Huskies Celebrate The Holidays!

Happy Holidays friends and family!  May your holiday season be bright and merry.  Our kennel cards have all been sent and all of our doggies' stockings are hung on the banister with care.  The pups are waiting anxiously for Santa to arrive- they can't wait to see what yummy goodies await!  Everyone is excited to see what the season will bring...we are really hoping for SNOW!  So far the only snow we have seen has been a light dusting that melted in less than a few hours and was never enough snow to get the sled out.

Sargeant Major
Christmas 2011

Toyota Tundra
Christmas 2011

Shelby Mustang
Christmas 2011

Revvy
Christmas 2011

We know it has been awhile since our last post, but there has been so much going on we just don't know where to start.  We added a new pup to our pack- Revvy- who came to us at 5 1/2 months old after being dropped off in a ditch by her previous family.  She is exceptionally bright and intelligent and has been working hard on her pull training.  Revvy is showing lead potential and we have begun her with some light "Gee" and "Haw" training with our trail leader, Shelby.  In addition to the new pup, we have accepted the loan of a great gal named Kamrie, who will condition with us as our fourth for the season and keep the "wheels" of the sled in motion.  Kamrie is an awesome pulling machine.  Between Toyota Kamrie and our own Toyota Tundra in wheel position, we love have our own Toyota engine...going strong, lasting the distance, and taking us to the finish!

Toyota Kamrie (left) and Toyota Tundra (right)
on a bikejor training run

Our Sibes have been extremely busy gearing up and conditioning for what looks to be an almost never-ending dryland season...the snow seems to have taken a holiday for December.  This time last year we had the sled out two weeks before Christmas, but apparently this December we will be lucky if we can just keep the house mud-free.  Thus far this year, we have logged almost forty miles bikejoring and hope to triple that number if we can get the sled going soon.  Not bad for my young team...not bad at all!  

Because our dogs have tired of running the home route so often, SilverStar Siberians has taken our show on the road to give the dogs new places to run.  Shelby and Tundra ran the Trailbreaker's Dryland course after the club's annual race in preparation for our next year's race entry.  Revvy and Kamrie both attended the race as well for some socialization, but neither were quite trained enough to run in such a distracting environment.  We have also made a trip to run at Carlisle and we were able to hitch Revvy into Chris Seminatore's team, SemiSiberians, next to his leader to give her some new experiences.  Chris reports that she did very well once the team settled out from having the newbie join them.  Thank you Chris for your generosity and taking the time to help my young team!

Front to back: Toyota Kamrie, Toyota Tundra, Revvy,
Shelby Mustang

SilverStar German Shepherds is happy to report that Sarge has finished his 2011 trial season and has only a few more Q's before he is completely in CPE's level 4.  Translation is that he has two more levels to go before his first championship.  Everyone is so excited about how far he has come in just one year of competition!  We are currently on a scheduled break from our agility group and will resume his classes in March 2012.  Sarge may continue to trial in the meantime depending on if we can continue to practice at home.  The list of his current titles has been updated on our new website at http://silvrstarkennel.webs.com/ under Our Dogs>SilverStar German Shepherds, for those of you interested.

During this special, we would like to once again like to send our wishes to you for a bright and merry holiday season!

  

Fall Fury

Wow!  Can you believe it is fall already??!  As always, we hope our latest blog finds our friends and family well. The pups and I are going crazy with the start of fall.  We are currently running two dog sports at the same time and are struggling to keep up with it all.  I think the pups are probably the happiest with the onset of fall and all it entails with snow soon to come.

Clea is still being her normal grumpy self and has taken to her dog box with more frequency.  She seems to have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house while we were on vacation.  I wonder if that enjoyment had anything to do with her grandma and grandpa coming over and spoiling her daily with ice cream treats, biscuits, and dog cookies while we were away??!  When we came back, she greeted us happily, but she definitely looked disappointed that her free run with the cookie jar was over LOL

Sarge is still doing well in agility.  Our last competition at ARF did not go as well as we had hoped, but since we had never competed there before, we were not sure what to expect.  Sarge slid often on their flooring and had a hard time with the tight turns necessitated by the size of their building.  For a big dog like Sarge, he doesn't turn on a dime, but more like the ninety pound tank he is.  However, we have learned from the experience and have put it behind us.  Now we are looking forward to competition this weekend at our home base, Flashpoint Agility.  Sarge needs three more Q's to move out of level 2 and be eligible for the random draw for CPE nationals.  He is level 3 or 4 in almost everything, which is amazing considering that he just started his career in June! We are so proud of his accomplishments!

