After yet another hiatus from blogging, I am back for an update.  Not much typically happens when the weather turns cold, but this year is absurd! 
  • Obviously, the dogs still love to run and play, but as cold as its been, even they are finished after about an hour.  I understand it when a Husky that normally lives in the house can’t tolerate the extreme cold as well.  Chance and Akira are limited and Nadia is little miss prissy (more on her later).  However,  you know it’s cold when all of the barn dogs are limited as well.  Even fluffy fur ball tough guy Denali wants to go back to the barn quickly! 
  • This year there has been some additional efforts made for their comfort.  What do we do for them during extreme cold? 
  • Currently, we have 8 dogs in the barn.  Instead of the normal four stalls, we condense them to three.  It helps them to snuggle with each other.  One is left empty, Daisie and Denali go in one because Daisie is in heat (more on that later).  Holly, Miya, Aleu, and Demon go into another since they all normally get along for the most part.  Kallen and Rose are in the third stall since they don’t play as well with others.  Rose’s heat cycle is coming soon so she is extra moody right now, and Kallen never gets along with Demon. 
  • Extra straw is put down in all the stalls so they all have a bed that stays warmer. 
  • Windows are closed, to keep the wind at bay, and this also helps warm the barn by 10 degrees or so.  We open them as often as possible because they like them so much, but lately that has been limited.
  • Obviously, they all have to have electric water buckets to prevent freezing.
  • These are all things we do in a normal winter.  This year, we added heat lamps.  Each stall has a 250 watt heat lamp situated about 4 feet off the ground.  It may not be a tropical paradise, but it is enough to warm about a 5 foot circle on the straw bed to 30-40 degrees.  Very comfortable for a Husky, and they all snuggle under it.
  • These heat lamps are adding to the whole “Husky Experience”!  We are having to be very creative to outsmart their curiosity and destructive nature!  Old milk crates have proven to be the ticket!  Hanging the lights inside them so far has prevented them from making them a chew toy.  Wires from the heat lamps and buckets need to be WELL concealed or out of reach to prevent chewing.  It’s one thing to prevent chewing to prevent damage to everyday items.  It’s an entirely different ball game when it’s to prevent a barn fire! 
  • Any Husky owner will tell you that outsmarting them is not easy.  Did I mention that outsmarting them in THEIR element is a lot tougher?  As with every other situation, it tends to be a learn-as-you-go process.  It’s NO fun fixing and improving set-ups when it’s below zero!!  The brain doesn’t function as well, and even when it does, the hands REALLY don’t want any part of it!
  • The Horses also have their own issues.  In addition to the electric buckets, they wear special blankets to help them out. 
  • I mentioned earlier that Daisie is in heat.  We can now report that we anticipate a litter of puppies from her around the end of March!
  • Lastly, we can now officially say that Nadia is a mama!  They were born about a week ago, and we wanted to give them some time before making any announcements.  There were 6 in all, 5 male and 1 female.  Three were black and white, (all male) and three were all-white. (1-F, 2-M).  All are doing well and gaining weight rapidly.  Still too early to tell, but it appears that none have the issue that Chance had.  We will officially be able to tell in a couple weeks after we give them some food.  Chance did well on mother’s milk, but didn’t grow as fast as his siblings.  We are hoping the weight gain across the board is a good sign.