Christmas Day in Fairbanks, Alaska

Hello, everyone!  Gus here, to tell you about Christmas Day.  It was an eventful morning in our household.  Actually, it was a major event, because it was the first year that I was allowed to participate in Christmas morning with the family.  My first two years I was crated during the opening  of the gifts.  Granted, I always had a new yummy bone to  keep me occupied, but it wasn't the same as being with the whole family.  So this year, Edie and the girls insisted that I join the fun, and oh boy, was it fantastic!  All those scents.  Wow!  I thought you might enjoy the following holiday photos and videos.  

Here is a video clip of me helping Amanda open a bottle of cologne, using typical bloodhound technique. 

 

Dimond Willow has been helping open gifts for about 7 years, so she has perfected her technique.  She is delicate yet persistent in her efforts.  This is a clip of Dimond helping Alyssa.

  

Every year we take a photo of the girls and dogs in front of the tree.  Last year it would not work because Dimond was the only dog to cooperate.  After many tries, Edie managed to get this shot.  Note the leash.  This is the first year a leash has been employed to keep a dog in position!

This next photo is proof that Amanda can tame the wild bloodhound beast with a cello:

This is what my humans see when beginning  to open a present... I try to be as intimidating as possible!

Here are Dimond and I relaxing on the couch.  Edie refers to it as "hairing up and smelling up the furniture."  

We had a wonderful Christmas season, and hope you did as well.

Wishing you peace, happiness and good dogs in the New Year!

Gus, Bloodhound of the Alaskan Frontier

Introducing the SoundHoundz of Alaska!

Greetings from Alaska, where humans struggle to survive the harsh winter, and hounds stand by and watch their pitiable efforts.

Our household consists of 4 humans, two of which are adults and two of which are teenagers.  More importantly, our house contains a total of three, yes three, hounds.  Not calm, lay by the fire and snooze hounds, but three in your face, full of noise, looking for trouble, bundles of energy hounds!

                                    

The first hound of the household was Dimond Willow. (spelled the Alaskan way) She is a beautiful Treeing Walker Coonhound who joined our family as a pup, and is now 7 years old. 

The second hound to join our house was Molly, a Bluetick Coonhound/Treeing Walker mix.  Molly was adopted at the age of 8 from a man who was retiring from his job in Alaska and would be traveling extensively in the future.  Molly is now 12 years old, and still going strong!

Gus, a liver and tan Bloodhound, was the third hound to join our household.  He was the hound that turned the dogs into a pack, with all the trials and tribulations that go along with having a pack of boisterous hounds.  Gus came to us as a 10 week old puppy, and is now 2 1/2 years old.

We love our hounds, and it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to keep them safe and sound while living in Alaska.  Our winters are long, dark and harsh, and exercising dogs meant for living in warmer climates always presents a challenge.  Warm dog coats and extra-large booties are a must during the coldest weather.  

In this blog, I hope to chronicle not only the amusement of living with 3 hounds, but to give a little insight into living in the far north city of Fairbanks, Alaska.