Presentation of my fellow residents on Håkøya

I've been living with the five dogs for a week now and decided to write a little presentation of all of them. So here it goes...

Tessa

"I sooooo happy to see you!"

Tessa is the oldest dog here. She is a Siberian husky of the show type. Heavier built with thicker and longer fur, she gets too warm when running, so she prefers walking. She is really nice to take for long walks, and she can even carry stuff in her dog pack. She is probably the most polite dog here, but isn't really strange since she is the oldest. If Tessa could have her way, she would be cuddled with and fed all day long...

Tessa chilling in the kennel.

 

 

Birk

Birk with his beautiful markings.

Birk is the opposite of Tessa, well they are both Siberian Huskies, but Birk is of the working type and from Seppala lines. He has a shorter fur, and longer legs than Tessa, simply better built for working. Birk is 2 years old this coming fall and he is the only male living here. Amongst the dogs he is the boss but as soon as a human comes near he is the most submissive little darling there ever was. He is really strong, I can hardly hold him back, so the only way for me to exercise him is by putting him in front of the wagon and letting him pull for some km. After a sprint like that he is tired for maybe 30 minutes (tops) and then he is as full of energy as he was before the run. The hope is that he will be part of a sled dog team in next winter's Finnmarksløpet, which is one of the northernmost long distance dog sled races in the world.

Birk lies in the shadow of the dog houses.

 

Noor

Noor wondering what I'm doing with that thing in front of her face.

 Like Birk, Noor is a Siberian Husky of the working type. She is however one of the smallest Siberian huskies I've ever seen. She is about a year old now and will not grow any more, so it is safe to say that she will always be small. But what she lacks in size she makes up for in willpower and strength. She is a really good sled dog (even though she was too young this winter to really get to show us what she can do), but when I took her with me when I went skiing during the Easter holidays she really impressed me with her stamina and strength, I hardly had to do anything, she pulled me all the way! For those of you that have followed my blog, you know that Noor is the dog that I've had living with me some weeks this spring.

Noor is a rather... special... dog. When she truly relaxes, this is how she lies..

Vida

A smiling husky!

Vida is the daughter of Tessa and Birk and is thus a mix of show and work Siberian husky. She inherited her father's love of running and her mother's good looks. She is lighter built than some of the other puppies from the same litter, so she is fast and strong and for her young age she has good stamina. She is a very submissive and a little insecure when strangers are visiting, but with practice she will get more confident and she already gives everybody a chance.

When Vida was born she was light brown with white markings, but she has gotten lighter and lighter as she has grown older.

Sara

Sara is the odd one out, she is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She doesn't usually live with the other dogs here, she is my boss' dog. She is getting along very well with the huskies, as long as she gets a lot of attention... she tends to get a bit jealous when I cuddle with the husky girls.. She is the only dog here that gets to sleep in my bed every night and she also goes with me to work every day. In spite of all of her quirks she has actually managed to make me want a Cavalier, something I really thought was impossible. She is just so sweet and happy all the time (towards me that is, she isn't a big fan of the huskies when they want to play, she thinks they play to rough).

Like Noor, Sara has her own special way of lying down...

Happier news

It took almost 48 hours before the friendship between me and the two huskies that ran off were back on track. I still don't blame them for doing what they did, but I had to get that time to relax and trust them again. On Sunday morning I took Vida and Sara out jogging and in the evening I took Birk out for a run with the wagon. So now that we have shared some positive experiences all is well and good again. Below are some pictures from when I was out jogging with Sara and Vida.

"What have you got there?" Vida checking what Sara is doing.

Vida and the beautiful Norwegian nature.

High hopes and horror

It looked so promising last night when I started the 20 minute drive out to the house where I will spend the next three weeks. The sun was shining, I had Sara (the cavalier) with me in the car and had all the things I needed with me. I was looking forward to taking the dogs out for a run and then just enjoy the midnight sun, the scenery and a glass of wine. I arrived at the house full of anticipation and without a care in the world. I came in, unpacked and then went out to give the huskies their dinner and to clean up. Everything went well until the dogs decided that it was too boring to just eat while I cleaned and Birk and his daughter Vida started running back and forth in the kennel. Birk jumped at the door and to both of our great surprise and to my horror, the door opened! I had no chance to react before both Vida and Birk were already gone. Luckily I managed to keep Noor in the kennel, before I rushed off to catch the escapees. I am still too much in shock to write down every detail of what happened next, but in short, they ran to the beach, then to the horses, which was where I caught up with them. They bothered the horses quite a bit, I was scared they would get kicked in the head. Luckily they did listen to me when I told them to back off. Unluckily, they did not listen to me when I called them to come back to me. They thought it was hilarious to tease me and ran past me several times before I managed to get a hold of Birk while he stopped for a few seconds to pee... A very wonderful man stopped and helped me get a hold of Vida. I was too stressed to ask his name at the time, but whoever you are: Thank you a million times! I could not have done it without you! There was another man too though... he wasn't exactly helpful when he pointed out that it is illegal to let the dogs off leash (as if I didn't know that..) and that he would shoot them.. I was so scared!! I basically panicked! Luckily I didn't hear anything more from him, though I've seen him by his little house today. The dogs were kept inside for the night. I only took Noor and Sara for a 50 minute walk in the terrain behind the house before more or less collapsing in bed. I decided that Birk and Vida had had enough exercise that day.. I think I needed that walk more than the dogs did, to calm myself down.

A nice walk in beautiful nature, with one of the best dogs in the world. Exactly what I needed after all the drama!

Beautiful little Sara.

Noor and Sara, not best friends yet, but they tolerate each other. There isn't much of a difference in size either, so hopefully they will be able to play together in a couple of days.

I'm still shaken by the experience so so far today I have only taken Noor and Sara out jogging for 5 km. I know it is unfair to stay mad at the dogs, they only did what was natural to them, but after yesterday I just feel a bit insecure around them. I know I can get Noor and Sara to come back to me if they would get loose, but I obviously can't count on Birk or Vida to come when called, and therefor I am hesitant to take them out. I know I have to take them for walks, and I will, I just have to get myself calm and assertive first. Maybe I should do some yoga..

Monica (who owns the huskies) often calls me her "super-handler".. I must say I didn't feel much like a super-handler yesterday... Hopefully the self confidence will return. I'm looking forward to sharing happier stories with you guys soon! Hope you have a nice weekend :)