Shadow - New Year's Resolutions

Hi everyone, I’m Shadow!

You may already know a little bit about me if you have read my brother Blade’s blog a little while ago. I’m a Siberian husky and I’m 3 and a half years old. I am almost as tall as Storm, but because I love running so much, I am much slimmer! I love to race with Blade; we sometimes have a bit of a quarrel as to who is going to win. Blade can be very noisy so sometimes I have to shout loudly for him to hear me. I am very strong too, and Mum thinks I may be the strongest in the group. I love jumping and spend quite a lot of time high up on top of the box in the paddock. Star is the only other husky who has managed to jump up on there.

Fun times in the paddock

I have had a great time since coming to Horse and Husky. Blade and I get to run out almost every day which is great. I loved going to Wray Castleand Low Wray campsite. It was awesome there a few weeks back when there was snow on the ground. I really hope Sonia buys a snow sled in the new year so that we can do more running in the snow. My favourite trail has to be the Eskdale trail – last time we went there, we spent sometime in front of a lovely log fire, had a dish of tea and some treats. Lukanuka was with Blade and I, and we all had a great race together. Luka is pretty fast, it surprised me how fast he is when I first saw him running.

Running in the snow at Low Wray Campsite

Luna and Ice have told me all about the trail that runs alongside Windermere- I am looking really forward to running there. Mum, Sonia has also told me that we have a lot of safaris booked and we are going to run on new trails that even Ice and Luna have not been on yet.

Christmas was really good – not only did we have lots of special food – I tasted goose for the very first time, mmmmm so yummy!, – we also met loads of lovely people who enjoyed running with us. It has been very busy which is great. All of us love going for trips out in the van because it is very exciting not to know where we will be when the van door opens. We spend time guessing where we are. We usually know if it is the campsite because on the number of speed bumps. Blade and I always travel in the top crates because we are such good jumpers. Last time Lukanuka also travelled in one of the top crate but he had help by standing on a crate first, so he didn’t have to jump as high.

Outside in the paddock

Ryan asked me if I had any New Year’s resolutions so I thought I’d tell you all, and I went round the paddock and asked everybody else what resolutions they’ve been making too!

Next year, I’d like to learn how to pull the dog carriage because I want to go out over the summer to Muncaster Castle and the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway and give small children rides. Storm, Wolf, Ice and blue have told me what good fun it is. Sonia said I am big enough and thinks I will be calm enough. I think so too – I usually just get excited when Blade is jumping around. It will seem strange to go out without Blade – but I expect he will enjoy playing in the paddock with the others.

New Year’s resolutions

Archie has told me he plans to cut back on the digging a bit- as he’s starting to trip over his own holes!

My brother, Blade, assures me he’ll try and stay out of trouble – he really enjoys jumping over fences – but to be honest, I usually follow him over too!

Blue has told me that since seeing Storm dressed in his Lord Storm fancy dress costume with his big top hat, he hopes to completely get over his fear of people with big hats in the new year.

Ice says he’d like to revisit Grange-over-Sands, as he’s hoping to pop into Higginson butchers for some delicious sausages.

Luka simply told me that he’d like to run faster than ever before!

Luna said she’d like to help Sonia train Archie to be a full sleddog. I’m sure Luna will be a great help at keeping Archie in order!

Skye mentioned that she’d like to go on a few husky hikes in the new year. I think we all do, especially if there’s still snow on the hills. . .

Star (and Storm) are both hoping to get involved in a very exciting Valentine’s event that Sonia has planned in February. . .

Storm also hopes to work on his running. I told him that Blade and I would be able to help him run a bit faster . . . I hope we haven’t scared him off!

Wolf has said he hopes to travel to some new places – he loves travelling and going to new locations.

Well, Happy New Year everybody. I know we have a busy week ahead – yippee!

Happy New Year!

Love, Shadow x

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Archie - Digging and Hiking!

Hi, I am Archie!

I am the youngest of the group, I’m only 18 months old, and I am a pedigree Siberian husky. Skye is the only husky smaller than me, I think I’ll grow a little bit more yet though as I’m still only young.
I had a few homes before becoming one of Sonia’s Snowdogs. Until coming here, I did not have the chance to play with many dogs and I never played off lead so it was really awesome to meet all the other guys here.

Relaxing in the paddock

I met Storm first, he is a really big guy. I was so excited to have the company of other huskies that I ran straight at him and jumped all over him! I know now that that’s not the best way to introduce yourself. He was quite patient with me really, but eventually he had had enough so he turned round, jumped on me and then sat on me! He sat on me for about a minute, it did not hurt but it sure took me by surprise. He can be very playful, can Storm.

