Hi all,
First off Jackson is doing just fine! He managed to pass the pieces of tarp string without needing surgery and was perky and back to his normal self within a few days. He's starting to put some weight back on that he lost too.
The puppies have discovered the wonderful art of digging and have been going to town with the holes in the dogyard. I tell you, these are the most impressive holes I have ever seen! Emma could completely get inside one and hide, they're so big and deep! =)
Meanwhile about a week or so ago I decided to hook up the 4 pups with the 12 race adults into one 16 dog string - the same string I'll be training in the fall. Up until then I had only been running 12 dogs on the ATV at a time. All I'll say is I'm going to have a hell of a team next year, and a hell of a time controlling 16 dogs by myself on the ATV. Here's hoping I find a handler to assist me...otherwise there are going to be LOTS of new adventure stories for the website, haha!
I finally got around to updating a lot of my website with new photos, so be sure to check out the dog pages.
Until next time...
-Jaye
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Watch Out for Tarps
Jackson lost his appetite about a week ago. At first I thought he was just kind of depressed over the girls coming out of heat. Or perhaps just had a little stomach bug and wasn't too hungry. Or it has to do with the fact that we're not running as much and he has less of an appetite. He'd eat maybe 1/2 cup to a cup but then leave the rest.
When one day of bad appetite turned into 4 days, then 5 days I started to worry. This is not like my dogs! Normally they attack their food like they haven't eaten in a week. I brought him inside for a day and watched him to see how he was acting. He wasn't lethargic, wasn't running a fever, his belly wasn't sore or hard. He happily ate dog cookies. Other than not eating, I just wasn't seeing any signs of anything wrong.
Maybe he's just not liking his regular food? He'd eat all the meat but leave most of the kibble at night. I tried switching him completely back to the winter food - I had been mixing in a lower formula for summer eating and perhaps he didn't like the taste. But no, that didn't help.
On Sunday night he refused food altogether and went in his doghouse and threw up. By this time he had noticably lost weight just in the past few days. I decided he needed to get checked out. So Monday morning we went to the vets.
The vet took a stool sample and while that was processing started looking into his mouth. "Oh," he exclaimed, "He has a string under his tongue!"
Huh? He has a WHAT? I'd never even heard of that! I pictured a small piece of string sitting under his tongue and wondered, "Well why doesn't he just spit it out then?" :P
The vet told me it usually happens to cats, not dogs. I'm still wondering why he doesn't just spit it out. But then they put him under sedation to remove the string and once Jackson was out I lifted up his tongue to see for myself. Sure enough, there was a string looped under his tongue, with the two ends of the string disappearing down Jackson's throat. Ahhh, now I get it! He must have tried to swallow it but it got caught around his tongue couldn't go any further. Meanwhile over the course of however long it'd been stuck there the string started to slice poor Jackson's tongue underneath whenever he swallowed or ate.
Meanwhile I'm thinking, "Where did he get a piece of string that long?" But once the vet started removing it I recognized what it was: a piece of tarp.
If you've ever seen a tarp shred you know they basically turn into long plastic strings. Tarps are really made up of woven pieces of plastic string that looks like dental floss. I've had tarps hanging along the fences that face the neighbors for the past year and a half, ever since the neighbor's grown son complained that the dogs were always watching them. But this winter the puppies have taken to pulling the ends of the tarps thru the chain link and destroying them. Once they do that I remove the shredded tarp from the fence and/or cut of the shredded part and refasten the tarp, but the next time a strong storm comes along and dislodges one corner of the tarp the same thing happens. As a result there are little tarp strings often on the ground. I try to pick up as much as I can but it's not always easy, and I figured they would be able to pass them if they happened to swallow one - the strings are so thin and small. Not to mention I've never heard of this type of thing happening.
Well once the string was cut, the vet tried to pull as much of it out as possible from Jackson's tummy (I watched the whole thing), but didn't get much. So they cut the two ends and let him swallow the rest. The string is still stuck in him and we're hoping he poops it out.
Problem is, this particular type of string is apparantly like dental floss which the vet said is dangerous for animals to eat because it can slice up their insides. Hard to imagine that happening - it's not like either dental floss or tarp string is sharp. I guess there's also a chance it can get hung up down there, or is too long to poop out. The vet has me giving Jackson hairball remedy (wonder if he'll start meowing soon?) and wants him to eat as much bread as possible to help move it along. Something about bread being soft and filling... Pumpkin pie mix was the other suggestion.
So all the tarps are now off the fence - the neighbors will have to deal with the dogs watching them until I have time and money to put up a stockade fence for privacy. And when the remaining snow melts I have to go out and try to pick up all of those pesky little tarp strings littering the ground.
