OK, I've been pretty much out of commission the last three weeks, but now that my job on the German TV show is done, I'm back in action! Layla is 40 weeks old as of yesterday. We're missing photos from Week 39 but hopefully this photo dump from the Boston Snow Dogs Memorial Day Potluck last weekend at Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, Mass., will make up for it. Layla got to try on her first X-back harness (we borrowed one from another member) and it actually fit really nicely. She almost looks like a real sled dog, haha.

In addition, we enjoyed hanging out with our fellow Husky friends and their families and ate some pretty awesome food we all brought. During the course of the day we went for hikes and out bikejoring in groups. And with the beautiful weather it made the day even more wonderful.

Some pics taken by Darren and various other BSD members:

Greeting the other Huskies and lookin' good in harness


Trying to play with King Louie and Sophie (the two gray Huskies on the right)


Family photo


Chilling with Layla and her friend J-Sun


Time for lovin'


Playing with one of BSD's newest snow dogs. They wouldn't leave each other alone!


Group picture (can you find us?)

The family photo: I'm always a sucker for a husky with muddy paws! Looks like a wonderful time for everyone.

We're at 41 weeks and I cannot believe from looking at these photos how big Layla's grown in just a week. We went to the dog park today and I tried to get some good running shots. Unfortunately my iPhone's zoom function lowers the quality of the pictures, so while the running shots are actually pretty nice, the quality isn't. I need a better camera with a nice zoom lens!

Photo dump to follow ...

I got busy and missed Week 42. Not much happened that week, anyway. But, here we are at Week 43. This past weekend we had a hiking/bikejoring meetup with Boston Snow Dogs. Layla walked and had a LOT of fun playing with her gal pal Meeka and a member's new puppy, Nova.

On the trail


Blurry Layla!


With her new friend, baby Nova

She has such a sweet face. Ya'll always have so much fun! I wish we could be that active down here, it's just way too hot.

Boston Snow Dogs is awesome. There's usually something going on around us every weekend, so it keeps us busy! The meetup this past weekend started at 9 a.m. in anticipation of the heat later in the day. I don't know how you guys do it down there! I love warmer weather but the pups I'm sure not so much, haha.

Week 44! I was away at my 10-year high school reunion last weekend so Layla was home with Darren as our fence was installed. I wish I had pics of her out enjoying the yard off leash, but there are still gaps between the ground and fence that we need to fill in, and we're still waiting on one last door to be installed. But, Darren did get some cute shots on a walk through the woods with her this morning and one from over the weekend.

Overseeing the fence installation (or just watching rodents/birds in the yard)


Taking a break by the Concord River on a walk

I really like the pic looking out the window - shows off her oh so pretty white markings.

I'm sure Layla is going to really love her fence - We are really enjoying watching Ami explore the back yard ( i gave up on my men folk fixing the gate and just strung a piece of 4' chicken wire across and held it to the ground with landscape staples. Works. The big boy seems to really respect boundaries!) And most fun of all is watching him run like the wind! And when you get that puppy...  

Thanks!

So far she does love the fence. I can't wait until the final doors are installed on one side so it's truly fully enclosed. And then there's the issue of cordoning off the poison ivy and Lily of the Valley area and fixing those few gaps that're left. But the fence itself looks great and the little freedom we've given Layla in the yard I think she's really enjoyed so far. Next item on the list is a kiddie pool she can splash around in now that the days are hot and lazy.

She's gotten beautiful!I need to post some more pictures of Samoa on here.She's getting big too a whole 35 lbs lol

capellalayla wrote:

Thanks!

So far she does love the fence. I can't wait until the final doors are installed on one side so it's truly fully enclosed. And then there's the issue of cordoning off the poison ivy and Lily of the Valley area and fixing those few gaps that're left. But the fence itself looks great and the little freedom we've given Layla in the yard I think she's really enjoyed so far. Next item on the list is a kiddie pool she can splash around in now that the days are hot and lazy.

A little hint on the kiddie pool - mine is left over from my now 25 yr old - its probably 42" diameter - I was thinking its too small, Walmart has a 60"...well, trying to empty the little pool with even 4" of water is a struggle - I can't imagine emptying the 60 with several inches of water 

Also, we put our chain link fence in almost 30 yrs ago (woke up one morning and found cow piles 3 ft from the pool - can you imagine trying to get a cow out of an inground pool? So in went the fence.) Since the back yard is so big, a nice wood fence was price prohibitive and hubby did not want to see the fence, we had a trail brush-hogged about 10 ft into the surrounding brush. Now we find that Ami really enjoys walking through his little "woods" that is the brush in front of the fence - if you have enough room, maybe as time goes by, you can plant lots of sturdy shrubbery (I say sturdy 'cause Mr. Dog and young pal did some of their romping through my Hosta - decidedly not a sturdy plant   Not to mention the stella d'oro daylilies that hid the snake that Ami spied)

Drat, missed Week 45, but today we're officially at Week 46. We went to York, Maine, yesterday for Layla's first trip to the ocean. We went to Fox's at Nubble Light for dinner and down to Long Sands Beach (where my grandparents have vacationed every year the first week of August without fail for 60+ years), where it was late enough that dogs were allowed on the beach. Layla was in absolute heaven. She didn't know what to do with all that space and all those people and dogs. She was trying to run around like a madwoman, zigzagging back and forth, not on her best behavior but everything was new, so I understand.

