waving off the onnekas puppies

This is the spring of the novel Coronavirus and Covid-19.  And that all kicked off while these puppies were growing up here in this house in the past few weeks.  The puppies turned 7 weeks old, had their eye tests, their microchips and vet checks, and then we heard the country was going into lockdown.  Stay home, no socialising, no driving anywhere unless absolutely necessary.  I went straight to the new owners - a week early - and suggested they come and pick up their puppies as soon as they possibly could while they still could.  Within 3 days, they were all gone.

It was hard to see them go so early, but it is a truth universally accepted that a 7-week-old Finnish Lapphund puppy is ready for its new home.   Honestly, at that age they are flipping hard work!  Fighting with their siblings, already half house-trained, demanding to go out every 5 minutes for a poo and generally ready for the world.

With the social distance rule, the new owners didn't get the usual Infindigo handover treatment of a 2-hour sit-down to go over everything in the puppy manual and all the things they need to know.  They didn't even get to come into the house.  They took their puppy pack stuff and their puppy and were here and gone in about 10 minutes flat.  A bit stressful for me.  Not the way I like to send my puppies into the world.  But it's such a strange world we find ourselves in at the moment, and I know it was the right decision; the very next day the police were stopping cars.

One Infindigo tradition couldn't be abandoned completely, even though in many cases the whole family didn't come to collect the way they normally do.  But I still managed to get the leaving photos.  From a safe 2-metre distance, of course.

First to go was Ruska - to Cornwall with Avril & Scott & new big sister Layla, the Cavapoo.

Then Penni also to Cornwall with the Hollister family,  her mum, Anni, & Springer Lyla.  It was so lovely to see how happy Anni was to see one of her babies.

Penni was followed quickly by Lily who is off to Oxfordshire to Claire & Andy - not to mention new big brother, Miika (Infindigo Lintu Miika).  Looks like they are fast becoming best friends. 

The next day it was Taika off to ... not far away at all with Tom & Jo!  You can follow his continuing adventures on Instagram @taikuri_the_lapphund.

Then went Maki all the way to Manchester with Ruth & Mark.  Hopefully at some point in the future he will have a chance to meet some family members who live up there.  In the meantime, you can follow him on Instagram too @maki_the_lappie.

Finally, it was Nalle's turn to go ... again, staying pretty close by in Devon with Helly, Neil and Bjorn.

Good luck, pups!  Be the amazing dogs you are destined to become.

Someday, when all this madness is behind us, I hope to be sharing some puppy reunion photos.

weight

I have to say, these puppies look enormous to me.  They feel fat & heavy & very cuddly.  Don't ask me why - I have no idea why I have this perception, because apparently it's not true!  The numbers don't lie, and as you can see from from nerdy charts below, it seems that these puppies are extremely average in size and weight (if extreme average-ness isn't an oxymoron).

In other news, the puppies have been wormed for the first time.  That never goes down well because it's a liquid and they tell me it tastes terrible.  As proof, you can see their uncles from Tuuli's first litter being wormed at the same age here.  

This time I tried Drontal wormer instead of the Panacur I normally use.  I do believe the puppies tolerated the terrible taste more readily than others have coped with Panacur in the past.  I was slightly concerned as the Drontal is obviously a stronger drug, because you only give it once whereas the Panacur you give once a day for 3 days.  However, there have been no apparent ill effects, and it can only be a good thing for them not to have more than one day of it at a time.  

And here are the weights.  The puppies were weighed twice a day for the first week and then daily for the second week.  From now on they will only be weighed weekly.  The first table shows their weekly weight followed by a chart showing the same information in diagram size; and they are all extremely close.  The last chart is my litter average weight comparison chart.  See - I told you it was nerdy.  

