10 Months Old Today

Human Lance's Trail Camera

I am 10 months old today and have been with my humans about 8 months. Yesterday I saw snow on the ground I think for the first time. Maybe I saw it when I was a baby, but I don't really remember. It's cold and wet I noticed and it makes it hard to smell what's under it too. But it sorta tastes good.

I remember awhile ago that some white stuff was falling from the sky and I had fun catching it, but it wasn't on the ground. I think I like it. It's cooler now, which I like much better. Lately my human, Lance, has been brushing me and you should see the piles of fur that come off. You'd think I'd be naked after all that brushing, but thankfully I've still got my winter coat.

Sometimes my humans put on this contraption that they call a harness. I'm told that someday I could learn to pull stuff. Okay, whatever that means. I think I pull stuff just fine right now without a harness, but I guess they know best. All I know is that there is something about this time of year that I like. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Routine Is Good

I'm growing up!

I like routine, there I've said it. When we go on trips overnight, it's okay for a day or two, but then I want to go HOME! All my toys are there, I know where to sleep and eat and drink. Sure I get lots of exercise, but everything is better at home.

Last week we started a sort of new routine, I think. One day we went for a long, long walk. By the time I got home all I wanted to do was plop down for a nap - so I did. Two days later we went to the doggy park and even when no one is there it's FUN. I ran and ran and ran. We played hide and seek, fetch (my way) and all the sniffing I could stand. We went home and plop I went for a nap. And two days later we did it again!

The other routine we have is that I'm wild and crazy just before bed. It works for me, but my humans don't appreciate my high energy at that time of night. What can I say, it helps me sleep to release a little energy before bed time. They'll get used to it :D

All in all, routine is good. Don't get me wrong, I like surprises once and a while, especially when they involve treats, but I need me some routine sometimes to keep me relaxed. Wake up, potty outside, eat, drink, play, nap and repeat. After supper I love to go for a walk or run at the doggy park and just before bed, go potty outside, run around like a maniac and then to bed. Nothing to it.

Mostly my humans keep my routine pretty steady and I appreciate that cuz I always gotta know where to sleep, eat, drink and go potty. All the rest usually works out. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Husky Tricks

Source: a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Forever on Pinterest

My humans laughed and laughed at this photo. I don't get it! I do those tricks all the time, what are they laughing at? I mean I know that when they say "sit" my butt is supposed to go to the floor, but sometimes I just don't feel like it. I can be persuaded with treats occasionally though. The "fetch" one I don't quite do like that. I find the ball and stay right there so my humans can find it. Pretty nice if you ask me.

Buring and Digging

My name is Loki. I am a single, brown & white Siberian Husky, with copper eyes. I am 9 months, 25 days old and am 57 pounds of pure energy. I like long walks in the woods, playing tug with almost anything and learning new stuff all the time. Am I a great catch or what?

Alergies or Something Else?

I was running so fast my nose got
cut out of the picture  :D

About 4 months ago as you might remember I went to the puppy doctor with an ear infection. That was NOT fun before, during or after. My ear hurt before, the doctor poked into my sore ear and then my humans put gunk in my ear! I have to admit that it did get rid of my earache though.

Surprising My Humans

We've been having trouble communicating lately. I feel that it is perfectly acceptable to pull at my human's clothes or hands to let them know I have to go potty. They, however, disagree and get really mad when I do it and I get puppy time outs. So as you might remember, while I was convalescing we did some "shaping" to get to ringing a bell to go outside.

Puzzle Toys for Dogs

Sometimes my humans are AWESOME! There is a pet store near us called End of the Leash and although I didn't get to go in this time, I got some cool stuff. Most important thing I got was the Kyjen Treat Wheel Puzzle Dog Toy (affiliate link) that is totally fun. It took me exactly 5 seconds to figure out that when the yellow things come off there's TREATS (they're fun to play with too). After playing with this for a few days I figured out that when you take out all the yellow things and of course eat the treats, you can move the holes to find, you guessed it, more TREATS!

Puppy Games

See my big delicious treat? I got that the day after my stitches were taken out and boy do I like it, because I'm still working on it. I get plenty of treats and rewards from my humans. I usually have to work for them, but it's not hard to shake or sit to get treats. And waiting in the car for a few minutes while they go into this huge building is okay too, because I get stuff like in the picture.

Cone of Shame

There are cones and there are cones. The first Elizabethan collar I had was very hard to use. I kept running into things and eating and drinking were a bit tricky. I was getting used to it though and my humans tried to make sure I had room to move around.

A couple of days of that and my humans decided to get a different cone so I could chew on bones and toys and stuff. That one you can see below made it a lot easier to get around, cuz I could see!

