Snowdon Adventures

Friday, 1^st October 2010, 9:30am: car is packed, dogs are in and here we go! Destination Snowdon. We set off early to arrive before dusk, the last thing I wanted to do was to pitch up our tent in the dark. Weather did not surprise us, rain and more rain. We were lucky enough to pitch up before it got dark, all dry resting in the tent before heavens opened again. In a way I was glad we arrived early as light allowed us to dodge humongous piles of cows’ extremities when deciding on right place to rest the tent. The owner of the land obviously blamed unruly cows she has who “broke in” to the field to use it as a toilet. All in all, besides smelly deposits, quite comfortable and dry we decided to stretch our pack’s legs and investigate the area for potential drinking spots known as PUBs. Soon after, the rest of Midland Mally Group has arrived in the dark and torrential rain. The rest of the night was spent on discussing travel and the next day treck.

Rose early and after a cup of coffee we hiked to the assembly point for all interested in getting to the top of the mountain. All our friends were there! Shar Wolf pack arrived in the big truck ready to collect money for the dogs and all were in high spirits.

8:30am: we set off! Start of the hike was not the easiest one. At least I forgot how hard it was last time when I was a couple of years younger! We decided to leave young Jaeger at the base with those who did not fancy aching joints and legs next day, what a good choice that was! Guinness has set his working mind on and pushed ahead of others setting high tempo even for us. The gap between us and the rest of the team was widening buy the time we reached half way point. Last 30 minutes before the summit was causing burning sensation to my muscles and even Guinness stopped pushing so hard until he noticed furry little creature running on the slope of the mountain. I nearly took off the ground, being saved only by the walking belt and  sturdy hand of my partner on my neck. That was the moment of cold sweat and many French words. We finally reached the top spot and celebrated with coffee and bowl of water for the dog, gathered feedback from others on the very poor weather conditions and armed in optimism moved to our steep way back. I wished gentle leader was to hand then… Guinness set off with the speed of light, probably thinking of his dinner. ROK lead was not helping in anyway by bouncing and pulling me further down the slope. Additional slip on collar and a pair of extra hands tamed the speeding ball of energy enough to move down instead of sliding down on my backside.

All sore but very happy we have returned to assembly point. Our strong mind and young legs took us, up and down this not kind to people mountain, in total of 5 hours.

With dogs asleep we were patiently awaiting other part of out team. Rejoined two hours later we directed our feet to first dog friendly PUB to feed the thirst of Guinness. Very good day had by all, next time I promise to do some training beforehand to avoid  all round stiffness of my body…. Dear body, Next time, I promise!

On the way up

Finally there!

www.malamute.org.uk

Seasonal Fears

Recently I have completed a survey asking about pet’s fears. From final results it was apparent that owners of pets are concerned for their furry balls of love and season of loud noises and fireworks. More than 50% admitted to over-fuss their pets without actually knowing that this reaction will make it worse. Fear of fireworks usually does not get better on it’s own, in fact it’s likely to get worse over time and you might end up looking for an animal behaviourist for some serious help.

Each animal react differently to stress. Loud noises and fireworks can make you pet withdrawn, constantly hiding in the dark corners, tense, jumpy or aggressive. Remember that you have to be calm but do not comfort your animal when is hiding or running around panting. This can make your pet worse off in the long run, especially when you are not at home and they are less able to cope. Keep your animal inside during the display of fireworks, take your dog out to toilet before it gets dark and try not to overfeed in the evenings. A firework going off when your dog is outside can lead to fear of evening walks, fear of leaving the house and even aggression caused by stress. Instead prepare a den for when your pet likes to hide and let them hide making sure that there is always fresh water nearby so there is no risk of dehydration and overheating.

In severe panic attacks animal can overheat which leads to dehydration and might cause seizures. If your dog is heavily panting, drooling excessively and has dilated pupils try cold wet towel under his belly to keep the body temperature down.

There are also other remedies such us calming drops or tablets, DAP and specialist sound CDs you can purchase to help your animal cope. There is quite a few companies on the market producing natural remedies so please research and choose appropriate for your dog/cat.

Guinness in his den

www.malamute.org.uk

One Of Those Days...

It Would Never Happen To Us...

No, it's not Karma, it's Kennel Cough.. You never think it would happen to your companion but occasionally it does [and can happen to many of them]. As any type of influenza-like virus it's caused by a mixture of viruses and bacteria. It's air borne, highly contagious and so easy to catch especially if your dog visits places where many dogs congregate e.g. dog parks, vets, kennels, animal shelters etc. It does not affect humans but does not limit itself to dogs - bordetella is also infectious for other household pets like rabbits, guinea pigs, pigs, cats and birds.



There are three main causes of Kennel Cough:

• Bordetella Bronchiseptica: a bacteria and main agent of Kennel Cough which is usually acompanied with:
• Canine Parainfluenza-3: a virus that primarly causes Kennel Cough that infects respiratory tract. If not eliminated immediately can cause tracheobronchitis. Also main reason of distemper in dogs.
• Canine Adenovirus Type 2: a virus less common, can cause canine hepatitis. If mixed with Bordetella and Canine Parainfluenza-3 the intervention of a veterinarian is needed to prescribe certain drugs and antibiotics to fully clear your pet's system.

