"News Page"
| December 2010 | Well - all seems well with Loki and he is
his usual self again. Maybe he just had a
really bad gastro. On the advice of a very dear friend we put him on some Slippery Elm and that, plus the vets tender care, seems to have done the trick. He is enjoying his plays at the off leash park with Freya. They both love paddling and swimming in the lake. Freya is doing well since the stem cell therapy but is needing Previcox again occasionally. I think because she plays so hard with Loki. We have decided that she needs to be able to play even if she does end up sore afterwards and she really, really enjoys herself. |
| 18 November 2010 | Loki's home and all seems to be going well . |
| 17 November 2010 | Update on Loki after 2 nights in doggy hospital.
I've spoken to the nurse as the vet hasn't seen him this morning. She said he seemed fine this morning, bright and alert. The vet nurse fed him last night and he ate it and hasn't vomited it back up - so that's a good sign. The nurse said he's gorgeous (like we didn't know ). Yesterday the vet said "he's a gentle giant" (we know ) . He seems to have won a few hearts. I don't think he is out of the woods yet as he was so sick but I'm now waiting to hear from the vet in a couple of hours time as to where to from here. I'm wondering if the bone was just a 'red herring' so to speak. The bone bits he has passed are only about a quarter of a fingernail size - not big at all. There are definitely none left in. Maybe just a gastro enteritis problem . It's been terribly stressful. |
| 16 November 2010 | Just heard from the vets. Loki has woken from the sedative and they did x-rays from his mouth to his 'other end' and there is no clear evidence of foreign object. Certainly no evidence of any more bone. His stomach/intestine walls are inflamed and there is gas there. It is possibly that there is some other obstruction that doesn't show on x-rays. He is staying in the hospital tonight on IV fluids and IV antibiotics and painkillers and they will reassess tomorrow (Wednesday). If there is no improvement the will repeat the x-rays tomorrow. Depends on the results of that they may have to do an exploratory - we should know tomorrow. |
| 16 November 2010 | Loki is in vet hospital. He had a sore tum
and vomited about 3 am Monday morning and
generally not well. He was breathing really
fast and very sore so we took him to the
vets and they did blood tests which were
normal (Lipase - normal, no infection but
white cell granulosites [not sure of spelling]
up a bit). He went on IV fluids and pain relief and was admitted overnight. On Monday night Loki was resting OK. Apparently he passed really watery diarrhoea with bone bits in it. Freya was very quiet overnight - no lappies in the house or zoomies in the garden - think she misses her 'big, little brother'. The update from this morning- Tuesday was no vomiting/diarrhoea since Monday night but still very sore tummy when palpated. We think there is something in the stomach or maybe the oesophagus or bowel - maybe bone, maybe small ball the kids next door keep throwing over (perfect choke/lodge sized for Loki). He is going to have light sedative and full x-rays. The x-rays may find something, find all clear or be inconclusive. If they find something they will operate immediately. I think their cash register is just spinning with glee but WE DON'T CARE! Whatever Loki needs Loki gets. It was awfully quiet at home last night without our 'wooey boy'. His favourite game is to woo loudly at Neffy (one of our cats) when she curls up on my lap to chase her off. Neffy got to rest on my lap for a long time last night. As much as I like her curling up on my lap I was wishing for Loki to be home to 'woo her off' Stress level now high - I'm so worried about my little baby boy. |
| October 2010 | Long time readers will recollect me posting
about taking our furbabies to the Blessing
of the Animals Church service at the Christchurch
Cathedral in Darwin. It coincides with the
Feast day of St Francis. We took Freya and Loki along again and despite the extreme heat they behaved beautifully. Freya was fantastic. A bit wary as we still have some timidity issues but she was really good despite being amidst a throng of strangers. She let people pat her an lay down by the pew between myself and a lovely lady who regularly reached down to pat Freya. Loki was at the end of the pew and was immediately spotted by a bunch of kids (some smaller than Loki). They mobbed him with pats. Loki was calm and relaxed - which I think is amazing as he doesn't have much contact with children at all! One of the girls giggled and Loki wooed, the girl giggled again and Loki wooed again then they all giggled and Loki wooed - it was so funny watching the kids and the furkid talking to each other. After a while the kids wandered away and Loki lay down then the kids came back and Loki just lay there getting patted. I was really quite pleased with him. When it came for the Blessing Nick took Loki up and I took Freya. Freya was a bit unsure of the 'person in the funny clothes' but did really well. As the Reverend was finishing the blessing she cupped Freya's chin in her hands and made the Sign of the Cross on Freya's forehead. Just then Freya reached forward and gave the Reverend a very gentle nose touch - the Reverend seemed quite touched by the action and grinned. I grinned too and thanked the Reverend then gave Freya an extra special hug for being such a brave and sweet girl. We walked off together down the aisle and Freya saw a gent she had met just before and stopped for a pat. I didn't see how Loki went as he was with Nick - but it seemed to go fine. Loki had been meeting other dogs of all shapes and sizes and was absolutely fantastic and really friendly with them - I'm really pleased about that. After the service quite a few of the parishioners came up to say Hi again to Freya and Loki and to complement them on their behaviour. One lady mentioned that Freya didn't seem as outgoing as Loki but that she had really sweet eyes and seemed to be a very gentle dog - I felt really good about that. People commented on how good Loki was with the children - one mentioned that it was obvious Loki was brought up with young children as he was so good with them! I confessed that Loki didn't have much contact at all with children and that we are really pleased with how he coped. Another lady said that she'd like to bring her dog but that it would be a problem with the other dogs. This also made me feel quite proud of how well Freya and Loki interacted with the other dogs that were there. All in all - a good morning was had by all despite the hot, humid weather. I really feel blessed myself as we have two such lovely, well behaved dogs |
| September 2010 | Freya She is doing really well and 4mths after the stem cell therapy we are noticing that she is more playful (if that is at all possible) and mischievous and that we haven't had to give her a Previcox in quite a while. She enjoys her walks (but not the heat) and loves to initiate play with Loki and they do 'zoomies' in the garden and 'lappies' in the house with me trying to stop her - but that's hard as I'm normally laughing and not really trying hard to stop her as she is having so much fun. During her Lappies she stands their watching which way you'll jump and her little butt starts to wiggle and her tail twitches then she paddles her front feet up and down trying to decide which way to run. She looks like she is laughing her little head off. So nice to see her like that. The 'zoomies', followed by 'lappies' is usually followed by 'couch' where she gets really comfortable Loki He is doing well - totally lovable. He likes going to dog training each Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday is obedience (yeh right!) and he likes that as he gets treats. We do a lot of 'settling' with Loki. He gets on well with all the other dogs but occasionally 'dislikes' a particular Rotti that comes to class - we've worked on that and they get on OK now. At agility Loki was moved to the trial class (dogs who compete in trials). Unfortunately it wasn't because he's almost at trial stage - it's because he likes to run off and zoomie and play with the other dogs The senior instructor and I had a chat and because the grounds where we train are unfenced and we were worried that the less experienced handlers in the introductory classes couldn't cope with Loki running up to their smaller dogs. They used to get worried and I was concerned that the 'little yappers' might have a snap at Loki with disastrous effect. Anyway - we've moved him to the class with calmer dogs and more experienced handlers and now when he 'zoomies' I just go grab him and we start the course again. The other trainers have been really, really supportive and the first night we took about 5 minutes of doing jump, zoomie, jump jump zoomie and so on and no one complained. After that another person had a run then they all said to take Loki through again - so he got every second turn and Loki exhausted after 20 minutes of that. But we had fun. The following week he still zoomied but he kept his eye on me and his zoomies weren't quite so manic. Hopefully as he matures he'll settle down like Freya did. We took Freya and Loki to the offleash park on Saturday morning and went to the smaller enclosure and set up some jumps and Freya had a play on the jumps too! We only set them at 12 inches (30 cm) not the 60 cm that Loki has to jump. Anyway - Freya was really happy doing 'agility' again - even if it was only pretend. Loki did those jumps nicely and behaved well. |
