Weekend update...

It's Saturday evening and we have been busy all day! We started the day off by getting the rest of the paneling off the walls in the living room while it was raining. Once the rain stopped, we were able to get out and start mowing the lawn. It has probably been two weeks since we have mowed and it was in serious need of a trim. So, we spent a few hours today getting most of it done. Tom mowed the back end of the lawn that was the longest with his mower (a DR Trimmer/Mower) while I tackled the front part. Hopefully, it won't be rainy all week in the evenings again so we can mow again towards the end of the week.

Last night when we went out to feed we discovered that Shammu had a bloody eye. Upon examination, we thought we could see a cut on the outside of the upper lid. We flushed it out and gave her a pain pill. This morning, I called Dr. May and he recommended using the opthalmic ointment we have on hand and starting her on antibiotics. So, that is what we have done. The eye is goopy and looks puffy, but doesn't seem to be bothering her. As a matter of fact, she seems to think this is a pretty cool thing because it has given her rights to the house!!! She is on the couch with me now...chewing on a knuckle bone!

Well, we really need to get out to the pens to clean... check back for more later...

Happy Trails...

I just saw that the last post I added was on july 19th! Seems we have been busy reading the last Harry Potter book! For those of you that have not read it but plan to I won't give away the ending... I will just say that it was a great book and the ending is GREAT!! She did a great job with this last book and I am so glad I actually read the books even though I used to think they were just silly kids books! Oh how wrong I was! We got the books on Friday at midnight and had them read by Thursday!!

In doggy news... well, there isn't much to report. Everyone seems to be doing good. Orca is having a harder and harder time breathing with the weather being so hot but he is hanging in there. Sable is finding it harder to move after sleeping for many hours. Thor is now losing his hearing to match his loss in vision. Sami is wondering why she is in with the old dogs. Em had another seizure the other night so his meds have been increased to the dose the vet actually said to give him. Bolio is still a dope on a rope most of the time. Hannah & Stubby are enjoying their freedom from chains but would likely follow Bolio out if he found a spot - only to find themselves back on chains right along with Bolio. Shammu is back and living with Baleen, Kivek and Dude. Baleen has finally finished shedding and is gaining some weight. Kivek is like me and could stand to lose some weight. Dude is a growing boy and seems to be getting bigger every day. Rufus & Glacier are still trying to keep weight on their frames. At two and a half years old they are very active all the time and just seem to burn off any calories we put in them. Raven is living with them this weekend. She is a sweety and seems to be doing great at Jen's full time. Tanner & Shasta are growing like weeds right with thier brother Dude. Kia & Muktuk do not like living in the far pen, but Tuk is doing some "landscaping" with this manual earth moving tools (his paws) and I am sure they will settle in soon. Gateway's pad is pretty much healed and doesn't seem to bother him much anymore. Patton seems to think he can beat anyone up right now. He seems to get an attitude adjustment from Tom about once a week. Kako likes being in with them until Patton decides to beat her up!! Panzer is a wild woman now that she is healed from her surgery (she was spayed). She loves to run and run and run with anyone that will play! She also loves to spend time in the pool. Sherman is shedding and seems thin so he will be getting some extra in his dinner! Pepper is doing good, but I noticed the other day that he has hardly any teeth in the lower jaw anymore. If someone had told me that breaking his jaw at 9 weeks old would stop the lower jaw from producing the teeth that it should, I would have told them they were crazy. But, I can attest that this is what seems to have happened. Fred is looking so very good but really needs to shed. I am not sure how he is staying cool in any way shape or form right now because he has so much fur on him still!!! Cheyanne is doing good and seems to be getting along with Fred really well. Butternut and Sioux are living life the doggy way and seem to be enjoying their days. All of the dogs & humans in this kennel are ready for the hot weather to be over with! Then, we can start some small training sessions!!

Well, I had better get going and get something done tonight! Hopefully, I will find time to post again this weekend but might not happen until Monday night!

Happy Trails.

Is it over yet??

Wow, this has been a LONG week! For some reason, I keep thinking it is later in the week than it really is and then I get all mixed up and don't know what day it is at all!!!

Got news tonight from one of the owners of a Kako pup that he weighed in at 80 pounds today!!! I really need to get a scale that will weigh these big guys so I can announce real weights!! :o) Of the three we have here from that litter, Dude is the biggest - he is just solid and looking large! Shasta would be next on the weight as she is also a solid pup. Tanner is bringing up the rear on size, but makes up for it with personality!!

Em had a playmate today! Tanner spent the day with Em in the heated barn pen. I hope they played some so Em isn't so rambunctious tonight when he is in the house.

Orca is giving me a scare now and then... some nights he doesn't eat well or at all and that always gives us reason to be worried. He is going on 14 years old and not doing great, but seems to be holding his own.

Everyone else is doing good... Well, Muktuk has taken to bullying anyone that is in the pen with him.... usually Kia... if they get in his way when he is running in circles! Gateway is still hobbling around on his bum foot but it seems to be healing... it was just a really bad cut on one of the pads. It certainly has slowed him down some. Panzer has healed from her spay surgery with no problems at all. She is back to running around like a mad woman most of the time. Bolio is still tied on a chain when we are not outside to watch his every move... but the girls, Stubby & Hannah are no longer tied up too. They seem to stay in the pen if he isn't showing them ways to get out!! ;o)

It's time to head out and clean the pens and play with everyone!

