She is beautiful - and strong

...and she does not really want to run away - it's more like:"...we're running together, why are you such a drag?" I've been reading a lot about Huskies lately....

Oh, I am still looking for a bike.......!!!!!!!! It does not have to be a fancy bike with gears and such, in fact it needs to have back pedal brakes, one that works well enough to drive up and down the road a bit with one hand on the handle bar and holding the leash with another - Because I am a real drag when taking her out, I never could run fast or much....

Yesterday afternoon we had walked and played and played some more,a little off leash even. After putting her back on the porch (leached up), where she very contentedly shewed on a bone for a while, Skye became active again...barking even...looking towards the back of the property. I checked it for deer, none. But she would not quiet down in the usual way...so I took her out again - on a leach. In a few minutes, we had meandered to be back of the property and she was going for the corner...there is a fence there, but one that any dog can walk under. And then I saw them - 3 wild pigs, one of them a boar. I guess you call them boars regardless of sex. Skye did too, and she was gone to the other side of the fence in a flash...took all my strength to hold her there and get her to come back. The pigs had run off in the other direction.

Whew...I did not know we had wild pigs to deal with too...just the usual little critters, deer and koyotes.
Without having been leached up - she'd have been gone - run chasing pigs...unsure if she'd find her way back...though 3 wild pigs would have been a lot to deal with too.

Observations in the first 30 days - Husky/German Shepherd

Generally,  Skye has lots of energy, a very open and friendly disposition towards people, she is smart (you can literally see her study and evaluate a situation), beautiful, elegant in running and moving in general, loves to dig and play - till she gets bored, which can happen quickly. Loves to play with dogs, but has not figured out how to do the same well with smaller ones. In the dark, she seems very cautious, but not fearful. When noticing  a big, dark or unknown object (like a wheel barrow with plants in it) ...she barks at it and seems to rather want to run away than attack it. She will cautiously investigate it...and get more daring. Once the nature of the objects has either been determined as benign or they are gone (deer), she turns her attention to new matters.She seems to like water. When it gets hot, her drive to be active does not last long...it is much higher in cooler wheather
Walking her on the first day, I also noticed a certain aloofness, which she still occasionally displays. It seems she can be very friendly and  "attached", and then be content, and quite determined, to just go off on her own...or sit apart and look away.
When she get's a fresh scent, she almost goes crazy...and can dash off in a flash...pulling my arm out (or so it feels) if it catches me off guard. Small animals trigger her hunting instincts, larger bigger ones elicit her dark alarm bark, alertness and desire to investigate. 
Unlike other dogs here - she did not just sling down her food in a greedy fashion. Of course, at first, we may not have had the right kind for her. She seems to prefer slightly smaller, but more frequent meals. Treats? Better be real tasty...just a hot-dog bit is not always a temptation...I have to microwave them :) Tip from the trainer, but even that was not always enough.
She by now knows exactly what come, sit, down and wait means...and you can see that it really is her own motivation more than anything which decides whether or not she will follow/obey it without any reinforcement. This requires reading her in the moment, and being quite attuned to her intentions....as I'd rather catch her when she is inclined to follow  commands.

After a month, she has adjusted well to staying at her sleeping spot without complaint till about 5 or 530 am.
We have walked the perimeter of the property many, many times - to get her used to the boundaries. But if there's a scent...that gets 100% forgotten, and our fence really is a "no fence". What an adventure. I think she'd be very good in search and rescue.

I love her....:)

What to feed our German Shepherd/Husky? - Sensitive stomach?

While at the shelter and when we picked her up, Skye had diarrhea. Not real bad, but definitely not what we wanted. The dog food she was fed at the shelter happened to be the same we feed our other dogs. We decided to get a small bag of commercial dog food, the brand of which I don't recall. Voila, problem resolved - until it restarted - only to find out she'd been given some chicken with broth, or the original dog food again...hm...the original dog food is chicken based.We experimented for a couple of weeks and concluded, at least for now, that chicken was not the food of choice for our big puppy-girl. She is now getting a lamb based dry food and a can of moist , an occasional beef bone and a hot dog (as many little treats during the day) - and so far so good.
By the way, we thought she was so good in the car, we thought to take her with us on errands...until she threw up. Not that Skye ever complained - other than not really wanting to go into the van in the first place. We figured the reason she was so  non-problematic in the car was that she felt nauseous, so now we don't take her "just for fun" anymore.I am planning on short "get used to the car ride" trips for her in the future.

Falling in love

Sometime towards the middle of October I am being asked to take care of the soon to arrive new addition to the big artist family: An about 1 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix, still at the shelter, no history of her previous live. I have a full work schedule, but I could not say no.
So 4 weeks ago - we got her home from the vet. Little did I know just how much this obligation would change my life.
Finally, after 4 weeks, I am finding a few minutes to start writing about this adventure.
Let me just say, to start with: she is BEAUTIFUL, boisterous, "puppyish", very smart, very strong, loves to dig,  loves people, already earned her nickname: Houdini Skye - a wonderful sentient being - and  while for dog lovers this will not come as a surprise, I have to admit: I am falling in love with her.

It will take a lot of time and energy to train her.

Isn't she beautiful? This is a short video clip. Take a look. This is her, Skye, the 1 year old German shepherd/husky we've had for a month now, picked up from the shelter. She LOVES going after "things" - or so it seems. I have not let her off the leash much because of the irresistable hunting urge that appears to come over her and the love of running that is characteristic of Huskies...since we don't have a fence worth mentioning. So we took her out with a group of friends from Spain...figuring there'd be a really good chance she'd not be so tempted by critter tracks. She had fun running around with us.