Playtime

I then met all the others. I had forgotten all about what Storm did to me so I jumped all over them too. They were all very patient but then they started telling me off too. I learnt to calm down a bit and stop jumping up at the other huskies . . . so instead of jumping all over everybody, I began digging holes! Haha, it is such fun. I had never been allowed to dig holes before so I dug hundreds of them in the paddock over the first week. The first few days I just dug and dug and dug. I got very mucky – in fact I enjoyed it so much that I started rolling around in the soil. I was almost unrecognisable to the other huskies as I was black all over with muck, instead of my usual black, white and brown.

Playing with Luka

Mum made me have a bath every night for the first week. He he. I loved having a bath because the water was lovely and warm, and I loved jumping in and out to make a splash. All the other huskies have also had previous families so they have all needed to adjust to a new life just like I did. For quite a long time I spent night times inside in the house (this is why Mum, Sonia wanted to bathe me after I’d been digging).

Exploring the holes I’ve been digging!

But, I am a full outdoor husky now, which is very exciting. I prefer it because I can play with my friends whenever I want to. And I have such a thick coat that I get too hot inside. I still get quite excited and play a bit too rough for some of the other guys so Mum doesn’t allow me out with those guys. But I play well with Wolf, Blue and Lukanuka – and Luna is ok with me too. I think the others are just too soft!!

I am still learning to become a sled dog. I like it best of all when I’m chasing behind Luka, that is such fun because he runs really fast and I am determined to keep up with him. After all, he is my best buddy! I am less keen if Mum wants me to run on my own though. I am really looking forward to joining the others when they go out on a safari. I have heard all about it and it sounds brilliant. I’m sure I will be able to keep up, especially on a shorter one to start off with.

I have also been lucky enough to be chosen to be someone’s special friend so I’ll get to meet them on the open days and we’ll be able to go out on a husky hike together. I wonder where we will go. I suppose it depends on whether my friends want to do a long hike or a short one. I have heard the hike up Black combe is great. I sometimes sit on the bench and gaze out over the fields to the Combe. There has been snow on the top recently, which makes it look very pretty. We did a husky hike for mountain rescue which was very exciting – that was about 13 miles in total over Bootle and Corney fell and it took over 4 hours. But I did it easy peasy! And Mum said I was one of the best behaved and easiest to walk! I can’t wait till we go hiking again. We have a very exciting year coming up, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Hiking on Black Combe

We have all had a lovely Christmas with lots of treats. I’ve met lots of people who have been given gift vouchers for Christmas to come dry land mushing. Everybody wants to meet us all afterwards – I think Mum should start suggesting that people bring us special treats when they visit. I will mention that to her – I can be very good and sit beautifully with lots of treats around!

Well, best go and dig a fresh hole – I haven’t dug one for a while!

Hope to see you soon, Love Archie x

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Star - Christmas Wishes!

Hello, Star here!

My full name’s actually Mystic Star! I have lots of other fun names too. Mum also calls me ‘Fluffy Bunny’ and ‘The Polar Bear.’ You can guess why I imagine! I am losing my summer coat at the moment, it’s a bit of a shame that all of my lovely white fur goes to waste – perhaps we should start making hats from my lovely soft white fur. They would make stunning presents.

My lovely soft, white coat

I have been busy in the run up to Christmas, teaching people how to do dry land mushing. I generally go out with my friend, Storm but he only does half the running and even then he does not always do much pulling! I don’t really mind though as I love running and pulling. Storm and I met a lovely family the other day – the boy Samuel is usually frightened of dogs so Sonia chose us because we are calm and steady. By the end of the 2 hour session Samuel was no longer frightened, he was hugging us both! He is only 3 years old so I suppose we must have seemed enormous to him. We love meeting children.

Storm and I with one of our young friends

Sonia has been clearing out the stables that Storm and I have been sleeping in, ready for our horse pals Rapport and Toby to come home for the winter months. It will be really nice to see them both again. Although it’s good fun to have the extra space in the summer, I’m just as happy sleeping in my kennel with all that lovely warm hay. I imagine I will have the run of the big paddock again at night time.

Toby and Rapport

All of us had such a great Christmas – Mum made lots of yummy food for us, including goose, ham and sausages! Luka was running in and out of the house singing Christmas carols, we took turns pulling Christmas crackers with Sonia, Kev and Lexie – we won of course, as we were using our teeth! Today, it was back to work and me and Storm went mushing with a lovely family who have told us they will be returning again next year.

Merry Christmas!

In the New Year, Sonia has promised me that I will get to head out on some of the safaris. That will be awesome. I just wish other dogs had better manners and did not rush up to me as I don’t like it. I do like playing with some of the guys but I don’t really get on that well with the other girls – apart from Luna of course – she is ok.

