Little Boy Blue: The Running Husky...

Over the past few weeks we have seen a huge change in Little Boy Blue [Spike].  

He now looks like a typical young husky, albeit with legs and ears too big for the rest of his body!  He is still a little underweight, but has good muscle development and gets stronger by the day – this is most noticeable when running down hills and he realises that he can run faster than me…

His little personality is shining through and his love of life and humans
is lovely to see, especially when you consider the trauma his mind and body must have endured prior to his rescue.

Spike is now very respectful of the boy huskies, who are all proving to be brilliant role models with regards to their laid back and relaxed attitude to life 

He is abiding by the house rules - well, most of the time….  Some leaflets inappropriately stored in the hallway were converted to confetti when we left him alone with Krofti and forgot to give him his toys!  Fool us for not thinking like a puppy!

He still has a huge appetite with table manners that need a little refining...  Last night he demolished 6 chicken wings in the time it took Kez and Kroi to munch two chicken wings!

  

Unfortunately this style of eating does sometimes leave a nasty odour in the room a short while later, Spike is certainly an accomplished bottom burper….

This little boy loves all humans and wants everyone to hold him and cuddle him.  Most people shy away from his requests, but there is a male human not too far away that will happily satisfy this puppy’s on demand cuddle requirements – it makes a change from the three grown up boy huskies that only like being cuddled by the female person that runs with them!

Running with his favourite human

Spike ran his first 5k race with Ian last week.   Not a proper race, but an organised event with lots of other people.  Ian had fun guiding him around the trees and geese on route – Spike still needs to learn a few directional commands!   Great fun was had by both of them and it will be interesting to see how he progresses in these events.

I have been running him every day, sometimes twice per day, but only very short distances.  Mostly he runs either alone with me or with Krofti -at a pace that can best be described as “leisurely”.

I started running him in harness a few weeks ago as part of his progression into the “working world of Huskies”.  The first time he wore a harness I attached him to Kez hoping that he would naturally run beside Kez and copy his behaviour.  Kez is a highly focused worker and nothing will distract him from his “job” - including an over enthusiastic and irritating puppy trying to bite his ears….  

Running with Kez

It worked very well and after a few successful runs I decided to run him in harness attached to me while Kez and Kroi ran ahead of us on long collar and lead.  The plan was that he would run after them and keep moving forward in a straight line.  When I run him on his own or on collar and lead he wanders from left to right and has a tendency to stop right in front of my feet!

Our first few runs as a threesome were less than perfect, but Spike is now starting to understand what our runs together mean and I don’t think it will be long until I will be running properly with all three boy huskies.

In the meantime I decided yesterday that I would run him with Kroi in harness.  The difference in Kroi’s behaviour when he is running in harness versus collar is nothing short of amazing.  He has phenomenal strength and enthusiasm and when in full flight we run run sub five minute miles together.  He is still young and sometimes his enthusiasm his hard to contain….

Starting out on our adventure with Kroi

However, I need not have worried.  Kroi was an absolute star and very tolerant of Spike’s attempts to bite his ears and trip him up as we ran.  Spike soon gave up as his playful behaviour was ignored and every time I asked Kroi to speed up he leapt forward beside him and pulled into his harness.  

Kroi guided him around corners and obstacles and we ran along at a rather fast pace.  Careful not to get carried away, I frequently stopped and walked.  We ran beside the river so that water was always available, Spike wasn’t convinced about standing shoulder deep in water and watched by the side as Kroi happily bathed.

We also stopped to “talk” to the ponies, some nuzzling and gentle nose touches between husky and pony always a delight to see – although I think Spike preferred eating horse poo and left the socialising to Kroi!

The Huskies Running Team...

Little Boy Blue is a pleasure to share time with and someday soon when he finds his forever family, they will also understand what a special little boy he is :-)

(Photos thanks to Paul Hammond, Ian J Berry & me)

A fun day out: Basingstoke Canal Path

The start at Greywell

The original plan was to “race” Marlborough Downs Challenge on Sunday…

The revised plan was to run the entire length of the Basingstoke Canal Path mostly solo, but the early sections with huskies – before it got too hot for them.  The Canal Path route was chosen as it had a lot of trees offering shade for the huskies.

I decided not to race Marlborough Challenge as my mind was quite simply not in race mode and I didn’t just want to plod round on my own admiring the view.  I would much prefer to have a fun jog with the huskies and share some of it with Ian.

The good news was that I had already packed and prepared all my food and running gear in preparation for a race, the bad news was that the route descriptions were all for the Marlborough area and not for the route that I was about to run and Ian was going to try and follow via car!

Fortunately Ian is an expert on following running routes via car after practising with me on numerous occasions!  With the correct tools at his disposal to aid navigation… he dropped me off at the start of the Canal Path in Greywell, near Odiham with Kez and Kroi.

Brothers in perfect unison...