| 6 July 2010 | For those curious about Freya's 'rehab' routine
- here we go (1 km = 0.6 miles, 1 mile =
1.6 km) Week 1 (following suture removal): morning 0.5 km slow walk, evening 0.5k m slow walk Week 2: morning 0.5 km slow walk plus 0.5km moderate walk, evening 0.5k m slow walk Week 3: morning 1 km moderate walk plus 0.5 km slow walk, evening 1 km slow walk Week 4: morning 1.5 km moderate walk, evening 1 km moderate walk Week 5: morning 2.0 km moderate walk, evening 1.5 km moderate walk Week 6: morning 2.0 km moderate walk, evening 2.0 km moderate walk Week 7: morning 3.0 km moderate walk, evening 2.0 km moderate walk Week 8: She can start walking on the beach 2 or 3 times a week and slowly return to our desired exercise routine. She can start swimming at week 9. Moderate pace means no trotting at all. She can't go on uneven surfaces or loose dirt or sand/beach. Basically it's a road or footpath or a nice even grassed area. So - that is the routine (we are up to week 5 as of tomorrow). As we are already getting up at 5:30 am to do a 1.5 km walk the vet said we can switch the routine to make the longer walk at night and the shorter walk in the morning. I'm out at dog training till 9:30 pm some nights with Loki so by the time I get home and have our evening meal it is really late and getting up any earlier will be too much for me with everything else I have to do. Freya is doing real well with the walks and really enjoys being out and the vet seemed quite pleased with her progress. She is no longer limping on her front right elbow (which was her really bad joint - although both hips, both stifles and both elbows are awful). I think the vets were still surprised with how mobile Freya was BEFORE the procedure - based on the x-rays they expected a very crippled dog that couldn't do much at all, yet Freya was very mobile. This means it's hard to see the improvement but Freya seems happier. We've even managed to get her to loose a little weight despite walking less (at the moment) than she used to. She wasn't overweight at all before and anywhere between 34kg (75lb) and 36kg (79lb) is our target - she went up to about 37kg (81lb) but was still fine at that weight. She could carry almost 39kg (86lb), I think, and still have a tummy tuck, and a waist and be able to feel her ribs. But if we can keep her around 36kg I'm happier. What we have been doing to get her 'rehab' walks plus Loki's exercise plus enabling Nick to do the walks (Nick's still not right after the accident at Easter 2009 and still isn't able to work and he can't walk very far or very fast) is that all 4 of us (Nick, Loki, Freya and I) do the morning walk. Then for the evening walk we drive to a local area where there is a bicycle/walking path and the 4 of us do a "Freya walk" of about 1 km (at the moment) then Nick and Freya drive home in the car and I walk Loki home at a really fast pace so he gets and about an extra 4km (making 6.5km for the day). That way he gets his extra exercise. Bear in mind that it's generally about 20deg Celsius (68f) during our morning walk and 30deg Celsius (86f) during our evening walk so we can't walk as far as we could in a cooler climate. Freya and Loki still aren't allowed to run and play with each other in the garden as that they play too rough. We take them to the local dog park on Saturday and they meet some doggy friends. Loki gets to run off lead and roustabout with their friends but Freya can't join in yet - which is a shame but it's important we give her the best possible opportunity for the stem cell regeneration to work. Anyway - that's our update. |
| 26 June 2010 | The vet gave us a 'walking schedule' of what
walking she can do to build her muscles (like
a rehabilitation schedule) and at week 3
now she is up to doing a 1.5km of a morning
and 1km at night - she loves getting out
and about now. She can't run or trot - just
walk. We have just got back from the dog park as the walk around the lake is 1.5km . We did the lake walk and then Loki went into a smaller fenced off area with a friends 2 dogs and they did a manic run around and play. Freya had to stay in the main area, on lead, with me so she didn't get too excited and bounce around. There were no other dogs at the park most of the time so it was really good. She has to see the vet again in about a week and a half and they'll do further assessments. She hasn't had a Previcox since about the 19th of May and she isn't limping at all so hopefully that means the procedure has worked . She still has her fish oil, vitamin c, vitamin e and joint guard but doesn't have her traumeel, zeel and 'hippy drops' as they don't know how they will interact with the stem cell therapy. Anyway - she is doing well. Everytime I look into my baby girls eyes I just melt - she is such a loving dog and a wonderful personality that she is worth every cent of the cost to try to make her life more comfortable. . |
| 9 June 2010 | Freya is doing really well. She is going
back to the vet in 90 minutes to have the
stitches out (hopefully ). She has come into work with me today so she is an "authorised canine auditor" and even has her own little id card . It will be interesting to see, over the next few months, whether we notice a difference in her mobility. Compared to some of the other dogs I saw having the procedure Freya had amongst the worse arthritis was but was still far more mobile and definitely not overweight so it may be hard to see an improvement, whereas with the other dogs it should be easy to see an improvement as they can barely move. |
| 3 June 2010 | Freya improves every day she was trying to
get me to let her do zoomies with Loki this
morning . Unfortunately she isn't allowed
to do that as she is still on 'on lead potty'
walks only. Even when the 'on lead potty' walks routine is finished she'll be on restricted exercise for a while (not sure how long yet). Freya will now let me VERY GENTLY stroke the affected joints now without grumbling so that is a good sign that the discomfort is going. She had her last opiate based painkiller last night and we have one left that we are going to give tonight. She was on one tab morning and night and we decided to hold this mornings until tonight and see how she goes today. This way if she has problems during the day with having no painkiller we can talk to the vet who did the procedure. If she copes well today we'll give her the last one tonight. It's amazing how quickly they bounce back from these procedures - we just hope that the therapy works and minimises her arthritis in the future. |
| 1 June 2010 | Freya is improving heaps every day and is
getting up and moving around really, really
well with no signs of limping. Still on pain killers and antibiotics and now some cream for her elbows (for the razor rash and irritation). I cheat with checking her tummy wound now and while she is eating I take a photo of her tummy . It serves 2 purposes - 1.I'm too old to lay down on the floor looking up at a dogs tummy 2.we can compare the wound day by day She has 'black strip' of dead skin at the wound due to the extreme bruising. It'll be OK and we don't need to do anything unless it gets bigger so I figured that photos can be used to compare day by day. |
| 11 May 2010 | Just an update re Freya and her stem cell
procedure for the arthritis. She had the
procedure Thursday (6 joints were done) and