At night they put the other cone on so I really couldn't get at my stitches and it really was easier to sleep without that big balloon under my head.

For awhile there I wondered if I'd ever get these things off my head. Toward the end when I was feeling better they did take it off sometimes, but they watched me real close. As soon as I looked at my stitches, back on it went. I was gonna leave them alone, I just wanted to clean down there.

Now all is good, but I wonder how long it is going to take to grow my fur back? I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Night at the Veterinarian's

I bet you all have been wondering what I've been upto for the last couple of weeks. Well, my humans took me to the doctor awhile ago, which is usually okay unless they poke me with needles and stuff. I was wary of course, but this time they left me there! I don't know all the details but I stayed there, had a weird nap and woke up feeling strange and discomfort (that's what they call it, like I was just too cold or was sleeping on concrete) by my boy parts. Oh am I going to get my humans for this. Never again am I going to go to the doctor so easily, just you wait and see.

So apparently they found my boy parts in my abdomen and took them out because really what good do they do me there anyway. The next day when my humans finally came back for me I had to wear the cone of shame. A couple of days later I got a inflatable ProCollar which was much better for some stuff. I still used the regular collar at night so my humans could be sure I didn't mess with my stitches. For 2 weeks I didn't hardly get to do anything, I didn't feel like eating much with that bubble on my head and by the time it came off for good I was ready to go rip roaring around.

Everything went fine, I back to going to the dog park and running around. My belly is shaved and a bit chilly but it's all good with out the cone. Still have allergies or something, but even that's getting better with new medicine and stuff. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Local Wildlife

The last couple of days, we've had some visitors to the homestead and boy does my human Jeanne act funny. I had to go potty one night and we went to the edge of the driveway to take care of business. I noticed some movement in the field and Jeanne looked with a flashlight and there was a black cat with a white stripe down it's back. I know cats, so I wanted to get closer but she wouldn't let me and we went inside quick. Turns out, it wasn't a cat but something my humans called a skunk. I still don't know what the big deal was, but they told me story of their other dog Niko who pulled my human Lance into a skunk and they both got very stinky. Go figure.

Three nights in a row, that skunk was in the field and Jeanne brought me in real quick. For a couple more nights it was boring outside but then I saw some movement again in the trees. It was bigger this time, but I got my business taken care of and we started back into the house. All of a sudden a loud howl sounded and it was really close. A few seconds later a ruckus erupted and my human pulled me inside lickity split. We have coyotes and she thought they thought I looked like lunch. Personally, I think they thought she was lunch, the big scarredy cat.

Allergies Are A Pain

A while ago I told you about my ear infection and how the vet said it's probably allergies. Well it came back and now my ears, nose and eyelids are itchy and swollen and loosing their fur. I hate it! So I have to take these allergy medicines and I get an ointment for my itchy spots that clear it up pretty good but I don't like it. Well maybe it's okay because if I swallow the pill good and quick I get treats and it doesn't give me a belly ache.

From what my humans tell me, I could be allergic to almost anything. In fact they heard of a dog who was allergic to the sun and the grass. The sun I could deal with because frankly I don't like to be in it either. I run from shade to shade in the yard all the time. But allergic to the grass, that would be terrible! What would I roll in and run through at the dog park?

Puppy Class Graduation

Aren't I a complete angel? This was me on the way home after our trip to the farm. And of course I am a complete angel at puppy class, except for the heel. I just don't see the point. I am supposed to be good at pulling a sled, so why shouldn't I just lead my humans around? Go figure.

Fortunately, I am a quick learner and I caught on really quick that everyone wanted me to walk next to them. So I was able to do it well enough to graduate. I got my picture taken and a diploma. Thank goodness my humans didn't try to dress me up in one those cap and gowns though.

My Humans are Painting

So, after being home for a few days, apparently my humans decided to paint the house. Little did I know how much of a inconvenience it would be. It smells, there's stuff all over the place and not enough room for me to run around. What were they thinking?

On the first day, since this paint thing was new to me, I got too close to a wet wall and boom, I was painted. My ear, my shoulder, you get the picture. It was so embarrassing at the dog park when the people looked at me funny and laughed. Even my puppy class teacher was amused.

My Trip to the Farm

Remember that I told you my humans were acting weird? They were up to something! That evening they put a whole bunch of stuff in the car, (I watched my stuff real close) and we went to puppy class like normal. After puppy class we just kept driving and driving and driving. I wasn't worried or anything because I knew my stuff was with us, but geez, I'd be nice if the communicated with me!