Shelby and Tundra are pulling together quite nicely for our fall training and have been bikejoring both during our September vacation to Michigan and during our cooler weather as of late.  They are making amazing progress and some of our mushing friends are encouraging us to enter in the bikejor competition at the Trailbreaker's Sled Dog Challenge.  While undecided on entering, we will definitely be in attendance and have the pups on picket line to accustom them to the stress of a race environment.  Maybe the pups and I will even see you there!

On a really exciting note, our kennel has expanded by plus one as we welcome a new five month old, female puppy we have named Revvy.  This poor girl was tossed in a ditch and left like garbage as her family pulled away.  She spent a few hours there waiting for them to come back, but as is typical in these cases, they never did.  When I got the phone call and went to evaluate her, I fell in love with her- who doesn't love a puppy?!  So their loss is my gain.  She is extremely intelligent and an eager learner.  After less than an hour of observing her new siblings, she figured out how to truly pull and made friends easily with both Tundra and Shelby.  While she is extremely dog friendly, she is skittish around people, especially those she has never met.  We are currently unsure whether this is from abuse or from low socialization or from a combination.  We are currently working with her using pack therapy, agility confidence building exercises, and obedience training with only positive reinforcement training,  She is still young enough to overcome her past and we have great hopes for the future of this little girl.  Special thanks go to the family that pulled her out of the ditch, invited her into their home, and called me.  Thank you goes directly out to the Scheidler family for their inspirational compassion and kindness to a special girl in need.

Well the time of day to train has arrived, so we must bid you fair-well and send our wishes out to our friends that you have an amazing fall.  Please, if you haven't already, take the time to enjoy the fall colors on God's canvas.  It's a spectacular season for hiking, going for a picnic, or if you are like me, enjoying some amateur photography.

Jumping Into Agility Success

Howdy Ho to Everyone!!  Hope this post still finds our friends content and happily enjoying the summer despite the high humidity and heat we've been experiencing.

The pups and I have been all over the place doing group activities or competitions.  Recently, we took Shelby, Tundra, and Sarge down to the local swimming hole to help them cool off.  They loved it and I've never seen them so tired from all their water play!  The huskies have been suffering from the heat the most, having been bred more for Artic blasts than hot, humid summers.  Keeping all three wading pools and buckets full in the yard has presented a challenge- I no sooner fill them up, then they are empty again.

In June, Sarge experienced his first CPE competition at his home base, Flashpoint Agility.  He did absolutely awesome and surpassed my expectations- he qualified in all his entered runs and kept wanting to return to the field for more playtime! As of right now, he only has two more legs to run before he is one-hundred percent in Level 2.  After this month's trial, I expect we will be working more on my handling and our advanced team skills that we will need to finish in Levels 2 and 3.  Frank Yang and Anne Wanyzk are amazing instructors and have given us the tools to get this far. :)

By October, I am hoping to have found a location and person to certify Shelby as a TDI dog and to obtain CGCs on Tundra and Sarge.  With any luck, Tundra and Sarge may do well enough to be able to do TDI tests next year as well.  It seems so strange that my hardest to train, non food motivated girl is the first ready for our foray into therapy work, but she is going to be a natural at it no doubt!

On another note, I have been continuing our search for our two new husky pup additions and have several interested breeders who might be willing to take a chance on us.  I'm keeping the details quiet of course until I have things more solidified and a signed contract in hand.  I learned my lessons well- never count your chickens (in this case pups) before they are hatched.

All of the gang and I hope that you have found a means of keeping cool during these extremely hot days.  Hopefully this posts finds all well and successful in your summer endeavors.  Good health and good times to you and your loved ones, both furry and not so furry.  God Bless!

Hot Heat of Summer

Hello friends and fur alike!  Everyone here hopes you have found a way to beat the record setting temps this month has brought in.  The fur kids are spending most of their time lounging in the wading pool or under the nearest shade tree.  No doubt that by now my huskies have already added snow to their Christmas lists for Santa and I'm thinking about doing the same.  Where did all the cooler temps go??