was crying in agony all Thursday night. When she was discharged the vets said she shouldn’t need pain killer until Friday morning but could have one if she needed it Thursday night (she had had some IV pain killer at the vets). We had to give her at Tramal at 9:30pm (can have 2 a day) but she woke up 12:45am in agony again so I had to call the emergency vet. The Emergency vet wasn’t from the same vet surgery but she did know of the procedure and we discussed our options. There was no way (without further aggravating the situation) that we could get Freya in a car to a vet as Freya could barely move. After letting the vet listen to Freya crying and discussing her general appearance and the joints etc the vet said that the only thing was to give her another Tramal as it was within the acceptable dose and hope that got her through till the morning without too much pain. She slept til 4:30 am and woke up with the odd whimper. She was more settled by the time I went to work - Nick was home with her. I spoke with the vets who did the surgery and they suggested taking her in but I personally thought that moving her up and down the ramp 4 times to get her to the surgery was going to make things worse, especially now since she had settled. The vets said she could have a maximum of 4.5 Tramals a day. She had another at lunch time then one with tea that we hoped would get her through Friday night but she woke at 10:30 and needed more pain killer. Saturday she was HEAPS better and only needed the normal dose (one morning and one night). She hopped up onto the couch (which she isn’t supposed to do due to the procedure) so I set up a very low table by the couch so she can step onto the table and then onto the couch. The couch is nice and soft and comfy for her. Then she can step down again. The vet said that was fine and wouldn’t hurt her. We have doggy mattresses spread around the house (as usual) for her and before the procedure we purchased extra mats to minimise the risk of slipping on the lino. We already had a big carpet square (we got when we got Loki to stop him slipping) in the lounge but the computer room and bedroom didn’t have mats – they do now Sunday she had to go for her 3 day checkup and she happily went up the ramp and into the car. The vet was really happy (stunned I think) with her progress. She has prescribed more pain killers (to replace the extras we needed to give and to give her one more day on them at the end of the course). We have to check her ‘belly wound’ from where they took the fat as she is extremely bruised. Freya won’t let me lift her leg when she is lying down to have a look at the wound so while she is eating I lie on the floor under her belly and look up with a torch. I told the vet that this is the way I did it and she did the same . She showed me how to do Freya’s physio as well. Freya is still on ‘on lead potty’ walks in the garden but she tried to do a zoomie this morning – lucky that we rigidly enforce the ‘on lead’ potty routine. Anyway – was a drama for a while but all well now. Freya had both hips, both hocks and both elbows done. I think part off the problem was that every joint hurt and the 'harvest' site under her belly was badly bruised and hurt so she couldn't find anywhere that didn't hurt really badly. Loki is being a perfect gentleman and isn’t annoying her at all. He is starting to go up to her a woo for attention from her now but hasn’t tried to ‘roustabout’ with her. I think she is likely to initiate the first plays – and we’ll have to stop that as she can’t to it. Loki has had longer morning and afternoon walks to help him overcome the stress and routine change. He’s been a good boy. I have to admit it's been an awful few days followed by a big sigh of relief. I managed to have a chuckle at our lovely vet lying on the floor looking up at Freya's tummy with a torch in her hand - I thought it was good of her to try to do the right thing and behave a little oddly for the benefit of the dog. |
| Feb 2010 | Update on what is happening here. Loki has seemed a bit ‘flat’ yesterday and today. I can’t pin it down with Loki but he is just ‘not quite right’ so we booked him in for a check up on Sunday but we decided to bring the appointment forward as Nick thought he might be running a temperature. Nick took him to the vet this morning and I met them there (took an hour off from work). Loki looked fine when I arrived – little bugger. Nose cold and wet, eyes bright etc and wooing at all of the nurses, very interested in what was going on and not ‘lacklustre’ at all. The Vet examined him and said he is in excellent condition and she was really impressed with his general health, gums, weight and coat condition etc. She said he was an excellent specimen I said that I felt a bit like I was wasting their time but she said that if we were concerned it should be checked out as only we would know if something wasn't quite right. She thought it may just be a combination of the extreme heat lately, the finish of a bit of a growth spurt - nothing specific. She did a full exam and tried to take temp but Loki ‘freaked out’. He is a wooz with injections but normally no problem with temp. The vet was a different one to normal and I tend to think that when she popped the thermometer in she missed first time and it hurt him a bit. Anyway – Loki would not let her take temp – screamed like he was being skinned alive . She doesn’t think he is constipated by way of palpation of tummy so I don’t think he was ‘bunged up’ . Loki let her take blood with no problems whatsoever but no temp. Funny though as I was worried he wouldn’t let the blood be taken but had no concerns about the temp – it turned out the opposite! She took the blood but didn't seem too concerned if we didn't want the blood tested but we said to go ahead just to be sure - she agreed it was a good idea to do the full test. Sometimes they take the blood and hold on to see if the dog improves without intervention and if they don't they run the blood through the machine. Anyway - Nick took Loki home and we both felt a bit better knowing he had been checked out and all seemed fine. They did the blood screen not long after we left (complete blood count and biochemistry panel). I got a call from the vet about an hour ago. They have processed Loki’s blood results and there is a problem with his Kidneys. I asked if it was possibly just dehydration (Freya had that problem a while ago even they both have access to heaps of water) and she said they thought it was more than that - which really worries me. He was admitted straight away as they didn’t want to wait to I finish work in a few hours time and take him in then so Nick took him there immediately with his mattress and ‘blankie’ for comfort. Loki was sedated and placed on a drip overnight and they re-checked his blood the next day and it was all fine.. We don't know what caused it but hopefully it was only a once-off dehydration. BTW - the vet nurses think he is 'adorable'. Loki was much better after a few days and was still a little subdued at times. I do wish he would drink more. We have got him some 'recharge' which is a rehydration thing that Greyhounds use - it is supposed to "help restore fluid and electrolyte levels". The only way he would drink it is after we offered Freya some - then Loki would drink it. We have water bowls all over the place (always have) so just have to try to get him to drink. Just a few hugs have been administered - well actually heaps, and heaps of hugs. I really like our vets - one of the senior vets (the lass who took over his treatment) called about a week after Loki fell ill just to check up on Loki and see if he was going along OK. That's what I call a caring vet . |
| 1 November 2009 | White Paw was the second of our rescued kitties
so we didn't know his real age. Early October we noticed he was loosing a lot of weight so off to the vet we went. He was still in good condition with a nice shiny coat and bright eyes - just loosing weight. We did blood tests which were normal. We took him home and over the next 3 weeks he lost 1.5 kg. I knew it was cancer in my heart. On the Friday night we took him back to the vet and saw the senior vet at the clinic. He could feel lumps through Paw's lymphatic system and we had a discussion and decided that it was not fair to Paw to do any further treatment. He was wasting away. We took him home that night to say goodbye and returned to the vet 2 days later for Paw to pass over to the Rainbow Bridge. We think that Paw had had a particularly horrible disease when he was a stray (can't remember the name of it) and apparently it is common to get a very terrible form of cancer about 5 few years or so after this disease (if they recover from the disease itself) so we think this is what happened to Paw. Both Nick and I had noticed that we have not seen any stray cats in our street since we rescued Paw so it makes sense that when he came to us as a half starved, injured stray he might have just recovered from this disease which must have been going around the area. At least he had 5 good years with us as one of our family. |
| 23 December 2008 | Greta - our beautiful Grand Old Duchess passed
over to the bridge this morning. It was sudden but not unexpected. She was 12 and a half years old and been through so much. On Monday lunchtime she was her usual happy, yappy little self. By Monday tea she showed no interest in food and we decided to take her to the vet in the morning. The vets open at 7:30 am with the actual vets arriving about 8'ish. She had an unsettled night but was at home at least (if we did an emergency vet on the Monday night she would have been alone at the vets). We all woke up Tuesday morning and I then checked on Greta every 10 minutes. At 7:20 she looked at me and said goodbye. At 7:30 when I was about to call the vet to arrange to take her in Nick said not to call them as she had passed away. She was home with her family - our beautiful baby has passed over. |
| April 2008 | Freya got her third Qualification in Community
Companion Dog last night - she did it - she
how has her Community Companion Dog title.
