Merry Christmas!!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! :)

Dreamin' of Sugarplums...

No, it's not me Suka, but my Big Brother Rugar..He looked so darn cute, that my mama had to share this picture of him snuggled up with my human baby sis's teddy bear..He must be dreamin' of Sugarplums (or dreams of meaty bones dancing thru his head since he's so relaxed and comfy!) :)

Merry Christmas a little Early :)

Suka wanted to wish you a very happy holiday season! How are your holiday preparations going? Ours are going well! :) We are enjoying a little snow today and the coziness of being inside and watching the lights! :) Soon there will be more baking to do, but until then we wish you a lovely day! :)

Hanging out for the Holidays

Well, I had these beautiful pictures of Suka next to the tree, but as you can tell, there's no tree in sight, so this one will have to do :) Although Suka's calm and peaceful right now, don't let him fool you, trying to get him to sit and stay in front of the tree is pretty much impossible unless he is bribed with a rawhide :) One thing that is a burden really lifted is that he is housetrained now. I can leave him in the house and not be afraid he will have an accident anymore. One thing I have to be on top of (which I am, but my kids are not) is keeping him away from magazines, cardboard, and boxes- he shreds them. He will put his head thru our fence and pull recycling/ garbage into the fence and rip it into small pieces. Hopefully my big kids will understand soon that we REALLY have to pay attention to where these things are located so that they won't have to clean up so much mess!

Other than shredding things, he is a wonderful boy :) He loves to play outside, and is a talker but not a barker (he will "yell" at you if he wants to eat what you are preparing for dinner (or if you are eating something he wants) which I think is very funny actually. I will just have to make sure he's outside when we have company or it will scare the bejeebies out of them ;) He loves his walks now and is loving the little bit of snow we've gotten (but he also loves being in the house too, he's very well rounded)

I'll try to get some more Christmas pics up soon, but in the meantime, hoping your Christmas is filled with lots of treats and fun :)

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

From Suka and his Pack :) He only dined on a little turkey but had two delicious meals of freshly made chicken and rice dinners today! We are thankful for him, and we are thankful that you are reading this, and haven't given us up for lost! :) We are doing well, but for us the fall months thru Christmas are very busy for us so we haven't been able to blog as we usually do. I'll post an updated photo of Suka soon- you would hardly recognize him- he's the big dog now! :)

Fall Frolics

Suka has been enjoyed his first Autumn season. He loves crunching in the leaves, but could do without the cold creek water! He was content watching from the bank rather than going in to play :) What have you been doing??

Rain Rain Please Go Away..

Suka's had enough rawhides today. For when it rains and he gets wet, a rawhide is about the only thing that keeps him set. For when it rains and gets into trouble, the chewies come out, right on the double. Otherwise things get shredded and torn, like my double stroller seat that is now ripped open and worn. So rain rain, please go away, my double stroller cannot handle anymore today...

In the Zone (and I don't mean auto zone)

So we've realized Suka's favorite place to be brushed recently. He loves having his chest brushed even more than his belly! He starts to close his eyes and looks like he is falling asleep..that is until you stop. Then he "wakes" up and nudges you to start all over again. It's the funniest thing. He looks like he's in a zone or trance :) I can't blame him one bit though..Ever since I was a little girl I loved getting my hair brushed. It was so peaceful and relaxing and anytime I can get my kiddos to brush my hair for me- I'm There! :)

Sorry we've been gone so long!

We promise we won't do it again! :)

Huggie time :)

Enjoying his brush from his littlest human sister :)

I won't be surprized if this one becomes a veterinarian when she grows up. She is wonderful with animals and loves them dearly (often prefers their company to human company!) :)

From This to This :)

I cannot believe it's been about a month since the last time I posted. Where has time gone? We have been so busy with school starting, and we thought we were going to have to put Suka's older brother Takoda to sleep which was very traumatic for us. The vet prescribed him 3 medicines he takes daily and were warned that once winter hits he may go downhill again (his hips are very bad and he could hardly walk, now that he is on prescriptions, he is getting around better but when the cold temperatures start, the arthritis in his legs/hips could significantly increase. So at this point, we are taking it day to day and counting each day as a blessing.

