Alaskans First

It is so wonderful when owning an Alaskan Husky because this is one of the rarest sorts from countries to the world. However, apart from their cuties, you should know how to take care of them carefully. This is a great challenge for those who love pooches. Here is how!

An overview of the Alaskan Husky

Like humans, you should have a solid understanding of this sort in advance such as their physical ability, their personality, their concerned health, etc. Look after a husky like you are taking care of your kids.

Some specific information to estimate their lifespans and take care of them

• Height: from 23 to 26 inches
• Weight: from 40 to 60 pounds
• Lifespan: between 12 and 15 years

General physical

In general, Alaskan Husky’s appearance looks like Siberian Huskies. Males will weigh around 50 pounds while females can get about 48 pounds only. This is a more a general sort than a strict breed, they have several colors and patterns.

Mostly, it is said that the Alaskan Husky is bigger and leaner than the Siberian Huskies. Moreover, Alaskan’s eyes are brown while Siberians have blue ones or a combination of brown and blue.

Most Alaskans have great eyesight with strong nostril so that they can find out dangerous signs immediately. Although Alaskans are not good at swimming, they still performance 6 feet from their sitting position.

Their personality

They have various temperaments. They are usually fond of everyone and other dogs, so they are known as friendly dog sorts.

Though Alaskans could be thought that they are a jumper, they do this action when they feel love or comfortable with someone or any dog only. They are also well-trained sorts because they always want to learn new things in their lifetimes.

However, they often wish to change their routine habits and they are so independent. Eventually, you should take over hours to raise the Alaskans. If you are so busy, so choosing an Alaskan will not be a great idea.

Their daily care

It is good news to hear that Alaskans do not need to take care much about their fur. This is a great coat to protect their skin and body in every weather condition.

You just need to take them a shower on a regular basis and you can comb to help them have smooth fur. Of course, they also have shedding process but this is not a common point. Each year, they will get new coat naturally.

Their concerned health

The longevity ranges between 12 and 15 years. They are considered as a healthy breed. However, they still have some diseases which come from their genetics like other dog sorts around the world such as Rentinal Atrophy, Larynx, Hypothyroidism, etc.

How to feed an Alaskan Husky

Like other sorts, you should help them a balanced diet regularly. It is a good idea to combine shop bought food for husky and organic food with a high protein source. When it comes to the dog food selections, you will get several stories behind.

For instance, they do not like raw foods or they have a bad habit to eat commercial dog foods only. Additionally, your pooches are probably allergic with any ingredient in their food. On the other hand, they may get ill that you cannot recognize.

The rule of thumb here is observing them on a regular basis. Then, you should take your own note about theirs like allergies, eating habit, etc. Often go to the vet when you find out any awful signal on their health, including their eyes.

Please keep in mind that you should not feed them with bones. These can damage or make your pooches get some wounds.

If you are owned an outdoor dog, you will need to feed your Alaskan a seasonal diet. In the cold seasons, you can increase fat and protein in their bowl. However, in the hottest conditions, you should cut down both 2 main ingredients on their daily diet. It is difficult to do that but you should practice it!

Make their meal schedule. When you feed them before doing exercises, they do not want to do that. In addition, this will create a dangerous gastric bloat and torsion as well. These probably kill your pooches. After 30 minutes of training, you can begin showing their diet.

Do not forget to take more water to your pooches as many as you can. This is also important when they are training and after that. During the cold months, you should always remind them to drink water. This will support their blood cells smoothly move and preventing dehydration.

How to help your Alaskans do exercise

The number of exercises could depend on how well you are creative. You can throw a dog toy and let them run to catch it.

If you do not have a large yard, you will walk around with them. This is also a great alternation of doing exercise. Or you are able to play with them by having a slight running competition.

If your budget is more available, you will ask for help from a dog whisper. He or she will add more exercises and show you how to do that.

How about the exercising time? The greatest durations are around 30 minutes in the early morning. This is a perfect time when you and pooches can practice the body shapes together with adding more fresh air to your lungs.

How to get a great shower for Alaskans

This part is crucial in the hot season for humans and pooches as well. You can use a water pipe and put it slowly to your dog’s body. Then, you enable to get the dog shower to add to their fur along with slight massage.

After that, remove the shower by fresh water again. Finally, dry them by a soft cloth. Avoid putting the water pipe directly to their body as this may get them hurt and scare about bathing. They do not want to do that in the upcoming time!

Closing thoughts

The fact is that caring an Alaskan is not a daunting task. As a pet owner, you should pay attention to some important points and do it with your heart only! Imagine you are looking after a little kid.

The object in delaying actual bird retrieving was to avoid creating in the dog a desire to pick up and carry birds before he learned to point staunchly and to be steady to wing and shot. To have done this in the opposite order would have resulted in such problems as the dog’s looking for the bird instead of using his nose, getting in too close, and worst of all, breaking point in an attempt to catch it.

It is logical, on the other hand, that if the dog is taught, temptations and therefore problems are less likely to arise. The fact that dummies were used earlier in retrieving is immaterial as the dog will not have connected these with birds. They have merely served to teach him to pick up, carry, and deliver correctly.

As with staunchness and steadiness-to-wing training, it is advisable to use the check line at first and let your helper do the shooting, this time using only the shotgun, as some birds are going to be shot. If you were doing the shooting, your attention would be distracted at the very moment your dog would be most likely to break and run in, which is the time you would have the gun to your shoulder. There is no way you can watch the dog for those few seconds, and he will sense it.

