 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Rant and Raves - April 2007 thru June 2007
| |||
|
June 2007: Wrapped up the month of May with another hike. RAVEN's first ten miler! Initially, Jaye had picked out a really tough trail for the five of us and our dogs to tackle . Corina suggested a trail with a much gentler grade. Thank goodness! RAVEN managed the trail fine, but Rhonda was about ready to chop her big toes off! It's definitely time to purchase a new pair of hiking boots. 
Mother Nature has blessed New England this Spring with some unusually cool days. Not only have we enjoyed an extended season,
we were the recipients of a June 2nd hale storm! Unfortunately the storm pattern is causing our dog KONA undo stress.
A few months ago we had a one of those heavy wet snow storms, complete with thunder and lightening. During the storm, a tree branch landed on KONA's dog house.
Ever since, he totally freaks out when there is an approaching storm or fireworks off in the distance. So, Rhonda, being a marshmallow at heart, allows KONA when it's raining, to hang out
in MISCHA's area of our yard. This particular space has immediate access to the house via a doggy door. Rather than wait for us to let him in, KONA has learned to use the
doggy dog. We'll often find him in the basement, either in an open dog crate, or lying on a blanket or the sofa, with a look of child like innocence on his face! Back in May, Rhonda joined a combo conformation handling/obedience class. JELLO has been working for a potential bid in the conformation ring, DHARMA in advanced obedience/rally and miscellaneous dogs in the beginner obedience class. It's been a great way to spend special one on one time with a few of the dogs and at the same time, stay connected with a handful of our Central NH friends. After only two training sessions, AERO came out of his shell! TK and RHONE each came along with Rhonda one night and immediately demonstrated that they have serious potential. Thanks Angie for the reminder in how to teach 'down' and Jo for the training and attention you provided them while we were on vacation. Bob had to work so Rhonda spent the day at the YSHC Annual Meeting/Match. DHARMA's instructor had been trying to telling us that we've only just scratched the surface of this dog's potential. So, Rhonda decided to try her hand at the Rally course and test the theory for herself. Not only did DHARMA score a 98, she had the fastest finish of the 5 contestants! This, after only three training lessons!! In prep for the match, Rhonda's cousin, opened up her shop on the eve of Motorcycle Weekend just to groom DHARMA. THANK YOU Michelle. You were right, she cleans up good; the conformation Judge was quite complementary! May 2007: ROCKY x MANDY's pups are looking really nice! All four are well matched in type, with alot of leg for their age. AERO unfortunately, is unapproachable and not amenable to affection. However, he will sit for treats! We have not had a shy puppy since RAVEN and ALLAGASH, both of whom turned out to be leaders. Hopefully we can expect the same in the future of this little guy! Rhonda's cousin Michelle celebrated the grand opening of 'Pet Spaw' in Brentwood, NH. 
On the way back from a day hike , Rhonda stopped in to say hello and Michelle immediately put RAVEN up on the grooming table. With the amount of coat
she raked out, we could easily have a spun wool pouch knitted with RAVEN's fur alone!Attended the North Country Mushers inaugural annual meeting. An observation was expressed by a fellow breeder recently that Mishawum's program has taken a number of different turns from our Seppala strain roots. From the outsider, that may appear to be the case, but in reality, we were never purest. Although we consider FALCON our foundation bitch, 
when looking at our breeding program in this flow chart format, we might as well bestow that title on FLEO (who is a line-bred L'Epiphanie).
Nature willing, we plan to close this loop by breeding ROCKY x DHARMA. Our program here at Mishawum, is now based on a blend of 5 bloodlines (Sepp-Alta, Kodiak, L'Epiphanie, Anadyr and Northome).Last month, MISCHA, our first Siberian Husky, turned 13 years old! Unfortunately, she is now having occasional difficulty walking down the basement stairs and is demonstrating signs of suffering from cognitive dysfunction. She used to be a vibrant, in your face, kind of dog. We relish the days now when she's motivated to go for walks around the neighborhood. Although MISCHA has had her 'food crazed' moments in the past, and is in the kitchen, constantly under your feet, we sure are going to miss her presence around the house when it's Time. Rhonda helped to organize the NHMA annual meeting. This was her last official act before stepping down from a three year term on the Board. Took RAVEN on a hike with Mike and Sue(aka Swifty) and their dog WILSON. We hiked the snowmobile trail behind their house which included some pretty challenging river crossings! April 2007: With Bob on a road trip for three weeks, the month of April here at the kennel was rather quiet. He and Mike took an extra day coming home and stopped along the way to soak in the hot springs, visit Karen Ramstead and order a new sled from JR Anderson. There are so many friends from Alaska to New Hampshire that they could have visited. Unfortunately, it would have required an additional month of vacation time!! |
|||