Her very first title!!! Woo Hoo Jump up and down and spin around in circles - my baby girl DID IT - she is sooooo lovely. After all our problems in the past she is finally growing up. She even stood rock solid for the judge on the stand for exam - didn't move a muscle even though she is still timid of strangers. She had never met this judge before. With this type of situation I try to introduce her to the judge before the trial but I couldn't arrange it this time - so the judge was a man with long sleeves, tie and hat that Freya had never met - and dressed in a way that you RARELY see in Darwin! She was a bit nervous on the heel work and kept watching the judge and was a bit distracted by one of the dogs that she plays with being warmed up outside the ring. But she ended up with 15 out of 30 - boy was that close - she needed 15 or more to be in with a chance with a qually - I actually thought we had failed so I was pretty relaxed for the rest. Beaut stand for exam - but stood slightly crooked so only 8 out of 10 even though she didn't move at all. Nice recall but when I called her she hesitated slightly so only got 16 out of 20. We found out that this judge marks quite hard. I still didn't know we were on a qualification. We went for the stays and Freya was in between two dogs that we have playdates with. She's sitting there nicely and then gets an itch so she scratches but stays sitting, then scratches again and stays sitting. The down she also did fine on so 20 out of 20 for the sit stay and 20 out of 20 for the down stay. So a 'squeak by' qually for Freya and she is now Almytee Boys Light Up CCD. The first dog that I have ever trained in obedience and the first title we have. Woo Hoo! Can you tell I'm happy |
| April 2008 | Just a quick note to say that Greta turned
12 today. What with her liver and pancreas problems since late last year, the horrendous savaging by the dogs on her walk (which almost killed her), then the minor fight with our two malamutes we didn't think she'd make 12. This little dog has an amazing spirit. She is our beautiful, darling, Grand Old Duchess who reminds us that you don't have to be big to have a huge heart, be astonishingly brave and to make it through adversity. So - Happy Birthday to my Grand Old Duchess. |
| February 2008 | Loki is definitely growing up - he is 5 months
old and guess what? He cocked his leg without
falling over About a month ago hubby came in laughing because Loki had fallen over when he did a piddle as he had tried to cock his leg but wasn't coordinated enough to figure it out. Since then he has occasionally lifted his leg about an inch or so but this morning he did a proper Big Boy Piddle and lifted his leg fully. He wasn't actually aiming at anything - just standing in the middle of the lawn. He looked really pleased with himself as he didn't fall over - as I said - he's a Big Boy now. I watched when he went for his next piddle and he cocked his leg again They grow up far too quickly don't they? |
| January 2008 | Here is an update on the happenings around
here. Greta was savaged by two pig dogs on our Monday night walk (Mon 7th Jan). She has been heavily sedated at the vet and was sewn together on Tuesday 8th. Not good with her being so old. She came home last Wednesday but had four drains in that were taken out last Saturday morning. Stitches will be out this Saturday. One wound was within a cm of her jugular so we are very lucky to still have her. The wound on her nose goes through to the mouth and she lost a tooth and some bone. She was actually breathing through the top of her muzzle at one stage and blowing ‘blood bubbles’ – yuck! The chest wound is huge and very deep (as I said right down to the Jugular). There is also a substantial tear to her abdomen. She has bits of fur missing from all over the place and is a sore and sorry dog at the moment – but coping really well. I have a bite down to the bone at the base of my right thumb but luckily no nerve or joint damage. Left hand is also full of puncture marks and very swollen but not broken. Arms badly bruised. Freya and Loki were scared but uninjured. We were simply walking along the footpath when the dogs charged their fence and somehow got hold of Greta. She ended up being pulled through their fence up to her shoulders and being attacked by the two dogs. I got hurt because I reached through the fence to try to protect Greta from the two attacking dogs - I know I shouldn't have but they would have torn her apart if I didn't do something. The 2 dogs were savaging her face, chest and managed to get at her stomach through the fence – they just wouldn’t let go. I managed to protect Greta's eyes with my hands but couldn't protect all of her - the two dogs just kept coming at her. When one would let go the other had hold - when the both let go I couldn't get Greta's head back through the fence and in the mean time they attacked again. It seemed like it went on forever. They eventually both let go at the one time and I rammed Greta's head back through the fence. Greta’s injuries are coming along fine. We are a bit concerned about the one on her chest as there is a lot of bruising and the tissue may still breakdown but fingers crossed it will be all OK. Freya was on a 'hands free waist lead' so it was lucky as that allowed me two free hands - I'm so pleased I had the waist lead on. Needless to say we walk a lot further away from peoples fences now. We walk on the road or the nature strip mainly - we even drive to an area where we can walk were there are no houses or other dogs. |
| November 2007 | Hi there - Well Loki arrived safe and sound and has totally taken
control here. he is absolutely, positively
GORGEOUS. He is SOOOOOOO outgoing and has
accepted us like long lost friends. He wasn't sure of the sliding doors (probably never seen them) but now handles them like a trooper. I can't believe he can 'puddle' so much - but it was his first day and he was excited so all is forgiven. We have purchased some really, really big bin liners and we have put them over the dogs mattresses (the foam/wool parts) and then put the normal cover over the garbage bag - that way when he piddles on the mattress we only have to wash the cover. We are off to the vet soon to have Greta's blood test for liver problems done (she has been really unwell so we are doing fortnightly liver checks till the readings return to normal). Loki is going as well so the vet can check him over and check his little operation. Also so Loki can meet the vet under happy circumstances. Freya is coming just for the ride! Freya seems to be really happy having a play mate and she is having a second puppyhood. |
| November 2007 | Introducing (big drum roll please) Lil’ BB
(short for Little Baby Boy). Freya and Greta are going to have a little brother – well – a little brother for Freya and a BIG little brother for Greta LOL. We are going to hear the pitter-patter of little feet (actually rather huge feet if the photos are anything to go by) this weekend (hopefully). Lil’ BB’s Sire is Multi BIS/BISS GRAND CH Koolrunnings Ice Age (Deago). According to his ‘publicity blurb’ Deago is a multi Best in Show Winner All Breeds and a Best in Show Speciality Winner, Sydney 2006. Deago was the Number 1 Alaskan Malamute in Australia in 2006, just like his father Clancy in 2004-05. He has 5 X BIS All Breeds Winner and Best in Show Speciality - Sydney and an Aust Grand Champion at just 22 months of age. His Dam is Aust.Ch. Shewah Meijhana Lil’ BB is going to have his ‘little bits’ snipped tomorrow (hopefully) as he is coming to us as a pet only and (as is becoming common in Australia) all ‘pets’ are neutered by the breeder before going to their new homes. He is 9 weeks old and we will probably call him “Loki”. And – IT’S SOOOOOOO HARD TO WAIT!!!!!!!!!! I dearly want to give Lil’ BB a big cuddle. |
| November 2007 | We live in the Tropics so not a usual place
for Snowdogs. I organise an informal group of people who get together to go for walks and have 'play dates' with their dogs. We are called "Darwin Snowdogs". Obviously aimed at Snowdogs but any dog is welcome. Part of the idea is to support new "Snowdog" mums and dads and to guide them in the right direction with training and health issues etc, but also just to have fun and exercise. Anyway - I finally remembered to take a camera this morning when we went for the last 'Snowdogs' get together of the year. It is at the off leash area at Palmerston (about 20k from where I live) and it has a lake and the dogs (and people) had a ball. It was really hot - about 32 dec Celsius and very humid at 7:30 in the morning !!! We let the dogs have a run and play in a smaller section of the off leash area - I think it is for little dogs but no one uses it so we go there that way the less reliable 'recallers' can't get up to too much mischief . So we had an off leash play then decided it was too hot to go for a walk around the lake so we decided to let them off leash in the main area so they could go for a swim. They thoroughly enjoyed it. Freya is there (Greta isn't well so she stayed home). There were some other Malamutes (including a 12 week old puppy from the same Kennels as Freya is from) and some Siberians, a Whippet, a Sibe cross, an old Labrador (who used to be frightened of every dog she saw including Pomeranians but she now plays with the Malamutes thanks to this group of people), a Blue Heeler. Anyway the website is Darwin Snowdogs and you can read about the walking group and follow the link to the photos if you'd like a look. |
| October 2007 | Well - some of you will remember that Freya
got her first every Qualification in the
obedience ring in September. SHE DID IT AGAIN!!! SHE GOT ANOTHER QUALLY!!! It was last night and we were on at 5:20 at night and it was just over 32 deg C (90 deg F) and very humid so I wasn't expecting much. So off we went for the heelwork – she didn't do as well as last time but it was hot and really hard on her. She got all of her positions (sit, stand or down) in every pace (slow, normal and fast) but she was lagging as she was panting so hard – 17 out of 30 – I'm happy with that. Stand for exam – she didn't move a muscle - so 10 out of 10 – WOW. Recall – lovely little recall but a bit crooked on the sit again – no zoomies – 18 out of 20 – WOW. Almost there – only stays to go and she is usually ‘bomb proof’ in her stays BUT last time she decided to use the place marker as a toy and sat there chewing it so I was a bit worried. But this time she was soooooo well behaved. She hardly moved at all. So 20 out of 20 for the one minute sit stay and 20 out of 20 for the two minute down stay. So – WE QUALIFIED with 85 marks out of 100 – so we have our second QUALLY in CCD and she got first place. Unfortunately none of the other dogs qualified - all dogs were really affected by the heat.! Woo Hoo, jump up and down, spin in circles. I’m absolutely overjoyed. FREYA DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!! |
| September 2007 |
After the disappointment of the Darwin
Royal
– where we were awarded a Qualification
but
had to return it because the judge
made a
mistake it was hard to keep trying
in the
‘trial ring’. So last night we had obedience trials – now most of you will know that Freya’s ‘heelwork’ leaves a lot to be desired but her ‘stand for exams’ are really good in training and not too bad in trials (which is good for Freya as she is still timid with strangers). Her ‘recalls’ are awesome in training and not too bad in trials – but the occasional zoomie has been known to happen in trials due to the judge being a stranger. Her ‘stays’ are bomb proof in training and trials – they are the only thing we can guarantee she’ll do right. So here is a rundown of last night. Heelwork – I couldn’t believe it. She was attentive and really tried hard, she did all her automatic sits, she did beautiful moving downs and stands. Lovely slow pace and fast pace. She got every position in every pace, didn’t mess around, and she hardly ‘lagged’ at all – 24 out of 30 – WOW. Stand for exam – Nicely done – she moved a rear paw just as the judge said ‘exercise complete’ so 10 out of 10 – WOW. Recall – lovely little recall but a bit crooked on the sit – no zoomies – 18 out of 20 – WOW. Almost there – only stays to go and she is usually ‘bomb proof’ in her stays so: Sit Stay – Freya was bored so she was looking around and ‘wooing’ a bit but she didn’t move her beautiful little ‘butt’ – 20 out of 20 – WOW I couldn’t believe it. Down Stay – usually she practically falls asleep in this one BUT this was the longest 2 minutes I’ve had for a while. Freya got bored so she decided to grab the ‘marker’ and started to chew it . I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I could hear everyone catching their breath, and I could feel them all willing her to not move, and everyone trying not to laugh at the same time. After a while the judge had to go up and take Freya’s ‘toy’ away from her – I classed this as a compliment as there aren’t many dogs that will let a relative stranger take away their ‘toy’ and the fact that the judge felt confident enough to do it with a Malamute was a bit of a compliment in my books. Anyway – Freya gave up her ‘toy’ and rolled so that she had turned her back on the judge. Luckily Freya never moved her ‘butt’ off the ground and she kept her chest down on the ground (despite her antics) so she got 20 out of 20 for the stay but lost 5 marks for ‘misbehaviour’ . So – WE QUALIFIED – and this one we get to keep (unlike the Darwin Royal one) – so we have our first QUALLY in CCD and she even got second place too! Woo Hoo, jump up and down, spin in circles. I’m absolutely overjoyed. FREYA DID IT!!!!!!! Videos of the exercises are on our webpage at Our Video page. I kept the quality low so that they aren’t too big. I’m so proud of Freya – all our hard work is beginning to pay off – finally. |
| July 2007 | Well my joy at qualifying in obedience was
short lived. It appears that the judge in
the obedience ring made a mistake. I found
out on Monday when I looked at the marks
for each exercise. Freya scored only 12 out
of 30 for the heelwork - so even though she
got 79 overall she still couldn't qualify.
