Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know: Prancer, the Canine Byronic Hero

(originally written 1-5-2007)

Green eyes glowing at you from a mask of deep reddish brown, brimming with intelligence, with hints of mischief lurking in their depths. And dare I say it? A bit of conniving and manipulation, too! The latest series of events at the kennels has led to him using his manipulative skills overtime.

We have three girls in heat. Needless to say, the boys have been going crazy, especially considering the fact that Xena and Scarlett are both too young to breed, and we have to keep them separate from the males during this heat cycle. Maya is right at 1 year old, and we were questioning whether or not to breed her. She was temporarily in a kennel with Loki, who is only 7 1/2 months old.

Now, most Siberian Huskies are clownish and somewhat goofy, but Loki, as his name implies, takes it to a whole new level. We weren't positive that Maya was fully in heat, and even if she was, if Loki was old enough. Then I told my mom, over the phone, "Well, I think he's old enough, but he's such a goof...do you think he could figure out what to do?” About that time, my mom heard a commotion and looked out the window. "Umm...to answer your question, yes. He just figured out what to do!” So, we're expecting a litter of Maya/Loki puppies in late February.

But, back to Prancer. What this means for him is that he's not getting any action. Xena and Scarlett are too young, and Maya has hooked up with Loki. Poor Prancer and Dougal are without women this go 'round. Dougal just cries. Prancer, however, tries his best to get to the girls. He tried to pry his way under Xena's kennel. He was caught. He was caught sniffing a little too closely to Scarlett's kennel.

But the ultimate bad boy moment was when he pried up the fence and actually made his way into the kennel with Maya and Loki. Now, we're pretty sure that we frustrated his efforts there, too, but I had this picture in my mind of the dogs on a canine edition of Montel, surrounded by a litter of pups, some of the gray and white like Maya, some of them solid white like Loki, but wait! Is that one puppy there red and white? WHERE could HE have come from? Maya would be wailing to Montel that she needs to know who her puppy daddy(s) is, Prancer would be sitting there with a smirk on his face, and Loki...well, Loki would probably be chewing on a tree limb. And Montel could offer to do a Doggie DNA test on the puppies...if they didn't try to eat the cotton swabs. Hopefully, the scenario wouldn't turn into a Dog Fight Jerry Springer-style with flying dog houses and feeders, and Prancer yelling to Loki, "No, she's MY bitch!”

Poor Prancer, he was frustrated twice in this manner, and each time, he has been caught before he can do anything. At one point, Robert had to barricade him on the back porch. You see, he's so smart that he knows how to open the door and go out, so it took a barricade to keep him inside. But a Husky has to run at some point, and it's during these outdoor times, and the rotation of dogs from kennel to yard, yard to kennel, that can get kind of tricky, especially when Prancer is around!

The three girls are on their way OUT of heat, so that will be over soon. However, Tasha is due to go into heat soon, and since she had puppies just this past November, she needs to skip breeding this heat cycle. Prancer's antics are sure to start up again!

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