What is a Tamaskan?

Typical Tamaskan litter. My little baby Blu is in there. 

I thought it was time for me to write another blog and what better to write about then about my new puppy, Blu's breed! She gets here in two days, and I am sure there will be lots more blogs about her in the future!

This is Blu's dad, Balto. (www.blustagtamaskans.com)

 A lot of people haven't heard of the breed Tamaskan. So what is a Tamaskan? The cutest thing to a wolf I think! (; Yes, I am one of those people that fell oh so in love with Game of Thrones, that I just needed a wolf of mine own. Through all the late nights on the internet looking for the perfect breed that not only resembled a wolf, but had a temperament that would be able to be around people and other dogs. Finally, we find the breed Tamaskan.

This is Amber, Blu's mother. (www.blustagtamaskans.com)

Other than being a rare find in this country a fun thing about this breed is that there are so many different looks out there. As you can see with Blu's mom and dad in the above pictures. They were originally bred from several different sled-dogs in Finland. The breed was created with a mixture of Northern Inuit, Utonagan, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Saarlooswolfhond, and other Finnish racing huskies. Quite a bunch of not only highly intelligent dogs but major shedders!! (;

This is Blu. (formally Lexy) 

Screenshot of Blu during her last week with her mom.

We can't wait to meet her and share more of our experience with this rare breed with you!

Some fun facts for you:

-NC State's mascot is a Tamaskan

-They love to howl

-Average life span of 14-15 years

-Known to be escape artists

-Very pack oriented

-The word "Tamaska" means "might wolf" in Native American Language

Too Cute Tuesday

Here are a few wet noses I've met recently that are just too cute to be real puppies! 

                            

This curly-headed heart stopper is my new cousin Redford. He is the most laid back lover you'll meet, that is when he isn't getting into trouble (; 

     

                                                "Uhh, a little help here human!"

                     

                               This little peanut is Olaf, and boy what a cuddle bug! 

                                 

      He is so awkwardly long and short at the same time and has big ole paws as well. Poor little fellow didn't know that once I laid eyes on him, he would be stuck in my arms for the next hour (; 

                                

I kid you not, I have been waiting for it feels like a year now to meet this human lipped cutie, and last weekend I finally got to see her. 

                            

Although, I would argue that her name should be "luscious lips", this brown eyed girl is Miss LuLu.

                               

                                         Talk about too cute, look at those ears! 

                    

Little Brody is a chihuahua/basenji, but I think he looks an awful like a bull terrier with that oh so perfect nose! 

   

Make-out Mondays

                           

This pretty girl is, Izzy. I got to board her for a little over a week. She is such a sweet little fur-ball! She has toe hair like the grinch who stole Christmas, it's adorable! 

     

You have all seen this stud before, this is Samson. He is most famous for his smile from ear to ear! But when he can he likes to get a few licks in to show his loving personality. He is a big softy! 

     

Although blurry, I have to give credit to this sneaky kiss! This is Jax, the one who has stolen my heart. This Lab/Dane mix has one of the longest tongues I have seen! Just look at that thing! 

                  

Last but not least, Milo boy! He may be tiny, this little Jack Russell Terrier, but he sure gives the biggest kisses! 

Gentle Jax

                                   

The love I have for this guy amazes me and grows every time I see him. There's just something that happens to my heart every time I see him. I know I say it about lots of dogs and it's true it happens with many of my waggin' pooches. But man, this dog can do no wrong. 

        

His name is Jax, he is a Great Dane-Lab mix. He is one of the best looking dogs I have seen. In his pictures he doesn't appear that tall, but he is. He has long slender legs, and there's not an ounce of fat on him. He is solid though, like a Dane. 

                                   

If those eyes don't fully capture your heart and don't now what could. I have never seen a dog with such kind eyes. I can never stop looking at them!!

                       

He knows how much I love him, I like to think we are best friends. He does greet me with hugs and kisses everytime I see him and tends to stay close by my side. The only hard part for me working with dogs is that we have to send them home at the end of the day when all I want to do is keep them! I am thankful that I get to borrow Jax from time to time and he will forever have a place in my heart. 

                                   

Awesome Aussies

        Australian Shepherds are becoming one of my all time favorite breeds. They range in shape, size, and color, however all have their way of winning my heart!

                             

Tally is the very first one I have ever had a relationship with. She is considered a "Texas Heeler", which is a mix between an Australian Shepherd and a Blue Heeler. She's on the medium size, with lots of fur (which she is very particular about). Her mother cut her hair on her hind legs and got very self conscious. Silly girl! She is very intelligent as well. I go for the cute factor first in dogs, but once I find out they are smart it takes my love to a whole new level. This girl learns new tricks within minutes. 