So the judge has signed the qually certificate
and we have the lovely sash - now we have
to give them back. So Freya didn't qualify after all - but I'm still proud of her as she did the rest beautifully. |
| July 2007 | Well we are smack in the middle of the Royal
Darwin Show. It is over 3 nights - the first
night is Jumping, the second Obedience and
tonight Agility. Now most of you are aware of Freya's obedience (aka disobedience), and jumping/agility (aka demolition derby) efforts so here is the latest report on my big, beautiful "baby Huey". Thursday - Jumping. There are only 3 dogs in Novice Jumping - Darwin isn't very big . So off I go to walk the course and INSTANT PANIC - it is horrendous for us with a lot of funny turns down the one end. But - everyone has the same course so my goal was NO ZOOMIES. Off we go around the course and Freya stayed with me even though I had no idea how to get her around the difficult bits. We had to stop and start a bit - which normally initiates a zoomie - but my darling girl stayed with me. I think we finished with 12 time and 15 course faults (2 knocked bars and one refusal) but I'm not sure. So - I'm absolutely elated - Freya didn't DQ - even better - she got second place. I know it was only 3 dogs running but she didn't DQ - despite the stress of the noise of the Royal Darwin Show with all the excitement and the side show alley noises and strange people. The judge didn't crowd us on the course so I think that helped too. You know - one of the best things that night was how she was with the strangers that wanted to "say Hi" to the lovely malamute. She was really friendly with everyone and did so well. So Day 1 of the Royal - didn't DQ and got second place Day 2 - Obedience (community companion dog). Freya always No Qualifies in this as well - if her heel work is good she does a zoomie on the recall or moves during the stand for exam. So in the ring we go. It's noisy and there are a lot of people around. Heeling was a bit of a worry as I could feel the lead tighten a lot as Freya was lagging. Freyas 'downs' were wonderful for her - a lot quicker than usual. So we finish the heel routine (with the auto sits, moving stands and moving downs in all three heel speeds). People were cheering and clapping our heel pattern as they know how much trouble we have had. I figured we had NQ'd so went in the stand for exam quite calm and she did it fantastically. Then the recall - as if figured we had NQ'd I just wanted Freya to come nicely. Due to the noise I called her name and she wiggled a bit (lost some points probably but don't know yet) then told her to come and she came beautifully with a wonderful front. Lovely recall. Then the sit & down stays were beautiful. So we leave the ring - if figure NQ - but I'm so happy due to her stand for exam and recall and that she tried hard in the heel work. A little while later a friend came up and said the magic words "YOU QUALLIED' I couldn't believe it -my "Baby Huey" got her FIRST EVER QUALLY IN ANYTHING. I am sooooooo happy and proud of Freya - we have a long way to go with the heelwork but she tried so hard and we'll get there. One thing I'd like to say is that her Qually was due to all the work both of the clubs have done with Freya and myself - everyone is sooo helpful. But - it is mainly due to a lady named Alexandria - she is so understanding of myself and Freya and gave me a few really straightforward tips to help. She has entered only two trials with her dog Boof and has two jumping quallies and one obedience qually. She is fantastic and such a caring person. THANK YOU ALEXANDRIA. |
| July 2007 | Well - Freya has a couple of trials over
the last 2 weekends. Her obedience is generally
a bit of a disaster but one of the obedience
runs wasn't too bad - for Freya and myself
anyway but generally the less said about
obedience the better. Her two agility/jumping runs were OK - actually I'm quite pleased with the one from the 20th. The first on the 14th of July was Agility - we got 2/3 or the way around the course when she decided that the rather enticing smell of "horse poop" was much more interesting - so off she went into the darkness. We withdrew as gracefully as we could. The grounds we used are shared by the local pony club - we clean up the dog poop but the horsey people, naturally, don't clean up the horse poop. The second was a Jumping run on the 20th July (I decided to enter her in either jumping or agility but not both on the one night until Freya matures more - if she ever does ). The Jumping run was really good for us. We had to do a 90 deg turn jump three into the tunnel - just after jump 3 there was another jump designed to trap them from going ahead. Anyway - I was soooo stunned that Freya turned towards the tunnel when I asked her to that I called the tunnel late so Freya sniffed where a horse had 'been' then zoomied. The good point was that it only took about 15 seconds to get her back and we finished the course. She got one course fault for refusing the tunnel the first time, one for bumping into my leg and one for a knocked bar (right near the end). So she got second place (as the others all Disqualified). I was really pleased with her run and it was my fault she zoomied - we have to work on focus a bit. |
| May 2007 | Freya and I went along to another Agility/Jumping
trial last night and guess what? No zoomies
! I'm so proud of her. Here is the rundown: Agility - started off with a jump, a 90 deg turn then a jump then into the course. She took the first jump on an angle (which is hard for her) and straight over jump 2 - great! Through the tunnel but knocked the next jump (who cares - she was watching me and staying with me and doing well - no zoomies). We continued with the course and came up to the Malamute eating A frame (some of you will remember our troubles with that) and she blasted straight up the A Frame - and wouldn't come down - she just perched on top as happy as a malamute can be - little devil. I eventually get her down and continued with the course. She did her weavers quite slowly but nicely and did the dog walk slow but sure. Later was the table - straight up but wouldn't get off the table after the 5 seconds she just stood there and looked at me . Eventually she decided that she would finish the course. So 5 faults for the knocked jump, huge faults for over time but we didn't' disqualify and we actually got THIRD PLACE. Such a good girl and she has a lovely little third place ribbon to add to her second place one a while ago - I'm even beginning to think that one day (some day) we may get a qually. Jumping - beautiful run, no perching on equipment as there is no contact stuff. She knocked the first part of the spread hurdle so got 5 faults for that, and I know she was over time - BUT she DIDN'T ZOOMIE, and she watched me and did what I asked. I'm grinning from ear to ear and am so happy with her effort (despite refusing to get off the table or come down from the A Frame. She's such a good girl and we've come such a long way. |
| April 2007 | Freya's perspective on the obedience: My Malamum (Sue) likes to take me to these things called Obedience training and trials and she has told you what has happened at some so I thought I’d give you my take on the way things happen. First we do ‘heeling’ – now I think my Malamum wants me to walk by her side really pretty (like a Doberman or something) but I’m a Malamute so I think it is best to walk about a foot directly behind my Malamum. When I’m doing this there is a stranger telling my Malamum what to do – when this stranger says halt I make sure that I run into my Malamum’s butt – everyone laughs at this so I must be doing the right thing. Malamum just sighs. Then we do this thing where I stand really still and the same stranger comes up and pats me – I like this because I get to move around and give the stranger a lick – everyone thinks that is really good and they laugh and the stranger laughs as well. Malamum just sighs again. Then Malamum leaves me at one end of the square and she goes to the other. I sit really patiently – because I’m a good Malamute. Malamum then calls me. I know that she really likes it when I go up and say hello to strangers (as I’m normally a bit shy) so as quickly as I can I run over to the stranger who gave me a pat before and I say hello. Then to make my Malamum really happy I go and visit all of the other doggy mums and dads sitting around the square. Because I have done really well I think I should visit all my doggy friends as well. I then run back to my Malamum and sit really pretty in front of her as she has waited so patiently – I’ve obviously done really well as everyone is laughing. Malamum just sighs again. By now I’m a bit tired (I’ve met so many people) that when my Malamum lines me up with my friends I generally don’t have much energy so I just sit for a while, then Malamum say to lie down and I do that for a while. I know my Malamum really loves me so sometimes when we do this part of the Obedience I make a really extra effort and I get up and visit my doggy friends – Malamum must want me to do this as we are all lined up so pretty. When I do this the stranger who gave me a pat before comes and takes hold of me and I realise that I have been soooo good as this person lets me sit next to them while we watch all of my friends sitting in a row. I feel so proud that I’m allowed to sit next to the stranger for the rest of the sit and the down. Malamum just sighs again – she does a lot of sighing. After this my Malamum comes over to me and looks down at me. She looks a little sad – I think sometimes she is going to cry. Then as I look at her to tell her that I love her sooooooo much she smiles and gives me heaps of hugs and kisses and tells me how much she loves me too. I must have done so good at this obedience thing – I know I’ll try harder to please her next time by visiting as many people as I can Your obedient servant Freya Post script from the long suffering Malamum – when I look into her loving eyes I can forgive everything . I can even laugh at the comments of other people that “we love Freya at the trials – she is so entertaining” as they smile and pat my baby girl. |