Meanwhile I have to keep a close eye on Jackson to make sure he passes that string and it doesn't get stuck in his tummy; if it does, he'll need surgery to remove it.
Live and learn I guess. Sigh. So a warning to you all: watch out for those damned tarps!
When one day of bad appetite turned into 4 days, then 5 days I started to worry. This is not like my dogs! Normally they attack their food like they haven't eaten in a week. I brought him inside for a day and watched him to see how he was acting. He wasn't lethargic, wasn't running a fever, his belly wasn't sore or hard. He happily ate dog cookies. Other than not eating, I just wasn't seeing any signs of anything wrong.
Maybe he's just not liking his regular food? He'd eat all the meat but leave most of the kibble at night. I tried switching him completely back to the winter food - I had been mixing in a lower formula for summer eating and perhaps he didn't like the taste. But no, that didn't help.
On Sunday night he refused food altogether and went in his doghouse and threw up. By this time he had noticably lost weight just in the past few days. I decided he needed to get checked out. So Monday morning we went to the vets.
The vet took a stool sample and while that was processing started looking into his mouth. "Oh," he exclaimed, "He has a string under his tongue!"
Huh? He has a WHAT? I'd never even heard of that! I pictured a small piece of string sitting under his tongue and wondered, "Well why doesn't he just spit it out then?" :P
The vet told me it usually happens to cats, not dogs. I'm still wondering why he doesn't just spit it out. But then they put him under sedation to remove the string and once Jackson was out I lifted up his tongue to see for myself. Sure enough, there was a string looped under his tongue, with the two ends of the string disappearing down Jackson's throat. Ahhh, now I get it! He must have tried to swallow it but it got caught around his tongue couldn't go any further. Meanwhile over the course of however long it'd been stuck there the string started to slice poor Jackson's tongue underneath whenever he swallowed or ate.
Meanwhile I'm thinking, "Where did he get a piece of string that long?" But once the vet started removing it I recognized what it was: a piece of tarp.
If you've ever seen a tarp shred you know they basically turn into long plastic strings. Tarps are really made up of woven pieces of plastic string that looks like dental floss. I've had tarps hanging along the fences that face the neighbors for the past year and a half, ever since the neighbor's grown son complained that the dogs were always watching them. But this winter the puppies have taken to pulling the ends of the tarps thru the chain link and destroying them. Once they do that I remove the shredded tarp from the fence and/or cut of the shredded part and refasten the tarp, but the next time a strong storm comes along and dislodges one corner of the tarp the same thing happens. As a result there are little tarp strings often on the ground. I try to pick up as much as I can but it's not always easy, and I figured they would be able to pass them if they happened to swallow one - the strings are so thin and small. Not to mention I've never heard of this type of thing happening.
Well once the string was cut, the vet tried to pull as much of it out as possible from Jackson's tummy (I watched the whole thing), but didn't get much. So they cut the two ends and let him swallow the rest. The string is still stuck in him and we're hoping he poops it out.
Problem is, this particular type of string is apparantly like dental floss which the vet said is dangerous for animals to eat because it can slice up their insides. Hard to imagine that happening - it's not like either dental floss or tarp string is sharp. I guess there's also a chance it can get hung up down there, or is too long to poop out. The vet has me giving Jackson hairball remedy (wonder if he'll start meowing soon?) and wants him to eat as much bread as possible to help move it along. Something about bread being soft and filling... Pumpkin pie mix was the other suggestion.
So all the tarps are now off the fence - the neighbors will have to deal with the dogs watching them until I have time and money to put up a stockade fence for privacy. And when the remaining snow melts I have to go out and try to pick up all of those pesky little tarp strings littering the ground.
Meanwhile I have to keep a close eye on Jackson to make sure he passes that string and it doesn't get stuck in his tummy; if it does, he'll need surgery to remove it.
Live and learn I guess. Sigh. So a warning to you all: watch out for those damned tarps!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Puppy Training & Mud Season
As you can tell I'm probably not going to post quite as often during spring & summer... not too many "tales from the trail" right now! But I'll try to still post as often as I remember to with what's going on with the kennel during the off season.
We're in spring-training time here. I've taken the dogs out for some 8-10 mile runs the past few weeks, whenever possible. The most fun about spring training is hooking up puppies and new leader training!
I put Matsi in lead for the first time ever last week, and man that dog just blew me away yet again! He didn't falter in the least bit: just ran up front like he'd been doing it all season. No goofiness, no chasing things, never even turned around to look at me like "what am I doing up here mom?" He kept pushing to lope and set a nice speed...why, it looks like I have another very promising leader on my hands!