      

She is also quite the ball player! This is her after 45 minutes of fetch. She may look tired here, but don't let that fool you, she will be begging to play again after a short rest as if she hasn't played in weeks! Another awesome thing about her, is she is the best hiking buddy. She never strays far from your side and when I get to far behind she comes back and "herds" me by nipping at my ankles followed by a whimper of encouragement. 

                   

You all remember Buster from my previous blog. He was a tough shell to crack but once you do you can't help but fall in love! Like I said Australian Shepherds come in many shades but he has one of the  most well known coat colors for his breed. The most common by breed standards are liver (red), black/liver, and Merle pattern. 

                    

This little guy is Linus, he is a toy Aussie and boy is he a charmer! Don't let his size fool you either, toys have just as much energy as their bigger brothers and sisters and are just as easy to train. They were bred smaller due to the increase in popularity in the past few years for people who wanted a smaller dog but still had smarts and endurance. 

      

His piercing blue eyes are very common in Aussies that have the Merle coating. The Merle gene dilutes pigment in eyes and nose as well as their coat. The more diluted coat leads to higher chances of blue eyes. I have also seen Aussies with "wall eyes" which is when only one eye is blue as well as "split eyes" where one eye might be mostly Amber or brown with hints of blue within. I'm a sucker not only for anything Aussie but for blue eyes to, what can I say! His nose print is also called a "butterfly" nose which is just a cute way of saying loss of pigment. 

Wet Nose Wednesday

   

Did you know that a dogs nose print is unique to each dog, just like our fingerprints are unique to us? 

So what's the reasoning behind theses wet noses? There are a couple reasons. 

The most well known reason is that by having a wet nose it allows our furry friends to keep cool. They only sweat through their pads on their feet. So by panting and secreting mucus through the nose it aids in cooling themselves down. 

   

Another helpful reason behind wet noses that I recently learned, is that their noses aren't wet from sweat but rather from a mucus that allows for chemicals in the air to dissolve onto. This aids with their wonderful sense of smell. 

                 

When these silly pooches are scavenging about in the grass with their rapidly moving noses, they are also licking their nose. By doing this, they bring the entrapped chemicals in the mucus and drag it back to their mouth, where they press it to the top of their mouth. On the top of their mouth there is another olfactory sense organ that can allow them to smell things you and I can't. 

                 

I've seen black noses, wet noses, dry noses, pink noses, brown noses, blue noses, multi colored noses, squished noses, long noses, and runny noses,  and love them all! 

                                  

 

"Berne" Mac

     

Bernese Mountain dogs have become one of my all time favorite breeds. I've got to meet so many of them at my job and I love them all! My buddy Mac was boarding with me last night for the second time. 

The first time he boarded with me, it was his first time ever being there and he did great. We spent the whole night cuddling. My coworkers did not believe me when I said he is one of th biggest cuddle bugs. So I made sure I get plenty of picture to prove to them, that behind that big bear head and those gigantic paws , is a puppy who wants some snuggles! 

                                

He is quite the flirt, as well. This is him trying to get my attention by chewing on my boots. He would toss and turn while lifting his arms to pull me to the floor.

      

Before I knew it, he got me to lay on the dirty ground with him. Sometimes I totally forget how gross that is because I get so wrapped up in the dogs, and then when I look back I go, " oh yeah that's probably why my sweater is full of dog hair and smells like disinfectant". But I would way rather have bonding time than a clean sweater! 

  

Mac got so comfy, that we couldn't contain his tongue. He let it all hangout for a good 15 minutes. 

  

Before I knew it, it was lights out for this guy. Until next time, my Bernese buddy. So there's all the proof I think anyone needs to prove that although he is a beast he is a sucker for some snuggles. 

        

Bonding with Buster

                  

This extremely good lookin' guy is, Buster. He is an Australian shepherd. Buster is a funny guy, who is so in love with his dad that he pays almost no attention to others. This got to me because I loved him from the moment I met him, I mean how could you not fall in love with that face? I was so determined for us to become best friends so I started taking him on walks on Thursdays. We would spend our mornings going to the near by park or taking a drive to shoreline community college dog park. 

                 

Throughout our days spent together, I have learned that the way into his heart, is simply spending time with him, oh and did I mention that I fill his belly with treats? That saying may be true not only for men but for dogs as well "that a way to a mans heart is through his stomach." Of course, I do make him work for his treats ( sometimes)! He knows sit, shake, come, lay down, and rollover! 

