Follow our quest for a more simple lifestyle living off grid in the remote north woods of Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, working with traditional sled dogs.
Tuloon turns six years old today! This beautiful and smart Hedlund Husky has been one of our leaders since she was very young. She's had two phenomenal litters and will be spayed in the near future. Tuloon won't be having any more litters and by spaying her, it decreases her chances of having related health issues as she gets older.
Tuloon has the softest coat of any husky I know. She loves the little house dogs and was even desperate to have Copper, our three legged, 12lb dachshund/poodle mix, sire her first litter! (Copper is fixed.) This girl is one of the many spoiled princesses, or shall I say she is now the "queen", of the dog yard at Points Unknown.
Oken and Tuloon lead a guest during one of our women's events in 2010
The 2011 Points Unknown Women's Winter Adventure that will be taking place at Boyd's Mason Lake Resort near Hayward, Wisconsin has been posted on our website!
Our Scent from Nature; 100% Pure Beeswax Candle booth
Wimzi got socialization from all kinds this weekend!
With Phoenix, I'm sporting my new beautiful Henna design. The Henna plant is the most heavily cultivated in West India and the extract is used to create beautiful temporary body art. The extract is a thick paste and it was used to artistically "draw" intricate vines and leaves on my right wrist and hand. This paste, once dried, is covered with a mixture of lemon and sugar to "cure". The paste hardened and eventually fell off, leaving its natural dye behind.
Neil with Wimzi
Over the weekend was the Mudd Lake Organic Summerfest just down the road from the Points Unknown kennel. We were planning to be vendors and just bring our Scent from Nature; 100% Pure Beeswax Candles to this event but upon our arrival, noticed that we had been placed in an end stall allowing for additional space to promote Points Unknown. The organizers were excited about the addition so we quickly took another trip home to collect some Points Unknown items and of course some dogs! Wimzi, White Feather and Phoenix were the chosen ambassadors and took turns at the event. Poor White Feather spent her time at the festival on Saturday when it rained solid from 12Noon until 6PM. Despite the rain on Saturday we had a great time, met some new neighbors and made some new customers and friends.
Neil finished moving the last of the base for the new back yard kennel yesterday. Rebecca dug this kennel out during her stay and left it ready for the base to be moved in on top. The moving of base material went on for days as both Neil and I would move a few loads with the wheel barrow, continue on with our day then return to it on our next break. Good exercise! And now the dogs (and we) can enjoy a much nicer kennel that doesn't end up turning into a mud pit with each rain. The material used is a mixture of small rocks and sand, allowing the water to quickly drain away from its surface.
During their morning feeding, Topa was observed making some strange facial expressions as though she was having trouble with her mouth. We quickly checked for a foreign object such as a stick that could have been lodged inside, but nothing. Tuloon, Topa's nurturing mom, also began to lick Topa's mouth over and over again. At this point, since she was otherwise behaving normally, we decided to observe her for the day and see if he issue progressed.
Topa spend a few hours in play groups and seemed a bit more quiet than normal and then at feeding she looked plain uncomfortable. We took her temperature which is normally no higher than 102 degrees F for a dog and it was 103.1. Topa had just finished her first heat cycle at 11 months old and I thought I noticed a light colored discharge from her vaginal area. This could indicate a pyometra which is a building up of puss in the uterus and can be deadly if not caught in time. If it was a closed pyometra, the remedy would be an emergency spay. If it was an open pyometra, the remedy has a much better outlook for her ability to have a litter down the road and since Topa is a rare deep Hedlund Husky line female, this would be most desirable. Either way, her health is the most important and as we rushed her to the emergency vet that evening, we just hoped she would be alright.
The vet did numerous blood tests that all came back within a normal range. She indicated that although possible, a pyometra at Topa's young age is not typical. When examining her mouth, Topa's gums began to bleed. This is something we hadn't noticed earlier in the day and would account for why Tuloon was licking her mouth. There were no signs of gum trauma from chewing a bone or some other object. Alright, so no pyometra but what then? The vet had no idea. Topa was prescribed antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory medication and now three days later, she is back to normal with no temperature or bleeding gums.
It's frustrating to not know. At the same time, we can just be thankful that she is back to normal and we'll keep a close eye on her for any signs of a re occurrence.
On Saturday, May 29th, Neil and I took the journey with Ilu and Icoa to Grand Forks, ND to meet Genevieve of the Inuit Sled Dog International who then took them back to her home north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
If you recall from a previous post, Ilu was diagnosed with discospondilitis and although he has been showing great signs of improvement and will be able to live a pain free life, it is probable that he will not be able to work in a team. With great sadness, we decided that it would be best for he and his lifelong kennel mate and mother, Icoa, to retire from the Points Unknown team and spend a life of retired Inuit Dog luxury with our friends in the Canadian bush.
Photo by Neil Slaughter Journey, a three year old half Hedlund Husky. Her mother is a bush trap line dog and her father is our own McKenzie.
On Monday, May 31st, our Journey girl turned three years old! Can't quite believe it. It seems like just yesterday she was a naughty 9 week old puppy. She grew quickly into a 10 month old that showed amazing leader potential. She was even put to the test when called upon to open country lead with Klaus on a short lake run at that age! She spends most of the off season in a large pen with kennel mates Klaus and Oken. They are quite the bunch! In the winter, she is an extremely versatile worker and runs every position in the team but excels at lead.
Hailey with Tuloon who turns six today!
