Huskies My Pet and Me

-Hiya, I'm Ferne.

-And I'm Rory.

-Welcome to the Cairngorm Mountains

in the Highlands of Scotland for the My Pet And Me Winter Special.

I love winter. Everything looks so different.

The thing I love most about winter is when it snows

and there is plenty of it all the way up here.

It's great to get nice and cosy with hats, gloves and scarves.

How about we both go visit a pet today, as a special winter treat?

-Oh, that sounds awesome, Ferne.

-The ones I have in mind don't need

hats or scarves because they have lots of lovely fur to keep them warm.

-Oh, do you want to come with us?

-Come on!

# My pet My pet and me

# My pet My pet and me

# Down every street are pets to meet

# Some big, some small, some scaly, some furry

# Some keep very still, some are always in a hurry

# Some have four paws

# Some have sharp claws

-# Some quack

-Some bark

-# Some purr

-Some moo

-# Some grunt

-Some squawk

# Some cock-a-doodle-doo

# My pet My pet and me

# My pet My pet and me

# My pet My pet and me

# Have you met My pet and me? #

We're at Loch Morlich in the Highlands of Scotland

-to meet Ella and her very special dog.

-This is so exciting, let's go.

-Hiya!

-Hello!

-You must be Ella. Lovely to meet you.

Hi, Ferne, hi, Rory!

-And you must be Dad. Hi.

-Hi, guys.

-Hiya.

And who are these guys?

Spirit and Bracken.

Oh, they are gorgeous. What a lovely wee puppy.

And look at Spirit. Amazing eyes. What sort of dog is he?

-Siberian husky.

-Oh, I thought so. I have never met a husky before.

He is beautiful, but he is not your only Siberian husky, is he?

-No.

-How many do you have?

12.

-12?!

-Wow!

-Whoa! Can't wait to meet them all.

Siberian husky dogs originally come from an area in Russia

called Siberia,

which is a long way from the Scottish Highlands.

Siberia's known for having very cold winters and wet summers.

So husky dogs are well-suited to that climate.

-What is the best thing about having Siberian huskies?

-Cuddling them.

Ah, that's lovely, isn't it?

Ella, lots of people have got dogs, but not everyone has loads,

like you. Why do you have so many?

-Because we run them.

-Oh! You run them? You race them on sleds?

-Yeah.

-That's exciting.

Sled dogs are dogs that are bred to pull sleds or sleighs,

usually in Arctic areas that have lots of snow.

They would move important supplies from place to place,

especially in areas that are hard to reach. Very clever!

So, what do you do if there's no snow? Because a sled doesn't work

-with no snow.

-We use rigs.

-Rigs?

-Ah, so a rig is like a sled, but with wheels?

-Yes.

They sound like lots of fun.

-Do you think we'll get to have a go on one later?

-Yes!

Oh-ho, man! I'm really looking forward to that,

but first I think we should go and meet the other huskies.

Ferne, can you give us some fun facts about huskies?

-I'd love to!

-Let's go!

Siberian husky dogs are powerful, athletic, energetic

and have great stamina.

They range from black to pure white in colour,

with coloured markings on the body that include reds and copper.

Huskies also have almond-shaped eyes

and this can help them to keep the snow out when they squint.

-Hello!

-Wow!

-I see you've found the rest of the huskies!

-Yes, we have indeed.

I'm loving getting to know these guys, but it's difficult

-to remember all their names.

-Ellie, you're going to have to help us.

-Who have we got?

-Spirit, Patchy, Nala...

-That's Nala.

Thor. Loopy.

Timber,

-Bailey.

-He's not a husky!

He's a spaniel cross hound and he thinks he's a husky, but he's not.

-No, he's definitely not, not with those big ears.

-No!

It must be hard work having so many dogs.

How do you help to care for all of them?

We feed them, we give them water,

walk them, and race them and sled them,

and brush them and groom them.

-That's a lot, isn't it, Rory?

-That is!

I'm glad you mentioned walks, runs and sleigh rides with them

because exercise is really important for huskies because

-they've got loads of energy.

-Well, how about we take some of them

-for a walk to burn off that energy?

-Yeah.

-Who are we going to take?

-Luna, Thor and Timber.

-Great.

-Shall we get them ready, then?

-Yeah.

-Great.

-Let's go.

We take our huskies for a walk at least two times a day.

They need a lot of exercise so that they don't get bored.

Thor is so strong!

He's practically walking on two legs.

They're too strong for me to hold on the lead, so I run along with them.

And I can walk my puppy. I love spending time with my huskies.

-Come in!

-Oh-ho!

-Come on in!

That was a great walk. I think they really enjoyed it,

-but where do these guys sleep and rest?

-Here and in the lounge.

-Wow.

-So, what do we have to do now with these huskies?

-Groom them.

-These are some fluffy dogs. Shall we do that now?

-Yeah.

-OK, come on.

-Yeah.

-Come on, dogs.

Come on, Thor!

-Come on, Timber, you're next.

-Come on, Timber.

-Come on, Luna!

-Be a good girl.

-Ah, and Ella!

-And Ella!

Let's go.

I think Thor's really excited to get brushed.

Excuse me, Luna!

Right!

Thank you, Ella. Thor!

Thank you very much.

Right, let's give it a bash.

