The Black Powder puppies are now starting to be really active and exploring the world. This is how we have started to build a solid ground foundation for them to cope with the future situations they will meet as competing sleddogs.
Pure happiness
I had one of those moments today.. When the whole world stops turning. The puppies had their first time outside the puppy box.. I was just sitting there, absorbing the smell, the sounds, the beautiful small creatures exploring the new world around them. I had my camera in my right hand, just pulling of a few photos now and then while my whole mind was filled with that moment of total joy. One of my happiest moments in life ❤
Meet the Black Powder!
Black Powder arriving
Now the time finally came to welcome the Yabasta Black Powder litter to the world. Those of you who followed Yabasta for some while, know that we have waited a long time for this litter to become reality. For me, this was not only a dream coming true, but also a way to push myself to face my greatest fear. The first (and only) Yabasta-litter was a trip through my worst nightmares with the mother almost dying and the loss of four beautiful puppies..
The water broke just before 14.00 last friday. My had been restless and wanted me to be close to her during the whole week, but friday was especially intense. She refused food and had a hard time resting. I was hesitating, not knowing when or how the delivery would begin. You can read all the books in the world and I read plenty of them last time – yet I couldn’t see that something was wrong. This time, I had nightmares over and over again during the last weeks. It scared me deeply, the thought of me doing something wrong and risking both My and the puppies lifes..
But the water broke. And before I knew it, he was there..
His name is Bolt. The firstborn. I didn´t even see him coming. When I took a peek to check on My, suddenly there he was. And I cried. The surprise as well as the relief shook my whole body. We made it the whole way. Now they finally were coming.
It went fast, the first hour. I presented some food and water to My and she rested and recovered with her small one close to her. There was hardly one hour until she started to take deep breaths again. After minutes, or it might even have been seconds, he was there. The second male. His small nose urging for air. Of this I had read in the book. There can be water in his nose. With My’s permission, I carefully lifted him up and put his face to my mouth. A short sip and a salty liquid landed on my tongue. Now he could breed. The feeling was amazing.
I just needed to sit there and watch. My had litters before and proved herself to be a wonderful mother. Now I could experiense that for myself. One after another, the puppies came. No complications, just My working herself through the delivery bit by bit. Me presenting her with food and water. Trying to update my closest friends, combined with a overwhelming feeling of gratitude. Piece by piece, the fear loosened up. At nine in the evening, seven puppies were born. They were just about the same size, and all of them eager to eat. Five males and two females.
I woke up from a deep sleep and went to check on My. She rested calmly with the small ones close to her. One, two, three.. Four, five, six and seven. And eight?! I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was another puppy! A dark brown male, born during the night.
There has now been a week since the small ones were born. They are all growing. The first days, My didn’t want to leave the bed at all. Now she has started to take short walks between the feeding hours. There has been a few critical moments. She refused food two times. And the past days the temperature in the room have dropped. I could see that My had tore up the bottom blanket in her bed. Took me some time to realize she wanted to cover her puppies to keep them warm. I presented a blanket to her and raised the temperature in the room. Soon, she was satisfied.
I have always had a great respect, an admiration, for My. She has been, and still is, a great sleddog with more experiense than most. Spending this first week with her as a mother, has taught me so much. I have learned things from her that will be my strength for the rest of my life! My love for her has only deepened. I´m hoping so much to have her many years to come. And I’m incredibly greatful to have her as foundation in the Yabasta breedline. Ulveheia’s My.
Mud here and there and everywhere
We are settling in our new permanent home.. Moving, building kennels and starting a new job – a lot of work is to be done. But the training goes on!
Dogfights, hierarchies and siberian huskies in a pack
The siberian husky rarely fight and I try to avoid buildning hierarchies in the pack. I slowly work for the dogs to interact and work in a good way together. But this time I failed..
Greetings from the mountains
First post from our new life up in the Swedish mountains!
Calming activities for a rehomed dog
I have had Säpo (Sureprice) a few weeks now. She is, like most other of my dogs, quite intense. With hot headed dogs, there can be a thin line between intensity and stress. Because of the rehoming, Säpo is more stressed than usual right now. This is one way to tone down the stress and reward calmer and more focused behaviours.
Ten years ago..
Ten years now.. Baby was an amazing husky. Stubborn and very strong minded, and I loved her more than anything else.. So, this is how I started my career with the siberian huskies. Trying to be even more stubborn and even more strong minded. Baby taught me well, you know.. And we had so much fun.
~Always loved, never forgotten~
