next adventure

It's a very quiet, puppyless house we have today. And a very happy bunch of new Finnish Lapphund owners trying to come to terms with those early mornings. They don't last forever, I promise.

Kallio was the first to go and I've already had some photos of him chilling in his own garden (with grass!) and meeting new friends. Here he is setting off with Nicole & Charlie. I worked very hard to keep him awake all morning so he would sleep all the way home. As you can see, he was more interested in snoozing than posing.













Jaana was another who had a long journey, and she also left with Paul & friends bright and early for the long drive. Both puppies had a good trip - no problems, no sickness. Phew! Also in the news, Jaana's kennel name is no longer Tuisku Piia - it's Tuisku Jonna, which I thought was conveniently similar in pronounciation to Jaana. I don't think she's particularly bothered either way.















Kesä was next out the door. Vicky & Gary came alone to collect her and left some very excited children at home waiting for them to get back. I hear they've been keeping her busy and tired - the formula for happy puppies and owners. And she's even sleeping through the night. I expected it of the others, but not necessarily Kesä, so that's very good news.














Usko had a very long drive home with Liz & Ian thanks to the seemingly ever-present problems on the M5. But, as expected, he was good as gold. I can't wait to see photos of him in his new paddock that Ian has worked so hard to set up.
















Minna was the last to go back home to mummy Taika, Kate & Jerome and children Isabelle & Jamie. She stayed a week after Taika's departure because we wanted to give Taika a chance to be the centre of attention back at home for a while and settle back into her usual routines before disrupting the whole household again with a puppy's arrival. Kate reported that it was as though Taika had never left and there was a joyous reunion with Tino the cat involving much mutual face licking.

Of all the puppies, Minna was the only one I was a tiny bit concerned about going home, as she is quite timid - who could have predicted that the ruler of the whelping box would be the one to be shy and, unfortunately, car sick. However, within minutes of their arrival, Minna was chasing Jamie all over the lounge, so I don't think she'll have too many problems. Much socialising is on the cards and that ought to sort her out in no time.

And she made it home with nothing more troublesome than copious drooling.















Taika looks as though she's not overly impressed to see her puppy join the family, doesn't she? But I can assure you she was thrilled to see her when they arrived. Taika came straight into the house and jumped into the pen to greet Minna.

I really should have had the video camera ready. Sadly I did not, but I do have some cute footage of granny Neka playing with the last 2 puppies to go that I'll post in due course.

Hopefully there will be some puppies-in-their-new-homes pics next.

7 weeks old

The puppies turn 7 weeks old (already!?) and we get ready to say goodbye. I've half-jokingly told everyone to just come round one evening when we're out & help themselves. But no, we'll be here to wave them off as one by one they set out on the next adventure with their new families. But first, the 7 week update and lots more photos & videos before they leave over the next few days.

Minna (2 Toes)
































Kallio (2 Tone)

































Kesä (Grey Wolf)
































Usko (Dino)



























Piia/Jaana (Butterfly)

a day in the life

It's hard work being a puppy. There's just so much to do.




You have to grow teeth ...











... try them out a few times










Then there's your home.



You need to keep out the riff raff ...









... rearrange the furniture ...












... make sure it's comfy ...














... for everyone, whatever their preference ...


















... don't forget the soft furnishings.











All in all it can get pretty tiring ...










... and even then you've still got to earn your keep with modelling jobs.






Sometimes you just need to get away from it all.

6 weeks old

Yes, the blog has been very quiet. We, in this house, on the other hand, have been anything but.

In addition to all the visitors, there is an enormous amount of cleaning up to be done now - these puppies seem to eat much more than previous litters and so they produce a correspondingly generous amount of waste. And I don't know if you know, but at this point they think it's very entertaining not only to jump in any little piles they get to before I do, but also to jump all over my hands as I reach in to try and pickup. Jay & I both have very dry, chapped hands from the many, many times we wash our hands each day - make that each hour.