We've been keeping busy with dog stuff.  First we attended a mock trial where Sarge was given a chance to practice and run full courses before his upcoming trial at the end of June.  Once he hit his stride, he settled in and performed really well.  His hang-up is going to be the presence of other dogs; he just wants to go greet, sniff, and play with them and I'm still working out a way to keep his focus on me instead of them without the aid of treats or toys (can't have those in the ring during trial).  We would like to thank Frank and Ann, our agility instructors, for being such gracious hosts to us and all the other students who came out to practice.  It was a lot of fun and Sarge and I really would like to do it again.

Outside of agility, we have kept the dogs cool by taking them swimming and playing water games with them in the wading pool.  We have discovered that while the others prefer to just stick their feet in the water to cool off, we have a true water husky Olympian in our midst.  Tundra can't get enough of the water and looks more like a fish or a water rat than a husky as of late.  The pool has become his favorite place to hang out and even takes precedence over chasing Sarge's ball and picking on his older brother.

On a rescue note, Jasmine, our last foster, has finally left to meet her potential adopters in Cleveland and to stay in a new foster home since we couldn't care for her at the same time we travel the agility circuit trying to title Sarge.  We wish her the best and she will be greatly missed by her foster pack and she has definitely left big paws on our team to be filled by our future pups.  We are praying for her success- this poor girl has waited two years to find a match, so we are really cheering her on!!

Springtime Begins Vacation Season

Hello to all- we hope this finds you well!  With springtime ending and temperatures rising, our dryland running and mushing season are coming to a close.  With any luck, we can get the dogs out for one more run tomorrow before hanging up our harnesses and putting the sled and gear in storage until fall.

After the first snowfall, we were out running as often as possible.  While we prefer running at Punderson, we were unable to make it out this year due to the sudden onset of cancer and subsequent death less than three months later of Aubrey's grandmother.  Instead we chose to stay close to her and we explored the mushing trails of Alum Creek State Park.  The dogs ran well, including our newest addition Tundra, who is just now over a year old.  While resenting the intrusion of a younger, handsome dog stealing her thunder, Shelby eventually settled into showing him the ropes and flaunted her superior knowledge.  As it turns out, Tundra is an amazing puller and will make a great team dog and perhaps, with training, an awesome gee/haw leader.  Jasmine, our foster, is still with us two years later and still waiting for her forever home.  We removed her from lead position due to her regression and are now trying confidence building techniques to help her- whatever happened in her past is still present in her reaction to certain stimuluses.  Given these reactions, sadly it made her unsuitable to maintain her lead position. 

On a few future notes, we are preparing for our first agility competition in June and with any luck will receive a few Q's to start us on Sarge's agility career.  Also, we have our training week scheduled for September for all the dogs to get out and start running again.  Until then, we will be doing a lot of swimming and endurance hikes with the dogs to keep all of us in shape.  Hopefully we can try to blog a little more often than once a season.  Best wishes for your summer!

Fall Is Inching Closer

Posted on September 21, 2010 at 9:29 PM

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Greetings to all and hope this day finds you well.  With fall only being officially a few weeks off, Shelby and my fosters, Lexie and Jasmine traveled with me on our yearly trip to Michigan for some training.  This year we tackled pull training with much success.  The girls had a blast pulling me on the bike and even wore out a set of bike brakes so eager were they.

Shelby ran lead dog almost the entire week and has been walking around like she is top dog of all since our return. She did quite well at her job and even managed to show the new kid on the block, Lexie, which direction to pull and what to do. Quite a surprising development from the girl who used to only work when it was convenient for her. The trip seems to have put a positive spin on her outlook towards her new job. When on picket she could be found napping, but she spent more time riding along in her crate to the lake and to the grocery store. Each morning we went for a run and then took a break before tackling the hiking trail. Shelby was in husky heaven with the cooler temps and the higher level of activity. 

Of them all, Jasmine had the best time since she's the natural of the group and pulling and running are in her top favorite things to do.  When not running, she was picking fights with Lexie (sigh...those two are worse than sisters the way they go at it) or taking long naps on the picket line and relaxing.  Jasmine spent her morning and evening times pulling like a champ and often out pulled the other members of her pack.  She truly is amazing in harness and I was happy to have loan of her while she waits for her forever home.