How often do you have to brush the huskies, Ella?

When they get really furry.

Luna's looking very furry. You're making a carpet out of that brush.

-There's lots of hair coming off. Why is that, Ella?

-They have double coat

because when it's really cold, they have to be very warm.

Two layers helps to keep them warm. They've got the fur on the outside,

which is waterproof, and the stuff on the inside which keeps them cosy.

-You can see it a bit here, can't you?

-Yeah.

I think Thor really likes this.

I'm getting a cuddle.

Where you off to? You want your belly done?

Yes, I'll do your belly. OK. OK.

OK, I'll do your belly. OK

These huskies are looking wonderful with their nice brushed coats.

-What else do we need to do to look after your huskies?

-Feed them and...

Love.

Oh, we do need to love them, don't we? Give them some love first.

Now, let's feed them. Come on, let's go.

-Here.

-This looks yummy!

-Should I fill up the water and you can fill up the food?

-Yeah.

Good.

-Do your huskies eat a lot, Ella?

-Yep.

-And do they drink a lot of water?

-Yeah.

All that exercise, they need it.

Excellent.

-Should we get the hungry huskies over here?

-Let's do it.

-Come on, huskies, come on!

-Come on!

-Come on!

-Oh!

-Aw!

Yum!

Come on, Thor.

Looks good. What do we need to do now, then?

-Wash our hands.

-Yes, come on.

Bye, doggy.

Ella, it has been so lovely spending time with you and your huskies.

-I can't wait to go for a ride with them later.

-Yeah. How do you think

-we will do in the rigs?

-I think you'll love it.

I like the sound of that. I'm really excited. I hope the huskies are too.

If your huskies could do anything, Ella,

what do you think they would do?

If my huskies could do anything,

they would go on an adventure to Penguin Island.

They'd go ice skating across the frozen lake.

When they were finished, they'd make some snow angels

and then they would have some hot chocolate around the camp fire.

Yum, yum, yum.

This will be the first time on a sled for Rory and me,

and we are so excited.

You've been sledding since you were young,

-so you're quite an expert.

-Yeah.

-What's your favourite thing about it?

-Having the huskies run.

-Oh, and do you like going fast?

-Yeah.

-That sounds exciting. And who's taking you out?

-Spirit and Luna.

-Oh, are you going to show us how it's done?

-Yeah.

-Right, off you go. Here she goes.

-Here we go, come on!

-Wow!

-Look at her go!

-Go on, huskies!

-On you go.

Look at them go!

ELLA LAUGHS

Even though Ella's been dog sledding for a long time,

it's still very important to have an adult watching you

and to use dogs that are trained for this activity.

-Whoa!

-Good work!

-Ella, that was amazing!

-Do you think it's time for us to have a shot?

-Yeah.

-Helmets on.

-Definitely. It's important to put helmets on.

I have Maya and Thor here to help me out. Who do you have, Rory?

I've got Timber, my old friend, and Inca.

-Now, what do we have to do?

-"Hike on" is for go.

-OK, hike on is go.

-And, "Whoa" is for stopping.

-Whoa. Whoa for stop.

And do the breaks if they're going too fast.

-Say "Whoa" and squeeze the breaks, OK.

-Oh, that sounds good.

-What's left?

-Haw.

-Haw's left.

-And what's right?

-Gee!

OK. I think I've got all that. Ferne, have you got that?

I think so, yeah. Are you ready, doggies?

-OK, Ella, you show us how it's done.

-Yeah, you go first.

-Whoa! Whoa!

-Off you go.

WHOA!

WHOA!

Right! My turn.

-Hike on!

-Whoa! Whoa!

THEY LAUGH

-Hike on!

-Hike on.

Hike on, go on!

Hike on, hike on! That's it. Come on.

Come on. Good dogs, that's it.

-Hike on!

-Hike on!

Yes! Hike on. Well done.

Yeah. Yeah. Hike on.

-Whoa, whoa.

-Whoa.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

-THEY LAUGH

That was incredible.

-That was great fun.

-Ella, how do you think we did?

-Amazing.

-Oh! Thank you very much.

-Oh, thanks!

-I think Maya and Thor did an awesome job.

-Spirit and Loopy were amazing.

-Yeah, that was incredible fun.

-Thank you very much, Ella.

That was brilliant fun, and now all your friends

-have joined us round the fire. Hi, guys.

-ALL:

-Hi!

And we have these yummy hot chocolates too.

-And marshmallows!

-Mmm. Can't forget the marshmallows,

and some water for these thirsty dogs as well.

If you want a pet to play with, go onto the CBeebies website

-and play the My Pet And Me game.

-Thank you so much for introducing us

-to your huskies, Ella.

-And teaching us how to sleigh ride,

-it was so much fun.

-Thank you for coming.

-Thank you.

What a wonderful, wintry time we've had.

We just love meeting you and your pets.

# Today we met

# A lovely pet

# We see how much you care for them

# Thank you so much for sharing them

# Time for us to just remind you

# After you've played with your pet, wash your hands... #

Don't forget!

# It doesn't matter what pets you've got

# You might have one You might not

# It's still fun finding out what having a pet is all about

# My pet my pet and me My pet my pet and me

# My pet my pet and me! Come back and see

# My pet and me. #

-ALL:

-BYE!