Knowing that the route is narrow and that it was likely to be very busy with walkers and their dogs I chose to put harnesses on the huskies.  As soon as they wear harnesses they go into “work mode” and will ignore most other dogs and distractions.  Kroi is still working on his “ignoring every dog” rule, but Kez helps me out on those rare occasions and either pushes or drags him past the offending dog.  It is the naughty dogs that Kroi has trouble with ignoring, the ones that try to bounce him or are rude to him.  If a dog is under control and well behaved, Kroi  will just gently trot past.

Kroi was initially a little bit too enthusiastic, but he soon dropped down a gear and sedately trotted beside Kez down the path around 8:30 minute mile pace.  Lines loose in front of me unless I asked them to speed up and then they instantly responded.

We jogged along admiring the view, they were fascinated by the ducks and geese floating on the canal and ran with their heads to one side watching them rather a lot – I do hope they don’t have stiff necks this morning.

Spike waiting to run his relay leg

I had opted to wear my Salomon XR Missions as my ideal road to trail trainer, which were almost perfect for this run apart from the fact that my ankle gets troublesome on very flat and hard surfaces.  The canal path is a mixture of gravel, tarmac and well-drained soil, with very little mud.  After two hours of constant running on a hard and flat surface my ankle started objecting and I longed for some more cushioning.  I love my Salomon shoes, but I will need to find an alternative road shoe with suitable cushioning to ease the pain in ankle and toes….

Running along the canal path I was very aware that I had no idea where I was in relation to towns, major roads etc.  I knew that I was in no danger of getting lost, but I couldn’t relate the route to any area that I was familiar with, especially as I don’t really know the area East of Basingstoke…

Not a problem, until you suddenly reach a large metal fence advising you that you can go no further along the canal path due to landslide.  Had I been on my own, I would have probably found a way to “negotiate” the barrier, however I had two dogs’ safety to consider.  Therefore I headed away from the canal path and into civilisation.  I had no idea where I was and called Ian knowing that he was waiting for me just a little further up the route.  He suggested using the navigation on my phone.  I saw a footpath to my right and decided that I would “use my sense of direction” to get back on the canal path beyond the closed section instead….

All was going very well, until the footpath signs indicated that I had to negotiate a non-dog friendly stile into a horse field.  No problem for Kez as he has had years of practice in leaping over stiles and instantly was over on the other side.  Meanwhile Kroi very politely stood there and waited for me to lift him over!

Running dog in the making...

Mission accomplished we headed off to the woods and a path that I hoped would take us back to the canal path.  It worked and I was soon back en-route and on the phone to Ian arranging to meet him, although he had to do some very complicated research to determine where I actually was and if I had in fact bypassed him during my detour….

I dropped off Kez and Kroi with Ian and continued a few miles with Krofti and Spike at a pace that can best be described as “leisurely”.  It was getting a little hot now and Kroft was in a bit of a strop and refused to be motivated in any way.  No matter how much I tried to persuade him, he just glared at me.  To be fair though we had spent all day out and about on Saturday and he does struggle with travelling and stressful situations.  Spike on the other hand was a bundle of joy.  He bounced around smiling at everyone and jumping at me and at Krofti.  He ran in great leaping bounds and tried to pick up sticks along the way….

I dropped Krofti off with Ian and headed back down the canal path with Spike on his own.  He happily left the others and trotted
off down the path with a big smile on his face.  We soon speeded up and he ran along behaving impeccably.  I was so impressed with his behaviour that I even shared my croissant with him.  Probably a bad idea as I think he thought that he could have croissant for breakfast this morning instead of doggy kibble!

The end is the middle of this bridge

All too soon and I handed little Spike back to Ian, with the intention that I ran the rest of the way on my own.

My intention was to jog along at 8:30-9:00 minute mile pace, enjoying the view and munching my picnic as I ran.  

The reality was that I ran most of the way to the end a lot faster and still enjoyed the view.  My legs and body went into “coasting” mode – an almost effortless speed where I feel I can run for hours and hours, talking and eating as I run.  I wear my Suunto Ambit watch every day, but I rarely switch on the GPS as I have no interest in knowing what speed I am running at, I merely want to enjoy the experience of running without the pressure of time or distance.  I did want to know exactly how far I ran this day, so had switched it on from the start and was fully aware of the speeds I was running at with each dog and also on my own.  This will surprise many, but I was faster running solo than with any of the huskies.  There was a lot of “down time” with the dogs, taking that into consideration, my pace when moving was 30-60 seconds faster without huskies….

A lock on the Wey Navigation canal 

I kept on thinking I will slow down and jog the remaining miles, but my body refused to slow down.  It was in comfortable running mode and was happy running at this faster pace.  I realised that perhaps my fitness is actually better than it has ever been and perhaps Kroi’s insistence that we run faster during our daily runs is actually having a very positive affect on my running ability!

This discovery has certainly given me a lot to think about…

I would strongly recommend this route to anyone, but advise caution as to when you do it.  Sunday was a lovely day and as such there were a lot of walkers and cyclists out and about.  Most are courteous, especially in the first 10 miles of the route.  However there are sections where out of control dogs and children roam, posting potential hazards.... Also look out for cyclists as some of them treat the route like it is a racing track!  Thankfully they are in the minority as most people I met were lovely and some even said hello :-)

(Photos mostly thanks to tzruns)

Little Boy Blue: one month on...