Lexie seems to have gained more confidence traveling and sleeping with the pack and learning to work as a team...her disposition and willingness to be close to the dogs has changed for the better.  This week I found her even trying to play with Sarge, so perhaps with a little work her dog aggression can be turned into a more positive outlet like sledding and running with the team.

Clea being queenly and all spent most of her time on picket surveying her kingdom and enjoyed daily morning hikes and evening visits to the lake for a round of sniffing.  The afternoons found her lounging on her drop line, passed out to the world.  Traveling did seem to stress her somewhat, so this may be her last year accompanying us.  Outward appearances gave the impression she was doing well with it all until it came potty time and that showed another story indeed.  Traveling does not agree with internally any more, but she was at least given one last trip to her favorite spots in Michigan.

Sarge spent the week between being jealous of the girls being given a job or lounging on the picket line in the shade.  Mornings after a run with the girls were filled with a game of fetch and a mile or more hike on flexi-leash.  The evenings before the run he was allowed off lead (he has one of the best recalls and never travels far from camp) to sniff and enjoy some one on one time with the humans and even practiced some obedience training and targeting.

As for the humans in the group, we enjoyed much time at the lake walking along the shores and spent time learning more about the area.  Morning and evening hikes were just the thing to start and end the day and the views were spectacular.  Speaking for myself, a year seems a long way off before we can go again.  I truly enjoy our yearly vacation/travel trip to Michigan and look forward to its approach.  

Summer Vacation Is Almost Over

Posted on August 27, 2010 at 1:00 AM

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As summer winds down and cooler days begin, our fosters and Shelby have been hitting the trail for some much needed directional training.  However, I'm pretty sure they don't see it as training so much as desired change of scenery, having been bored and inactive since the Spring and Summer heat set in.  Hopefully we can escape the heat soon with a camping trip to Michigan...while we may be training and backpacking most of the time during our stay, there will definitely be some R&R next to Lake Huron for all of us.

My family are continuing the search for the perfect addition to the fur family, but are being cautious.  Unfortunately we are still limited on space and both fosters continue to reside with us while waiting on their forever homes.  Poor Jasmine has been waiting since last year and every family that is willing to drive this far out seems to have overlooked her.    

Lexie has completed her basic rehab and is ready for her forever home too.  I'm sure that if they could just meet her, they would fall in love.  Honestly, if I've ever been tempted to become a foster failure, Lexie would have to be it- I love her so much that I'm definitely going to be bawling when her time comes to send her to her  forever home.  

Sarge has yet to compete due to my poor health during the main portion of the competition season.  I am aiming to have him up and ready again for the CPE trial in September, but he is pretty rusty at this point, having only been back in class for the last month or so.   

Shelby is doing well too.  Her temperament seems to have changed as she has aged this year and she has slow down a bit on her energy level.  She still plays with gusto when the mood strikes, but she prefers to cuddle to me and take a nap with Lexie on my other side.  As the season has cooled, she is slowly getting back her form with our longer daily hikes.   I really think with the right dog next to her she will enjoy sledding even more.  

Clea has really been having more and more problems with her back hips I am sad to report.  She is struggling to get up the stairs or to do anything that involves moving.  I believe the only reason she is moving as much as she does is because she has the sheer determination to not be left behind by anyone.  Also, her mind is slowly going and she doesn't seem to remember her routine as well.  In addition, I think her glaucoma in her eye is worsening as she jumps anytime I touch her without letting her hear me first and catch my smell.  Although I am avoiding thinking too hard on the subject, her time is coming to a close as her quality of life deteriorates.  At best, she may have another year or two with me before that inevitable time comes.  I think the cruelest thing is that human's best fur friends live such short lives compared to ours and letting go will be hard since she has been with me since my childhood.  For me, euthanasia is like the ultimate act of compassion and betrayal wrapped all into one heart-wrenching lump.

On a less serious note,  my husband and I have been exploring the possibility of moving to Colorado in the next year or so to take advantage of the tech boom there.  I am both excited and sad at the thought.  For the most part, I am excited because I will finally be able to see the mountains everyday and have the climate to work my dogs longer.  However, the move will come as a touch of sadness with my folks moving to PA later this year, as that will put us even farther away from them.  However, we will follow God in the matter and not reject any opportunity to further my husband's career or increase my chance of being able to teach high school again.