Ah well, I’m off to see Sonia now – I think she needs a cuddle. We’re all happy as it’s turkey for supper in a minute. I think I’ll curl up and sleep under the Christmas tree in the paddock tonight.

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic Christmas!

Cuddles from Star x

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. . . and this is why they call me ‘The Polar Bear!’

Blade - Exciting times to come!

Hey there, my name’s Blade!

I’m 3 and half years old and have been here at Sonias Snowdogs for a couple of months now. My brother, Shadow and I already had a bit of experience before we came here – we’d done quite a lot of running and pulling and Sonia says we are both awesome! Just like Shadow, I’m a Siberian husky and I absolutely love running. We both needed to find a new home because we need so much exercise and most people find us too difficult to look after.

Playing with my new friends here at Horse and Husky

I love working out how to escape from where I am supposed to be. There’s so many fun things to do in this big, wide world and I’d love to run from place to place and from adventure to adventure! Of course, we have plenty of adventures here with Sonia and her snowdogs. I’ve made lots of new friends and love playing outside in Sonia’s paddock.

Occasionally, the temptation can get too much – and I feel the urge to escape. I did this a lot at my previous home so I’m very good at it by now! I love working out new and exciting ways to escape. I can jump over 7 foot fences, squeeze through very small gaps, chew through fencing and dig underneath. I normally escape first and then Shadow copies what I have done and follows me. So then we both go running away looking for fun things to do. Our favourite thing to do at our previous home was to escape and find our way into the nearby chicken run. We both adore chasing chickens. But, sadly, lots of people get very cross with us when we do this. Sonia thought that her fences around the paddock were high enough because all the other guys cannot escape but they are no problem for Shadow and I! Kevin calls me Harry Houdini after the great escape artist hehe!

Time to escape!

Right now, I have just got home after running at Low Wray campsiteand noticed that the paddock fences look a bit higher – hmm – I will have to check them out as soon as I get chance. I have had a lovely weekend with Shadow, Wolf, Blue, Ice and Luna at Low Wray campsite. It’s such a great place to run and there are so many chickens by the farm plus 3 cats! I always have a look to see if any are about. So far I’ve had no luck in catching any but I’ll certainly keep trying! Chicken for Christmas would be great . . .

My brother Shadow having fun in the snow at the campsite!

I wonder what Santa will bring me this year. I would love to pull his sleigh with Shadow and the rest of the gang. Maybe Rudolph will catch a cold and Santa will ask us to help him. We huskies can run by the light of the moon, no problem. Bet we’re faster than the reindeers too. If not this year, maybe next Christmas.

Santa’s sleigh – ready and waiting for us huskies!

And after Christmas, I’m really looking forward to January 17th and 18th when a group of 6 guys from theRSPCA will be practising with us for an Arctic Challenge in Sweden in March. They are raising money for a new veterinary hospital for their centre based in Leicestershire. They told us they’re going to be camping atLow Wray Campsite in 2 of their camping pods and doing husky mushing with us guys on both days. That will be great fun because we will get to do loads of running in new places like Grizedale Forest, the bridle path by Windermere and maybe some other places too. I have never been to these places before but have heard lots of great things about them so it will be very exciting. Of course, you’ll be able to read all about it in my January blog.

Merry Christmas everybody, and save some turkey for me!

Blade x

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Luka - Racing around with Archie

Hey everyone, Luka here

Yesterday, I went out on an exciting adventure with my good pal Archie, we raced and raced each other the whole time, and I won – I don’t think Archie was best pleased to have lost (Just don’t tell him I cheated!)

Archie doesn’t look too pleased with me being the winner!

When I came back home, it was total chaos! All of my friends were howling and yapping – and yet they tell me to shut up! Humph! I spent a bit of time playing with them around the field, they’re all such slow pokes.

Playing in the paddock

I spend each evening indoors as I’m not a complete outdoor dog yet. This means I get a lovely warm bed and get to have lots of adventures around the house. The other week, I played ‘Hide and Howl’ with my good friend, Lexie. I waited until she’d gone to sleep and then crept around the house howling until she came to find me. It was such fun! I learned how to open doors quite early on so I knew I had plenty of rooms available to choose to hide in. Lexie finally found me in the kitchen – I’d crept out of my hiding place to see if there were any treats lying around! We went back upstairs together and I crawled on top of her bed – well my bed really. I am King Luka after all!

King Luka :)

Last night, I kept Lexie awake again by talking about my day racing with Archie – I don’t think she understood me though, humans can be a bit silly sometimes. Honestly, if we didn’t keep them as pets then who knows what they would do! I like to keep an eye on all of my human friends. Maybe in the future, I’ll blog about what they get up to – but between you and me, the life of a husky is far more exciting!

Bye for now!

