Take, for example, Keksi's last litter. One puppy was born much later than the others and was unable to suck. Keksi just didn't want him. I kept him warm and kept trying to get him to feed, but Keksi would just push him away with her nose. In the end I gave up trying and accepted what nature & Keksi somehow knew. I cuddled him up next to his brothers and sisters so that at least he had some comfort but I didn't try to save him. He only lived for a couple of hours and Keksi obviously knew that he was not a viable puppy. Perhaps if I had tried harder he would have survived, but who knew what problems he might have had as an adult. Keksi knew and nature knew so I left it to their better judgement.
And now I think nature is playing similar tricks with Tuuli and her elusive season. (In case you are wondering, no, she STILL has not come into season. Sigh.) This is my logic: if Tuuli's season had started on time, or even a week or so late, then the puppies would have been born approximately now or a week ago. And in case you don't live in the UK, I will point out that we are smack in the middle of an official heatwave. 30°C in the daytime and not much cooler than that in the bedrooms at night. It's tough stuff for we unaccustomed humans, and it's even tougher for Lapphunds who, let's face it, would prefer it to be minus 30°C.
I find that Lappies struggle with being too warm when they have puppies anyway, regardless of the weather. Neither Keksi nor her mother Neka enjoyed lying down to nurse their puppies because they just got too hot. And the blog archives are full of photos of puppies spread out as far apart from each other as they can get in an effort to keep cool. So if Tuuli had had her season on time, and her puppies on time, then it would not have been much fun at all for her or for the puppies. Or me, frankly. Nature strikes again.
But I would just like to point out to nature and Tuuli that if her season were to start, say, tomorrow, then the puppies would be born in late September and I'm fairly certain that the weather would be just about perfect for puppies.
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On a completely different note, what do you think about kennel Facebook pages? Many kennels have their own pages where breeders and owners alike can post photos of their dogs and keep up-to-date with what's going on. I haven't yet done this. Is it something you would like to see? Particularly for the owners of Infindigo puppies - would you like me to set up a page?
In the meantime, there are other ways you can follow what's going on (or what's not going on, in the case of Tuuli's season) apart from on the blog. There is the website and it's news page, of course there is also Twitter, and you can also follow on Instagram where you will see not only pics of the dogs, but also other frilling fings like food, flowers and fashion. You can find me here: @infindigo_jennifer
Here are a few recent shots from Instagram.
Neka squished into the corner for a snooze
Tuuli looking gorgeous
Tuuli looking like an insane cartoon dog
Tuuli (right) visiting Emmi & Miika
Keskiyo, Maija & Tuuli all want the funny-shaped stick
Funny Keskiyo with no ears
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