Hi all!

I ran across this forum this morning while trying to find out if feeding dogs pumpkin really helps to settle their stomachs. I got my beautiful husky, Sky, about two months ago from a home that couldn't handle her excess energy. (I'm still working on handling it, myself!) She's coming up on 8 months old.

We've been going to obedience classes and she's a quick learner (although that doesn't mean she always likes to listen!). I recently learned about dog scootering, and I'm looking into teaching her to run alongside my bicycle until I can afford a new scooter. I think she'll love it now that the weather is beginning to cool!

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. From the little I've read, I think I'll fit right in here.

Welcome to the forum! Sky is gorgeous, and yes they are a lot to handle when they're puppies. Not sure if you've found the posts on pumpkin yet, but it is wonderful for them. I mix up a little canned pumpkin with plain yogurt, stuff a kong with it, cap the ends with peanut butter and then throw it in the freezer. Keeps our little maniac quiet for about 45 minutes.

Good luck with the biking as well, and there are tons of posts on here with good info on biking and other sports with the dogs.

Welcome! Sky is so so so pretty! The biking really does help to drain out their energy, but I'd take it slow at first. Not sure how long you've been trying it out with her though so you might already be past that stage =) I'm in Miami and I can't wait for it to cool down a bit to start up biking with my 2 again. Do you have any sort of bike attachment for her? If not, I would definitely look into one. I have the walky dog and it's great!

I do the whole pumpkin/yogurt mix in the kong as well and it keeps them entertained for about 30min. Also, when whenever Kodys tummy is upset I put a spoonful in with his food and it helps. He has a very sensitive tummy so any little thing that he picks up gives him the runs

Welcome! Sky is beautiful! Pumpkin has worked wonders for my two when they are having tummy issues.

Thank you for the welcome! Your dogs are so cute, too!! ^_^

I will definitely have to try freezing a Kong to see what she thinks! I'm going to go get some pumpkin today to try that. Have you tried tuna and sticky rice? I read on another site that some people freeze that in kongs. I'm not sure what ratio they use, though.

I haven't tried biking with Sky yet at all, but I have been doing some reading about it on various websites. We're only just beginning to see highs below the 90s here (yuck!). I just saw your video with Mya on the Walkydog, Melissa. That looks great! I'm hoping it'll help to curb some of Sky's digging, as well. Even though I love that picture of her all covered in dirt. haha!

YAY! Another Californian! lol Welcome! I bike with Kale as well and he LOVES it. Pumpkin is great for upset tummies and freezing it in a Kong is awesome for "quiet time" lol Can't wait to see more pics of your Sky!!

Yay! I'm a bit familiar with Turlock, too. I went to CSU Stanislaus for a couple of years. I know it gets nearly as hot there during the summer. Do you have any tips for exercising your pup during the hot months? I've got a little wader pool in the backyard, but she's not that into it.

Welcome to the forum! Sky is gorgeous, especially covered in dirt

pixipanda wrote:

I haven't tried biking with Sky yet at all, but I have been doing some reading about it on various websites. We're only just beginning to see highs below the 90s here (yuck!). I just saw your video with Mya on the Walkydog, Melissa. That looks great! I'm hoping it'll help to curb some of Sky's digging, as well. Even though I love that picture of her all covered in dirt. haha!

Girl, let's not even get into the digging issues..lol. Mya has gotten much better over the past few months actually, but she was a digging freak! I'm not sure why she's laid off of it, but whatever it is...thank god..lol.

We just hit the upper 80s this week as well. Hopefully by next month it will drop to the upper 70s and then we'll get back to the biking. Mya loves it! Kody does too, but he he stops to smell stuff A LOT and it's very annoying. He's gotten better, but still does it. I would suggest putting a regular collar and leash on her as well. That will help you maneuver her better especially when you're teaching her to keep on going instead of stopping. A little tug and she should get it fairly quickly. It also makes me feel more secure knowing that I have a back up if (god forbid) the walk dog or harness were to break

MelissaI wrote:

It also makes me feel more secure knowing that I have a back up if (god forbid) the walk dog or harness were to break

Lol! No kidding! Sky basically ignores the "Come" command unless she knows I have a pocket full of treats! I'd hate to think of all the trouble she'd get into before she got bored enough to come find me again. x_x

Welcome! Can't wait to see more pics of ur girl. Not much to add but I will touch on the sticky rice and say none of us really feed rice in our sibs diet.

pixipanda wrote:

Yay! I'm a bit familiar with Turlock, too. I went to CSU Stanislaus for a couple of years. I know it gets nearly as hot there during the summer. Do you have any tips for exercising your pup during the hot months? I've got a little wader pool in the backyard, but she's not that into it.

lol it's the college town that... really isn't a college town. At least we have a target now!! lmao! As for exercise during the summer, I usually walk him really early in the morning, he sleeps all the rest of the morning and afternoon and then have a play sesh in the backyard at dusk for about an hour, then another hour walk when it's dark lol Thank goodness that it's cooling down!! Can finally start hiking around the Frisco bay area! Kale loves his kiddy pool and I got him swimming at Tulloch Lake over the summer. He HATED it at first because he couldn't touch the bottom, but once he realized he's not gonna die and that he was safe, he started having a blast. What finally worked was me swimming out a bit and calling him, and he finally started jumping in and swimming out to me. Took a long time but he LOVES swimming now. (he still won't sit in his pool tho )

Welcome! :hello: She's adorable! We're not too far from you, in the Hollywood area. We'll have to get a Husky Huddle/Malamute Mingle started in this area so we can all meet!

