A bonk on the noggin

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We had a busy week, but still have plenty of fun stories to tell.

It was warmer this week, so Riley decided to open the sliding glass door and just use the screen door to let some fresh air into the house. It had been quite a while since Boo had been in this situation, and it showed.

Boo needed to go outside, and thought the door was open. He bonked his head right on the screen door, then looked up at me with this shocked look on his face like “what the heck was that?!”.

Later that evening, the glass door was closed like normal. Boo needed to go outside again. I opened the glass door and he hesitated. I told him it was ok to go outside. He poked his nose slowly through the doorway twice to see if he would run into anything. Then he stuck a paw through the doorway just to double check. Again, I told him it was ok to go outside, but he was too skeptical. I had to give his butt a little push to get him to believe me and go out the door!

This past weekend, it was time for Boo to go spend a few weeks at Beth’s house. Before I could meet Beth, I needed to stop at my cousin’s house, and I had Boo with me. My cousins had just gotten a new puppy - an English Cream Golden Doodle! His name is Sully, and he’s even softer than he looks!

I did not realize that my other cousin was bringing his 10 month old Golden Retriever named Bella there as well, so it was quite the dog party.

Boo, being Boo, stood in the corner and refused to play with either of them. He gets anxious around other dogs that are not sled dogs. He is also not a fan of small dogs.

I was surprised that Boo actually touched noses with Sully. Maybe he’s getting over his puppy fear? Bella was too chaotic for him though, and he tucked his tail.

Boo ended up waiting in the car until I was ready to leave. Shortly after, I met up with Beth to drop him off. See you in a few weeks, buddy!

Unfortunately, with all the rain last week we didn’t get to run the dogs much. Now it seems like the warmer weather is here. Which is nice for us humans, but sadly means it might be the end of our running with the dogs for a few months.

Now we’ll transition to only walks, so the dogs don’t get too hot. Alaskans don’t always look like they have the thickest fur, especially compared to Siberians, but they do, which prevents us from running in anything warmer than 50-ish degree weather.

So now that the we’ll have less runs to talk about each week, now is a good time answer more questions about mushing and life with adopted sled dogs! Send us all your questions, if we haven’t answered them already.

Last but not least, the eclipse was yesterday, as I’m sure you are all well aware! In Indiana, we were in the path of totality, which was an amazing experience!

We all had our safety glasses on to enjoy the eclipse, even Pence.

Just kidding! We followed the guidelines of keeping pets inside during the eclipse for their safety, so she just chilled in her crate during that time. I do wonder what she thought about it getting really dark suddenly, but only for a few minutes.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us! The eerie color of the sky, sudden darkness, and serenity of totality was an incredible experience. The next total solar eclipse that will pass through part of the United States will happen in 2044.

If you were able to witness the eclipse, we’d love to hear your stories and/or see your photos!

We’ll be back with another newsletter on Friday, where we will talk about tips on how to get started bikejoring with your furry friend!