baths and other traumas

A week and a half ago was the SFLS annual general meeting and it was fun getting together with friends and their Lappies. Jay stayed at home with the rest of the gang while Maija and I made the long drive to Reading.

Maija remained attached by her lead to the radiator pipe for the duration of the meeting and she was a little angel (most of the time), happily hanging out with half-sister Keksi. After the meeting she got her reward out in the field for a play with Inko (right).














A week or so before the meeting, Maija had her first bath. Luckily, Lapphunds are pretty much self-cleaning, in spite of their long, thick coat. A good brush once a week and a bath once or, in dire circumstances, twice a year and they're good to go. However, it's vitally important for puppies to have lots of different experiences, ideally before they are 6 months old, to prepare them for any eventuality throughout their lives.

With this in mind, Maija spent a night in a boarding kennel a little while back, keeping Keskiyo company for part of his little 'holiday' away when Neka was in season. Predictably, she wasn't in the least fazed by any of it. The next stage will probably be another overnighter sometime soon, but by herself. Then I'll happily be able to leave her in a kennel in the future without having to worry that she's stressed or pining.

And then came the bath. She really didn't need one, but the 6-month-old mark had come and gone. I thought I might as well get on with it since Neka was having her semi-annual scrub in preparation for her attendance at Crufts. Neka wasn't always well-behaved in the tub, but these days she puts on her resigned face and lets me get on with it.

Here she is patiently waiting for the rinse cycle to finish (you can see she did really need a bath by the colour of the rinse water going down the drain.















And looking, somewhat alarmingly, rather a lot like Vladimir.


















No, that's not Neka's shampoo on the corner of the bath. I've tried several dog shampoos and my favorites by a very long way are Doreen Paige products. I have a few different ones and they all smell gorgeous and are kind to a dog's skin & coat.

After the bath Neka scooted downstairs and had a mad few minutes zooming around the living room and rolling on the carpet trying to get rid of all that pesky nice clean smell in her coat.

In the meantime, it was Maija's turn for the bathtub. Due to our hands being very much otherwise occupied, a photo from during the event is regrettably unavailable. However, here she is being towelled off.














And all dry & fluffy a few hours later.