Happy Trails!

Closing thoughts for the weekend...

It has been another busy Sunday. We got the rest of the carpet pulled up and even got some of the paneling off the wall in the dining room area. Will probably work on the rest of it this week after work. I am really thinking this project may be bigger than I had hoped. Seems we are finding some of the sheetrock under the paneling is finished with a texture and other is just bare drywall that has been taped. But, we are going to have to sand and retape most of it anyway because there are so many holes in the sheetrock! While I was at Home Depot getting some things last week I picked up some color cards for us to start picking out a paint color. Unbelievably, we both really like the same color!! I am thinking while we are painting anyway, I am going to paint right down the hallway too... but I am thinking that will be a different color form the same color palette. I am also thinking about trying to find a sponge or stamp in the shape of a paw print that I can use to do a boarder around the top 8 inches of the walls... I am really liking how clear things are with most of the "stuff" that has been packed into the living and dining room out of here. I am thinking about selling the computer to get a laptop so we don't even have computer desk in the room any more. Mayebe even get a dining room table to be able to sit down to meals... no, probably won't go that far. Just would like to keep things less cluttered in the room. Oh, the other projects I would like to tackle - but probably not until next summer - would be to refinish the kitchen cupboards and repaint the bathroom.

Well, we need to get ready to feed the dogs for tonight... Sable has started barking which indicates it is past 10 pm and she is hungry!!

Check back for more updates soon.

Rain...Sun...Clouds...more rain!!!!

It seems like the old saying about Alaska is holding true right now... if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes... it will change!! We have had rain off and on over the last week or so that it is becoming annoying. Tom went out to mow some lawn today during what looked like clear, sunny skies... only to be chased back inside within a half hour or so by a rain storm! No big deal... we worked in the house getting the last of the carpet out. Now, we are going to paint the subfloor so it looks a bit better while we work on the walls. Then, we will be putting the laminant flooring in!! It is going to look so different in here!! I am thinking about repainting the bathroom too... Made that suggestion to Tom yesterday to see what color he thought would look good and without hesitation he said "slate blue". So, there you have it... that's what the bathroom will be...

Well, I have spent entirely too much time on the computer and have too much to do today before work starts again tomorrow. Sure would love to have another week or two off just to get some more stuff done!! Will try to post more of a kennel update soon! Just not much happening in the kennel right now...

I am my mothers daughter....

Had this thought today and thought I would share it here even though it really isn't related to the kennel at all....

While running the chainsaw at the property today, I couldn't help but think about my mom and the wonderful memories I have of her when I was still living at home. I was about 16 - 18 years old and I clearly remember all of the hard labor she put in for many years... and that was after they sold the "mom & pop" store they owned for 20+ years. She would rise early with Dad and see him off to work and then get me up bright and early to get the day started so I could get the required work done before heading off for the day with someone....usually with Tom if he had the day off and was around. We would cut up, split and stack wood for the coming winter of heating the garage/workshop. We could cut up the slab wood from the sawmill and get that put in the wood shed too. We would tail the sawmill to produce more lumber for whatever we were building at the time. That of course produced even more slab wood that would have to be cut up and put away. We would mow lawns... and just do general maintenance around the house. If I was going to be there for dinner we would play a game of badmitten or ping pong to determine who would make dinner... the loser had to make dinner!!

I remember that at times I really hated the work I had to do before I would be able to go play, but looking back on it... I learned alot from my mother. She wasn't afraid to do much of anything. It didn't matter if it was something everyone thought was a "man's job"... she would do it anyway.

I am so glad that Dad never squelched this in my mother... more often, he was a great teacher and showed me how to do many things too.

I have such fond memories of growing up and since I was really more of an only child being raised 9 years after the youngest of the older three siblings I was able to spend alot of quality time with my parents...

Thank you mom and dad for your love and support thru the years! You helped me become the woman I am today in more ways than I could ever write here or you will ever know!

Summer work continues...

It's shaping up to be another busy weekend. We went up to the property today and got some more clearing for the driveway done. It is starting to look like we could get the driveway in soon. We need to get a bulldozer up there to level the driveway some and move some of the dirt to where it is needed for making it possible to get into and out of the property with the truck and trailer so the dogs can all go with us next winter!!

We had rain most of the night last night so we probably won't get to mow lawn today, but hopefully, tomorrow will dawn with the bright sunlight we have had the last couple of weeks so we can get the lawn mowed.

Let's see, what else has happened recently to report on... Panzer is healing nicely and will need to get her staples out sometime this week. That means she can go back out to a regular pen soon. She has been living in the heated barn pen...with Gateway. Seems Gateway sliced open a pad when he was fence fighting with Butternut Thursday night. We got it cleaned up and put some homeopathic wound care stuff on it. Need to do that again today.

