Meet the dogs - Elly and Rigby

I still wonder at times what got into me when we said yes to two more siblings.  Yes I needed one more to make a team of 4, but siblings?  Again?  

Training siblings is lots of work, but how could I say no?  We met them when they were 2 weeks old and they were so darn adorable.

 

Naming them was a matter of searching the Internet for names in songs as we decided to go with the theme my son started.  Not sure if anyone has picked up on it yet. 

Beatles songs... Penny (Penny Lane), Rocky (Rocky Raccoon), and Molly was from the song Obla De... Hubba was already named, so we relate him to the Yoko Ono period.

My daughter came up with the idea of Eleanor Rigby... and we loved it.  Here they are at just over 18 months old now.

 

 

ELLY

 

Girls first!   I have to admit it, Elly is probably my favorite as I have become 'her' human.  She loves to cuddle with me on the couch, or the floor, or anywhere I may be sitting.  She is such a sweet dog, but so darn naughty too.

She has chewed holes in the living room and backroom carpets and eats ear plugs any chance she gets.  She also eats poop and I can't pick it up fast enough when I let them out of their runs, I know, disgusting!

We had her spayed as I was not going to have 2 girls in heat at the same time ever again but I believe it has added to Elly's struggle to keep weight off.  She grows fat over night I'm sure of it!   Feeding her is a science to keep the weight from building on her and it doesn't help that she LOVES to eat.

 

When these two were just pups we took them to our friends farm to have them run in a team.  Rick watched the dogs for me and commented that she was pulling out to the side which showed possible signs of a leader.

He was right.

Elly runs so well in lead, she is an amazing little dog with so much energy to burn she and runs like the wind. She also loves to run and screams a high pitch wail when putting her on line.

 

Elly still needs to work with other stronger leaders as she learns her commands but I can see her becoming an excellent skijour dog and I cannot wait to get on skis with her.

 

RIGBY

 

Then there is Rigby.  He is our comedienne of the pack.  Extremely vocal.  Terribly hyper.  Overly naughty.  Crazy focused, or obsessed depending on what he is doing.  Exhausting at times.

If Rigby was a human child he would most likely be on Ritalin as he would have been diagnosed with ADHD... mixed with OCD as well.. when you start throwing his ball he cannot stop chasing and bringing it back, to the point of putting it on your lap if you ignore him.

 

He loves to be loved and to be the center of attention.  Pushing others out of the way so that he can be pet first and solely.  If there is a command chain to the pack order he would be second.  Penny still puts him in his place and he respects her for sure.   If his ball lands right beside her he will wait for her to move before grabbing it.

However he bullies all the other dogs, steals toys and bones from them all, in fact if they are digging a hole he will push them out of the way to take over.

 

Rigby has cost us a fortune in vet bills from his strange disorder called Pica.  He eats non-food items with his favorite being socks.  And not actually just eating them, but swallowing them whole.  He has had colitis and almost died from this.  We have to watch him like crazy and keep an eye on what is laying around the yard or house.

 

But he has been worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.  He is crazy focused and pulls like a semi truck.  He has boundless energy and when running the dogs he hates to stop for any reason.   Fast and strong with a love for running makes him the perfect sled dog.

I just wish he didn't make so much noise.. when we put him in the truck to head to the trails he cries the entire way there, and continues to do so until we actually take off from the truck.

 

Will these two be coming to the Yukon with me...you bet!