Icoa Turned 6 Yesterday!

Icoa at six years old.

Here she is, miss beautiful. Icoa turned six years old yesterday. She's doing one of her favorite things; standing on the crates that abut the house on the deck and checking in on the house dogs.

Her enthusiasm in harness never ceases to amaze me. She is a tremendous sled dog and a wonderful companion. She's always trying to put her unruly kid, Ilu, in line and he never seems to get the message. He's now four and up until last year she still cleaned him like he was still her baby.

Icoa is a favorite among the girl scout troops as she will quickly lay on her back for a belly scratch. Applying her intuition, she is extremely gentle with those young people that might have concerns about dogs and spends extra time with them letting them know they can trust her.

First Time on Grass

At two weeks old and a day, based upon their good mobility, I thought it was the perfect time to introduce the Tuloon/McKenzie pups to the great outdoors! There was lots of whining in the beginning but they soon became comfortable once greeted by the howls of the rest of the pack.

As you'll see by the photos, they howled back and the first introduction to the others, although they could not be seen, was helpful to them in their first outdoor experience.

They are just beginning to look longingly over the edges of the plastic kiddie pool in the laundry room so I think that their days as indoor pups are numbers. Once one jumps out, they all will.

WHAT just happened?!

The 10 inch by 10 inch laundry chute hole.

Zulu

WHAT just happened? If I didn't have the scuffed up right hand and the residual adrenaline in my system to remind me, I would think I was dreaming. I suppose that Zulu just thought that the best way to get to see the puppies was by going down the laundry chute. What?! I'll preface this story by saying that it has a happy ending.

The morning routine began with house dogs outside while I changed the puppy bedding. Once that was done, the house dogs came back inside and Tuloon went down with the pups. I went down again to spend more time with them while the little house dogs, Copper and Blue and the big house dog Zulu, spent some time upstairs as they always do each morning. While down with the pups, I heard a scuffling sound then cries from a distressed Zulu and ran upstairs immediately. All I could see was that the 10 inch by 10 inch hole down the laundry chute leading to a closet in the laundry room where Tuloon, the pups and I were, was completely plugged...........with Zulu!

As I reached to grab the only leg accessible as his entire body was recessed in the tiny hole, I wondered who I would call for something like this if I couldn't manage to get him out by myself. The fire department? I didn't want to pull on only one back leg to lift his entire weight out. He is 13 years old, 70lbs and suffers from arthritis so I grabbed him by his thick coat, where ever I could. He wouldn't budge. I thought for a moment of pushing lightly so he could then drop into the closet in the laundry room, hoping that I had enough dirty laundry below to break his fall. That seemed like a more dangerous solution if there wasn't, so I grabbed and pulled some more. Zulu shifted a bit, I pulled even harder and out he came. As he did, the whole ordeal must have scared the #@&! out of him because he expressed his anal glands at that very moment. When he was completely out of the hole I remember just holding on to him and hugging him tight to make sure he knew he was safe. Then I quickly exited the house with him just in case he had more to "express".

Once he was outside and I continued on with my dog chores, I couldn't stop shaking my head and wondering what just happened. It isn't like the laundry chute is in the middle of the floor and one might accidentally step into it if not careful. It is in the back of a closet. Since it leads directly to the laundry room where the pups and Tuloon are living at the moment, I had the chute hatch open along with the closet door so that it could provide some ventilation to the outside as there is a window in this particular room. I can't be certain if Zulu intended to "drop" down for a visit or if he got so curious that he accidentally got too close and lost his balance. Whichever the case, we can chalk this one to live and learn. Who would have thought?

You'll be happy to know that Zulu is no worse for the wear except for possibly a little lost pride and the door to the room with the laundry chute will remain closed.

Canicross Hikes 2009: Minnewashta Regional Park

A cool water break

Limestone path adjoining to some of the grass and dirt path trails

Walking along the low lands near the lake

The trail takes on some elevation as we head back to the trail head

The dogs learn to keep working and moving forward even when a tangle occurs.

The weather was just perfect for a canicross hike with dogs that have not yet fully shed their winter coats. It was 70 degrees F (21 degrees C) in the sun with a nice breeze. There were a few patchy clouds in a washed-out light blue sky.

This is a regular Canicross Hike location so we did a little bit of exploring in the park today. At the end of the hike, each dog enjoyed a dunk in the lake. Some enjoyed it more than others.... poor Annie was surprised when she found herself swimming when it wasn't in her plan.

2 Weeks Old

Puppy Pile! Everyone is distinctly different in color, coat and markings.

They are just beginning to move out of the "guinea pig" stage and actually look like and act like little dogs.

White Feather tackles Tumac and it doesn't go without protest.

Talk about precious!

The nose sucking has begun.

The whole bunch

Topa isn't quite sure what to make of this.

Big beautiful puppy yawn!

Topa gets back at Hana with a little neck nibble.

The puppies changed dramatically this week. At 10 days old they couldn't even see yet and were beginning to clumsily toddle around their puppy pool. Eyes began to open late on the 11th day and by the morning of the 12th, all puppy eyes were open.

Toenails were cut again this week when I discovered tiny little scatches crisscrossing all over my forearms.

We've had a few close friends over to see and handle the puppies after a very thorough hand and arm washing. The pups have blossomed from all of the people attention and are beginning to seek it out when voices are heard. They continue to be entertained during the day by the classical music of Minnesota Public Radio. It is interesting to watch their little ears perk and twitch to the music when more spirited pieces are played.

The heat lamp that had been shining down on the puppies since they were born was taken down this week. They are out of the critical stage when warmth is of great importance. The have enough coat and body fat to maintain their own temperatures nicely at this stage.

Tuloon has become used to the routine. Feed, sleep, drink, eat, go upstairs to hang out with people, go outside to check on her backyard and for a quick potty break then check in with the pack and over again. She continues to keep her puppies and their space spotless.

Tuloon/McKenzie Pups; 2 Weeks Old!

White Feather at 2 weeks old weighed in at 3lbs 3 oz. She has become used to being handled and doesn't protest. She is still the spunkiest of the four but relatively mild compared with Tuloon's 2007 litter! This would be thanks to McKenzie, Mr. Calm himself. White Feather has a coat that is extremely dense and the longest of all of the pups at this stage.

BIG girl Topa rose above the others in weight this week. She is 3lbs 8oz at 2 weeks old. She did a lot of sleeping this week compared with the others. One can only imagine that she was also feeding quite a bit more as well! Topa was very mild mannered this week and has gotten used to being handled with no protesting. She did utter the first growl heard from the bunch when she apparently was getting awakened too often by her siblings who were playing a bit too near.



Tumac weighed 3lbs 5 oz at 2 weeks old. He's a doll. Being very content to sit in a lap with his paws outstretched in front of him while being scratched, he is still very laid back and accepting of whatever happens to be going on at the time
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Hana is tied with Tumac this week and weighed 3lbs 5 oz at two weeks old. It was like a light switch went on, literally, when her eyes opened! This passive girl at one week old began to have very strong opinions about things. She was the first one to wander across the pool to me when I called out "puppies!" after her eyes were open. She is still very calm and quiet but is a lot more active and initiates play more than the others at this stage.

Mid Week Puppy Photos by Hailey

The beige/strawberry blond girl, now referred to as Hana which means "flower" in Japanese, is facing the camera.

Topa nestled behind Tuloon

White Feather stretched out across Tuloon's legs with Tumac to the left and Hana to the right

Tumac

Topa stretched out over White Feather and Hana