                

We are still working on the whole "fetch, retrieve, and return" idea, because his nose tends to want to wonder instead. But he lets me know when he is ready to play ball. The only things he loves more than his dad and his ball, are sticks. 

    

                

Funny story about this stick in particular. He found it on his early morning walk with his dad and again when we went on our walk. He almost always goes for bigger sticks then he can handle and sometimes taking me out with them! 

                             

Now that I got him to like me, he never wants me to leave! He does this routine on our way home where he lays down and pulls on the leash the opposite direction. Although some would think its naughty, I always have a big smile on my face, thinking maybe, just maybe, he loves me as much as I love him!! 

It's always sad saying goodbye, but I always look forward to his happy cries next Thursday when we reunite for our fun adventures! 

Make-out Mondays

Everyone knows that feeling of a big, cold, slobbery, wet, sometimes sticky feeling tongue sliding across your face and there's nothing you can do about it,because they always manage to sneak one in. Although many people tend to rub it off and push it away, I can't get enough of them, in fact I encourage them! I have to admit there have been times where I let my furry friends clean my face from ear to ear, forehead to chin! It doesn't get more precious then being attacked by dog kisses. 

Here are a few of the big smooches from my pooches that I managed to get on camera.   

    Everyone that remembers my friend Rudy from my

    previous blog knows the love that comes from that slobbery kiss! 

 

      This wet one is from the little snowball, Maui. 

  

        Although her tongue was too fast for me to catch, I promise you it was 

        there, from my girl Callie.

  

       I have to admit, that Elwood, gives the wettest kisses and he does 

       sometimes sneak a nibble in sometimes. 

    You get not only kisses from Sampson, but if you are lucky 

     enough you he gives hugs as well!! 

  

      Last, but not least, is Mac. He likes to sit in your lap and then wash your face for you. 

Boarding Buddies

 I thought I would share with you some of my boarding buddies from last night. The night was filled with lots of licks, wagging tails, drool, snuggles, and positive vibes! I normally have between 1-4 boarders, but last night I had thirteen wiggly wet noses. It's always so fun when I get a big group and especially when they all get along so well.

The night began with a feeding frenzy. I get to work around 6:30, which I am then greeted by all the daycare dogs. The dogs that are extra excited to see me, know that feeding time is near. Being the boarder has it's perks, because the boarding dogs associate me with food, so I get extra loves! 

      

This infectious smile belongs to Sampson, a pit bull shepherd mix. His smile is literally ear to ear and greets me with it after he gulps down his dinner. It's always so cute when I look over and there are dog heads barely peeking over the walls. 

                       

This golden guy is Finn, he is a silly eater. He likes to tip over his bowl and then immediately jump up to look at me. Finn and I have a special bond, when I arrive for the day he tackles me, goes between my legs, and hits me with slobbery kisses. It was getting to be too much that I tried to stay on the other side of the fence one day, but then he kept bulldozing the fence so I had to just brace myself and head in. He also, won't eat his food until I sit in the suite with him and hand feed him his food, silly boy.

                                

This curlicue doodle is, Flynn. He has a food allergy and gets very special food containing fish and sweet potatoe. He is a special guy full of love and has those big brown sweet eyes. 

     

These siblings are new here but have already found a special place in my heart. Cedar on the left, is an old lady who has to be, if not in my lap, next to my lap with her paw on my leg. Koa, on the right, is truely a loving lab. All his paws have white tips except his front right paw that is all black. Just look at those eyes, they melt my heart!

                    

This young doodle mix is, Winston. We had quite the name game this night. We had two Winston's and a Finn and Flynn. Winston is doing surprisingly well; his owner is having a second surgery and he is definitely experiencing empathy for her. I just made sure I gave him extra snuggles and love. 

     

This young pup is, Cashew. Below is his brother Peanut. His has the nicest coat I have ever seen. It's super smooth, clean, and almost looks like he goes to a personal stylist at the salon that cuts his hair with scissors, it's so nice. My favorite thing about Cushew, other than his coat, are his facial expressions. His eyebrows are always moving. 

   

Last, but not least, is Peanut. Don't be fooled by his name, he is a big guy. I didn't think he could get any cuter until I managed to get him to try my glasses on. He has such a gentle personality and remains completely still if you just continue to pet his head. Love him! 

Hope you enjoyed a few of the pooches from last nights boarding adventures!