We've also reached the stage of the barking for fun and shouting matches between puppies as they compete to see who can make the most noise. We do our best to discourage this behaviour, obviously. But they're also learning to be housetrained and so they are barking to go out as well, which we encourage. It's a fine line.

Only some of the photos are ok this week. We ran out of time yesterday morning before puppy visitors arrived and when we went back to it my camera was giving me trouble. However, when it comes to puppies and puppy pictures, some is always going to be better than none, so here's what we've got.

Minna (2Toes)




Minna wasn't in the mood to stand or sit on demand yesterday. She didn't want to cooperate at all.













But she is expert at looking coy.









Kallio (2Tone)





Not exactly happy to stand, as such, but kept still with a firm grip on his tail, terrier style.
















He's very good at sitting, looking cute though. The Lappy specialty.













Kesä (Grey Wolf)






Kesä was another with no interest in standing on this occasion. Running, yes. Playing, undoubtedly. Standing, um, I don't think so thanks. Maybe tomorrow.














Usko (Dino)





In a bright and wakeful moment Usko was, unusually, more than happy to pose.














As for standing, I managed to get 6 or 8 photos exactly like this one before he moved. Not a wonderful stand, really, but clearly a comfortable one.










Jaana (Butterfly)




Also very good at sitting and I got quite a few usable ones, but a little camera shy - she chose to look away.















Again, not quite the best standing shot with the head turned to the side and the tail straight up, terrier-style, but the only one we could get.

busy

There's no let up around here. Seems I'm busier this time around with only 5 puppies in the house than I was last time with 9. Maybe because with 9 I didn't try to do anything else and this time I'm trying to do everything else.

3 of the puppies' homes have been decided and their names have been picked. Until someone changes their mind again, that is.

Most breeders will pick their litter's kennel names and register them with the Kennel Club straight away. No fuss, no bother, and the registration certificate comes back in good time to go to the new owners with the puppy.

I, on the other hand, like to give my puppies' families some input into choosing their names. With the last litter, I knew who would be having males and who females, and they were all the same colour, so I was able to just register 'these 5' female black & tans and 'these 4' male black & tans. It's a bit trickier this time, so I won't get the registration done until this weekend when the final names are determined. That means the certificates will probably be late. But worth it, I think.

All the puppies in the litter will have the same first two names: Infindigo Tuisku, the first being my kennel name and the second being the Finnish word for 'snowstorm'. I think it's nice to have a name common to the whole litter to identify the family. The litter of 9 were called 'Monta', which is Finnish for 'many' because of the size of the litter. The Tuisku bunch will be named in honour of the terrible - and unusual - weather Kate & I faced to take Taika to France and back for her date.

But just wait until you hear the given names. I really like them all, but it's going to make their full monikers real tongue-twisters. What fun! No, really.

This is all dependent on the Kennel Club accepting the proposed names. They do have the right to veto anything a breeder proposes, although I understand this is only done in the case where a name is very similar to another dog. It hasn't happened to me yet, so hopefully we'll all be lucky again this time.

More visitors this weekend, starting this afternoon, so to keep you going, here's a treat or two.

The wine box is not only a great toy, but it also makes a terrific 'castle' onto which a puppy can climb and then leap off onto the back of her unsuspecting brother... I really must try to get that on film, but they've been a bit too quick thus far. In the meantime, 2Tone has discovered another great use for the wine box:


















How cute is that! We have several photos of him snuggled asleep in there - it's his favorite.

Since the puppies have moved downstairs, Granny Neka is delighted that she's finally allowed to help out. Here are mum & babies with granny on hand to help clean up. She's excellent at licking porridge (or other unmentionable stickiness) from the puppies' faces and coats while Taika is busy nursing - or otherwise occupied playing with Maija.



















Neka is also very good at playing with the puppies and she has already started to teach them how to play with toys. The first video shows her with the squeaky and it looks so much fun even Taika decides to join in. Of course, in these games there's always the temptation for the older dogs to simply try and steal the puppy toys away to play with the other older dogs...

In the second granny is having a game with GreyWolf.