| March 2007 | Well - most of you will remember that Freya
and I do Agility together - actually it's
more like a demolition derby . We just did our first Trial of the year last week. It was putridly hot, at 7:00pm it was 27.8deg (82.0deg F), with 79% humidity, giving an apparent temp of 31.4deg (88.5deg F). For Freya's jumping run at 9:30pm it 27.0deg (80.6deg F), with 89% humidity, giving an apparent temp of 32.2deg (90.0deg F) . Freya had a ball - but I'm so proud that she did not do zoomies (which was my main aim). She Disqualified on both runs. In the agility she disqualified because when we tried to redo the second jump (after she had gone under it) she went through it the wrong way - so DQ. We DQ'd in jumping due to three refusals. Anyway - I don't care about the DQ's - Freya was SUCH A GOOD GIRL . No zoomies, she listened to me, and I am so proud that she went over the "malamute eating A Frame" and she went smoothly over the dog walk (which, along with the no zoomies, was our aim for the trial). She went where I wanted her to (most of the time) and she even let me call her off the broad jump to go back and do a jump she missed without doing zoomies - which I think is great. Unfortunately she loves to see jumps go flying everywhere - so I have to work on that one . It will be lovely one day to get a qualification but I'm still proud of Freya's efforts now - and she seems to like her hugs after the runs. Her videos of the night are at the usual spot at Freya's Videos . They are the two at the top from 17 March. Anyway - taking into account how terribly hot it was - I think my Freya did wonderfully - I am a happy Malamum even though we disqualified during the runs. |
| February 2007 | Hi all A bit of background first - so bear with me. A few weeks ago it was pouring with rain at home and Freya was outside (Hubby was off doing a security job). Anyway - he gets home to a very wet Freya - calls me at work and when I pick up the phone he gleefully says "Wet Wookie!". I could see the rain over our suburb from the office so I knew exactly what he was talking about. So - today I get a call from Hubby saying, simply, "Watch Wookie". I hesitated and said "What??" and got the response "Watch Wookie" from Hubby who was laughing. It turns out that we had some Power & Water workers arrived at home. Greta (our old Finkie) did her usual "Yap, Yap" at the door. Freya usually does nothing - just looks and sometimes does a "Woo, Woo" at the most. Today Freya did a proper "Woof, Woof" very loud, very adult Our little, baby Wookie is growing up - I can't believe that it has taken her 2 and a half years to do a proper Woof. I've never heard her do a real, "Watch Woof" before. I've heard Woo's, and rumbles when she is playing but never a "Woof". |
| December 2006 | The Shrinking Raincoat, Look mum - I grew
a bit more!! Don't you just love your ever growing, fun loving Malamutes. As we live in the tropics it only rains between say November and April'ish. That's when we get our good storms. So - about April last year Freya is 19 months old and her raincoat fitted beautifully. Come the first rain this year I grab her raincoat - for our usual evening walk (we walk despite the fact that it is raining). Freya is now 27 months old. Guess what??? Yeh you guessed it - the raincoat doesn't fit. Now why didn't I know that would happen - stupid mum. Well she is taller and longer (but not fatter - good girl). So she's standing there in a raincoat that only 'just' does up on the front of her chest and leaves her butt out in the rain. She sort of looks down at the front of her raincoat and back up to me and I swear blind that she smiled at me as she puffed out her chest and the raincoat comes flying open. Sigh - needless to say I spend a day making her a new raincoat over the Christmas break. So - now we have a brand new raincoat just ready for the next storm. So late one night it is the middle of a tropical downpour and almost time for bed and Freya is at the back door letting me know she needs an urgent piddle. She really, really, really needs and urgent, urgent piddle - you know the crossed legs look. So I quickly grab her new raincoat, pop it on and open the door. All of a sudden she didn't need the piddle an she walks straight back into the lounge. Off comes the raincoat and over to the door Freya goes - really, really urgent look on her face. I figure that the raincoat must be uncomfortable so I let her out without her coat. She runs around like an idiot - no piddle at all - then comes back to the back door absolutely saturated. I grab a towel and open the door - but boy is she quick - straight inside and instant shake. Saturated mum and floor, very happy and very wet dog, but a very new, very dry raincoat sitting on the chair by the back door. Sigh - don't you just love them. As a post-script - she had a nice long walk in her raincoat the other night. It fits fine and isn't uncomfortable so I figure that she didn't need the piddle at all - she just wanted to run around in the rain. |
| November 2006 | Well it's almost Christmas and the committee
at one of the dog clubs decided that Freya
would make a lovely "Santa Paws"
to hand out doggy and human treats at the
Christmas Party. I thought it would be good for Freya too - as it would help to reinforce her new found confidence and it is also a bit too hot for her to do too many 'games' things at the Christmas Party and I won't let her take part in any 'eating' games. So - although I usually don't dress her up I decided that "Santa Paws" should at least have a hat and some 'jingles'. I decided to get a Hat and Collar (the collar has jingles on it) from Dollars and Sense (less than $3). Then I thought that we need to sound like a sleigh so we need more jingles - so I got another hat and collar - the cut the collar in two so it fitted nicely around her legs. We were using the doggy backpack to carry human treats in one side and doggy treats in the other so I threaded some tinsel and bells on that as well. She sounded lovely when we trotted around the area. She did beautifully. She went up to some total strangers with strange dogs (the train earlier us so Freya didn't know them even though they are in the same club) and behaved fantastically. She got heaps of pats and praise. The kids loved her (big kids too!). So Freya played "Santa Paws" and I'm the rather old Elf helper. |
| October 2006 | She got a FIRST PLACE A bit of an update on my 'demolition derby' expert. We had trials on the weekend of 16th September and as I posted the other day - SHE DID THE 'A-FRAME' - What I didn't post was the judges comments, during one of the many zoomies. His comments were something along the lines of "if there was an award for the dog most enjoying herself she would get it". He had a really good laugh at her antics - such a nice man and so helpful with her. He told me to put on my best "mums voice" during one of her zoomies Needless to say she DQ'd in Agility and Jumping due to zoomies. Now for the next trials (and tribulations/conquests). They were last night (7 Oct) and in the Agility Freya did really well. She DQ'd - but she jumped the first jump without hesitation (sometimes she goes around that one). Her problem was she touched the Dog Walk when she should have Tabled - so DQ. Then she wouldn't get on the table - I tried for a while but realised that if I pushed it she would zoomie so we went around the table and finished the course that way I minimised the 'zoomie potential'. She did the A frame beautifully and everyone was impressed with how much she had improved - she did the run home really strongly. Then the Jumping run - SHE GOT FIRST PLACE even though she didn't qualify. She incurred 3 time faults and dropped only one bar - total 8 faults. I'M SO PROUD. Everyone cheered and clapped both runs and the Judge came over to pat Freya after the jumping run. He was impressed with how much she has improved. Our goal was simply to get her to stay with me with no zoomies. Boy did we reach that goal and more. I'm so proud of her. I was so proud last night I almost cried. I've put a bunch of new videos up at Freya's Video page - the new ones were uploaded a little while ago. Our next trials aren't until April 2007 due to the tropic monsoon season but we will still do some training until late November then restart in March. I'll keep you posted on her training and other antics. |
