Pumpkin the musher

Can't sign it either. We've been through this" to chain or not chain" thing here over and over, and I think we can aggree to disagree. There is a difference between a single dog chained behind someone's home and denied food, water and love, and a group of dogs, (like mine)who are chained to keep them from running away or getting shot,even on my own property unfortunately. Last year, they ran over a thousand miles through country mosty people just see on calenders, they are fed , watered and loved more than allot of "pet" dogs that I see. They have a quarter acre fenced play area where they can run, usually 3 to 4 times a week-and as far as chained dogs being anti-social, well, the picture below is worth a thousand words. I agree- abandoning a dog to a chain is cruel, but there are situations where chaining is the most effective way to protect dogs from harm. BTW, kenneling is not an option with most Husky type dogs- they dislike it and begin pacing and digging. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XQAaA7Iay6Pa!L5nfUzSOcziqlbSfXz9tpHAy1DIUaVkVgTfUAR1dOYk77sH7v7vaJED4BwhGfEBzf0Zfe9Dy!i4irXPKMyFtx*7t!jxKPZoSYLtRqDSi76fqT6omyODS30NdUaQFNQ/0207162-R1-002-00A.jpg?dc=4675493883918256703[/img]

Meet Madame Cricket, Gypsy fortune teller: [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XwAjA9UaIk7cetKuO2MWgBKkfHPahKEcCjGXh*LYlpwPt9NbXFloT9kfo5NBdrPJIJSglNORoqMe1AdsLNCZAS!np4dGJ!4dPhI6ju9UqYNb87*0LKiWRiIK1cTO2JDqv2tbtAUeLEc/Madame%20Cricket.jpg?dc=4675493744496989709[/img]

As far as a weapon of mass destruction goes, I have 10 of them-Alaskan Huskies. Yessir- these dogs are downright dangerous if you happen to be : A: a doghouse constructed of wood B: A dogdish made of anything less than heavy duty stainless C: Food of any kind- still moving or not. D: A cat E: Really expensive wool gloves. F: Really expensive dog harnesses. Oh, did I mention that Alaskans love to chew? :wink: I'm being facetious though- I guess that I have to believe that certain breeds of dogs are inherently aggressive- people brag about the hunting ability of labs, pointers and so on, the sled pulling abilities of huskies, tracking ability of bloodhounds, it stands to reason that aggression is a breedable trait. Unfortunate, but true.

I guess you could say that I am a "responsible" mixed breed breeder, for whatever that is worth. I have Alaskan Huskies, one of the mixed breeds that Siejun alluded to as being produced for a specific job. In the 25 years I've been mushing, I've produced 3 litters of Alaskan Husky puppies totaling 20 dogs. Of those 20, I've kept 12 of them for myself, 6 went to other mushers and 2 went to "pet " homes. The two that went to pet homes were thoroughly screened to make sure that they would have the proper exercise and socialization. The reason the pups went to pet homes is that they were simply too big to race, compliments of some Malamute blood in their backrounds. As far as the "Labrodoodle" buiness, my feeling is that it all about money. Period.

I suppose that it would depend on the time of year- the native lands rights thing is fairly complex in Alaska, so many mushers would be able to take salmon any time of year on the coast. All of the raw meat I feed would be frozen at one time. There was a musher a few years ago in Canada who fed his dogs whole, raw chickens, bones and all, and swore there was never any problems! :o

:o Pig pellets!? Really. That's a new one to me. If your dogs are well socialized and well fed, there should be no problems with any kind of aggression,meat or no meat . Most types of huskies are very pack oriented and can't afford to be aggressive. My little Pom usually goes with me when I feed the big dogs- she grabs any bits they drop! Here is a pic of all my dogs together- there are 3 intact males, one neutered male and 6 intact females. I've never had anything more than a few curled lips. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XQB3A7EavqPa!L5nfUzSOcziqlbSfXz9tpHAy1DIUaVkVgTfUAR1dOYk77sH7v7vaJED4BwhGfEBzf0Zfe9Dy8ulhk6JBtvtEpjQ7EawY70xvchJYx93Uf0MrwK8szQTwUX0qoodm1Y/0207162-R1-002-00A.jpg?dc=4675493883918256703[/img]

Just goes to show you can't trust everything you read on the internet. I think that the mushers who live in Alaska would be very surprised to hear about salmon poisoning, seeing that most of them feed allot of raw salmon, with no ill effects that I'm aware of. I purchased and fed over 500 pounds of raw salmon last year, no problems. I've also been feeding turkey trim for the last 15 years with no problems. "Trim" is mostly skin and fat that has been removed from human grade turkey. We also feed ground beef and venison scraps. (I do cook the venison because of Lymes.)

The picture looks like it could be a wolf cross-probably with a white GSD from the ears, but animal control could tell because of a long narrow nose and jaw?! GMAB.

I put my Alaskan pics up there in hopes of educating people on Alaskans and that they are not , for the most part, meant to be pets. They used to show contact info, but have since deleted it all. Wonder why? 8) I noticed a lot of stuff for sale, and having checked out some of the ads, a few are pretty scary....