Another thing has happened in the past month...My pup has gotten HUGE! He is only 6 months but he's looking less and less like a baby and more and more like a grown Dog! He's a good boy, he LOVES his daily walks now (we walk every night and sometimes during the day too) and he hasn't had an accident in the house in a while (although he is still outside alot during the day since the weather is nice) I have to keep the recycling bins pushed far away from the fence because he loves to SHRED things and he will put his head thru the fence and pull cardboard into the yard and shred it everywhere! He has torn apart more than one of my magazines as well, such a stinker :) Everytime we are in the house, I give him rawhides to gnaw on to protect him from seeking out things to shred for his enjoyment ;)

The next phase of life (which is coming soon) is will be getting neutered. I would have loved to have seen what his pups would have looked like, but there are so many animals in this world that are abandoned, homeless, euthanized, in shelters, etc..I just cannot bear to contribute towards it. Besides that, if he had pups I would have HAD to have kept a pup and we really don't need 4 large dogs! :)

Too Pooped to Party..

Sorry we've been MIA for over a week now. We've been crazy busy and that's left little energy for pictures and posting updates. We just got back from a long walk together and we are bushed, but we wanted to let you know we are here and we hope to be back full force really soon :) We miss you! :)

Yes I do have a house :)

Mama always get's pictures of me outside that you probably wondered if I had a house ;) You can be sure that I do, but because I still like to pee in the house (and I LOVE being OUTSIDE so much) I spend alot of time time out of doors. But what do you do when it is POURING rain all day? Well, I played outside some, and got really muddy and really wet, but mama decided to towel me off, and find me a rawhide to chew on during naptime. So here I am having a snack, and enjoying a few moments and she pulls out the camera. PuLeaze, I'd like to finish my snack now... Gee Thanks :)

Fun In The Sun..

The weather has been really warm here. I don't mind the heat but the humidity kills me. Suka's not a real water dog. He stays away from the hose whenever possible, HOWEVER he has found he LOVES the creek nearby. We walked down the other day (wish I had my camera) and after he got over his initial fear over the water, he realized just how good it felt on a hot day and was laying all the way down in it. Then he decided to play "water fetch", and would immerse his whole face to his eyes in, blow bubbles out his nose, and grab rocks from the bottom of the shallow creek and put the rocks he "fetched" on the dry creekbed. It was so funny to watch, kept ME entertained and I so regretted not being able to take pictures of it. We will have to make a trip down there again soon, with a camera next time :)

I've been CRAZY busy. So busy, that I just realized moments ago, we missed Suka's last puppy class. I don't know how I could have forgotten..Maybe it's the screaming 2 month old I took care of all day, or his 5 yr old sister that also decided to pitch a screaming fit when her mother came because she didn't want to leave. Or maybe it's because I found out I have a BIG inspection for daycare on Thursday morning and I've been trying to prep for that. In any case, I am forgetful, but not when it comes to Suka's puppy class. I feel bad about it, but at least I've taught him pretty much everything the instructor was teaching the other pups to begin with. Suka's doing great, except we are still having housebreaking issues. He hasn't pooed in the house in a long time, but he still uses the dining room as his pee place. I've mopped in there, 409'nd in there, but he still does it. I try to keep that door shut when he's in the house, but when you have 7 in your family plus usually more it's difficult. Any advice/suggestions? Missed you, will try not to let so much time pass between this and my next post! Have a great rest of your week :)

Chillin'

Today was cooler than it's been, but gorgeous- not too hot and definately not cold. BEAUTIFUL weather so I've been chillin' today. Except for one thing...That mama of mine has figured me out. The way to my heart is thru my stomach for sure. I already know I won't get a treat or my food unless I'm sitting, but now she makes me say please.. Every time I want a treat or my food she asks me to say please and since of COURSE I am hungry I oblige her quickly so I can get the grub. I'm a pretty polite pup she thinks, but I just know how to get my food quick is all ;)

Princes of the Mountain :)

I wouldn't say they are kings- not just yet :) More like Princes of the Mountain! My redhead and my pup- two special guys in my life :) I've had little time this week to post. I am a daycare provider and I started 2 new children this week, and I have an interview this morning for a school age boy who needs before/after school care (and days off from school) Not sure how that one will work out however, because My kiddos are all smaller and this boy is in second grade and may not want to be here due to lack of kids his own age. We shall see though!

