What does Layla think about the world?

This was Layla when we first got her. She was 7 months old when I picked her up from Fresno. I found her on the internet during one of my surfs. She was up for adoption. A returnee from a couple who were in the middle of a divorce and could not probably take care of themselves, let alone a dog. She was so skittish. I think there was yelling in that house because Layla is so scared whenever she hears high pitched sounds like kids having fun at the park, loud cheers from baseball games, the door on the UPS delivery truck being opened and shut with a bang, loud laughter and screams set her on a frenzied panic.

Layla, having lived in a kennel situated outdoors she did not quite take into the indoor situation Lobo is comfortable with. So we would leave her outside for a little while but she would never want to come back in. It was like pulling teeth with her. She was so stubborn that enticing her with treats seldom worked. I guess having a thick puppy fur coat is not suitable for indoor wear in the middle of a California summer. Little did we know, there were other things that kept her busy and cool in the backyard. She was digging. We always have to clean her. Believe me when I say, there is such a thing as "graceful digging". Lobo does it. He digs deep holes in the backyard but you will never know he did. He remains clean! Layla on the other hand bathes in dirt. Her puppy fur was so thick that she dug almost every night, and sits in the hole to cool down.

She's almost 2 years old now and she's been doing so well. She is still a little apprehensive with strangers especially when we are not around but she warms up to people quicker now than she did 6 months ago. She is so cute that she catches everyone's attention wherever we go. Everyone wants to pet her but she's so afraid of strangers. She would let you pet her only if I have my arms around her or if she's sitting on my foot. She feels safer I guess. She is our baby girl, spoiled and treated like a true princess. So if you ask Layla what she thinks of her life now?

She's doing just fine!

We all scream for Ice Cream

I normally make my sibes their own ice cream from plain yogurt, peanut butter, banana, strawberries, and honey. Yes, all natural no preserves. I mush all the fruits then I add the yogurt, peanut butter and honey and mix them thoroughly. I then place the thick mixture into my handy dandy ice cream maker and let stir for 30 minutes. I bought those sauce disposable containers from Ziploc and divvy 'em up. After a few minutes in the freezer, Voila! We have ice cream, au naturale!

Yesterday afternoon was a bit warm. I wanted to give Lobo and Layla a break by giving them ice cream. I opened the freezer to my dismay, there is but one container left. I was not in the mood to make a new batch. It calls for me to go to the grocery for the ingredients. Besides, bananas will have to wait to ripen.

Light bulb! Rite-aid sells Thrifty ice cream for $0.99 a scoop. I packed the dogs into the car and we're off to the drugstore. I paid my dues for two separate scoops of vanilla ice cream and headed back to the car. They loved it of course...until we got home.

I'm not sure if it was brain freeze, too much dairy, or too much sugar but I thought they were choking. They were doing this thing humans do when we drink that Jamba Juice or that Starbucks Double Chocolate Chip Frapuccino too fast. They were coughing too. It's not like this is their first time. We've given them vanilla ice cream from Dairy Queen before (a suggestion from a dog lover's book) and they were fine. I have to admit though, the drugstore's scoop was a little too BIG!

Here comes the big scare. After I thought they've settled down, I went to check on them. They were not moving and seemed weak. I wanted to punch myself for loving my dogs too much; spoiling them too much. Good thing they were still responding to my calls although a little sluggish. I guess sugar does not have the same effect on animals as they do on 2 year olds. Needless to say, I almost took them to the vet. I was relieved when Lobo stood up and asked to be let out into the backyard, Layla followed shortly after and both started playing and chasing each other.

Lesson learned: Stop spoiling your pets too much before you kill them.

Ok readers, don't go calling the Animal Control people on me. I promise, it will never happen again.

Spoken like a true criminal.

Can you train a Siberian Husky?

Lobo was a rumbunctious 1 year old when we adopted him in March of 2004. He caught our attention while trying to escape his pen. Right then and there we knew he was going to be trouble, but the same spunky spirit is what finalized the decision for us to adopt him. Did we know what we were in for? Well, we read about the breed, we weighed the pros and cons, needless to say, we only have an inkling of what we were getting ourselves into.