Emenem got a bath yesterday with the medicated soap for his itchiness. He seems more itchy than usual right now. I found a couple of hotspots on him, but not what I expected with how itchy he is. We got those areas cleaned up and we are using an antibiotic spray on them daily. He has been started on phenobarbetol in an attempt to control the small seizures he was starting to have frequently. He seems so have gotten itchier after going on the phenobarb. I am going to contact another vet that we occasionally take the dogs to just to see if she has any other suggestions on his itchiness. I also wonder if it is something in the house that is keeping him as itchy as he is. So, we are planning to take the carpet out of the living room soon.

That will start another project... that of laying the oak laminant flooring we bought a month or so ago! I am also going to pull the paneling off the walls when we get this project going. We are still trying to figure out what to do on the floor in the hallway. We have decided against putting the laminage flooring in the hallway because that is where we keep the many litter of pups with Momma Dogs while thye are young. I really don't want to ruin the laminate flooring that quickly so we are thinking of putting tile or just vinyl in the hallway and into the laundry room area... which, in this process will likely be moved to!! Boy, we have lots of work ahead of us and summer is half over!! We need to get to work!

Well, I had better get going and get something else done today!

Happy Trails!

Em News....

Just a quick note to report that Em had another small seizure last night. He has had several small ones over the last week or so. So, we decided to start him on phenobarbetol. We had some left over from Shiver's meds so I gave him some last night. And another dose this morning. Then, I called and talked to the vet and we made the decision to put him on a maintenance dose to try to keep them from getting worse for a while. Hopefully that will do the trick and he will be seizure free for a long time! Although, given his family history I am not convinced that he will have no more! I think it is just a matter of time before he has them more often and bigger ones... I am also watching his sister, Baleen really, really close for any signs of seizures.

I remember when we were going thru this with Balou - our first official Mackenzie River Husky - and it was heartbreaking. He started having them at 1 and a half years old and was only with us another year. Em is going on two years old in August... And, Em's mother, Talla started having grand mal seizures 6 months after she whelped Em & Baleen's litter.

Now for a Panzer update... She is doing really good... she has a major razor burn on her belly, but the incision looks good and seems to be healing nicely. She is spending some time in the house, but seems to like to pick on the cats while she is in now that she is feeling better so she is outside some again.

In other pet news... We got home tonight to find Mascot (the older cat) not putting much weight on his back leg. I gave him a baby aspirin in hopes that will help... will have to see how he does and maybe take him to the vet later in the week!!!

Well, we need to get the fuzzy ones fed.... more later! Hope everyone has a very Happy 4th of July!!!!

No rest...

Well, Sunday, July 1st is almost over. We got alot done again today. Tom worked outside clearing some of the brush at the top of the driveway so we can see things coming down the road. I worked all day in the house getting things done. After many, many, many loads of laundry done I think I actually have a handle on it all again. Just need to get a basket of undies & socks put away and get the last load of blankets out of the dryer!! I think we are almost at a point where we can put half of the stuff that is in the living/dining room area in the covered trailer and start pulling up the carpet. It will be really, really nice to have a decent looking floor in here. I have decided that I don't want the laminate flooring in the hallway. That is where the puppies are kept and I don't want to have to replace the flooring after the next batch of puppies... So, we are thinking about going with tile in the hallway. Will have to see how it works out. I also need to figure out what color I want to paint the walls... cuz the paneling IS coming off this year!!!

Cleaning went well tonight. We are back to where we can let three pens out at a time and get the chore done in "4 waves" making it much more fun for the dogs because they get to play with each other. Kako is finally out of season so she can be out with anyone now. At the end, I had Butternut, Sioux, Fred, Cheyanne, the three pups (Tanner, Shasta & Dude) and Em out running around. I sat down to pet the pups on the a-frame roof that is out in the open area... well, Em walked up to me just as Butternut was coming over the top to get some loving. Well, B-nut slipped and slid down the roof right into Em. Em growled just a bit and B-nut decided to go after Em!! Em hadn't even done anything wrong!! And that is unusual, Em is usually a snot to everyone... Well, I got Butternut off of Em -while beating off Chey & Sioux. I saw Fred coming toward us and yelled to Tom to stop Fred. If there is any kind of squabble, the other of those two boys has to be in the middle of it. Tom yelled at Fred and he backed off, but there was no way in hell I was going to let go of Butternut. He was now sporting the attitude of the century! I lead him back to his pen. While walking with him, Em decided to give Butternut a piece of his mind for attacking him... Em was snapping and yapping at Butternut... B-nut was not impressed. All were put back in their pens and all was well again. However, I am not going to trust Butternut with Em for a long time!! At least it wasn't a knock down drag out fight just because of the little squabble!

Panzer is doing okay. She seems to feel much better now and is moving around without looking like it hurts. She is sleeping in the house at night, but will probably spend the day outside tomorrow. She loves to pick on Pal when she is in the house... Pal gets fed up with it and just swats her! It was pretty funny tonight when she sniffed him and he planted his claws in her head! She wasn't very impressed. But, she was good about it and didn't go back after him.

Tomorrow is another day at work. Our weather forcast is for HOT days all this week... temps are suppose to be in the 80's!! YUCK!! I want snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Happy Trails!