We've had breakthroughs here- Suka has been walking with me solo for a week! We walk every day and I don't have to pick him up repeatedly anymore because he doesn't want to go. In fact, he has found he ENJOYS walking with me now :) I'm starting to rank in his top 5 I think :) A few times I was heading out to go on a walk (once by myself, and once with my toddler) and he started barking and crying at the fence running back and forth. I ended up going back for him (both times) because he has NEVER wanted to go on a walk with me before, he's only been forced to go in the past. It's So Nice to be able to see that he WILL be a walking buddy for me (I was a little worried at first, I mean how many huskies REFUSE their walks!) :) Also, last night when it was time for bed, I said "Suka, time for bed, go to your kennel". He waited at the basement door (his kennel is downstairs in our activity area in our basement) I opened the door, he rushed down the stairs, didn't dawdle at all, and beelined for his kennel and laid down. It was SO NICE :)

NOW....If I can get the housebreaking and nip play under control, I will have the best pup EVER (well, he's pretty great already!) :)

So Hot!!!

It's topping 90 here and the air is so thick with humidity that there really isn't much better to do than try to find a cool spot and sleep. So that's what we are doing here right now- How about you?? On a side note, mama doesn't like my dewclaws too much. This morning I was so excited to get out of my kennel for the night, I jumped up on her and punctured a hole in the back of her leg in the crease behind her knee. OUCH!! It hurt her, but I didn't mean to, I was just so excited...

What do you want to do today?

I know what I want to do :)

More Often than Not..

I am learning first hand what it is like to have a siberian husky-the muddy way! :) I've read that they like to bury themselves in the snow to keep warm, and in the mud to keep cool. Suka is as stereotypical as they come I guess. Almost every afternoon I am greeted by this wet, muddy, jumping crazy boy. If there is mud to be found in the yard (which there often is) he finds it, rolls in it, covers himself in it. He isn't too keen about the cleandown afterwards, but sloshing himself in the mud is worth it apparently because he does it over and over again! :) It has been hot here, and although he has plenty of water he still likes to cool down in the mud as well. Usually I catch it quick enough but occasionally the mop has to come out because I get muddy pawprints all over the kitchen before I can catch him and quickly usher him outside for his clean-off. He was REALLY covered yesterday and wasn't so impressed with me after his spray off but he's since forgiven me (good thing!) :)

Here is a question for those professional potty trainers- Suka has a lot of accidents in the house still. He could be out all day, then come in and mess in the house. For this reason, when the weather is good, I let him be outside alot. Originally I thought maybe if he was outside alot, he would realize that the outside is the place to potty, (since he would be pottying outside alot and smelling his scent)but now I'm not so sure if I am doing the right thing. I've potty trained both our other dogs. Takoda was easy peasy and trained by the time he was only a few months old. Ruger was stubborn and it took a little longer but he figured it out fairly quickly in the general scheme of things. Could I be hurting him by leaving him outside so much when the weather is good, rather than having him in and out of the house all day long, every 10 minutes or less?? Any advice would be wonderful!!! I only want to do what is best for him, not make it more difficult for him.

We had our second puppy class yesterday. Suka did pretty well, I was proud of him. The class has been reduced to half of it's size from last week so apparently a few others felt the same way as I did last week. It will be good to learn things away from our home environment and our own dogs, and have him be exposed to other dogs. One thing I'm thankful for is that Suka doesn't seem to be aggressive at all towards people or dogs. He gets very excited and wants to attack in play (which some of the dogs don't particularly care for) but he does seemingly well with others. He is a smartie in many respects :) The trainer was impressed by how many things he already knows, she said that she could tell that I am not a first time dog owner and that I work with him often. That was a nice compliment for sure :)

Look How big I'm getting!

Where is my puppy going? He acts like a puppy but he's starting to look like a dog..Sniff, Sniff...How can this be when he is only 13 weeks old! Suka has learned sit and down and does them easily now. He is doing great at stay (when there are no doggy distractions) and come (when treats are involved especially), and is working on giving paw. Now, if we can get the wanting to walk with me down pat, and the mouthing/nipping under control (and a better grasp at housebreaking- he is able to be in the house and not let out every few minutes like he used to, but when he has to go, he just goes with little warning or chance to get him outside) Baby Steps, I must remind myself :) I am very excited though that he is learning hand signals rather than just words. I signal him to do certain things and he is learning to do them- Whoo, Hoo! :)