Luka x

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Wolf - Not as scary as my name suggests!

Hello people, it’s Wolf here!

Don’t worry, I’m not as scary as my name suggests!

I’m a Siberian husky, and I joined Sonia’s Snowdogs when I was just 11 months old. I’m now nearly 4, and my birthday is in March. I’m very big and chunky for a Siberian, and mum, Sonia, wonders if I may be part German Shepherd Dog. I keep telling her I’m part Wolf, but she knows I’m only joking. I am often told that I am a very handsome boy, and I love sitting on the bench in our paddock waiting for treats from Mum, and from children and adults that come to visit. In fact, I have Mum very well trained – if I sit there for long enough she gives me a treat!

We all love getting treats!

I enjoy going out in the van to lots of different places to meet people and I love it when children give me tummy tickles whilst I am chilling out. Out of all of us, I am the best worker with the dog carriage, so I am great for children’s rides – I like to really pull the carriage, whereas I know sometimes the other guys don’t work so hard. I enjoy doing the faster work too of course but not for too long! I am a powerful husky but after a few miles I do like to have a bit of a break and then do a bit more later on. Generally I’m quite laid back but if I see some really nice food on the go, then I want to make sure I get it – so the other guys need to watch out! I’m definitely boss man when good food is around!

Me with Blue and Skye

We recently went to Grange-over-Sands for their Christmas Extravaganza – it was exciting because we’d never been to that part of the Lake District before. Me, Blue and Storm were excited as we drove past the duck pond – there was ducks everywhere. We met up with Ryan and Isaak who were looking forward to helping us with the children’s rides. It was very icy, and everybody looked frozen and was wearing huge duffel coats and wooly hats! We all laughed and felt lucky that we had such big coats to keep us warm. Lots of people came to visit us and they loved how much I resembled a wolf. Isaak and Ryan had to keep reminding people that I wasn’t actually a wolf! 


Grange Xmas Extravaganza

I watched Storm and Blue give children’s rides around the field – it looked an ideal track and I knew I’d be able to pull hard and get some real speed going. . . I watched Storm give his best effort, followed by Blue who can be quite speedy with a carriage. Then it came to my turn. I strutted up to the carriage where the eager children were waiting, and Isaak harnessed me up and told the children to hold on tight. Meanwhile, there was a delicious aroma of hog roast wafting from a stall nearby and it was making me very hungry! I kept turning my head to get a better scent which made it hard for Isaak to hitch me up! I hurried around the track a few times, accompanied by laughs and giggles from the children on the carriage who loved it when I suddenly picked up speed. On the way past the delicious smelling stall, I noticed their sign, which read Higginsons’s butchers – next time we come up to Grange, I think I’m going to pay them a visit and see if I can get some sausages!

Mmmm, I love sausages!

The next day I was up at Muncaster for their Xmas Fayre. I travelled up with Storm and Ice and Mum told us that we’d be giving carriage rides around the castle! I do love taking children out on the carriage, they really enjoy it when I walk fast or do a sneaky little trot here and there.

We arrived at Muncaster Castle and met Tasha and somebody new… His name was Ryan. Storm really, really liked him and showered him with cuddles and kisses! Sonia showed Tasha the route and left me with Ryan… I thought I would keep him on his toes as he seemed pretty chilled out. So when he wasn’t looking, I decided to break into a bag of yummy treats and help myself to a few! I was also surprised to find a wristband in the bag – I quite liked it and wanted to keep it but everybody told me to give it back. But I held it my mouth so that nobody could get it! It was really funny! Ice wanted some treats too but Tasha came back before I had chance to throw some over to him… Anyway, Tasha eventually managed to persuade me to let go of the wristband but I had the last laugh, as she needed to give me some more yummy treats before I’d let go – the temptation of food is always too great for a wolf like me!

I might even start collecting wristbands!

After all of my joking around it was now time for me get to work. Tasha stayed with me the whole day, giving me cuddles and kisses and helping me pull the carriage when I needed help. It was a cold, damp day and I showed her how grateful I was by keeping her nice and warm when we were sat down. In fact, I got lots more cuddles and kisses myself from all the nice people at Muncaster who’d come to see us! Meanwhile, Ice had been asleep for most of the day because he had already helped Luna (his sister) with a children’s birthday party! He said it had been a great event but very tiring!

Ice looking a little bit tired :)

As the day went on, people came to see us and told us how much they loved snowdogs. We all felt really special, and quite a few people told us that they were going to come and join us for husky rides in the future!

At the end of the day, we all jumped back in the van excited to tell our friends back home aboutMuncaster. I was nice and full after helping myself to lots of treats so I soon fell asleep as Mum and Tasha led us home along the winding lanes back to Bootle.

See you all soon 

Wolf x

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