Hudson put up a mean game of 'piss on everything, growl, put my hackles up and look really big' but after I made Tine smell is bum first, and then had Hudson smell Tine without any nose-to-nose contact Tine pawed his face a couple of times and they were instant best friends. Good, cause I'd like some board money :) So Thursday -my day off- will turn into Husky Day this week. Four huskies, (2 one year olds, one 1 3/4 year old, and Beckett the 6year old) one yard, and one hard momma.
Sometimes at daycare (we don't ANY huskies at the moment except Tine and Beckett) I get the feeling I'm really hard on my huskies -both boarding, foster and Beckett-. But truth is, most of the huskies don't do well at daycare because we aren't harsh (among other things). These huskies do what I want and they do it when I want them to, or else they aren't going to like the consequences. Its work to keep up to them, but they will walk all over you -and at times they've tried. I haven't had them in a bit, so I have the feeling it'll take me a good portion of the morning to reclaim that 'pack leader' spot (especially with Hudson).
My huskies:
Hudson -mr unneuterued, is king of 'its my way or the highway'. He has an attention span of about 20 seconds. You say no he says "Screw it." You tell him off and you're probably going to have to do it again five minutes later -if you're lucky.
Tia -is a super-rough player, and super hyperactive. Luckily Tia (unlike any of the other huskies) is super food motivated. She'll do anything for her kibble, so her supper becomes work. She has a reliable call-off providing she knows you have her kibble. She knows when you don't (she's a cheeky smarty pants). Although Tia can get in the most trouble, she's also the easiest to get out of trouble again -she's also the most easily distracted, which is both an advantage and a curse.
Beckett is easiest, but only cause he's older, mostly blind, and has a life where he doesn't get away with anything. When I mean business Beckett goes right into a down with that 'oh shit, I'm in trouble' look. He's the kind of husky you get when you consistently mean business (and when the dog has a higher attention span than a toothpick).
Which leaves foster Tine. Lovely Tine who listens to me at daycare (knows his name, will come, will sit, will shake, will 'leave it'), who doesn't listen to anyone else whatsoever -he will listen to Jerrad half of the time-. He does so well at daycare providing someone is there to give him the husky structure he needs. Providing he doesn't have play partners that are stupidly rowdy (and we have a few). Tine is amazing at mimicking his playmate's style. He is submissive in the way that he'll do whatever the leader does, and sometimes that is teaching him bad skills. I will have to make sure on Thursday my usuals aren't sharing their bad habits with him. There is a chance Tine will keep coming to daycare after he's adopted, and I might just have to install 'husky rules' for him. But for now, Tine is super well-balanced. But he also knows I mean business. He needs to keep super well-socialized until about 2 when he'll be (temperment wise) the dog he'll always be.
I blab though. The foursome of huskies and I -and Jerrad- headed out to Devonian today alongside Lindsey and Mark from island dogz with their two huskies and foster pup. I didn't manage to get a picture of all 7 dogs (cause you know, there's a lot of monitoring that is involved in seven husky dogs), but I managed this one of our crew near the end of the hike.
My photo skills are slowly getting better: From L-R Hudson, Tia, Tine, Beckett
Jerrad's: not so much (no patience + Tine was happy I had his leash again)
Tine has a two-week trial period starting this Friday. We'll miss the big guy, but hopefully everything works out (and I might still get to see him at daycare :) ). Best of both worlds, I think so :)
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