Furthermore, it is most important from this stage in training that both you and your helper be fully aware of two other fundamental principles which must be rigorously observed. These are as follows:

(1) Never shoot a bird over a dog which breaks and runs in as the bird flies. The gunner should always pause first to see that the dog has held before taking the shot. This is because, as I have said before, a retrieve is a reward for doing right. If he breaks, he has done wrong, so no reward should be forthcoming.

(2) Never shoot over a pointing dog a bird which he has not pointed. The bird may, for instance, fly off as the dog is approaching it. If this happens it must be left strictly alone with no shot fired. When hunting wild birds later, there are bound to be occasions when a bird will flush which the dog has not pointed. This will happen often with grouse and sometimes with pheasent. Woodcock tend to hold fairly well, but they too can be fickle. The rule of thumb, especially during a dog’s first season or two, should be to ignore all birds that flush of their own accord and those which you are unsure whether or not he has pointed. This demands self-discipline in great measure, especially if the bird happens to be the first shootable grouse of the day after three hours in the woods! It is a rule most hunters

would not be prepared to go along with, but if you are a dog man more than a hunter, as I hope you are, you’ll have to make up your mind to accept it.

If you do shoot birds over a pointing dog when you cannot tell for certain whether he pointed, you may in fact be shooting birds he has flushed. And birds shot over a pointing dog that he had knowingly flushed lead directly down the slippery slope to unstaunch points and general unsteadiness. Be staunch yourself, and you’ll reap the benefit in seasons to come.

Start by hunting the dog into the area where the birds have been planted, check as usual to see that the dog is staunchly holding his point, then stand on the line. Wait a few seconds and give your helper the nod to walk in and flush the bird. As the bird flies, concentrate on watching the dog, not the bird. Your helper will have noted its location when he shot it, and hopefully so will the dog. When the bird is down, wait a while as you would if it were a dummy and be ready to act, because if a break is going to occur, that’s when it will happen.

Don’t let the dog retrieve the first two or three birds that are shot over him, even though he remains good and steady. Have your helper walk out and pick them up in full view of the dog. As he walks out for a bird, say “Gone away” to the dog, and nothing more unless you have to. Let the dog take a sniff at each bird collected and, as you progress, walk out to pick one up yourself now and then, making quite sure he stands his ground. Now you will appreciate the value of having done this earlier with the dummies, when you allowed him to collect only the ones you wanted.

Repeat the process for another couple of sessions, leaving the check cord in place despite the fact that he’s holding, because next you are going to let him do some actual bird retrieving. They will not be, for the moment, the birds just shot, but cold dead birds from the previous training session. Make sure they are clean and free of blood and have your helper carry them in a pocket or bag.

I prefer pigeons for this but naturally if up until now you have always used quail, by all means use dead quail instead. The reason for using cold dead birds at first is that it tends to discourage a young dog from “mouthing,” which can sometimes  happen when first retrieving warm, freshly shot birds.

Start by having him stand alongside you and give him several retrieves of dead birds thrown by your partner as the gun is fired. Make him wait until commanded to retrieve; also tap him lightly on the head if you used this technique with the dummies. Have him bring them right to hand and, if he’s at all hesitant, adopt the same tactics as with dummy retrieving backing away, whistling, calling him, etc.

After a couple of sessions of this, provided he has performed well, you can proceed to use the dead birds in conjunction with shooting over him after a point and when a bird has been flushed.

This time, when your partner walks in and flushes the bird, he should shoot but not to hit it. Instead he will have with him a cold dead bird which he will throw, after the shot, in full view of the dog, twenty yards or so in front. The dog’s attention will then be wrested from the departing flyer onto the thrown dead one. The dog won’t know the difference. Pause for the compulsory few seconds, then give the command to retrieve. After doing this another two or three times, leave it for the day. Next time out, you can fire the gun yourself but still have your helper throw the dead bird.

Only now and I make no apologies for being so strict because that is what training is all about may you allow him to retrieve some birds that have actually been shot over him. Remember the rules: your helper to do the shooting; you to watch the dog; check line still on; a quiet pause once the bird has fallen before you send the dog to retrieve, and praise when he delivers to you.

Two or three birds shot and retrieved in one session are enough, and remember to let one or two fly off unscathed with a shot fired in the air. You did this with dummies and he came to understand it; now you’re doing the same with birds, so there’s every reason to believe he’ll understand this too. Like us he must (albeit reluctantly) come to terms with the fact that not all birds that are shot at are brought down.

Once more self-confidence will dictate to you when the check line and choke chain can be removed, and lastly, having had your partner shoot for you for a while, all that remains now is for you to do the shooting yourself.

Bearing in mind that you’re assuming two roles i.e., dog handler and gunner your actions on walking up to your dog when he’s on point are going to be somewhat different now so we’ll go through them from A to Z. First make sure that your gun is loaded (it’s easily forgotten!). Approach your dog from the side or front. Give him a reminder to ”whoa” as you start to kick around in the cover in front of him prior to kicking up the bird. Watch the dog carefully all the time for signs of movement. If he holds well, flush the bird but don’t shoot too soon. Pause for a second or two to look at your dog and to “whoa” him again. Then swing on the bird and shoot. As the bird drops, don’t dwell on where it has fallen; instead, look around immediately at the dog again to be sure he has held. Pause, unload, then send him for the retrieve.

A lot to do, you may think, but in practice it’s done almost without thinking and accomplished in seconds. Take my advice and learn to do this as a routine.

What you have achieved by now, therefore, should convince you that at last you have a dog which is steady to wing and shot. There’s still wild bird hunting to be done of course, which we’ll get around to later. But you have now progressed through the most important and difficult stages of this fascinating (and at times frustrating!) aspect of training.