Meanwhile his sister Weyekin's been running lead a lot this spring. She ran a few times last fall, just so I could see what she'd do, but she was pretty goofy about it back then. Now she's matured enough to be more focused up there and like her brother she pushes for speed. I'm very excited that both of Kadee's kids that I kept from her first litter turned out to be leaders!
Tristan and Jackson will both get their turns up in lead this spring too, once girls are out of heat. I already know Tristan has great leader potential as he ran up front a few times in fall. Have only tried Jackson up there once so far, however, and he was still too mentally young it seemed. We'll see how he does this spring.
Then there's puppy training. I hooked up the 4 McKinley/Odie kids for the first time last week... and OMG those pups are insane. I have only once before seen a puppy act so much like a professional in harness their first few times and that was Magik. Most of the time pups will naturally run and pull their first time out but they get tangled in the lines easily, they're going under the gangline and running on the wrong side, they turn around and tangle themselves up when you stop. You're constantly getting off the ATV to fix them.
Not these 4. They stay on their own side, they don't get tangled, when I stop they either stand there in place or start jumping in harness to go again, and when running they're pulling like little demons. The second time I took them out to run, the second they hit the ground out of the dogtruck they were screaming and lunging and excited because they knew what they were about to do, which is another thing I don't usually see right off the bat in puppies. I'm very pleased with this litter... and will admit I'm a tad frightened to think of the insane dog power I will have on my team next season when they're fully grown and muscled up! Seems I keep adding more boys to the team each year and I noticed a definate power difference this season. Now there will be 3 more, and Sully and Hank look like they'll be built like their daddy Odie and uncle Loki: power dogs in harness.
New pictures of the pups in harness their first day will be posted to my website soon...I promise! I have lots of photos from the season to post in fact.
In other news, Kadee is in heat right now and will be bred this week (hopefully) to NorthWapiti's Skor. Most likely via AI since she is not a willing participant in these matters, LOL! Pups will be born in mid June. FINALLY...a summer litter! Every litter I've done has been born in September or October. Will be a nice change to have one during summer months when I have way more time to spend with pups as they grow.
Well that's all the news for now. Happy mud season!
We're in spring-training time here. I've taken the dogs out for some 8-10 mile runs the past few weeks, whenever possible. The most fun about spring training is hooking up puppies and new leader training!
I put Matsi in lead for the first time ever last week, and man that dog just blew me away yet again! He didn't falter in the least bit: just ran up front like he'd been doing it all season. No goofiness, no chasing things, never even turned around to look at me like "what am I doing up here mom?" He kept pushing to lope and set a nice speed...why, it looks like I have another very promising leader on my hands!
Meanwhile his sister Weyekin's been running lead a lot this spring. She ran a few times last fall, just so I could see what she'd do, but she was pretty goofy about it back then. Now she's matured enough to be more focused up there and like her brother she pushes for speed. I'm very excited that both of Kadee's kids that I kept from her first litter turned out to be leaders!
Tristan and Jackson will both get their turns up in lead this spring too, once girls are out of heat. I already know Tristan has great leader potential as he ran up front a few times in fall. Have only tried Jackson up there once so far, however, and he was still too mentally young it seemed. We'll see how he does this spring.
Then there's puppy training. I hooked up the 4 McKinley/Odie kids for the first time last week... and OMG those pups are insane. I have only once before seen a puppy act so much like a professional in harness their first few times and that was Magik. Most of the time pups will naturally run and pull their first time out but they get tangled in the lines easily, they're going under the gangline and running on the wrong side, they turn around and tangle themselves up when you stop. You're constantly getting off the ATV to fix them.
Not these 4. They stay on their own side, they don't get tangled, when I stop they either stand there in place or start jumping in harness to go again, and when running they're pulling like little demons. The second time I took them out to run, the second they hit the ground out of the dogtruck they were screaming and lunging and excited because they knew what they were about to do, which is another thing I don't usually see right off the bat in puppies. I'm very pleased with this litter... and will admit I'm a tad frightened to think of the insane dog power I will have on my team next season when they're fully grown and muscled up! Seems I keep adding more boys to the team each year and I noticed a definate power difference this season. Now there will be 3 more, and Sully and Hank look like they'll be built like their daddy Odie and uncle Loki: power dogs in harness.
New pictures of the pups in harness their first day will be posted to my website soon...I promise! I have lots of photos from the season to post in fact.
In other news, Kadee is in heat right now and will be bred this week (hopefully) to NorthWapiti's Skor. Most likely via AI since she is not a willing participant in these matters, LOL! Pups will be born in mid June. FINALLY...a summer litter! Every litter I've done has been born in September or October. Will be a nice change to have one during summer months when I have way more time to spend with pups as they grow.
Well that's all the news for now. Happy mud season!
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