Best wishes to everyone and I hope the coming of fall finds all of you well!

Another Year of Husky Love

Original Blog Entry dated March 25, 2010

We have enjoyed the cold winter and took advantage of it by getting out and enjoying our first complete mushing trail run (pics are in Winter Fun). Also, we went to Cleveland this winter and helped out with the Sled dog demo hosted by AAHI to help fund raise. Unfortunately, Shelby was unable to attend, but our foster Jasmine had a blast pulling me around the course as I pedaled with her for all I was worth to help her. She was in sled dog heaven and took to it like she had been doing it her whole life.

Currently my fur kids and I are transitioning our setup from the winter months to the warmer months. Agility season is upon us and I am so excited for Sarge- he begins his agility career this year in CPE and will hopefully transition smoothly into AKC agility.

Also, we are looking to add an addition of the fur kind to our family of five (humans included). We hope to find our dream pup, but realize we may be asking a lot of a potential dog. However, we are still hoping that what we offer and give in return will more than make up for this. Another fur addition to our family will be treated as a wonderful gift from God, but we will be choosing carefully. It is also paramount that we remember to recognize that it may not be meant to be immediately and not rush into adopting the first cute pup we see. As I have always said, a fur kid is not something you get and then decide later to throw out with the trash. It is a conscious decision to expand your family- dogs are not handbags! (no more soapbox today for me)

Sarge, Shelby, Clea, Justin and I hope that this finds you happy and well. Go out and enjoy your fur kids and everything life has to offer!

Slow Days of Spring

Original Blog Entry dated May 08, 2008

The dogs and I have been enjoying the nice weather we have been experiencing. We have taken long strolls through the country, visited the dog park, and have taken multiple trips to the local Petco for some serious spoiling. Sarge and I are almost ready to start competing as an agility team and are anxious to finish learning the remainder of what we need to know. Shelby is taking a vacation for the moment after going into her spring heat cycle, but really enjoyed the winter and flirting with all the male dogs she teamed up with at our rescue's kiddie dog sled pull. Clea is as queenly as ever and is surveying her pack while fluffing her fur up for her admirer, our foster dog, Butterball (as in the turkey). Butterball is absolutely fascinated by her and my husband, who wishes he could lose his fur shadow. All the dogs are making multiple trips to the groomers, but of course the Sibes are the worst fur-offenders. Its molting season here and they are all getting there summer coats in and shedding like mad. One of these days, I'm going to have to invest in the Furminator and invent a vaccum attatchment for it, so I can just suck away the hair into a neat little bag...lol. Overall, we are doing well and enjoying the season change. We have not had a new foster since Butter, which for a rescue is a hopeful sign, although I will admit to being a pessimist on the subject. Hope Spring finds everyone well and happy! 

Another Snow Day In Paradise

Original Blog entry dated January 09, 2008

Greetings to everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and took some time to relax afterwards. Everyone here is sooo excited about our first major snowfall. All my huskies (and my GSD) had a rolling good time in the snow drifts. Clea spent most of her time on her back playing and the rest of it chasing her tail. Shelby's big day is coming up- she will be wearing her first harness and pulling a sled for the first time. I can't wait to see how she does!

On other topics, I was just given another foster dog. When will people ever learn? (Most likely- not ever!) He is a gorgeous purebred grey and white husky. Whatever his story, he comes to me full of roundworms (obviously did not use any heartworm preventative) and so much coccidia (a parasite that supresses the appetite and steals nutrition from the body). Poor little guy is so thin, I can see his rib cages move every time he breathes, Today he wanted to be outside exploring so badly, but everytime he spends more than ten minutes outside, coat or no coat, he starts shivering and shaking from the lack of insulating fat in his body. However, despite his circumstances, he does not guard his treats/toys/food or have any signs of food aggressiveness. What really angers me is that someone took the time to love him and train him, then abondoned him to his fate. What a throwaway society we live in! If something or someone stops fitting in our perfect little lives, we just throw it/them out with the garbage.

Well, enough of my soapbox for the day. Its snowing and its gorgeous, so we had all better get out and enjoy it before it all turns to water and much. Uch!