Symptoms:

• Hacking cough/sneezing
• Phlegm
• Fever
• Poor appetite
• Lack of energy/Lethargic

* in some cases dog might be only a host carrying bacteria and will not display any symptoms of illness.



Treatment:

Once your dog is infected, the incubation period is between 5-14 days. You will definitely know a sick dog when you see one. Dog usually have rapid onset of either sneezing, dry cough or coughing foamy mucus and deteriorates quickly. Although in most cases symptoms will go away on their own, Kennel Cough may need to be treated with cough suppressants [e.g. Benylin syrup] to provide comfort during natural recovery. Alternatively, depending on severity, antibiotics and cough suppressants can be combined.

There are always natural remedies for certain symptoms such as a runny nose. You should treat them only as aids before taking your pet to the vets. Try:

• Olbas oil inhalation, try few drops in hot bath and leave your dog in the bathroom when it's still humid/steamy for 5 minutes
• Salt water wash/spray
• Vit C, a super supplement that will aid recovery but don't overdo it as it can cause irritable bowel syndrome. [Max 500mg per 5kg of your dog's body weight]
• Raw honey will help ease painful throat, can be added to strong peppermint tea [administer few drops every hour to calm down the coughing]

Prevention:

• Injectable Vaccinations: Good for puppies and dogs hard to handle. Two doses need to be given in the space of 1 month. For puppies over age of 4 months. This should be followed by annual busters. Besides that, Parainfluenza, Adenovirus type 2, and canine distemper, all members of the Kennel Cough complex, are all covered by the standard DHLPP vaccine, the basic vaccine for all dogs.
• Intranasal vaccination: can be given as early as 3 weeks of age and immunity generally lasts around 10 months.This should be followed by annual busters.

As a general rule nasal vaccine provides faster immunity than injectable vaccine.

REMEMBER:There is a voice of controversy around vaccination against Kennel Cought. Some dogs, even previously vaccinated might not generate better immune systems that's why some vets might prefer to treat the virus when it strikes. Kennel Cough is a localised infection affecting respiratory tract which makes it difficult to be completely prevented by vaccination.

Every dog is different but the responsibility and choice of action lies with you, the owner.

www.malamute.org.uk

Expect Unexpected!

17th July arrived quickly. Up early in the morning we set off at 8:00am. Stopping only for a quick coffe at the usual MCD we arrived after 2.5 hours at breeder's house. I could not wait to see my "Boobahs", as I call them now. Jan Sapsford, my friend and an outstanding breeder of Alaskan Malamutes, welcomed me with  massive warm hug. I could not stay still on the sofa knowing that my dogs are jumping and howling in anticipation in the back yard. Guinness welcomed me with usual round of sprint around the garden, his tongue was hanging  down to the ground. One happy buddy - looking a bit husky'ish as lost his coat for the summer and definately  needed a good rest from all the girs. Then we proceeded to the pups, they were happily bouncing of my knees - once again I have inspected my little new addition to be only to decide that my first choice was the right decision.

So, we've changed our mind and returned home with a different puppy... She has been with us for over three weeks now and we haven't even question once our decision for swapping Dankatcha FlamingJager for Dankatcha PolarJetBlack. We kept the pet's name thought - "Jaeger" just matches her lovely black and white innocent face & not so innocent character!

Guinness adores her, which is a massive relief for us. He has been a little weary around Jaeger for first two days and would ran a mile if she approached him. He was obviously not sure how to deal with such a small lively creature untill he discovered that she has sharp little teeth ready to attack his throat. He has invited her to play and they haven't stopped since!

NOTE to myself: Do not drive vigurously over the humps with pup on the back sit otherwise you will be cleaning your upholstery from  humongous projections of vomit...

Dankatcha PolarJetBlack aka "Jaeger"

www.malamute.org.uk

Our Family is Growing!

A new addition to our family was born on 23rd May 2010. After long lasting discussions her name has been chosen and stands as Dankatcha FlamingJager or just "Jaeger" for short. She will join our Head Quarter on 17th July. We are waiting in anticipation but for now she is still with her proud parents "Scarlett" [DAM:: Dankatcha Scarlet Yajna] & "Blue" [SIRE:: Dankatcha TruArcticBlue]

Dankatcha FlamingJager aka "Jaeger"

 













www.malamute.org.uk

One of those days!

www.malamute.org.uk

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! My name is Liz Dziergas and I dedicate this page to Alaskan Malamute dogs; my first Giant Alaskan Malamute "Baxter" [who made me look small] and my beloved Alaskan Malamute "Dankatcha Guinness" aka Guinness [who taught me how to be patient with people and how to take life just as it is].

This page is an integral part of www.malamute.org.uk website.

I will share our little and big days out  with friends owning  mals, good and bad moments, training videos, racing days out, my personal opinions, experiences and everything else that comes along with owning this special breed. For those who  already own a mal [or shall I say, being owned by one] this  will be a place to have a good old laugh and comment on my posts. Please do leave a comment no matter what your opinion is - I would like to know what makes you & your dog tick. For those who are planning to have one, I hope, this will be a place to find answers to all, or at least most, of your questions bothering you.

Simply, it will be an insider view on how it is to live with a Malamute and what it takes to be a good and responsible owner.

All my posts are related only to my own, personal opinions and expressed as an outcome of my experience from owning this breed. They are just a guide for certain situations and should not be treated as a set standard on how to deal with an individual dog.

Young Dankatcha Guinness

Good Old Man Baxter