks waiting to find out if one of my breeder's bitches is pregnant with my next sister!

The week that didn't go to plan

Well this weekend I was meant to go and stay with my breeder. They were going to take me to a big show in London and mum hoped I would learn some manners having to live with their pack. Well I had different plans. I decided to come into season and my breeders bitches are all in season too. It was decided putting me with the other bitches would have resulted in World war 3 so he plan had been for me to stay in their house with mum's favourite boy of theirs Zak. As I was naughty and came into season there was no way I could stay with him so I am not going to my breeders or my big show :-(

I am now under house arrest until my season is over :-(

Mum is grumpy too she was meant to go to Aberdeen to have her hair done but we have had some big floods here so she couldn't go. She did however go and take a few pictures in black and white as practice for her new college course.

Good news about Terra the missing husky

Have had news that Terra has been found is at the vets for a check up will let you all know hos she is when I hear more. Thanks for all the positive thoughts for her sure her owner is over the moon.

Lost Husky

A fellow scottish husky has gone missing. Here is the link to her on Doglost please forward it to any contacts you have in the UK thanks sothat we can help this dog find her way back home.


http://www.doglost.co.uk/Page.aspx?data=pzp8JrdCfxmOYLL7ThMH8cgDIBGNb_3527OBXgIvucPT1ZF5GXNTxJvsz_352D4Dh0NaLm

Busy couple of weeks!

Apologies for not posting and indeed not looking at all your lovely blogs. Life has been fairly busy here the last few weeks. Mum was working late shifts too which did not help her enthusiasm for getting me on here.

Anyway last weekend and this weekend we were showing. Last Sunday was Scottish Siberian Husky Club Championship show. Mum was a bit disappointed I got 3rd our of 4 in Mid Limit class. I wasn't much in the mood for showing Skye had stayed at grans the night before and didn't come with me :-( Much as she is a right grumpy old thing I missed my sis :-( Also the show was indoors and it made me grumpy with other dogs. Mum was really nervous (she was nearly sick before we went in the ring hehehe). However the bitch who took first in my class got the Bitch CC and Best in Show so hey I was up against good company. None of our breeders dogs did well so again not a great day for us.



Mum and dad have been off work on holiday this week so lots of company for us this week no time alone. Dad has American cousins over so we spent time with them sightseeing and stuff. We went up to Applecross on the West Coast which was lovely and a drive that made mum need clean underwear ahahahahahahahaha!

Yesterday was another long drive to Edinburgh for the Scottish Kennel Club Championship show. I had a lovely day, again no Skye and I missed her but I was in a good mood and loved all the other dogs I met. I love the outdoor shows so much more than indoor ones so I had a big husky smile and a spring in my step.

Again I didn't win, I got 4th place in the Limit Class. Mum was a bit disappointed at first but our breeder was really proud. She said now that we are moving into the big classes against the really good competition that 4th in that class is a step up from my wins in other classes and that mum should be dead proud. The humans were all laughing something about the judge looking at ladies breasts more than at their dogs. Didn't understand it myself ( I mean how coudl anyone find something mor einteresting than me to look at) but they found it hilarious and mum was muttering about wishing she had some chicken fillets to put in her bra!

After my class I got to play with Logan a lovely male husky who belongs to a friend of my mums. He was really hard work I tried everything to make him play, he got a bit grumpy and told me off! Mum was proud that instead of going at him I submitted and just looked cute. Eventually he played with me although apparently he wanted to be more of a erm lover than a playmate. Another bitch came along and I played with her too. Mum says she is really proud that I was a really good girl and that me submitting to other huskies and playing nicely made her so proud. Even a bitch that I usually hate couldn't spoil my mood I couldn't be bothered to be grumpy with her today and just ignored her.

Oh mum is so happy at the moment. She bought her dream car this week an MGF convertible sports car (an old one). She says I can't go in it though which I am not too happy about.

Well that's all for now mum has lots of housework to do hehehhehe.

Mum's weekend adventure

Well mum decided to desert us and dad to go to a Siberian Husky Breed Seminar to learn more about us! She took dad's Land Rover as she was going to do a favour and deliver someone's broken husky racing rig for someone who was going to be at the seminar to fix! Well mum had barely left home before the clutch broke on the car as she was overtaking a bus! It took 2 hours for the recovery man to go and rescue her and dad had to hire her another car to do the drive!

Mum says she had a lovely weekend at the seminar. The nice lady who had organised the seminar kindly invited mum to stay at her house the night before. Mum was really nervous as she didn't really know they lady and the championship judge was doing the seminar and some other husky experts were all staying too. Mum suffers from anxiety so was scared it might be a difficult weekend.

However it turned out to be just the opposite. Saturday was a lovely barbeque and mum got to meet all the dogs (including some that had run in previous Iditarod races) and here lots of stories about trips to Alaska to visit the famous Seppala kennels etc. She was also given lots of useful advice and for her future planned huskies (not all of the advice will be taken though lol)

Mum really enjoyed the seminar it covered our breed history and went over the breed standard and the reasons behind it. After the presentation everyone got to be hands on with a few other huskies to go over them like judges do to see what was good and bad about them. Mum said it was a lot to take in and she probably didn't grasp everything but when she has more time she will get her notes and pictures out and make me and Skye stand so she can go over us and tell us what is good and bad about us!

Wish mum had taken me to play with all those other huskies!