The Huskies Running Team

Spike has now been with us for 4 weeks, nearly a full month.  In that time he has changed considerably in physical form and his loving personality has become even more loving!

He continues to be very well behaved and also challenge authority of humans and boy huskies with great enthusiasm and tenacity.

Playing with the big boy huskies

He has a huge appetite, so much catching up to do I guess!  His body is responding well and getting stronger every day.  His body is also well coated with fur now, although the fur is not yet shiny and plush like a “normal” and well-nourished husky puppy.

He runs every day on collar and loose lead.  I run short distances with him at a very slow speed, but as he gets stronger he wants to run further and faster….

Teasing Krofti...

He runs in the morning with Krofti and in the evening I run him solo, just him and I and a chance to bond.  He does respond very well, but does not know left from right and doesn’t quite understand that he shouldn’t stop dead in the path of a running human.  He also has not yet learned not to cut in front of the running human!  Work to do there, but he is learning and I am very impressed with his determination when running down hills….

This week I decided to run him in harness with Kez.  Kez is exceptionally well-behaved with a brilliant work ethos, therefore it was best to run Spike with him rather than Kroi.  Kez also has a variety of paces and will run at the speed of the slowest person/ dog, with no pulling or resistance.  He has been trained to always run in front of me, but only pull on command, therefore his default mode is not to pull.

Little Spike happily allowed me to put on his harness and bounced around as soon as we went out the door.  Jumping on Kez and trying to bite his ears.  Kez completely ignored him and gently trotted up the track.  Spike soon stopped trying to jump on Kez and bounded along beside him with much enthusiasm!   He bounds as Kez trots, but I have noticed that his trotting ability is improving as his muscles and strength develop.

Look at him go!!

We were soon running along at a nice steady pace and I asked Kez to speed up to see if Spike would respond.  Bless him, he tried so hard but he just couldn’t keep up.  As soon as Kez realised this he slowed down and refused to go faster.  Any time Spike slowed down, Kez responded by slowing down and waiting for him to catch up.  We stopped frequently to make the run fun for Spike, although I think Kez found this bit rather frustrating.  When Kez is wearing a harness his work ethic kicks in.  This is why 99% of the time I run our Huskies on collars and leads - it allows them more freedom and time to have fun and I get to run naturally.  The difference is amazing – even Kroi does not pull when running with a collar and lead.

On our return journey Spike decided that running full speed downhill was a good idea, which was awesome to watch.  His enthusiasm was definitely infectious.

Running and fun makes a sleepy puppy..

After such a good trial during the week I decided that he could participate in my run on Sunday along Basingstoke Canal path.  31 miles in total, I was going to run it all, the huskies run little parts of it before the temperatures became too hot.  I will write about this adventure in a separate blog, but I am pleased to say that the little guy most definitely enjoyed his part in the Huskies Running team event!

 (photos thanks to tz runs and me)

Little Boy Blue needs a home...

It is that time again.  Time to start preparing for an emotional roller coaster ride.  Time to share our Little Boy Blue with everyone and hope that somewhere out someone there can offer him the perfect home that he so deserves….

Little Boy Blue, also known as “Spike” is a black and white (dilute) husky with blue eyes.  He is approximately 7 months old and is going to make a super life-long friend for someone…

We have had the privilege of knowing this little guy for only 3 weeks, and in that short time I have been very impressed with his attitude and behaviour.

He is a very cuddly boy that loves people.  He loves being cuddled and if allowed…. would sit on your lap all evening as you watch television!  He loves to be around people and responds very well to them.

He is very easy to train and responds well to commands.  He is a little possessive of his food, but who can blame him when you consider how often he has been deprived of simple nutrition (based on his very underweight body condition when rescued).  His protectiveness of his food is abating and I am very confident that in the near future he will happily allow a person to share his food with him – I personally have no interest in chewing raw bones, but feel free to have a go yourself ;-)

Spike loves all people and is very good with other dogs.  His initial fear of big dogs is soon overcome when he realises that they are not going to hurt him – I have only allowed him to meet and interact with “normal” and well behaved dogs, I cannot guarantee how he will respond to dogs with “questionable” attitudes…

He is a husky and will therefore behave like a husky….  He will try to hunt furry animals, question authority and try to pretend that he knows better than humans….
He will howl for the love of howling and will run for nothing more than the love of running…

I have been running with him every day, and guess what….?  He loves it!!

Little Boy Blue “Spike” is a super chap, has shown no vices in his time here and has huge potential.  If you think that you could offer him the home that he deserves then go for it.  All applications to adopt him will be processed through Siberian Husky of Great Britain Welfare organisation.  If you believe that you can offer this little guy the home he deserves, please let us know and we will help you in all the ways that we can J

(All photos thanks to tzruns)