Hello,

After being inspired by all the amazing scrapbook threads, I decided to give it a go.

Riley was born on June 12th, 2014.  Purchased from a local breeder, who breeds primarily for sledding.  This really appealed to us as we wanted a high energy dog.  Growing up I had a black lab who was a great dog, but she just didn't have the endurance to keep up with our active lifestyles.

This is the first image we have of her.  She had just turned 8 weeks old.



She is 10 weeks old today and so far she really has had an amazing impact on our family.  She has become a focal point for all of us.  I feel the humans in our little family have gotten closer as a direct result of caring for Riley.

Anyway, here are some images from week 8 to 10.









Thanks for reading.

She is just so cute - 'specially that fourth one down.

You want high energy? Suspect you got it - I think Ami is probably low energy for a husky and he is full of the ol' scratch  Except in the summer, then he's sort of an old, moth eaten rug   (He's blowing coat as I speak)

amymeme wrote:

She is just so cute - 'specially that fourth one down.

You want high energy?  Suspect you got it - I think Ami is probably low energy for a husky and he is full of the ol' scratch  Except in the summer, then he's sort of an old, moth eaten rug   (He's blowing coat as I speak)

Thanks!

So far she has not been that high energy, although she is still very young.  As of now we walk her three times a day, and play in the yard.  

She crashes hard when she is inside.

Here is an example:

Amy, you can like the fourth on, I like the third where's she's peaking out of the bedding!

Jeff, watch the walks - too much walking at an early age can cause problems with their joints later in life (as can going up and down stairs).   I believe, if I remember right, it's something like five minutes for each month of age per walk.  Play time doesn't count since they can take a time out on their own when they're tired.

Thanks for the advice.

The walks are very leisurely, and she usually sets the pace. It really is a combination of smelling, then about 50 feet of pouncing, then more smelling. We probably cover about a half mile in total.

Is that too much? it is tough to gauge by time as there is so much down time.

As long as it's mostly a "play" walk and on grassy areas as opposed to pavement you should be good.

Beautiful pup and awesome pictures! What camera and lens do you use?

simplify wrote:

As long as it's mostly a "play" walk and on grassy areas as opposed to pavement you should be good.

Beautiful pup and awesome pictures! What camera and lens do you use?

Thanks. The last thing I want to be doing is causing problems from the beginning. I should mention that the walks take place in a large park by my house, and the surface is either grass or a gravel path. The only concrete is crossing the street.

For these images, I used a Nikon D810 and 85 1.4 lens. Although I used my iPhone for the first image and the one of her in her cage.

Then you should be fine. It's more like structured walks that aren't recommended for young pups. If it's mostly just walking around and her playing around it's fine.

Sweet. I'm a Canon gal, but gotta love that 1.4f!

simplify wrote:

Then you should be fine. It's more like structured walks that aren't recommended for young pups. If it's mostly just walking around and her playing around it's fine.

Sweet. I'm a Canon gal, but gotta love that 1.4f!

Phew!

I envy the 1.2's that cannon shooters get to shoot with.

Some more images.  This time with some humans:

My eldest Lexie



Riley tolerating Haley's love

There is nothing better in the world than to see a happy kid and her pup!! Nice family Jeff.

MiyasMomma wrote:

There is nothing better in the world than to see a happy kid and her pup!! Nice family Jeff.

Thanks! Yeah the kids are loving her.

Some more pics.



My daughter has what I like to call "dogholdiatus"  She can't stop picking riley up.



Riley pooped after a long romping session.



Her favorite toy.

One of the benefits of having early morning duty with Riley is that I have seen every sunrise since we got her.

Here is an iPhone pic of one of the nicer ones.

I couldn't complain about seeing that sunrise every morning, nor that cute face. That is a great shot.

Wow, Riley has the sweetest face and such a great mask.

Too bad her colors will change 400 times

TwisterII wrote:

I couldn't complain about seeing that sunrise every morning, nor that cute face. That is a great shot.

Thanks.

This was one of the more epic ones. Most of them are pretty dull.

seattlesibe wrote:

Wow, Riley has the sweetest face and such a great mask.

Too bad her colors will change 400 times

That is cool.  We love her anyway she looks.

Short story.  My girls (wife and two daughters) insisted on getting a female dog.  I think in part to outnumber me 4 to 1.  Anyway, the breeder we chose had two females available to adopt.  A black and white and grey.  Based on the images from her website I was thought we would pick the black and white pup 100%.  She was incredibly cute and I always wanted a B&W husky pup.  She was stunning.  

When we went to meet the pups there were the two females and a male pup that was sold, but had not been picked up yet.  The B&W pup and the male were constantly romping around and were always high key.  Riley would come over smell us jump up for about a min of love then lie down and just watch the other two go at it.  She was much more social with the "humans".  She just seemed more mature or submissive (if you can label a dog that way).  From that point we choose her simply on her temperament and forgot about looks.

We did end up spending a over an hour with the different pups to make sure.  

We could not be happier with our choice!

Wow that is an incredible picture, I was in awe, thank you for sharing. Great story on how you picked her.

Thanks Renee.

Here is another first for us.  A quick 5 second video....

They love to swim, she's a natural. Good times!! Loved it and your girls are enjoying the puppy as well, very cool that the whole family is involved in the care, play, and training.

MiyasMomma wrote:

They love to swim, she's a natural. Good times!! Loved it and your girls are enjoying the puppy as well, very cool that the whole family is involved in the care, play, and training.

We will be going to my parents lake house this weekend. Should be a blast!

OMG!  Best invention ever.

The bully stick.

Riley has been having a bunch of doggy playdates recently.

I tried to get a better picture, but they were always moving.

Notice the size difference between Daisy(the golden) and Riley.  Once Daisy left she was asleep in about 15 seconds.

OMG, too cute