Scotland

Big thanks to Wendy, Scott and Karhu for having me, Neka & Inko to visit over the weekend. And also to Paula & Adam for parting with their Dink for a whole week so she could keep us all entertained. A fabulous time was had by all, and there are many photos (some better than others) and stories (ditto). For now, though, I'm still recovering and barely able to string a few words together, so here are Karhu, Neka and Inko happily sharing Karhu's custom-made window seat.




















And as for the show, it was a super day with lovely warm sunshine (not a word of a lie!) and great socialising. To top it off, Inko won another Best Puppy in Breed under judge Chris Chapman, with brother Tarkka placing just behind her in the Junior class. Karhu placed 3rd in Postgrad and Neka 4th in Open. Poor Neka is looking a bit like she's been dragged through a hedge at the moment, moulting in large rusty tufts, so that was definitely her last show for a long while.

Next week is Bath, and as that show is always known in the dog fraternity as mud-Bath, I've got my fingers crossed for decent weather. The last time I went, Keskiyo came 3rd in the puppy stakes in spite of being a bit on the damp, spiky side. He's going again this year with Maija, who is going for fun. And I'm hoping to meet up with lots of the Infindigo crew, including Kaija, who will having her big debut. How exciting!

and 1 makes 5

Adam delivered the Dink to me at a convenient mid-point between our homes this afternoon and I can just imagine how quiet their house is tonight without her. Unlike this house.

Getting any photos has proven a challenge, but we persevere. In the first one you can see Annie's legs as she watches from the safety of the garden. She hates to be left out, but the puppies kept knocking her off her feet. While she seemed to think that was pretty funny, I thought it best she was out of harm's way.
























L-R: Maija (top), Keskiyo (bottom), Neka (top), Inko (bottom)





















Bottom-Top: Keskiyo, Maija, Neka, Inko




















L-R: Inko, Keskiyo, Maija

And eventually they tire themselves out. What a sweet bunch!


















Clockwise from left: Keskiyo, Maija, Neka, Inko

As I'm not leaving for Scotland until Friday morning, we still have all day tomorrow to get through. It's off to the wood in the morning for a good long run. That should tire them out for, oh, about 30 minutes or so.

tarkka's big day

At the National show on Saturday, Jo and Tarkka really outdid themselves. All that work they've been doing is paying off and he looked fabulous, taking 3rd place in a big Junior Dog/Bitch class and Best Puppy in Breed.

Here's the delectable boy on his grooming table getting brushed followed by a rather grainy one of him with a big grin & Jo in the puppy group ring. No doubt, the lady showing the black dog in the right of the photo would not be thanking me! You can see why many show people wear black.







































Tarkka looked fantastic in the big ring competing in the Puppy Group. Alas, that judge didn't have the same good taste! We are philosophical about these things - Lappies placing in the groups at Champ shows are still pretty rare. There have been a very few Lappies placing in the main group at Champ shows, but Tarkka's dad Keskiyo was the first Lapphund to place in the Puppy Group at a Champ show and, as far as I'm aware, he's still the only one.

Nevertheless, Jo can be very proud of their performance, and here's the proof.



Next weekend, another show. In Edinburgh. For those of you who don't know that I live in Devon, or indeed where Devon and/or Edinburgh are, this is the journey I will be making starting Thursday morning. I've done it before; a few times, in fact, and it takes me about 8 hours in total. I simply cannot do it in one day, though, so I'm setting off on Thursday for a Saturday show. Big thanks to Wendy, Scott & Karhu in Glasgow for offering to put up me & the dogs. Do you suppose they know what they're letting themselves in for?

I'm taking Inko with me as well as a bald Keskiyo and a balding Neka. Well, I couldn't leave 4 dogs here for Jay to manage all by himself while I swan off to Scotland for the weekend with nothing but one small dog, could I?

Or could I?

poo syringe

No, that's not a typo.

A few nights ago at approximately 11pm Jay and I were discussing whether or not photographic evidence should be obtained of my activities. You may rest assured, we decided against it. You see, I was on my hands and knees on the patio in the back garden, in the dark, sucking liquid poo into a tiny syringe to transfer it into a sample bottle. It took about 50 attempts to get a couple of centimetres of fluid.

Nice.

It all started a while ago when Maija picked up a bug that gave her the squits (not to put too fine a point on it). That was no great surprise, frankly, because she does eat absolutely every disgusting thing she finds out on her walks. Ev-er-y-thing. So we did the standard first aid for any digestive upset: 24 hours of starvation. After 24 hours she was still in a bad way so she had a trip to see Jane the vet and acquired a course of anti-inflammatories. Problem solved.

For about 10 days.

Another 24 hours of going hungry followed by another necessary trip to see Jane. Another course of tablets. This time, though, Jane thought she should test to see what exactly was going on in the little one's gut, hence the necessity for obtaining a sample. I wasn't counting on liquid. Obviously.

Ah, the glamour of dog ownership.

sitting side saddle

On an earlier post about WELKS Paula commented on Inko sitting in her favorite sideways sit while Rauhan was sitting perfectly straight. I always thought it was a Neka thing, and I had monthly photos of her in exactly the same pose as she grew from puppyhood. Unfortuntately, I lost most of my old photos in a fried-computer-no-backup fiasco (Yes, I do know about backing up. Obviously.) But I do have one or two pics left of Neka in her characteristic sideways sit with head tipped on one side.

Sideways sit? you ask. It's front legs straight, back legs akimbo in some undignified way or other, as dog rests more or less on hip rather than bottom. What Mike calls, to my great amusement, sitting side saddle.

Here's Neka at 9 weeks with the first hint following by a tiny, rescued photo of her at 6 months in the real classic pose.
























And here is Jaana who inspired the 'side saddle' term. You can see why.










And Inko & Maija































So, there was Rauhan sitting perfectly straight next to Inko, and certainly Keskiyo sits very straight. I could have been forgiven for thinking it a girl thing. But now I'm certain it's a Neka thing, because look at Tarmo, followed by a young Karhu (was he ever really that small?)





































So it's certainly a Neka thing that she's passing to her offspring. Perhaps it's a Lappy thing. Some Lappies, anyway.