We have been very busy at Ivie Huskies. So much has changed here and so much has not.

I have loved the breed of Siberians for most of my life. Since the first time I saw Iron Will, I wanted one. They were athletic. They were beautiful. They were smart. They were strong. They were resilient. Everything that I aspired to be a person embodied in a majestic animal. My parents eventually got my sister and I two Siberians, Ice and Apache, and it just reinforced my love for the breed. Fast forward to 2016, I got my first Siberian (as an adult), Noire. She taught me many things, specifically how to be a responsible human being and how to really be selfless. She came first. She COMES first. Always. She is my best friend and helped me through a very bad spot in my personal life. And together we built a family and now, a home. We officially moved into our first house on April 1st! What an exciting moment to see how far we have come. From a small one bedroom apartment to a lovely house, I cannot wait to see what memories we make.

I entered into the show world of Siberians in 2017. Noxus was my gateway dog, bringing me into a world I knew nothing about. We earned our first ribbon together, we earned our first point together, we earned our first title together. Team Noxus has wore many hats. He is a show dog. He is an obedient dog. He is an athletic dog. In my mind there is nothing he cannot do. In his three years of life, he has acquired 8 titles, and I am proud of that, I am proud of him, proud of us. This year, I am looking to earn those last two singles for his AKC CH, earn his weight pull title with UKC, and progress in dock diving. However, all of those things have been put on temporary hold, as we are hoping to take a big step.

I have learned a lot about Siberians the last five years. So much so, that in 2019, I purchased Naava. My plans an aspirations have been big for her. She was the dog who would help me expand my dreams and goals for Ivie Huskies. She was my first Siberian from a responsible breeder. She has lovely structure and stunning movement. Naava has received very positive responses from both judges and Siberian breeders. After a lot of thought and consideration, and much support from my mentors and friends in the community, I decided to try and take the step.

I wanted to document, in video and in blog posts, every single step. But the reality of the situation is, it has been hard. So I wanted to summarize my journey thus far in becoming a breeder:

I reached out to an amazing breeder, Jill, to speak with her and learn more about her dogs. I introduced myself, my dogs, our successes, and my goals. I really wanted to find someone who supported the vision I have for Ivie Huskies. I wanted to produce puppies that are dual purpose. They must be structurally sound. They must be fit for purpose. I wanted my dogs to be built correctly, and be able to perform across multiple venues successfully. I fell in love with performance sports. I love running my dogs. I love teaching my dogs. I love going to lure coursing events. I love going to the dock. I love going to weight pull events. I do not love showing. I do show, but performance sports I personally find much more rewarding. If I were to breed, I wanted someone who prided themselves in producing the same type of dog. Someone who had success in the conformation ring, and success in performance venues. Someone who values performance titles just as much as conformation titles. There are many breeders who say performance titles are "fun" titles, and they are fun to get. But fun is used as a dismissive term, as if they have no meaning, no value. I adamantly disagree. I wanted to work with someone of like mind, as well as someone who produced my "type". Jill is that person.

I cannot speak enough good words about how incredible Jill is. She is kind. She is giving. She is supportive. She is knowledgeable. She is caring. She is patient. She loves her dogs, she knows her dogs. I will never be able to give back to her, all she has given me, but I am forever thankful to have her support. Jill sees Siberians the way I want to see Siberians. I am fortunate that she agreed to let me use one of her males to sire my first litter.

Throughout most of March and part of April, Naava was in heat. Given that Jill lives in Alaska, I opted to do an AI. This means, I would have to work closely with a Jill and the repo vet to try and breed her. We went twice a week to my repo vet to get progesterone tests to see when Naava was ready to breed. What typically takes around 4 tests (according to my repo vet) took 8. Her levels jumped drastically over the weekend of April 3rd/4th. So much so that a standard AI was out of the question. We overnighted semen, and on April 6th we bred Naava using a TCI. I have been nervous and anxious since I decided to breed her, and it has only magnified since the breeding. I want this to work, but it is out of my hands at this point, I have done the best I can do. The vet said "it's in mother nature's hands now", and so we wait.

All of team Ivie Huskies plans are on hold right now. We are all sitting and (not so patiently) waiting. We are excited to see if we will be welcoming our first generation of puppies. What a special time, and special litter this will be if she is pregnant. Send us any good vibes you have <3

05-03-21 - Ultrasound