Some news on Skye and Kayla at Turriff Show

Well mum wants me to tell you all a lot about Skye today but I can give you a quick update on my last show. There was an Open Show on Sunday locally at Turriff, sadly I didn't get a first prize at this one. Mum tells me not to be disappointed though as the judge this time was a husky breed specialist and apparently likes the sprinty working type best. I got 3rd place out of 4 dogs. Although my furry dad is a really good working dog my mum is a show dog. Therefore I have the best of both worlds as I am more athletic and racy looking than some of the pure show lines but thanks to having a showy mum I am very pretty and feminine too. Sadly this weekend my appearance wasn't quite racy enough but mum said it was a good learning experience in terms of she knows not to put me under judges that are really into the racy ones at the expensive champ shows. She was also relieved that after I had a nasty scare this week I wasn't scared of the judge going over me. I have never been felt so thoroughly she lifted my paws up and everything and went over me a good few times, mum was really proud that although I sat down a few times and looked confused I wasn't upset by any of it. I was a bit naughty because there was a dog there I didn't like at a previous show (see blog on Bannf and Moray Open show). Last time I didn't hit it off with him and his owner kept letting him bother and pester me even when mum put me in my crate out of the way :-( Last time mum put it down to the owner maybe being a bit inexperienced. This time it seemed a bit more premeditated, the boy had been seen in the previous class so he was on the opposite side of the ring to me. It was a very small ring with not much room to show how lovely I look when I move. When mum did my triangle the dog kept moving into my line of vision and into my path so I had to tell him off. Mum was really mad with me as she thought I was just being naughty, dad said she had missed the fact that his owner had left him on a loose lead so he kept moving towards me when I was running. Mum is really annoyed that his owner was so inconsiderate and maybe even doing it deliberately so she will watch carefully if we are ever in the same ring again.
Anyway enough about me (well so mum says, personally I think you can never hear enough about me) mum wants to tell you more about Skye so here goes........

Mum got Skye kinda by accident a few years ago. She and dad were not really ready for a dog (mum was just in the process of moving to Scotland to be with dad) and a dog was something they planned later down the line. Anyway mum had alwyas liked huskies but had only just started to find out a little about them when she got chatting to a breeder in Romania. She had said to dad that when they got a dog she would love a husky. Well in the meantime my human grandmum was looking for a dog to get her out and about and keeping fit. She had wanted a retriever but a neighbour said had she thought about a husky as her friend was selling a husky. So grandmum bought Skye and after a few weeks was at her wits end. Skye was untrained, messed all over the house, snappy, disobedient, howled all night etc. She asked my mum if she could look after her when she was on holiday and as she was moving to Scotland maybe she would like to have her a while for company ad to train her!

Mum took Skye and straight away could see all was not right. Skye's tail was funny it looked like a broken pipe cleaner, she had a lot of missing teeth, funny back legs and was quite nervous. She was very food possessive, nervous agressive with other dogs and didn't like her back touched at all. The owner/breeder had not given any medical details or indeed any useful information when selling her. Our vet wanted to know what an earth had happened to her and after a bit of pestering my mum's neighbour they found out she had been savaged as a puppy by a Japanese Akita.

Mum and dad did a lot of hard work with Skye, they toilet trained her, gained her trust a bit so that they could touch her back and took her to Royal Airforce Dog Training classes to get her more used to other dogs. It has been a long hard road Skye was 2 years old when mum took her and came with all these problems. Mum and dad didn't really know much about huskies so many times they almost gave up on her because she was so difficult to help and train. Luckily they went to some husky races and got to meet other owners who were able to give them advice and help. Over the years Skye got better at being obedient (does she realise she is a husky silly girl) and became a more loveable and less stressed dog. However much to mum and dad's heartbreak she never seemed to be a happy dog. She doesn't understand how to play (she has no idea what toys are for) and seemed to only occasionally show signs of enthusiasm for life. She continued to be nervous with a lot of dogs.

When mum and dad brought me along Skye didn't seem too pleased. She never wanted to play with me and grumbled a lot and hid in her crate. I was always bossy and liked being boss so even at a very early aged they made me the top dog and relegated her to the bottom. I love Skye but she never wants to cuddle or play with me so mostly I just annoy her or throw my toys at her and try and tell her to play. Sometimes when I was little and cried she would be nice to me but mostly she didn't seem to want me around.

Well over the last few weeks Skye seems to have completely changed. She has lost a lot of weight (she has always struggled with her weight even though she hardly gets any food) which has made her more active and less grumpy. She is also getting braver around me and sometimes pushes me out the way to go and get cuddles off mam and dad and she is getting a lot more talkative and affectionate. She has also started to play a bit. In the past she would only play with me if another dog was playing, she would get jealous and join in a little bit but that was very rare and only certain dogs. Last couple of times Little Skye came to visit instead of grumping and ignoring her she has started to join in when we play. She has even started to play with me a bit and I haven't been quite sure what to make of it. All of sudden she is woo wooing me and bowing at me to play (usually at what mam calles bad times ie just before I go into the show ring). She has started talking to other dogs when we go out too.

Mum and dad are so happy it has alwyas made them so sad that no matter what they did for Skye she never seemed like she would be a happy dog so mum has been quite teary to see Skye looking happy and wanting to play.

So mum wants to say never give up on a dog. Eventually with enough caring and love they will learn to trust you and get over the bad things that happened in the past.