March 24, 2020 - Forrest?

Remember I played with Forrest, one of the young dogs, in the kennel? The last couple of days my humans took Forrest out of the kennel on a leash and we went for a walk. We get along pretty good. I mean, he is a little crazy sometimes and he does that jumping thing. I will ask my mistress to make a video of that because it is hard to describe. He stands on his behind legs and jumps up, quite high. My mistress told me that’s a Husky thing. One time he somehow screwed up and fell backwards. Good thing the snow is soft and he didn't hurt himself.
But here is the big news: I’ve got a buddy now. Forrest will live with my humans and me! I am not quite sure if I really like that idea. I was the number one and got all the attention from my humans. Now I have to share that. On the other hand it's fun to have a buddy and not be alone. We do cuddle and have discussions but that's ok for me. He doesn't want to have my food and when we get a treat we get it equally. I show him how to behave and help my humans to train him.

You might ask yourself why my humans got a Husky. Well, Forrest is an Alaskan Husky. An Alaskan Husky is a mix of dogs that came from Alaska (rather close to a wolf from the appearance) with Polar dogs as Siberian Huskies, hunting dogs and greyhounds. The purpose of these dogs is dog sledding. Alaskan Huskies can look very different. Their weight can be as low as 17 kg or as high as 50 kg. They get along with other dogs pretty well and are family dogs although they need to be able to run. An Alaskan Husky that participates in dog sled races should be able to run 50 km with an average speed of 32 km/h and for a race between 80 and100 km the average speed should be 25-27 km/h. There is a race called Iditarod where a trained Alaskan Husky can run 240 km per day for 10 days or more. Isn't that crazy?

Huskies love to run, at least 99 % of them. Forrest belongs to that 1%. The owners of the Husky Farm here took all the puppies out on the trail al the time. The puppies followed the 4-Wheeler. But when they looked at the dogs they noticed that one dog was missing - Forrest. They found him on the trail. He was seeping. When they lifted him to take him he raised is head, looked at them and continued sleeping.

Even here with us, in the camper, he does not jump on the bed, he crawls on the bed. When he is earring he sometimes eats while laying on the floor. He’s not much of a runner although both of his parents are. His mother is a lead dog.

We’ll see if it stays like this and if we get along in the future. My humans thought it might be a good idea to get a buddy for me because I am getting old, I will turn 10 years next month. And yes, I think they are right, Forrest keeps me busy and active.