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.