Yes, I've had the same problem with some of my Alaskans-usually about mid January when the racing season is full out- they're usually running up to 30 miles on training runs 3 or 4 times a week, plus racing on weekends. they usually loose it under the tail and in the arm pits - I do supplement with biotin as well as 400 I.U. Vitamin E, 500mg vitamin C and zinc. Seems to lessen the hair problems and toughens up their nails.

Yup, that'd be Cricket- some of my Alaskans are on there as well, although I would doubt the authenticity of some of the other dogs that people think are Alaskans. One looks like a Corgi to me.... :niewiem:

I believe they are using standard Poodles...

Grrr. Some people, huh? But at least they didn't call them Germdoodles.... :-?

Got that one today ,too.

Sorry, but most Alaskans don't have much of any Siberian in them, at least not in the last 20 years. Siberians are just to heavy and slow, especially for sprint racing. Alaskans are beginning to be an identifiable breed, with about 50 years of breeding behind them. True, there are allot of different breeds mixed in, but since they are bred to perform a specific task, they are are starting to be more predictable as far as conformation goes. There are always the odd ones out however that are good sled dogs because of what's in their hearts and minds and not how they are built. Most people who believe they have an Alaskan are usually mistaken- the pups that sold as pets by mushers are usually under a spay neuter agreement, at least as far as myself an the mushers I know. Usually they are Siberian mixes, sometimes Malamute- size usually is the determining factor. Here is some Alaskan info from Joe Runyan, an Iditarod winner and excellent dog man: [url]http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/dogs.html[/url]

First, I would trim the hair (carefully) around his eyes. The eye wipes work , and there are also bottled solutions that you can just use with a tissue that are alittle less expensive. You have to be very commited to cleaning the eye area or a dark stain will develop that is hard to remove. My vet told me with my Pom Cricket that there could be a blocked tear duct- they have a simple test to check for it. Also, if the goo is greeninsh, that could signal an eye infection- another sign would be that the inside of the eye lid were red instead of pink. That would warrent a definite trip to the vet. Don't worry about dressing up your little guy- here's a pic of Cricket with her "winter suit" on. Little ones get cold fast! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UwDVAucY4QHfz7rH67BQgZ8gcbhAg6vfaT1yP3hnklc9w146JqP3k9PI2xNmxa34BGyQ7k90gTyntG1vFpHj4jpVLGfoHgsBoyh*99wp58ZEzCYk0eMevFzrIB*5FNwh/82296_27.jpg?dc=4675453599829126861[/img]

When I worked at the bean cannery the no salt variety was the kind nobody would eat because they tasted like sh**. :evillaugh: .

Ditto on the salt content- very high in canned green beans, and I don't think rinsing would get it all. Most large markets should have a no salt variety.

I worked at a cannery for 13 years that canned green beans exclusively. We tended to eat allot of green beans :-? , especially the freshly canned ones right out of the cooker. It worked for me but I've never heard of it as a diet for dogs- where did you get the info?

Don't worry ESS, you are a teenager; you'll grow out of it. It's the "adults" that I have a problem with... :-?

Warning:Pumpkin's pet peeve is revealed. Note to parents from a militant childfree person: No dog, however well trained, is 100% reliable, [i]EVER[/i]. They are dogs. They are not small people in a furry suit. I refuse to be responsible for [u]your[/u] child in a public place. I have been in Petco, Petsmart, and had children try and crawl up my leg to get at Cricket (Who I'm holding up in the air!), pull on her tail, punch me in the leg all the while screaming that they want to pet the dog. Parents are, again, no where to be seen. I've been at dog sled races where there are literally 100's of dogs in a very small area, and parents of small children seem to think that since they asked the first musher if their child could pet the dog, well, the rest should be OK too. At one race I had a kid try and [i]ride[/i] on one of my dogs. :o The entitlement mindset that I see from the majority of parents is astonishing. Watch my child , pay for my child, worship my child, etc. Nope, sorry- You [u]chose [/u] to have children. I did not. (Surprise! it is a choice, not an inevitability!) I apologize to the [u]real[/u] parents whom I've met on this board- my rant doesn't concern you. . To the rest who whine and snivel that that the mean old world doesn't worship their precious Bratley or Snotleigh: Feh.

Precisely the reason I have dogs and not children. Unfortunately this child is a dog bite waiting to happen, and the loser will always be the dog. I had a similar situation this last weekend- I was doing a craft show, and I had Cricket with me, (who, incidentally, was being a complete angel :angel: ), and this little snot-miner comes running up and literally throws himself on her, trying to pick her up. Cricket only weighs about 5 lbs, and is fragile! Poor Cricket is just [i]screaming[/i], parents no where to be seen of course. I had to pick up the brat by his shirt to get him off of her! His parents got an earful from me. Morons.

Well said, Courtnek!

I consider PETA extreme in it's beliefs. That is my opinion. History has proven however that extremism in any form is doomed to failure, be it a political , religious , ethical or personal belief.

And this is relevant to this particular discussion in what way? (Other than referencing PETA. ) oops. never mind. I fgured it out... :oops: