Aviara Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 My name is Lindsay, and I have a small pack of 3: Katara and Apollo are my Siberian huskies, and Dasher is my border collie/corgi cross. I'm very excited to find a forum dedicated to this amazing breed, because my huskies are my closest friends and I have gotten so much companionship and joy from all my dogs as well as the other animals that have been a part of my life. So you can get to know me - and more importantly my dogs - I'll give a brief autobiography, and then one for each of my dogs. Pictures will be coming soon! I am an animal lover - full-spectrum. I have owned, loved and worked with dogs, cats, horses, ferrets, rodents, birds, fish, reptiles, arachnids, insects. I have volunteered at wildlife rehabilitations, animal shelters and nature centers, and I have ridden and trained horses most of my life. I am a college student finishing up a degree in Psychology, emphasizing Behavioral Psychology, especially animal behavior. My goal is to work in some way with animals, either as a wildlife rehabber myself, in domestic animal rescue, or as a dog trainer. Because I have such a broad background, I apply lessons I've learned from non-domestic animal care to the care of my dogs. Enrichment, species-appropriate diet, physical and mental health and welfare, and non-aversive training methods - I strive to improve upon all these areas and more in the lives of my dogs and the other various animals in my care. I am always learning, and because I have amassed such a database of knowledge for so many different organisms, I am always eager to answer others' questions and to provide insight into how we can improve the lives of our pets. I'm hoping that I am a good fit for this forum, because ever since Siberians came into my life over a year ago, I've been endlessly amazed, amused and enthralled with their sometimes noble, sometimes whimsical, always mystical antics. On to the dogs. DASHER Dasher was my first dog, a rescue who had been left on the highway by some unknown past owner. I don't know his history, and I don't like to speculate about past owner transgressions based on a dog's behavior, but what I can say is that when I first met him, he was a shy but cheerful dog that was absolutely attached to his foster's hip. In my first photo of Dasher, the day I signed his adoption papers, the 30 pound black mutt is being carried through our local pet store by my fiance because he was too timid to walk through sliding doors and busy dog-filled aisles. Now, at an estimated three years of age, Dasher is my portable, well-rounded "old man". He's still shy and prefers to curl up behind the sofa or in his kennel instead of staying out in the open, and he doesn't immediately take to new visitors, but he's also joyful and his corgi spirit is full of love. The corgi half also blessed him with stumpy legs that look as if they've been cut off below the knee and a mind that constantly and happily bounces around - unless it's preoccupied focusing in on a squirrel. He loves dog parks, potentially edible objects, and most of all my fiance, Dillan. APOLLO If Dasher is my fun-sized dog, Apollo is my gentle giant. At 65 pounds, he's still not up to his ideal weight, an ongoing struggle, but even so, he is one of the most stunning huskies I've met. Perhaps I'm biased. Apollo came into my life when I was looking for a second dog as a companion for myself and playmate for Dasher. Someone had abandoned a beautiful grey husky on the street, riddled with fleas and tapeworm and painfully underweight, or perhaps he had escaped from a neglectful home. A friend of mine had picked him up, but had 3 dogs already and in addition noticed that, while he noticed the dog was comfortable around his wife, he cowered and flinched whenever a male touched him. The instant I drove up this friend's driveway and saw the homeless husky, I knew he was my dog. He was beautiful, but more important, he instantly took to following me around, and when I clicked my lead into his new collar, it felt right. The car ride home was rough, with a big dog slingshotting around my back seat and struggling to get up front, until he finally settled in the back with his face smushed into my arm and fell asleep. And that's how he's been since he joined our family - if he's with me, preferably touching me, then nothing else in his world seems to matter. Apollo has a huge personality, and moreover his transition into our lives was bumpy, with difficulties in potty training, terrible gastro-intestinal problems that stumped the staff of three vet offices for over a year, and a prey drive that ended the life of our beloved cat and taught us a valuable lesson about huskies' killing capabilities. But despite, or maybe because of, the challenges I overcame in bringing Apollo into my life, he is now my favorite dog and a huge source of comfort at a time when I needed a big fluffy shoulder to cry on. Apollo is my soulmate, my hiking buddy, my nighttime bodyguard and my rescue story, and so much more than I thought a dog could mean to me. Apollo is now about 2 years of age, and is gaining weight like a champ, learning to fetch and wishing for the end of the hot Texas summer. KATARA Katara is the newest addition to our pack. She was my first puppy, and our first non-rescue dog. We were ready to add a third to our doggie duo and make it a pack. We had adopted a miniature pinscher, named Jax, from a well-meaning student who did not have time to care for him. However, when Dillan's parents baby-sat Jax for a few weeks during Christmas vacation and fell in love with him, Jax became their Christmas present and joined their previously cat-only household instead. So we decided, instead of