| October 2006 | Freya Is A Star, She is in an advertising
campaign Freya has a Silver Eagle cooling coat and I have been talking with the local Aussie Distributors (who are in Victoria). Anyway - they were doing an advert in a newsletter for the Alaskan Malamute Club in New South Wales and phoned to ask me what size Freya used as they couldn't remember. We got talking and I offered to send a Photo of Freya in her coat. They liked the photo so much they took off the other photo and put Freya's on the advert for the magazine and then took off one of the photos from the website and put Freya's on (after asking me of course). So have a look at Freya on their website - Freya - the Star So Freya is a star. She may be a disobedient obedience dog and the clumsiest agility dog but she is a little star now. |
| September 2006 | Freya's Latest Agility/jumping Efforts, otherwise
known as 'the zoomies' Hi all - well we are in the midst of another double-header weekend and it's a good job the nice lady judge has a good sense of humour as Freya's efforts went something like this: 1st Obedience: She was doing fine until we had to do fast pace - she then decided to emulate "Tigger" from Winnie the Pooh - jumping around like a maniac . We kept going and did the stand for exam but Freya wasn't watching me and was walking behind me when I stopped. Her nose ended up giving me a "butt poke" much to everyone's amusement. Needless to say we didn't qualify but we entered the sit stays and she decided to visit the nice Labrador that she had never met before - Oh well - at least the lab was friendly . 2nd Obedience: I was going to scratch her but it was on at the beginning of agility/jumping. We entered the ring and the judge greeted us with the comment, with a broad smile, of "you're brave" - I replied "No - just a sucker for punishment". Needless to say the heelwork was again a disaster and I decided to withdraw her. The nice lady judge offered us the chance to do the "stand for exam" and the "recall" as practice. She's really nice. So I took her up on the "stand for exam" and Freya did good. We withdrew from the rest as I didn't want Freya to ruin anyone's sit/stays. Agility: That horrible Malamute eating A frame was there again. She'll do her own at home but not at the trial - still she did have fun and HEAPS of zoomies . Jumping: She didn't get a qually or a place but she stayed with me and finished the course. 27 Faults - 20 course and 7 time but who cares? She stayed with me and had fun. Needless to say - we had a ball at agility/jumping and we both got plenty of exercise again what with doing the zoomies and running the real course. |
| August 2006 | Trials And Tribulations, second in the 'demolition
derby'. Hi folks - an obedience and agility fix for you all. We had a 'double header' of 2 obedience and 2 agility/jumping trials this weekend and Freya's efforts went something like this: 1st Obedience: The Heel - well I'll just pick up and eat all the leaves - yummy. The Recall - goody - time to visit all the people watching from the side - this is GOOOD fun!. She got the 'most willing worker' ribbon for 'mowing the lawn'. Oh well - at least the judge had a sense of humour. 2nd Obedience: The Heel - why would I want to do that - there's too many interesting things to look at. The Recall - goody - time to visit all the people watching from the side - again! 1st Agility: Hey - no lead - I can visit the people watching - great fun doing 'zoomies'. 2nd Agility: The Malamute eating A Frame is here again - I'll do zoomies instead. 1st Jumping: SHE GOT SECOND PLACE I have to admit it was only because all of the others disqualified. It was like a demolition derby - she knocked down at least 4 or 5 jumps BUT she stayed with me and everyone clapped and cheered and we were all SO PROUD of her. 2nd Jumping: No place BUT she did complete the course and did get a score - she didn't disqualify so she got clapped and cheered again and I am so proud of her as she stayed with me all the way around. Needless to say - we had a ball and we both got plenty of exercise what with doing the zoomies and running the real course. Eventually we'll get this altogether but at the moment I'm just happy she enjoys herself and is learning to stay with me occasionally. |
| August 2006 | Freya has been having a challenge with the
'Malamute eating A frame' . She'd run up to the frame then prop and totally refuse to go over. The A frames at the clubs we go to (the only ones in Darwin) can pretty much only be set to two heights - one over a table and the other full height - so we can't get her gradually going over them - it's an all or nothing situation. So - big idea - I'll build my own A frame. Well - I'm pretty handy that way but I don't have a truck to carry the raw materials and when I started reading directions (mitre this, counter sink that, yahda yahda yadha) I figured it would cost heaps in materials and I'd mess it up. So - next big idea. Off to a steel fabricator (small business - nice man with three employees) armed with photos, diagrams, and website addresses. Lovely man has greyhounds so wasn't at all surprised with the request and had a pretty good idea what I wanted. These two tentative ideas took a couple of weeks to figure out - in the mean time Freya is still, point blank, refusing to go over A Frames. So - I bite the bullet, disregard the horrendous impact on my bank balance and on Monday I order the A Frame from the nice man. I now feel real good that I will be able to coax Freya over the frame at home and then show people how much she has learnt - what a big surprise it will be next week when we finally get the A frame and Freya learns that it doesn't really eat Malamutes. Guess what - Thursday night, doggy training, Freya CHOSE to go straight over the A frame as though it was the most natural thing on Earth. Everyone was clapping and cheering wildly and I'm totally stunned. So I now have a half built A frame (it gets delivered on Monday) and a dog that doesn't seem to need her own one any more . Oh well - it will still be good for practice - and will be real good for my next Malamute agility dog. Don't you just love Malamutes - always surprising us. I'm sure she overheard the conversations and decided to wait till AFTER I had ordered the Frame to run over them. Little devil - but I love her soooooo much I'll ignore the bank balance . |
| July 2006 | Disqualified In Both Agility And Jumping,
BUT WE HAD A BALL! Freya had her first agility trial last night (agility and jumping) and I now know she is a 'tunnel rat'. Agility first - there was a jump followed by the collapsible tunnel - Freya decided to skip the jump and quick as a flash to the tunnel so instant DQ for 'wrong course'. We kept going and she cleared all of the other jumps. She got onto the dog walk and hesitated so a 'pretend treat' got her going again and SHE DID IT - she got over the dog walk. Next major challenge was the A Frame and she decided 'not tonight mum' which is what I expected and I had decided that if she didn't do it first time to just skip it and DQ. She then went zoomies for about 20 seconds then back to me and we finished the course in fine style. So DQ and zoomies - but she had a ball and I am happy. Jumping - same problem with the first jump (she skipped it to go to the tunnel - little devil). She then knocked one jump but did a beautiful about turn on command to pull her away from one jump to go over another. No zoomies - so instant DQ but gee we had fun. Most other dogs qualified in the jumping but I don't care - Freya had a ball, so did I and she will improve (when she is good and ready to do so). She did the 12 weavers beautifully. We did the second agility/jumping on Sunday. Unfortunately (due to Saturdays not finishing till 1 o'clock in the morning) if you DQ'd on the Sunday you had to leave the course immediately. I was a bit concerned as on Saturday she DQ'd on first jump in both disciplines . My baby did good on Sunday. Still 2 DQ's but she in agility she did quite a few jumps then the weavers (beautifully if a tad slow) then the table. After the table was the A Frame (you know - the big horrible monster thing that eats Malamutes ). Freya decided that 'zoomies' was much more fun than fighting with the A Frame so she went back to the start point and found something to eat - I expected to DQ on the Frame but was hoping for no 'zoomies'. In the Jumping she got to the third last jump before she gave me the 'tail flick' and started her zoomies - so we DQ'd. She looked so pleased with herself and I am so happy that she did more obstacles. We just have to get control over the zoomies and conquer the 'A frame' that obviously eats Malamutes! I have some video that I'll try to pull some photos off. It is outside under floodlights as all our trials are at night due to the tropical heat. |