Apologies - there are voices on these films interfering with the full appreciation of puppy noises.

more toys

When the puppies turned 4 weeks old they moved downstairs to see the world from the safety of their pen in our living room. Today was their first foray into the outdoor pen, and they had lunch al fresco. But the wind was a bit chilly so they didn't stay out there long.

Here is the gang shortly after moving into their pen, settling in and getting to grips with their new toys. Note poor little 2Tone getting picked on by all his sisters. In the end I had to stop filming to rescue him. Awww...

toys

The puppies are really interacting with their toys now. They're growling at them, pouncing & chewing on them & dragging them all around.




My First Bone










Wine boxes make great chew-toys-come-climbing-frames - fun for the whole family!









As you can see, sometimes the most unlikely items make the best toys.




2Toes attacks the corner of the mat









A poor photo, but excellent subject: 2Tone dragging paper all over the pen while Taika & Maija look on in envy.









And after all the playing is done, some toys make the best pillow.

4 weeks old weights

I haven't been able to compare the weights of this litter to the weights of the last litter at this age because my old postage scales only went up to just over 2 kg and by this age most of the puppies have reached that weight. Needless to say, when I needed to buy new postage scales for work I made sure they would be more suitable for weighing puppies. Makes sense, no?

Here's the usual picture followed by the numbers.



























At this point everybody wants to know which puppy they are going to have. They need to know. Yes, you might even say they have a right to know. Do the owners-to-be of these puppies know? Er, know. I mean, no.

I always make it clear to everyone right from the beginning that they won't really be given a choice of which puppy they will get. If someone wants a specific colour or sex, that's fine. We discuss and agree that long before any puppies are even born. But apart from those considerations, I call the shots when it comes to placing puppies with the right families. The reason I call the shots is this: I know the puppies and I make it my business to get to know the puppies' new families and so I know who will be best suited to whom.*

I just haven't figured that out with this bunch yet.

I do have an excuse for taking so long to decide, and this is it: the puppies' personalities are only starting to develop now. They are just learning to play and interact with us, each other and their toys. They are learning what their teeth are for. It will be a while before it will be clear which is the absolute naughtiest one that will be moving back home with Taika...

And as for which ones will be suitable for the show ring. Yikes, that's a tough call even for very experienced breeders. I'm just guessing here, really. In the past I have found that my best guesses have always been made at 5 weeks of age, not 4. So at this stage all I'm guessing is that at the 5-week update the puppies will have the names that have been chosen for them by their new families.

As they say, watch this space.

I've got some cute videos & photos of the puppies settling into their palatial new downstairs pen which I'll sort out & post later.

*Do not criticise my grammar, people, I beg you. I have no idea how to use who & whom - and I'm not convinced that the word 'whom' is even necessary in the normal run of things. So many words in English are quite obsolete these days, I find. However, it's nice to throw a 'whom' in there from time to time just to see who's paying attention.

4 weeks old

Usually at this point I would present perfect pictures of puppies sitting prettily and also standing strong & square. Who am I trying to kid? The evidence to the contrary of "strong & square" lives on this very blog. How is it anyone ever gets those perfect standing photos, anyway? Because, I assure you that they do. I don't, but 'they' do. Perhaps I should invite 'them' over?

So, for now, I have only sitting and very poor standing shots to offer - and there's 2 missing, at that. It's been a bit of a lovely mad weekend full of visitors so I haven't even weighed them yet today. As for trimming their claws - forget it. Rest assured I will keep on trying... and as soon as I get something better to show you, you'll be the very first to know.



2Toes only sitting on this occasion - frankly it was quite a feat to get her to stay still for even that long. See how fluffy she's getting around her ears already?
















2Tone sorta half-sitting then standing (again, sorta)
































Grey Wolf does a great sitting pose and is pretty good at standing too (well, getting ready to walk away, anyhow)


































Dino is excellent at sitting. Standing? Not so much. You can even see his eyes in this one, which makes a nice change.
































Butterfly sitting only - and with a terrible backgound. I think I have a standing photo of her as well. On the other hand, it might be 2Toes. Must do better.