December 2023 – Nellie B. Dawg

On behalf of our Tripawds Spokesdog Nellie, a very hoppy new year to you and your furmily!

Nellie of the North Bad Art by https://codierae.tripawds.com — *Pawesome art by @CodieRae’s mom, Martha!*

We hope your season has been beautiful and peaceful. And cheers to fresh start in 2024 for everypawdy!

Nellie has had quite the white Christmas here. Even a couple of Krampus monsters came for a visit but she managed to convince them she’s been a good girl all year.

The Krampus (Krampi?) left, and Santa Paws visited instead. Then Santa brought Nellie the most incredible gift ever.

Nellie’s been a good girl in Alaska.

It’s so hard to believe another year is mere hours away, and even harder to believe that we are doing it from our little cabin in Alaska. We are getting into serious snow removal time, and Nellie is being a terrific supervisor when we break out the shovels.

Nellie watches Jim shovel snow — *“Come on, a little faster please.”*

As dark and cold as it looks here, life is beautiful in frozen North. There is so much to do and see when you put on the right gear and get outside.

Nellie's Christmas gift. — *Nellie’s all about the indoor sports.*

This California girl isn’t always a fan of gear or cold, but she’s learning how to adapt like we are. Some days she does really well outside and wants to keep going on the snowy trails.

Other days she just wants to play indoors. Sometimes her aches and pains are obvious, but they appear less now that she’s on the Librela medication for OA. We can already see a difference.

As the temperatures go into the sub-zero range (it’s -20 outside as I type this), we play it by ear to see what she wants to do once we gear up and head outside. She is a great sport and we are following her lead.

Willow Alaska trail — *A trail just outside our door.*

It’s time to get outside and see some daylight before it goes into hiding again. So from our pack to yours, may 2024 bring you all that you want and then some. Thank you for being part of our Tripawds family. We’ll see you in the new year!

It was zero degrees today, and I guess that means winter is here in Alaska. As it gets colder, I feel more guilt knowing that we hauled Nellie up here to a place that might as well be on another planet. Remember, this is a doggie from California who has never known anything but mild weather.

Nellie's first "real" snow day. — Nellie’s first “real” snow day.

Nellie had no clue what lay ahead when we arrived in August. And if I have to admit, we were pretty clueless too (and still are!).

But we also know how much she loves the freedom up here. There’s lots more off-leash wandering, and crazy smells she’s never enjoyed before.

Like anything, there’s a price to pay for all this adventure. And right now, it’s the temperatures. Nellie has made it clear that she isn’t a fan of extreme cold or the dark days of winter.

*Behind our cabin on Willow Lake, location of the Ididarod re-start in March.*

Every morning it takes at least 15 minutes to get us, and her, dressed to go outside. Layer after layer we cover up, and then put on a headlamp because now it’s dark until about 9:30 am, and (then returns about 3:30 pm).

Finally, we make it outside to take her out to potty, and almost every time our walk lasts about 10 minutes at most. Without fail, she wants to come back inside as soon as she’s done.

Still, on other days, she has a blast. Especially when she visits the local teams of sled dogs. At the advice of our expert mushing friends, we are trying to let her coat acclimate. The colder it gets, they tell us, the more her coat will thicken and keep her warm. As a double-coated dog, we are supposed to be doing her a favor by letting her go outside naked!

But I can’t do it, at least all the time. So as a compromise, she only wears her Ruffwear Climate Changer fleece sweater when temps dip to about 10-degrees. And when it drops down to sub-zero, she wears her Ruffwear Powder Hound puffer jacket. Our musher friends say that’s totally fine.

"Let me lick that sweat so you don't go hypothermic, mom!" — *“Let me lick that sweat so you don’t go hypothermic, mom!”*

We suspect that osteoarthritis could be why she isn’t a fan of cold. So we found a great vet nearby and started her on Librela, the prescription monoclonal antibody therapy for OA that just made it to the US. She is also taking a new, interesting joint supplement called Jope. We’ll fill you in on both very soon.

Another crazy thing we’ve learned is how to walk her on ice. WOW that has been an eye opener. I’ll save that for another post, because we have learned a LOT about ice and dog booties. Anyone with a Tripawd, or other special needs or senior dog who lives in icy conditions during winter has my deepest respect and admiration!

Month: December 2023

Hoppy New Year from Nellie of the North & Crew

Into Winter We Go!