Norbert

Taking a quick break during a free run

Meet Norbert. He is a soon to be 5 month old puppy. Norbert's dad is Kayak (one of our males) and his mom is Cosmo (our friend Michelle's female). Norbert is a very cool little guy, and it has been fun raising a solo puppy. This is a first for us. All of our other puppies have been born and raised in our kennel.

 Norbert acts just like a big dog and runs through the yard loose like he owns the place. All of the adults love playing with him. We have large socialization pens where we put dogs at different times to play. When Norbert's in a pen, everyone runs over to the door to play with him. It's really heartwarming to see all of the adults take care of little Norbert. The most amazing thing has been to watch Kayak and Norbert interact. Norbert was not born at our kennel. He arrived here in August, so he had never met Kayak, his dad, before. Norbert ran to him first, out of any other dogs in the kennel. When he's loose in the yard, he runs to Kayak before going to see the other adults. It's been very interesting to watch those two together. Kayak seems to know Norbert is his son too. It's difficult to explain their interaction, and how they differ from their interactions with others in the yard. It's a good thing though. 

Norbert running down the banks of the Maclaren River

We took Norbert out to Maclaren River Lodge (our other home) located on the Denali Highway. Emily, our daughter, was working their this summer and needed to meet Norbert. What a ham he was! There were 3 Princess buses there that day and Norbert was working the crowd. I had to make sure he didn't get on the bus and drive off! He LOVES people...and people really love him. Norbert is a talker. A trait that endeared him to the people off the bus right away. He was telling all sorts of stories. 

Norbert poses with Caribou antlers at Maclaren River Lodge

Norbert is growing up fast. It's hard to believe this picture was taken one month ago when we were out at the lodge. His red collar seemed so big, just like his paws and his head. Now Norbert is the same size as 3 of our females. I have a sneaky feeling he's going to be a big, powerful boy. 

Norbert dashing through the Chistochina River during a free run

Norbert likes to go for free runs. What this means is, we take him out where we run teams, with the 4 wheeler, and he chases us. At first, he ran kind of back and to the side of the 4 wheeler. Now he runs in front most of the time. He is really good about staying close and never runs off. During the free run we will stop and go for walks where a 4 wheeler can't go. Watching a puppy grow, develop and become a big dog is just one of the many pleasures of raising our own dogs. 

Norbert in his favorite place...the bed

Norbert comes in the house a lot too. He likes to nap on the bed after his free run. He prefers to snuggle up on the pillows, or along my side, to catch a little shut eye. Yes, it's tough being a puppy.