We went to visit my human, Lance's grandma and dad. I already met the second day with my new humans and was happy to see them again. This time we were at a farm where there was stuff as far as the eye could see to investigate. I was in doggy heaven, except for the HEAT! No magic vents at the farm I found out.

I had as much fun as I could though and on the last day of our visit, it rained and the heat went away. Go figure. You can read more about the trip at my human, Lance's blog. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Where Have I Been?

I've had a busy summer. Some great and some not so fun. Last time I wrote I had just got over an ear infection. It turns out it was the beginning of allergies for me. My humans and I can't figure out what I'm allergic to, but as they say it could be anything from sun and grass to anything I eat. I really hope it isn't my treats!

Me and my humans have settled into a routine for now - during the day I rest and most evenings we either go for a ride in the car to some exotic new place (a store parking lot for me to people watch) or we go for a walk by the dog park. Now I know I was a bit negative about the whole puppy class at first, but I think I miss going to class each week. I hope my humans will start classes again, because it's fun for all of us.

Since so much time has passed, I'm going to fill in the blanks as I go. For right now, I'm so thankful that those hot days seem to be over and as far as my training goes, I'm smarter than I look :D Oh I learned all that stuff in class just fine, but I don't always see the point in doing it when asked ;) I'll keep you posted!

Bye for now,
Loki

P.S. I'm now a whopping 52 lbs. and 7½ months old.

Ear Problems, Yuck!

Hi all! You'll be happy to know that my doctor said my ears are all better. A couple of weeks ago I had a yeast infection in my ear. We all thought at first it might have been mites, but no. Up side is no bugs, down side is the ear medicine. I didn't like it and I'm still deciding whether the treats were worth it :D

After that we had puppy class. I was of course an "A" student except apparently I need work on "heal". Frankly I don't see why I should have to. My humans should just try to keep up, there's just too much to see and sniff to walk so slow. I'll think about it.

After class though, we kept going. Now, my humans had been acting weird for a few days so I knew something was up. They kept putting my best stuff in the car! Last time they did that we went somewhere overnight and I was a little scared. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Ants!

Ants. I like to eat them and step on them. Don't like it when they're in my food bowl. Enough said.

Bye for now,
Loki

Socializing Ups and Downs

Two days in a row we went to the dog park, once in the evening and then the next morning. The evening was mostly fun because I kept running up the fence where small dogs were, they'd bark and I'd take off running. My human, Jeanne wasn't very happy with me and a couple of times she put the leash on. I couldn't stop, it was fun. They couldn't get me!!!

Later a new dog came to the park and I just couldn't take it. In all fairness, I was tired and there were alot of other dogs there which sometimes makes me worried, so cut me some slack. But I just melted down and that other dog kept trying to get me to play. I didn't want to, it wouldn't stop so I started hopping about and in the end we had to go home and I wasn't happy.

Puppy Training Video

My first training video :D I am a good and smart dog and this video proves it!

We've been to 2 puppy training classes and this is some of what my humans have learned... Sit, down, relax, leave it, wait, and stay. No, they don't do it, I do that stuff. They have learned the proper way to give treats.

My humans were very impressed with my "leave it" because I was watching the other dog at class and new that I should be turning my head away from the "it" and to make eye contact with my human. In fact the next day after learning leave it, my human Lance dropped a pill on the floor and they told me to leave it and I did. Apparently that would've made me very sick so it was good all around. Plus I got a treat afterward. So my canine friends, "leave it" might be hard, but DO IT ANYWAY!

At my latest class, the trainer said that my human Jeanne is supposed to spend about 30 minutes a day working with me and eye contact. I like it because during our training sessions, we both know what's expected. Good times.

Bye for now,
Loki

I'm 5 Months Old

Well officially I turned 5 months a week or so ago, but it's never too late to celebrate. I'm now a whopping 42 pounds and if the calculator online is right I'll probably be almost 60 pounds when I'm all grown up. Unless I eat too many treats, then all bets are off.

So far, my grown up teeth are coming in good. In fact my front 4 teeth on top and bottom are really growing in good. I still have my baby canines, but they're getting loose I think. Ice cubes seem to work the best to ease the pain and my humans are really good at making sure I get them, especially at night. I really don't get it, but my teeth seem to bother me the most at night. Go figure.

It seems like my coat is the color it's going to be and my eyes too. I'm going to have a pretty red and white coat with eyes that are a sort of greenish, bluish amber color (that's a technical term by the way). I'm not sure why, but it seems like some of my fur is lying around the house too. My humans get it with some noisy machine I'm not too fond of, but I'm sure it's my fur coat. Not sure what that's all about, but I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

My New Dog Friends

My humans have been taking to the dog park almost everyday. At first, I was not so happy to be there. One time I put on the breaks but human Jeanne was still able to get me into the park.