Some photos by Darren, some by me, the group shot taken by a nice couple whose dog met Layla.

At Nubble Light




Trying to get Layla to pose with me






Family photo!

Aww great family shot Last time Caoimhe was at the beach, she wanted NOTHING to do with the ocean. She did have loads of fun digging in the sand though. She hasn't been in awhile though. We did get her a kiddie pool and she pretty much used that as a big water dish! Maybe a beach trip for their 1st birthday!??

YES, definitely a beach trip! I was also thinking of having a get-together/cookout at our house now that our fence is up. The humans could grill on our deck and the dogs could run around in the yard. I was thinking of ordering a dog-friendly cake, too, haha.

We also have a kiddie pool but Layla largely ignores it when she's not trying to drink out of it like Caoimhe, haha.

Great beach pics - looks like a fun time.

Question: How do you manage eating out when you're on the road with Layla?

We try to find places with a takeout counter outside. Fox's is just such a place. I ordered and waited for the food while Darren walked Layla around the rocks near the lighthouse, and then we ate on the rocks. There was a patio area we could've sat at but the rocks right by the sea were much nicer.

If it's cool enough out we sometimes leave Layla in the car if we know we won't take too long to eat inside. It's a little trickier but usually we make it work.

Thanks, Liz - that's about what we've done so far, just not the leave Ami in the car thing (subaru has tinted window film and Ami paws at things to get out (ie, why I have to re-stain the laundry room door and had to replace the screen in the storm door  ))

Layla's so lithe and lean - makes Ami look like a tub! Though, I think it's all fur  

Again I've neglected to post! What kind of "52 weeks" are these?

We're almost at 52 -- we're up to Week 50! This afternoon I took Layla outside for some fun running around the back yard and playing in the pool. She had a blast!

Liz, she is beautiful. I don't know if you read my thread puppy fever, but Layla gave me a new appreciation to the black and white husky. I love you 52 weeks, even if you missed a few here and there. If you know, and don't mind sharing can you tell me her height and weight at almost one year?

Thanks, Renee! We think she's pretty special, too. Yes, I have been following your puppy-fever thread for a while and just wrote a really long reply but somehow it got lost and now I can't even remember what all I wrote, haha. Anyway, there have been a lot of great responses and I'm honored that Jen mentioned Layla as a good example of a "balanced" working dog.

It's funny but I'm in touch with a woman, Cortnie, who has one of Layla's littermates, Caoimhe. She's on this forum from time to time. We've been following our dogs' growth and Layla's actually been a little slower to grow than her sister. Right now, at 50 weeks, she weighs 36 pounds and is 22 inches tall at the withers. She's still leggy and skinny, which is common for a yearling. She'll probably fill out (and already is a little bit) over the next year. I anticipate when all's said and done she'll stay at her same height and weigh around 40 pounds.

If you'd like, here are pictures of her parents for reference (taken from the breeder's Web site). Both come from kennels that both show and work their dogs.

Kryska's Ironwill Roxanne (Dam)


Kiana's Double-Action Trigger CGC (Sire)

Nice dam and sire! They are really long and lean.

It's funny Liz - I've been thinking that Ami was really "put together out of leftover parts" and that he was too long in the body, too short in the leg, his head was too narrow and his tail is too short. But looking at his sire - his conformation is almost identical. We won't discuss the coat length  Maybe I'm more accustomed to the cobby bodies of the Old English Sheepdogs my Mom used to raise - they were pretty much a square!

Whatever - they produced a beautiful daughter - Layla is so feminine, elegant!

Lia - I missed the pictures of your fence and Layla romping - the fence looks great! So much room for Layla to run. And she seems to be really enjoying it! It also looks raccoon proof!

Thank you Liz for posting up pics of Laya's parents. Would the dam be considered a splash coat? or pie bald? I'm learning so bear with me. I agree with Amy a beautiful pair indeed and thank you also on Layla's height and weight , it's difficult to judge size with photos.
Renee

Thanks so much, Amy! We were fortunate to be able to meet both of Layla's parents and in addition to their great conformations, they are also total love bugs. I see a lot of both of them in Layla. She has her mom's longer snout and her dad's smile. I'm not quite sure whose body structure she takes after more, but she definitely has her dad's legs and willingness to do anything for food, haha.

We love the new fence, and it has worked to keep out most of the cats and other critters that used to congregate in our yard. The chicken wire is only good at keeping Layla out of the poison ivy, though. We have little metal stakes that secure it to the ground so she can't lift it up and get under it, but the other day Layla was looking out to the back yard and started going CRAZY, jumping up and down, barking, etc. Turns out there was a woodchuck who'd somehow gotten into the yard and was trying to figure out a way to get to the other side of the chicken wire. He dug a hole probably not a quarter-inch deep and fit his ENTIRE body underneath the chicken wire! He must've had to flatten himself into a pancake in order to do it. It was pretty amazing.

We're so lucky to have a nice yard now for Layla to run in. That's one reason we chose this house -- lots of room for dogs and eventually kids to play!

MiyasMomma wrote:

Thank you Liz for posting up pics of Laya's parents. Would the dam be considered a splash coat? or pie bald? I'm learning so bear with me. I agree with Amy a beautiful pair indeed and thank you also on Layla's height and weight , it's difficult to judge size with photos.
Renee

I agree, it's sometimes hard to tell size from photos. And don't worry -- I'm happy to answer your questions! Layla's mom, Roxanne, is considered a black and white piebald.