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~
Me and my My
When you lift your head towards me
I look deep into your brown eyes
You tell me the tale of your life
We share year of birth
Into the sleddog life
You, already prepared and wise
Me, having a lot to learn
You ran so many miles
Your wisdom is far beyond mine
Yet, when I look into your eyes
You beg me only to love you
Your small and vigorous body
The thick fur covering you
Protecting you from all weather
And still you choose to walk by my side
Me, a bare human
who would never survive on her own
I love to feel you body in my arms
The feeling of you, slowly starting to relax
The feeling of your muscles unbending
Your trust on me slowly growing
Will you run for me?
Will you give me the favour
of watching you work?
Watching you small, yet so strong
body striving forward through the snow
I will enjoy every second of it
I will enjoy every second of you
Nobodys business but your own
Summer.. This wonderful time of recovery and recreation. It’s soon over..
Normally, this time of the year, I’m hungering for training. The planning of next season is of course already there and I’ve started to prepare the dogs for the swimming periods. This year? This year I haven’t done anything of it.
Competing with dogs, there is a lot of pressure on you. Not only from the surroundings; sponsors, friends and competitors. But also from the dogs, who are highly energic and have their need for regular exercise.
Now honestly, anyone can get burned out from that.
The first signs would be lack of energy, lack of inspiration. Unfortunately, that is rarely an excuse for slowing down. Rather a sign to push yourself even harder.. Now I’m gonna tell you otherwise;
Don’t. Just don’t.
Actually, I’m giving these wise words not only to you, but to myself as well. I’m reminding myself that me, my life and my dogs is my own. The pressure is my own. The path, on which I choose to walk, is my own. And the dogs, with whom I choose to walk, are my closest friends in life.
I need more rest. I’m not prepared to start summer training just yet. Well, we went swimming the other day but only because I really felt like it. And today? Today I feel like escaping under a warm blanket with a good book and a cup of tea. With a dog warming my feet and another one snorling next to me. And therefore, that’s just what me and my competing, hot headed, dogs will do today.
What am I trying to say to myself, really? I pushed myself so hard the past years. Working full time along with training mid-distance dogs – well it was okey the first years. Lack of sleep, food, recovery. But now I realized I really want to live my life with these dogs. My whole life. I want this lifestyle. But on this path, I won’t last long.
Then what is my path? It’s really not easy to answer that. I love training and I love competing. The only thing standing between me and that life, is my lack of routines for recovery. I know for sure: If I don’t find a sollution of that, I won’t last long.
When I search deep within myself, I find the answer. I honestly don’t trust my natural drift to strive forward. Somehow, I believe that if I stop pushing myself, I will just lay down in total passivity. I will stop doing things at all. It’s important for me to put words on this. Because actually, I also know that this isn’t true. I know exactly what will happen if I stop pushing myself. I WILL lay down in total passivity. But – I will also soon start to feel inspiration. Drift. Ambition. Passion. Again.
All those feelings that are easily lost when we schedule ourselfes twentyfour-seven.
So, do you have the passion within? Probably! If you let go of all the pressure. Titles. Medals. Schedules. If you hadn’t the passion you wouldn’t be doing this – right? And honestly; if you don’t find the passion? Then stop! Why should you force yourself living a life you don’t wish for?
Now these are the thoughts going through my brain at the moment.. Sitting in front of the fireplace this rainy day. We live a great part of our lifes with the dogs. Yet, we are still humans. We think to much, feel to much, we let our minds control us more than our instincts. Actually, we should learn from our friends, the dogs.
So, will I spend a winter at the fireplace? Probably not. When the heat warmed up my body, I´m recovered and have rested, I will most certainly feel a strong drift to get out there with my best friends. The dogs. And then I will. Because I know that the weakest part in the Yabasta team is me. And if I only mind my own business and make sure I’m in balance, the dogs will always do their best. They will cheer me up. They will run for me. They will give me love, affection, trust.
Now, while writing this post, the fire in the stove went out. The sun is slowly breaking through the thick rainy clouds. And my body’s starting to be restless. Inspiration is back. It’s time to go out and spend time with the furred ones! ❤