Sometimes there are so many dogs there, my head feels like it's going to spin off. Other times there's only a couple, those are the days I like best. I have been meeting all sorts of dog friends. It even seems like there are new one every day. For me, the small dogs are easier to play with. I can actually catch up to them when they're running.

My New Pool

Okay, so I'm a "Siberian Husky" and that means I like snow, cold weather and so on. This heat has been hard on me, but my humans bought me an AWESOME present... A POOL!

When I step into it my feet cool off, plus I can drink from the biggest water bowl I've ever seen and I'm blessedly cool even outside. Since I'm still learning about how it works, a couple of times I stuck my whole nose in and blew bubbles. It was fun. The hard part is that I can't smell anything in the water, believe me I tried and got water up my nose for the trouble.

Human Training Class

I told you last week that my sneaky humans signed me up for "Puppy Class", a.k.a. "Human Class" and we had a meet & greet with the teacher. I'll admit it, I'm a chicken. All those other dogs I met are totally uncivilized. They're big, they smell me all over and they listen to their humans. Although, they get lots of treats too. I'll have to think on that.

For our first class, my humans learned "watch me" with a treat, "sit" with a treat (you get the picture), "down", "relax" and my least favorite, "leave it". Of course I was an excellent student even though there were 2 other dogs and people walking by.

It's Been A Busy Week

Oh the heat! Frankly I don't understand how those humans can stand it. I barely want to go out and do my business in this heat. The driveway is HOT, the grass is HOT, looking out the window is HOT. But there is the magic vent. So far I have found 5 magic vents at my house and my favorite one is in the kitchen where occasionally food falls out of the sky. Two for the price of one!

Finally it seams like I can go out with out melting. This past week that meant I got to do more stuff that I never did before. I went to the dog park a couple of times. Those other dogs, I'm not so sure about, but their humans, very nice. I'll tell you more about that later though.

Puppy School

I told you I needed to keep an eye on my humans. When I wasn't paying attention, they signed me up for puppy class and I went there yesterday to meet the trainer. The funny thing is though, it's called "puppy class", but it's actually human training.

You see it's like this, I can sit, down, and shake all day long, but the humans have to learn how to let me know when the treats are going to come. They say "sit", then I sit, they say "good boy", and then I get the treat. See, it's easy. We'll see how the actual classes go and I'll try to cut them some slack when they make mistakes. That's what pack-mates do. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

P.S. Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Lost a Mate

The other day, we lost one of our new fish. He was the biggest we had at about 9 inches and was a plecostomus. This is a video of him doing what he does best, cleaning the algae off the glass.


Okay, so maybe I really don't care about the fish, in fact sometimes I think that the humans should spend more time paying attention, cute adorable me. But, sometimes I also think they should leave me alone to nap, so the fish help them keep from getting bored while I take a snooze. For awhile I'll have to make sure that I keep my humans busier than usual so they don't miss Plecostomus Maximus too much. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Overnight Somewhere Else

I got a bit of a surprise over the weekend. It all started with my humans going in and out of the house with stuff, including my food and water! I was not pleased and I let them know it. It did no good, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad, because we went for a drive. And in the mini-van too, which means I get to ride in complete comfort.

This time we took a ride in the car that was longer than usual. That's okay, because I had a big comfy seat to lay on, and that magic cool air. I did get into trouble a couple of times for trying to eat stuff off the floor, but hey I'm a dog, that's what I do.

Toyaholic

Hi, my name is Loki, and I'm a toyaholic. Now there's toys and then there's toys, and my humans don't always realize what they're missing. They sit in front of these little and big light boxes that sometimes have interesting things on them, but mostly, BORING. Hey I'm right here, I've got great toys like my new rope with 2 tennis balls on it, and my squeaky toys.

I've been spending alot of time lately trying to show them the error of their ways, but it's difficult sometimes to show my humans the good life. Usually, the squeaky toy works best. I squeak it and push it at them and after a few times they finally get it and we start playing fetch. They throw and I get the best part, I fetch, because I thought of it first.

Bye for now,
Loki

Getting Fixed

So I had my last doctor appointment for awhile and this time my human Lance came with. Fooled me on that one, because usually just my human Jeanne takes me. Oh well, it wasn't too bad, but I got poked AGAIN! This better be the last time!

So they were talking about me like I wasn't even there about getting "fixed". I tell you, what could possibly need "fixing" on me? They kept saying stuff like I'd have to wear the "cone of shame" and something called "cryptorchid". All I know is that I'm perfect the way I am. Okay, well maybe this "cryptorchid" thing needs fixing, but that's it! It won't happen for a couple of months yet, maybe I can talk my humans out of it.