We do the pumpkin too - especially if their poo is a bit soft. If you have a Fresh 'n Easy near you, they have the best prices on canned pumpkin!

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer. I tried freezing yogurt, shredded carrot, and a little bit of peanut butter in her kong last night and it was a huge hit! She seems to be back to her chipper self, too. I'm really glad about that. (Even though it means she's covered and mud and trying to jump on me. )

Lol! I have a feeling Sky will be the same way with swimming. We haven't tried it yet, but I can't wait!

I'm totally down for getting our dogs together sometime, Sam! Have you been to any of the Urban Mushing group meetups in Costa Mesa? I'd really like to check that out sometime, but I don't know if I could make it there by 8am with it being a couple hours away. x.x

No mushing group meetups - I have thought about getting a scooter, but I want something that I can use every morning in the city to exercise the little monsters. We can wait a few weeks until it cools down a bit and then pick a dog park close to the 5 so you guys can make a day of it! The Sepulveda Basin Dog Park in Northridge is pretty cool, and huuuge. How far are you guys from Santa Clarita?

There's also an informal husky meetup at the El Segundo Dog park every Sunday from 2-5 ish. We had fun there last time we went, and there's an awesome dog wash a few blocks from there! This is one of the few great dog parks in the area. Dog parks in LA are tricky since there's so many a-holes who take their dogs and then spend the whole time on twitter on their iphone and don't watch their dogs.

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

. Dog parks in LA are tricky since there's so many a-holes who take their dogs and then spend the whole time on twitter on their iphone and don't watch their dogs.

Thats not just in LA! Our trip yeasterday consisted of a woman who brouhg her agressive german shepard mutt in and everytime he would go attack another dog, she would just say No Bark, real quite like the dog could really hear her. And then theres the kids who bring thier dogs and just let them loose and sit on the picnic table playing angry birds.

Hmm, Google maps says we're 1.5-2 hours from Santa Clarita and a little over 2 to El Segundo. We could probably do that sometime! I've heard there are some dog parks here in town, but I haven't gone looking for them yet. I want to get my girl spayed before letting her loose with a bunch of random dogs. I know she'll absolutely love it, though! She loves playing with the dogs at obedience class, even though I keep her on a leash.

pixipanda wrote:

Hmm, Google maps says we're 1.5-2 hours from Santa Clarita and a little over 2 to El Segundo. We could probably do that sometime! I've heard there are some dog parks here in town, but I haven't gone looking for them yet. I want to get my girl spayed before letting her loose with a bunch of random dogs. I know she'll absolutely love it, though! She loves playing with the dogs at obedience class, even though I keep her on a leash.

Yes - definitely after the spay!

Frosti spent much of her obedience class making goo goo eyes at the cute pittie boy in class instead of listening to mommy.

lol!!

pixipanda wrote:

Hi all!

I ran across this forum this morning while trying to find out if feeding dogs pumpkin really helps to settle their stomachs. I got my beautiful husky, Sky, about two months ago from a home that couldn't handle her excess energy. (I'm still working on handling it, myself!) She's coming up on 8 months old.

We've been going to obedience classes and she's a quick learner (although that doesn't mean she always likes to listen!). I recently learned about dog scootering, and I'm looking into teaching her to run alongside my bicycle until I can afford a new scooter. I think she'll love it now that the weather is beginning to cool!

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. From the little I've read, I think I'll fit right in here.

Hi! Your Sky is a lovely baby! I have used just a bit of pumkin in Shiya's food when she has a hard time going or even slightly runny stool. It helps either way. High in water and fiber. I am new here too and havent seen the pumkin, yogurt treats either but Im going to look for them! I give Shy plain Stoneybrook farms organic plain yogurt with diced apples for a treat. she loves it but the treat they mentioned on her I will have to try. She loves peanut butter too!

I haven't tried any fruit with Sky yet. I'll have to see what she thinks! Sometimes I give her carrots to gnaw on and she's raided my garden for tomatoes several times. (*sigh*)

pixipanda wrote:

I haven't tried any fruit with Sky yet. I'll have to see what she thinks! Sometimes I give her carrots to gnaw on and she's raided my garden for tomatoes several times. (*sigh*)

Kale goes BONKERS for carrots! Careful with the tomato stems and leaves, they can be toxic to dogs.

hypers987 wrote:

Kale goes BONKERS for carrots! Careful with the tomato stems and leaves, they can be toxic to dogs.

I've read that, too. She loves ripping the vines she can reach off, but I don't think she's eating them. Sometimes I really wonder how dogs survived for so many millennia! The things that girl eats!

I think I've finally managed to make my fence around the garden dog-proof. At least until she learns to dig holes big enough to fit through. I'm sure it'll happen one of these days!