As I got rained off today with re-fitting out van, which I will post about laters, I made a start on lines ready for fall training…

The necklines I’m making are 1 ½ foot long, woven together with the technique that Magali taught me over in Alaska.
In AK, Jacquie and Magali use 2 foot necklines, which gives much more freedom for the dog in moment, and you can clearly see this as the necklines are not tight like we see when running on 1 foot necklines over here in the UK.
When I first came back from my visit in AK, I introduced the longer necklines to my friend Malc, and like I first thought over in AK, instantly thought this would increase the likelihood of tangles, not so!!! Why is this; purely because the necklines run angled into the dog from the mainline by about 10-15 degrees. We have far less tangles now then we used to get with the 1 foot necklines, with a great improvement on dogs freedom of moment.
Why are you using 1 ½ foot necklines and not 2 foot? Purely because our training trails are quite narrow with built up woodland on each side. So I wanted to restrict the distance on how wide the dogs could run; so for us, the 1 ½ foot necklines work well in that sense but still give the dogs more freedom of moment over that of the 1 foot necklines...

8/19/2007 7:37:16 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

Over the last week, Storm and Kia have really started to find there legs… Playing, keeping mum on her toes and looking super cute :o)

7/13/2007 2:40:47 PM UTC    Comments [0] 

So cute, Storm today started to open her eyes at 12 days old….

6/28/2007 10:34:18 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

The first one to have there eyes open is Kia, at 10 days old. Storm is preferring to keep hers shut for the time being :o)

6/26/2007 7:48:47 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

Both of Sheenjek's puppies are thriving and growing extremely quickly. A couple of days ago, the female was given a sci-fi name, Storm. Joint decision :o)

Arrr, so so cute...

6/20/2007 8:22:11 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

Yesterday morning I was delightfully woken at 5:20AM by the sweat cry off Sheenjek’s first pup; a black/tan & white girl weighing 15ozs.
9:34AM, a second, a black and white boy weighing 15¼ozs
Both pups where delivered by Sheenjek without any supervision or help; her first litter :o)

Proud mum

Doing a grand job looking after her two wonderful pups :o) it's so endearing to see and a great feeling…

Donna has already chosen a name for the boy, Kia, now it’s up to me to find a name for the girl.

Many thanks to Magali Philip, Neil Marshal & Mark Allaway that supported me with information to put my mind at ease with regards to Sheenjek’s progress and well being; as this was my first breeding leading to the birth of pups.

6/17/2007 10:12:00 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

A few days ago temperatures where hitting around the 25c mark here in the UK, this morning it plummeted to 7c 70%RH :o) ooh – great opportunity to stretch those dogs legs… and for me to try Suen in lead, my new lead dog from Joe Redington Jr… He did very well considering our training trails here consist of turns that are not always that well defined/obvious, along with plenty of wildlife to contend with, rabbits for one; but even with rabbits to the left and right within a few feet from us, he drove on straight pass with a little cue driving the team down the trail, superb :o)

Suen, lead right (black dog). Looks like we are all good & ready...

Malc’s team, ready to go…

They just love those pig ears to chew on after a run…

5/28/2007 12:10:39 PM UTC    Comments [0] 

11c and raining... This morning was the third time I had a chance to run Suen (lead dog from Joe Redington Jr.) since being with us here in UK. I have been running him in team / wheel, getting him use to the trails here and me. Tomorrow I will try him in lead... cool! Great performance, superb mental endurance and spirit...

Suen - swing right

Malc making sure Conan is not going to give Sting any crap while I was taking the picture. Baby boy Risk (lead left) is ready I think :o)

5/27/2007 3:17:10 PM UTC    Comments [0] 

In the evenings when it's to hot to run dogs, I tend to let all the dogs out together for an hour or so in the garden/backyard, and this gives me a chance to practice recalls and making sure all the dogs get on fine despite jumping over each other and generally running crazy, as well as me getting in some quality time with them :o)

One crazy Sheenjek...

5/26/2007 1:08:15 PM UTC    Comments [0] 

It’s been a while, but better late then never… I finally got around to sorting out my photo album of Alaska, please feel free to visit the album under the gallery link. Enjoy :o)

5/24/2007 11:14:56 AM UTC    Comments [0] 

Suen landing in the UK on Wednesday morning travelling from Alaska, but due to a slight discrepancy in dates with the paperwork he had to spend a night in BA’s Animal Reception Centre.
Everyone at the Animal Reception Centre was very helpful, working together with my self and me with friends overseas to get in contact with vet to resolve the discrepancy. After all the worries / panic, Suen made it home safe and sound Thursday.
The Pets Passport is a great scheme and maintains the UK as a rabies free country, and its a godsend compared to the previous scheme which was six months quarantine; but always double check the dates that your vet writes on the papers… as they are only human and mistakes can happen… otherwise your dog could end up in quarantine for six months.

Much appreciation goes to Joe Redington Jr. who drove Suen to Anchorage airport over in AK, an 800 miles round trip for him. Thank you for everything Joe & Pam…

For more information on the Pets Passport Scheme, please visit DEFRA’s website Click here…

5/18/2007 4:28:25 PM UTC    Comments [0] 

Eleven days ago Sheenjek came into heat… After spending the past few days talking and deciding what to do, I decided to breed her to Risk.
Both Risk and Sheenjek are 7/8 Alaskan / 1/8 hound crosses, so if this all takes there offspring will still remain the same percentage.
Risk is a well proven race dog from Magali and Jacques Philip along with proven offspring (Argos, Hercules & Oracle); he eats extremely well and passes this valuable quality onto his pups.
Sheenjek, although not race proven, did 1200 miles as a yearling and showed no problems at all. Her mother is a well proven stage race leader and like Sheenjek, carries a very light coat which is idea for the UK/Europe

Now we just have to sit and wait until June for possible puppies…

To view there pedigree, Click here…

4/17/2007 8:53:51 AM UTC    Comments [0]