I'll have to keep a close eye on my humans to make sure they don't fool me into going to the doctor to poked or fixed. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

My Mates

At my house, there are these 2 cats, yes I know "dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria". They're okay though. Awhile ago we all met and it was decided, they go their way, I'll go mine. They didn't have to bat me in the head to tell me so, but there you go. I guess they were intimidated by my fabulous good looks. I do have to admit though, they have some impressive batting skills and jumping skills. They can get up high lightning fast.

Then there's the fish. Talk about boring. All they do is move around the small glass tank and eat and poop. Right now, since they're kinda new, my one human spends more time than I think he should taking care of them. But hey, even I sometimes get mesmerized watching them. When no one else is looking of course :P

Just a quick update on things, I'm still getting new teeth in. IT STINKS! I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

P.S. Happy birthday human Jeanne, XOXO

Pet Stores Rock!

The other day I visited a place where they have such awesome smells and toys and they even had other puppies there too. Ha, ha, those puppies were in school and I wasn't. Except those humans were looking at the school stuff pretty close. I'll have to keep my eyes on them, they can be tricky, and I'm not so sure I want to go to school. Hmmm.

Loki says... "Best Toy Ever!"

Sometimes my humans come up with the darnedest ideas. They know that sometimes a puppy has to run and chase things and so they put one of my favorite balls on the end of a rope on the end of a pole. I could chase that thing all day! Sometimes I catch it and sometimes I don't, but it's sure alot of fun.

New Teeth

So what was wrong with my old teeth anyway? Now my mouth is sore, I'm grumpy and chewing on stuff isn't as much fun as it used to be. I find that my humans' hands are still good though, much to their frustration :D

I hope this teething thing is over soon, but right now I have new front teeth and some more are poking through on the sides. I get ice cubes and frozen cloths and that helps, but yikes, I wouldn't recommend this. How many teeth do dogs get anyway?

Mr. Manners

I have been trying to convince my humans that I can be good at the table. As you can see from the picture, I can even share my chair. They're not convinced, but I'll keep working on it. For now I get to smell those wonderful smells and who's to say I can't have a small taste if it falls on the floor, right? Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often at my house :(

At the short humans' house though, ooohh boy am I a lucky dog! I really feel the need to check it out every day. Sure, sometimes the occasional piece of lettuce is there, but mostly, it's good stuff. Much better than what I can find outside in the yard. So far my humans haven't let work on the short human training very much, but I hope they will soon. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

I Have Super Powers

I have telekinesis! When I stare at what ever I want long enough my humans bring what I want right too me. My humans must have extra sensory perception to receive my thoughts. It's fabulous! Sometimes I have to bark a little to make sure their minds are open to getting my message, but nothing is perfect.

In other news, their training is coming along nicely. I have taught them to give me treats when I touch their hand with my nose and they know it's time to play when I push my toy at them, most of the time. As for the leash thing, well I just don't like it and now they got this shorter leash which makes it much harder to smell what I want to smell. We're working on it though, and I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now,
Loki

Squirrel!

Have you seen the movie "Up"? Chipmunk! Me neither, because I don't really watch TV all that much. Birds! My humans keep saying "squirrel" and laughing hysterically. June bugs! I really don't understand. Stick!

Visiting the Dog Doctor

The other day I got to see my doctor. I didn't have an appointment, she was just outside and I went to say hi. She's really nice and so other the other ladies in the office, but I'm not sure I like going there. One the one hand, well treats, humans to gush over me and interesting smells. Sometimes there's even other dogs there too. On the other hand every time I go there I get poked and let me tell you it doesn't feel good. Sometimes it doesn't feel good for more than a day!

Potty Training

I learned early on that my humans are very trainable. Potty training only took a day or two and I only had to make a mess a couple of times to remind them. Basically, when I wake up I have to go, after I eat I have to go, after I play I have to go. You get the picture. At night when I was younger I had to go a couple of times and no way was I going to mess my playroom, so I let them know :)

Meeting My Humans

I came to meet my humans for the first time two monrhs ago. The car was not favorite thing and I let them know that the entire drive home.

So the first thing I did was to drink a whole bunch of water as you can see. It was embarassing how much I drank, but investigating is hard work and I needed refreshments before I took a good look around.

My Puppy Book

Me at 5 weeks

Hi, my name is Loki and I'm a 4 month old single red and white siberian husky. I love food and toys and well treats of course and my sign is aquarius. I enjoy running through the grass on cool cloudy days and naps over the air conditioning vent when it's hot. Dislikes? Lettuce.