Search Results for: blog the history of huskies

Super Huskies!

A study from Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences has declared the Alaskan husky to world’s top animal athlete. For the last decade, a team from Oklahoma State University has been studying the racing teams that take part in the Iditarod. As the study progressed, the researchers were able to observe dogs in other races and even conduct simulated races in a controlled environment. These simulated races allowed researchers to monitor heart and lung function for participants. Cool, huh? The researchers figure that they’ve worked with more than five thousand dogs in various parts of the study over … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Jan 29 – Feb 4

What a week! We said goodbye to January and hello to February. Here’s a breakdown of the hot topics Aimee and myself covered this past week in the Pets Blog. Monday, January 29 I sat down and talked with Sherlockian Author E.J. Wagner and her Dr. Watson, RL (Resident Labrador). Then it became obvious January wasn’t the only thing we were going to bid farewell to last week. In a tender piece recounting his rise to glory and the disease he ultimately could not outrun, Aimee shared how Barbaro’s Journey Ended. Tuesday, January 30 Murphy inspired how to pointers in … Continue reading →

The History of Huskies

The Siberian husky was bred by the Chukchi people of northeastern Asia to be an endurance sled dog. The Chukchi were semi-nomadic people who traveled to hunt; when changing climate forced them to expand their hunting grounds, they developed the huskies to help them survive. Huskies can travel long distances in low temperatures at a moderate speed; they can pull a light load with only a modest energy expenditure. In 1909, the Siberian husky made its first appearance in North America at the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race, prompting a massive import of the breed. A year later, John “Iron Man” … Continue reading →

Animal Planet’s Puppy Olympics

On Friday night, during the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics, Wayne just had to do what most men in charge of the remote feel the need to do: channel surf. But I’m not going to fault him this time. If it wasn’t for his ADD I wouldn’t have discovered Animal Planet’s Puppy Olympics. What’s Puppy Olympics? It’s actually called Puppy Games 2008, but I can’t stop calling it Puppy Olympics. From what I gather it’s the first year Animal Planet’s doing it. It’s very similar to when they do Puppy Bowl. Except instead of a football field, they have … Continue reading →

What Makes a Good Search and Rescue Dog?

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is on a mission. They are rescuing dogs, training them to save lives, and sending them out to work with firefighters and other emergency workers. This is the search dog pledge: no one is left behind. Most candidates for the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation come from shelters and breed-specific rescue groups. Dogs who are adopted by the SDF are guaranteed a lifetime of care — whether or not they work out as search and rescue dogs. Dogs that don’t complete the program are placed in loving forever homes. Active search dogs that retire … Continue reading →

The Day Miko Picked Me

April 25th, 2000 is the day that I went to Jersey Shore Animal Center in Brick, New Jersey to pick out a dog. My dog. The first dog that wasn’t a family dog — he or she would be mine and mine alone. For weeks before I went to the shelter, I had been dreaming about dogs. Big dogs, mostly. Some looked like Irish wolfhounds, with long legs and kind eyes. Some looked like malamutes or huskies. Some were fierce protectors. All were loyal friends. I was sure I was going to find one of the dogs from my dreams … Continue reading →

Time-Sharing Pets: A New Trend?

Yesterday on our evening walk, Murph and I ran into his gal pals Sophie and Lady. Sophie is a white shepherd/husky mix and Lady is a beagle. (We’ve written about them before in articles such as Murphy’s Fan Club, Tabby’s a One Cat Kind of Dog Lover, and The Fox in the Woods: A Lesson in Rabies.) Last night it was a bit warm. Like mid-70s. Most of the time Sophie’s a high energy dog who loves to run and wrestle with her pals. She gets very mellow, however, when the temps start creeping up past 70. So while she … Continue reading →

Tabby’s a One Cat Kind of Dog Lover

I’ll never forget the first day Murphy and Tabby met. When I first brought her home it was early on a Friday evening. Both Murph and Mr. Meow crowded around the cardboard carrier I had her in while I went about preparing her room –-or bathroom, I should say. I thought the best place to keep her would be in the guest bath in case she wasn’t litter box trained. I didn’t let them see her then. I thought it best not to overwhelm her right off the bat. But the next morning Murph was insistent upon helping me check … Continue reading →

Dogs Detecting Cancer: Does It Provoke Attacks?

As I wrote last week in National Pet Cancer Awareness: What You Should Know, November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. As I also wrote in that article, pet cancer reminds me of Budly because that’s why we had to put him to sleep. But the week before Budly’s health took such a nose dive that we had to rush him to the animal ER, he got attacked. The Attack We were out for our usual morning walk and had stopped to talk with a neighbor who had just gotten a chocolate lab puppy. All of a sudden this huge dog … Continue reading →

What Is BSL?

Have you heard of BSL – breed specific legislation? Any law designed to place restrictions on the ownership of certain breeds of dogs can be considered BSL. What dogs are affected? Commonly restricted breeds include: Pit bulls Rottweilers German shepherds Chow chows Dobermans Huskies Boxers The most common kind of BSL bans dogs of a certain breed from an area — most of this type of breed specific legislation is on a city basis, not a county-wide or state-wide basis. All dogs of the banned breed must be removed from the area or euthanized. Sometimes, dogs of the banned breed … Continue reading →