Falling in love
Sometime towards the middle of October I am being asked to take care of the soon to arrive new addition to the big artist family: An about 1 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix, still at the shelter, no history of her previous live. I have a full work schedule, but I could not say no.
So 4 weeks ago - we got her home from the vet. Little did I know just how much this obligation would change my life.
Finally, after 4 weeks, I am finding a few minutes to start writing about this adventure.
Let me just say, to start with: she is BEAUTIFUL, boisterous, "puppyish", very smart, very strong, loves to dig, loves people, already earned her nickname: Houdini Skye - a wonderful sentient being - and while for dog lovers this will not come as a surprise, I have to admit: I am falling in love with her.
It will take a lot of time and energy to train her.
Observations in the first 30 days - Husky/German Shepherd
Generally, Skye has lots of energy, a very open and friendly disposition towards people, she is smart (you can literally see her study and evaluate a situation), beautiful, elegant in running and moving in general, loves to dig and play - till she gets bored, which can happen quickly. Loves to play with dogs, but has not figured out how to do the same well with smaller ones. In the dark, she seems very cautious, but not fearful. When noticing a big, dark or unknown object (like a wheel barrow with plants in it) ...she barks at it and seems to rather want to run away than attack it. She will cautiously investigate it...and get more daring. Once the nature of the objects has either been determined as benign or they are gone (deer), she turns her attention to new matters.She seems to like water. When it gets hot, her drive to be active does not last long...it is much higher in cooler wheather
Walking her on the first day, I also noticed a certain aloofness, which she still occasionally displays. It seems she can be very friendly and "attached", and then be content, and quite determined, to just go off on her own...or sit apart and look away.
When she get's a fresh scent, she almost goes crazy...and can dash off in a flash...pulling my arm out(or so it feels) if it catches me off guard. Small animals trigger her hunting instincts, larger bigger ones elicit her dark alarm bark, alertness and desire to investigate.
Unlike other dogs here - she did not just sling down her food in a greedy fashion. Of course, at first, we may not have had the right kind for her. She seems to prefer slightly smaller, but more frequent meals. Treats? Better be real tasty...just a hot-dog bit is not always a temptation...I have to microwave them :) Tip from the trainer.
She by now knows exactly what come, sit, down and wait means...and you can see that it really is her own motivation more than anything which decides whether or not she will follow/obey it without any reinforcement. This requires reading her in the moment, and being quite attuned to her intentions....as I'd rather catch her when she is inclined to follow commands.
After a month, she has adjusted well to staying at her sleeping spot without complaint till about 5 or 530 am.
We have walked the perimeter of the property may times - to get her used to the boundaries. But if there's a scent...that gets 100% forgotten, and our fence really is a "no fence".
I love her....:)
Isn't she beautiful? This is a short video clip. Take a look. This is her, Skye, the 1 year old German shepherd/husky we've had for a month now, picked up from the shelter. She LOVES going after "things" - or so it seems. I have not let her off the leash much because of the irresistable hunting urge that appears to come over her and the love of running that is characteristic of Huskies...since we don't have a fence worth mentioning. So we took her out with a group of friends from Spain...figuring there'd be a really good chance she'd not be so tempted by critter tracks. She had fun running around with us.
Jeweled Landscape
Fringe benefits of taking care of a dog
These days I get to walk the dog (s) in the very early morning in weather that has ranged from pouring rain to subfreezing temperatures. Yesterday morning I saw a jeweled landscape for the first time: frozen condensation and droplets on grasses hit by sunlight at an angle that broke the white light up into the prismatic colors...and everything sparkled like colored gems...really cool.
In fact, getting out that early one gets to see a beauty only available at that time of day. Here are just a couple of pictures to give you an impression. The sparkles are not quite as obvious here in the backyard, still - you can see them.