Hi, my name is Trish, and this is my fabulous husky, Juno (aka superman's sidekick.) Funny thing about Juno and I is that I NEVER wanted a husky! I didn't understand why people would want to live these uber independant shed machines that have too much energy for their own good.(But Trish, why on earth would you get a husky when you felt that way?)
Believe me, I did not go looking for a husky, I wasn't even looking for another dog at the time but she just fell into my lap.
I was working as a dog training instructor at a store and a lady came in that had found a sick and starved adolescent husky at a park while jogging. 2 months later, and after many visits to the vet, the dog was (mostly) healthy but REFUSED to go for walks with her. She had to carry this dog outside to potty and down the sidewalk for fresh air.
After consulting with her, she brought the dog in and I was struck by her kind yet worried eyes. She was obviously very fearful and unsure in this big bright world. After abut 45 minutes of patient work, I had her following me on leash around the store. I handed the leash to her new owner and helped them take their first steps together. It was beautiful seeing her able to walk her own dog for the first time.
A couple of days later I was contacted by the client because she was being kicked out of her house due to the destruction this husky had caused to the porch. Pets were not allowed in this house and instead of kenneling the dog, she was let to roam free and ended up eliminating and chewing on the woodwork. The client said she was moving to another place and needed someone to watch her dog for a couple of days. She was concerned with the progress they were making of putting her in a boarding kennel and so I agreed to watch the dog for her. (The beginning to my downfall)
My now husband received a wonderful voice-mail from me, "Hi honey, please don't be mad, but don't be surprised when you get home if there is a new white dog there. She is very sweet and I promise, I am just watching her for a couple of days!" (I think you should assume that you will someday receive a message like this if you willingly go into a relationship with a crazy dog girl!)
As many of you out there probably know, a few days turned into a week, turned into 2 weeks, turned into "Hi, I am not having luck getting a new place and it sounds like she is doing so well at your place. Would you be interested in keeping her at all? I know you would give her a good home!"
I said yes immediately and that is that. (I really should have discussed this with DH first but I am not here to give out relationship advice) :)
Living with Juno definitely has it's challenges but the more I get to know her the more I fall in love. For those of you not privileged enough to know the personality traits of these amazing dogs, huskies are very independent and prefer to do what they want, when they want, and you can wait in line.
Juno has been very trying to train positively as she never did care much for toys, treats, or other conventional rewards. It took me almost 6 months to train her to sit (I think a post needs to be dedicated to THAT endeavor!) and longer to down. She is very sensitive and shuts down if I miss a reward (implying she is wrong). Being a professional trainer, I feel pressured to teach her tons of fancy tricks (first question I get when doing a presentation "How many tricks does she know?" Erm....she can sit!) But Juno is special and I am just happy that she didn't shut down at the meet and greet last week, and didn't shy away from my husband last night. I so very much WANT to train all of those fancy tricks but I need to work with the dog I have.
So join Juno and I as we attempt to behave like a normal owner and dog. It may take some odd routes to achieve our goals but we will get there and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.
Until we meet again,
Stay Pawsitive!
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