He pulled like a horse on a leash. He chewed on our teak furniture. He took apart my cell phone charger. He broke open our cushion (that we inherited from my husband's grandmother). He dug pot holes and left our backyard looking like the moon. He jumped the fence and caught a cat. It was horrifying! I'd rather forget that incident all together. Just when we thought we had husky proof our home, he always found a way to prove us wrong. He was a very willful pup but we were more persistent owners.

We spent many hours even days and weeks patiently training Lobo. It took over a year or so before we were able to train him. Everyday was a challenge, every two weeks we see progress. We worked on his strengths and putting that bundle of energy into something positive. He even learned a few tricks. Thank goodness he learns quickly but he is a husky. He is easily bored, to top it off, he was only a pup.

It took us a year of love, patience and understanding to teach him what he knows now. He walks gracefully on leash heeding our commands. He does not chew on our furniture anymore but he did chew on a leash once this year. He does not dig anymore. He understands the phrase "Leave it!" when a squirrel or cat crosses his path, displaying reluctant restraint, torn between his strong hunting instinct and obedience to our commands. He still is a willful escape artist as he has found a way to get out of the kennel but he has not jump the fence to leave the premises of our backyard. He is more mellow now and his days are 80% lounging around and 20% horse playing with our younger female husky.

We attended BASH's Ice Cream Social today and did us proud one more time. All that Sit! Stay! commands finally paid off. We decided to join him in the fun of "Musical Sit Down Contest" and he won with flying colors leaving all the other huskies in the dust. He listened. He obeyed. He made us proud!

So can you train a Siberian Husky? Oh most definitely!

Hike to Angora Lake

Here is Lobo and Layla's latest trip to South Lake
Tahoe. Usually, we come to Lake Tahoe during the winter when there is plenty of snow. We don't want them to forget what they were bred for or where they came from. Living in California, Lake Tahoe is the closests we'll get to replicating their native land of Siberia.

Lobo and Layla love Lake Tahoe in the summer just as much as they do in the winter. It was a nice day and Lake Tahoe is so beautiful during the summer. We hiked our way up to Angora Lake. Lobo and Layla waded in the water with another furry pal, Pluto.

The Great Houdinni

When they said that Siberian Huskies are escape artists, they were NOT kidding. I am convinced our male sibe is a direct decendant of Harry Houdinni if not, it's Harry himself.

This has been proven one too many times by our male sibe. He had jumped the fence. He escaped from the kennel by finding the weakest area of the chain link fence, patiently tugs and pushes on it prying the wires open creating a hole for an escape route. He has done this about 10000 times, ok maybe 10. He's dug under to get to the other side. The list goes on.

This recent breakout is new to us. We cannot figure out how he were able to open the locked door without undoing the carabiner or the latch. When we checked it, the latch was down and the carabiner in place only this time, the kennel door was wide open. We tried everything; jiggling the door, jiggling the latch, jiggling the carabiner, pushing on the chain linked door (to see if it bends anywhere), etc. but nothing could explain how he was able to swing the door wide open. A great force will require that latch to budge breaking it in the process.

Wait, that was the BREAK-OUT...now for the BREAK-IN.

We arrived home from attending a wedding. I opened the door from the garage to the kitchen and was greeted by our male husky his tail a waggin'. For a moment I thought nothing of it until I realized that he was supposed to be in the kennel WHERE I LEFT HIM. I was horror stricken because breaking out and breaking in would mean we need to fix something...AGAIN! He was very happy to see us, no doubt about it but my husband was NOT VERY HAPPY about what he's done.

All doors closed, how did he get in? WINDOWS!

First attempt: He broke the screen on the window in the sunroom, jumped in and realized that the door to the living room was locked. He jumped back out thinking he knows another way, THE SIDE WINDOWS. Soon enough, he was in.

I don't think he realized how much trouble he was in because that tail was still wagin' as my husband was fumin'.