looking at another toy breed, we would get a second husky. Dasher learned how to play by spending time in the dog park with a neighbor's two huskies, and Apollo always got extra-excited when he met another Northern breed, so another husky seemed like a perfect choice. And she was. Katara was the daughter of a gorgeous AKC male and an equally beautiful but unregistered female who were left unfixed too long and had a litter - five adorable little unplanned husky girls. We hand-picked Katara for her black coat and stunning parti eyes, and we made a good choice. She is 9 months old now, and although raising a puppy was every bit as intense as I had feared and then some, the end result was worth it. Katara is now 36.5 pounds as of a recent vet visit, and although a handful (what husky isn't?), she is the most intelligent and archetypically Siberian of our little pack. She is easily trainable and wonderfully motivated by food. She also loves to explore and her face lights up with sheer bliss when she runs. Like Apollo, she is more crazy about me than about Dillan, shadowing me as I move about the apartment and crying for me if I leave and he stays home. Unlike Apollo who is raw emotion, she is gentle, elegant and even dainty. Katara is a wonderful dog and completes our pack just as we had hoped, and watching our three dogs play together, at times with great ferocity but always with balance and restraint, is a lesson in friendship. So those are my dogs' stories in brief. We are constantly up to mischief, and I have learned so much already from two years of dog ownership, from puppy parenting and from having a multi-dog household. I look forward to sharing stories and advice, and to learning from and getting to know the community. We all share a love for what I consider the most pure and magestic of canine spirits, dogs that often remind us of their own ancestors, the wolves, and yet through whom we constantly see visions of ourselves, and perhaps of hearts as open and unconditionally loving as we can only aspire to be. *Edited: Now with pictures taken just a moment ago. Thanks everyone who has replied and read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunc Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyries Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Hi and welcome can we have pic's please xxxxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 TO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow63 Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Awesome introduction. . . Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Hi there! welcome to husky owners! [emoji2] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Brilliant intro! Warm welcomes to the pack x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Welcome to the pack! Gorgeous pups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesburwj Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 welcome! which part of Texas are you?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Hello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Welcome aboard Lindsay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aviara Posted August 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 My goodness everyone is friendly and welcoming here! I'll have more pictures up of our pack soon. I'm terrible about taking pictures, but now that I have a community to share them with, I'll have more reason to capture all the wonderful things my dogs do! Everyone else here has such stunning huskies, I'm really blown away every day by how beautiful and captivating our breed is. If anyone wants to speculate on an adult weight for Katara, I'd be interested to hear your insight - like I said above she is 36.5 pounds as of a few days ago and 9 months old, but still looks leggy and "puppyish" to me. Wesburwj - I live in West Texas, San Angelo to be exact. It's hot here, and I'm sure it's hot in New Mexico too! As a consequence, our dogs' fur is shorter and Apollo's undercoat is blowing for the second time this summer! It's funny, every time a husky moves in from a cooler state to Texas, I can spot them because they have the iconic heavy undercoat, and then by summer it starts changing to a lighter coat. Also as a consequence, my dogs are lazy huskies - something that almost sounds like an oxymoron - and will only play and tolerate long walks during the cooler nights. When it starts cooling down and winter comes, especially if I visit my family in St. Louis, Missouri, Apollo turns into an energetic little athlete again, but for now it's lots of frozen treats and naps. Dasher doesn't much like the heat either, he has a fluffy coat himself although his undercoat is not very thick, and being black he seems to warm up very quickly! I'd love to hear others' experiences keeping huskies in warm climates. It's interesting to see how the iconic "snow dogs" handle blazing hot climates with relative ease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Welcome to the forum!! Yes our huskies seem to tolerate all climates but love love love the snow!! Mine are most active in the winter and this year was great for them! Can't wait to see more pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^Aurora^ Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Welcome to the form. You have three gorgeous dogs there and loved reading their stories I live in the UK which isn't all that hot and Aurora still seems to hate even our summer! She'd never manage anywhere hotter x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky-gunner Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 welcome to husky-owners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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