Happy Birthday Mishka!!

Happy birthday to Mishka!

Happy birthday sweet Mishka!

Happy birthday, Mishka!

Happy Birthday Mishka! make sure you get spoiled!

Happy Birthday Mishka!!!

Thank you guys so much! Mishka got a ton of new treats, a special birthday dinner, a nice walk, and a birthday cookie!

Awe, he looks like he had a great birthday!

Lucky pup!

Happy Late Birthday Mishka! He looks like he had a great time, and it's awesome that we share the same birthday.

Thank you everyone, he had a great birthday!

Today we went bikejoring for the first time! We did okay. Way too distracted but when he was focused he did great. Much to be improved on but we had fun.

D'aweeee Happy Birthday Mishka!

Btw! I love the area you guys were bikejoring. I wish there was a stretch of land around here like that.

I guess that's one of the few benefits of living in Louisiana! Everything is so flat. lol.

Hey, not bad for a first run! I so miss biking with Layla. She usually stays on the trail but all bets are usually off if she sees a critter. Sometimes that helps her to run faster and be even more focused, but sometimes she just gets sled head and tries to chase after it. She's getting much better at "on by" if we time it right, though.

One tip that might help him keep his focus better: Try to find a narrower, more defined trail with few turns. Dogs will usually be more focused and stick to the trail if it's well defined. A gravel or dirt bike path would be great for training if you have one nearby and if you can go at a time when not that many other people use it.

That's the problem. We don't have any other trails around. This one is literally a minute drive from my house. South Louisiana sucks at outdoor recreation and I would probably have to drive several hours to find a more suitable trail like you mentioned.

I was really nervous though since there's a drainage canal with a 20 ft drop to the right. Once he got going he was good. But he's also like a bloodhound and will double back if he smells anything he wants to investigate.

Great video Ashleigh, it looked like so much fun. No flat land here, but I think I could find better defined trails as Liz mentioned. I know how it is though Ashleigh, Florida was the same all flat and more open. Mishka looked like he had a blast, I bet one tired puppy.

Thanks Renee! He did really good and had a ton of fun when he was running well. Despite us only being there for like 30 minutes he was worn out. lol.

If I knew anyone with some ATV trails and land then I would see if they'd let me use them, but of course I don't know anyone.

I'll do some scouring and research to see if I can find any other bike trails relatively close.

So we went bikejoring again yesterday! Mishka did WAY better and we managed to go the whole length of the trail. It ended up being a little warmer than I thought (weather was showing it was 34 degrees and when we left it was 54 degrees ). I actually got faint and lightheaded half way through and had to stop and sit down on the soaking wet ground before I passed out. The trail needs some work as it's just a thick grassy area that is cut and that is pretty much it. I will be contacting the city about it tomorrow.

We had fun regardless! Way less distractions and stops. Hoping we get some more cold weather to continue though. The only way to improve is to keep doing it!

A few pictures from today, just chillin in the yard.

More portrait worthy pics, Ashleigh Mishka is so beautiful with soulful big brown eyes and that loely coat.

Ashleigh, you truly are talented at photography, your pics are stunning. I LOVE Mishka's coat, he's a beautiful Husky for sure

amymeme wrote:

More portrait worthy pics, Ashleigh   Mishka is so beautiful with soulful big brown eyes and that loely coat.

Thank you, Amy! Sometimes when the light is shining right in his eyes they just glow this beautiful rich brown with gold.

Artic_Wind wrote:

Ashleigh, you truly are talented at photography, your pics are stunning. I LOVE Mishka's coat, he's a beautiful Husky for sure  

Thank you, Jimmy! He really needs a good brush and blow out though. Oh the coat blow, never something I enjoy.

Nonetheless Ashleigh, Mishka always looks stunning Kohdi has yet to blow a coat (but when i picked up Mishka from the breeder, both Kohdi's father and brother were blowing theirs) soon he's just gonna be a big fur ball with eyes if he doesnt blow a coat soon, haha

I always love when you post pics of Mishka

So I finally managed to measure Mishka's height and it's safe to say he is over standard by at least 1/2-1" (it was at least 24" at the withers). We also went to the vet because his eyes were swelling (he had conjunctivitis) and he weighed in at 62lbs! So we're cutting back on his treats and food again. I had upped his food this winter since we were trying to bikejore but since the weather was not cooperating, we didn't get to go as much.

I am looking into some activities to possible start in such as lure coursing (just trials since it's geared towards sight hounds) and barn hunt (thanks to Liz). We actually have two barn hunt groups in Louisiana so I'm going to try to see when I'd be able to make it to a practice to see how it works. I'm not sure if Mishka would be good at it since has SUCH a high prey drive but I want to do something with him.

And so this isn't just a wall of text.