| July 2006 | Who's that funny man following us? Well - Freya and I did our first obedience trials over the weekend. We have spent a lot of time training and she does lovely recalls, sit and downs stays, and stand for exams with reasonable heel work and lovely sits and stays during heeling but not very reliable downs during heel work. So - we turn up for the first trial and start on our heel work and Freya was continually looking around and giving the 'evil eye' to this strange chap with the clipboard that was following her. She did manage to get 20 out of 30 for heeling even though she missed a down ("I'm not going down with that funny man following us" was the look on her face). Then came the stand for exam - perfect, despite the 'funny man' giving her a pat. Then the recall - she's alternating between looking at the 'funny man' and me so I wait for the right time and call "Freya - Come" - she looks at me and says "who - me" and gives the evil eye to the 'funny man' standing off to the side. A second command to come and she does a perfect recall. Then two beautiful stays and she gets 70 out of 100 with a no qualification as she dropped 20 out of 20 because we had to do a second 'come' command. Oh sigh - so close. So - next day. That 'funny man' was still following her and every down command was met with a "I'm not going down with that funny man following us" look on her face. She refused to 'down' - so we blew the heeling and she was a no-qualify. She did a great recall, stand for exam and sit stay - but she absolutely, point blank refused to down for the down stay. She she did everything else great but WOULDN'T go 'down'. I don't know whether to laugh or cry as CCD (our entry level obedience) is so easy and in training she is fine (downs are a bit iffy but she will usually do 3 out of 4 of them). Agility - well - what can I say. She now refuses totally to go over the dog walk or the A frame and our first agility trials are THIS WEEKEND. Up until last week she loved the A frame and we had got her over the dog walk quite a few times. She is a stubborn little 'darling'. Malamutes - make you cry but you've go to love them. |
| July 2006 | Well our agility update from last night -
SHE FELL OFF THE DOGWALK. I feel awful -
it's all my fault. We had been over the walk
at full height for the first time that night
without any problems. We also did the A frame
a few times - Freya even went over the A
frame without being told too - I think she
likes it now . Anyway - it was our turn to go around again and we did the A frame and then a couple of jumps then to the Walk. I was a bit behind Freya (couldn't keep up) and she jumped onto the Dogwalk half way up the entry plank - I tried to slow her down but up she went up as quick as a flash and as I was trying to catch up she stopped half way across the level bit and turned around to see where I was . She then fell off there was such a thud as she hit the ground. I stopped her from standing up too quickly as I thought that she seriously must have broken or dislocated something. She just stood up, had a shake, and the tail went back up then she sort of gave me a 'where next' look. I was stunned - she seems perfectly OK. No limps or anything. When I realised that she seemed OK I thought that maybe I should take her over the dogwalk on a lead so she wasn't frighted of it but the people who run the club said that she shouldn't try again until next week so we just walked her past the walk a couple of times and she didn't shy away from it. I gave her a few 'ear rubs' to settle her down (or settle me down - not sure which) and we tried to restrict her moves to tunnels and slow weavers after that but Freya decided she wanted to jump and ran off over a couple of jumps. This morning I expected her to be a bit stiff and sore but nothing - absolutely nothing. Re the 'ear rubs' - we have been doing these for ages and Freya loves them. Anyway - we just got a TTouch book from the USA and guess what - ear rubs are good for shy dogs - so we were doing the right thing. I am now learning how to massage Freya and Greta. |
| April 2006 | Freya went to the Darwin "Pet Expo"
on Sunday to take part in a demonstration
of 'positive dog training'. I was a bit apprehensive
as Freya's nickname sometimes is 'fraidy
Freya' as she can be very nervous and shy
of things new or unexpected or of strangers. Well - we got there and it was packed out - there were people everywhere. Adults, kids, kiddy strollers, wheelchairs, very noisy and shoulder to shoulder people. We stood in the line to get in and Freya was a bit nervous (I had arranged that I would go if she became too worried). Then up comes a boy asking to pat her. Freya is normally nervous with kids but she seemed OK so the boy gave her a stroke - up comes Freya's tail with a "that wasn't too bad" look on her face. We walked through the crowds and I noticed a gent in a wheelchair looking at her and saying how beautiful she was to his wife so I took Freya over for a pat - the gent seemed really happy and Freya wasn't worried about the wheelchair. Then we were inundated with kids and the cry "Snowdog". She was surrounded by kids and adults all quietly patting her and some people even wanted their photo taken with her. There was quite a lot of people coming up to us for a pat and stopping us to get a pat as we walked around the expo area. I was so proud of her - she was really 'strutting her stuff' and looking so regal and walking beautifully by my side through the crowds. She also did her obedience displays wonderfully. I just can't believe how good she was in such a stressful situation with so many people around especially when she can be such a 'fraidy Freya'. She certainly is growing up now (19 mth old). I'm a PROUD mum. |
| March 2006 | She finally passed, Wooooo hooooo!!!!! I know it may not mean much to everyone out there who has the Show, Obedience, Agility and Sledding dogs that have achieved so much but ..... FREYA PASSED GRADE 3 AT OBEDIENCE. Wooooo hooooo!!!!! I am so proud of her little achievement. She is now in Novice class and is training to start her first Obedience title. We will start with the new Community Companion Dog "CCD" that starts in July in Australia. As I said - not much an achievement in comparison to what other dogs have achieved but a BIG step for us and I am SOOOOO proud of her. |
| February 2006 | Freya has just about turned 18 mths old so
we're off to her first jumping night at agility
training - all keyed up and ready to go. She does a couple of circuits beautifully (just jumps and tunnel as we have just started agility) - over the jumps through the tunnel and over more jumps. Absolutely great and much praise from all concerned and Freya looked like she was having a great time. Then - out comes the clown in her - we are over one jump and I point to the next and say jump then I look over to where the tunnel is and I hear everyone laughing. I stop and turn around and there is Freya - she has her front right paw resting on the jump and is just standing there as if to say "you want I should jump this one too?" I laughed - and then she sort of ambled ever so slowly over the jump one leg at a time (the jumps are still low). She should win the award for the class clown!! Still - at least it gave everyone a laugh on a hot night. |
| January 2006 | Freya must have thought that she was the
most bestest Malangel ever yesterday afternoon.
She arranged for one of my cats (Nefretete
- a Devon Rex) to open the pantry door (only
Neffy can do that). Freya then got FOUR WHOLE
PACKS of Natures Gift doggie treats and scoffed
the lot That's about 900 gram (which I think
is almost 2 pounds for you non-metric folk)
of doggie treats in one sitting Anyway - she had a very tight tummy and was soooo thirsty - she just drank and drank and drank. Now she has a extraordinarily runny tummy - not surprising really with the amount she drank and the 'richness' of the doggie treats. Needless to say I only got about 2 hours sleep last night (Freya sleeps in a doggie bed next to my side of the bed) as I had to keep getting up to let her out for a 'piddle' and very watery poop. I didn't want to leave her outside on her own as I wanted to make sure she was not having any other problems (I was a bit paranoid about her maybe torsioning). A few nights later she had a good sleep and woke up fully recovered and ready for mischief. Best thing is she did a relatively normal poop this morning on her walk and was definitely back to her normal totally lively self. |