If you're having trouble seeing the images, you can click on them for a larger size.

welcome to the onnekas litter

Here we are, not-quite-a-year later than the last post.  Today we are welcoming the Onnekas litter, who arrived so slowly that I took mama dog to the vet at 1am because I was worried that she was suffering from uterine inertia.  But lo and behold, perhaps because I just didn't give her enough time, or perhaps thanks to the trundle down the stairs and out into the car, the first two puppies were born in the car on the way.  In fact, they were born truly more or less at the same time.  Poor Anni!  There were two yelps from her, as you might well expect from the first-born puppy of a maiden bitch, about 3 minutes apart.  When we got to the vet and opened up the back, there were two of them!  So we stayed at the vet for a few minutes, got everyone warm, had a cup of tea and then bundled everyone back into the car and back home to the quiet & peaceful whelping room (aka Jay's office).  Jay says it's the most expensive cup of tea ever.  I cannot disagree.

But, seriously, I will always ere on the side of safety and caution and I don't begrudge one penny spent on puppies and mama dogs to ensure everyone is safe and sound, healthy and strong.  Waiting a few minutes too long to take necessary action when puppies are being born can be lethal not only for the puppies, but for the dam too.  So no unnecessary chances here. 

Of course, that means we don't actually know which puppy was first and holding up the proceedings.  None of them are particularly big, so I don't think that was causing a delay.  It was more likely that a puppy was coming breech (feet first) or (even worse) bum first.  Certainly, Anni's mum, Tuuli, birthed several that way, and in fact I saw two more come at least feet first in Anni's case too.  So that's the most likely explanation.

I'm taking a guess on the boy being first, but literally only because he was a bit bigger at birth. 

Why Onnekas?  Well, this litter marks my 13th as a breeder of Finnish Lapphunds.  Lucky number 13 deserves a lucky name, and "onnekas" is Finnish for lucky.  It's also the name of my first Lappy, my special Neka.  Although these puppies are not related to Neka, they are named for her <3 p="">
Here is the handsome sire, who is issuing cigars as I type; I couldn't hope for a sweeter, funnier, more gorgeous and fluff-some boy than Arttu.  Big thanks to Shelley & Sammy for helping to make this happen. 

Ch Pavoskas Aly Arttu JW ShCM   

Arttu

Mama is the Hollisters's adorable Anni:

Infindigo Taysikuu Anniina

 

We have spent some time today trying to distinguish between the puppies, and I think we got there in the end, but (as always) I reserve the right to fix it later.  Ahem.  And several of them might be wolf sable but at the moment they look brown or black, so I might be changing that later too.

As for the quality of the photos, we do this quickly at this stage, and these puppies wriggle, so don't expect great detail. 

If this is not your first time to the blog, you will know that my puppies' Finnish kennel names are chosen by their eventual family.  In the meantime, each puppy is given a baby name.  These puppies have been given the names of rivers in Cornwall as Anni is a Cornish girl who lives on Bodmin Moor.  Thanks to Jane for the great idea and to the Hollisters for the suggestions - they're perfect. 

Puppy 1 -  Neot

Sex:  Male

Colour:  Wolf sable (or maybe black, tan & white)

Time of Birth:  00:45

Birth Weight:  347g

Puppy 2 - Penpol (Penny)

Sex:  Female

Colour:  Brown, tan & white

Time of Birth:  00:48

Birth Weight:  305g

Puppy 3 - Fowey (pronounced FOY)

Sex:  Male

Colour:  Black, tan & white

Time of Birth:  02:45

Birth Weight:  335g

Puppy 4 - Treverbyn (Trever, like Trevor!)

Sex:  Male

Colour:  Brown wolf sable (or maybe brown, tan & white)

Time of Birth:  03:33

Birth Weight:  295g

Puppy 5 - Kensey

Sex:  Male

Colour:  Wolf sable (or maybe black, tan & white)

Time of Birth:  03:53

Birth Weight:  300g

Puppy 6 - Ottery

Sex:  Female

Colour:  Wolf sable

Time of Birth:  05:29

Birth Weight:  339g

Puppy 7 -  Loveny

Sex:  Female

Colour:  Black, tan & white

Time of Birth:  07:30

Birth Weight:  239g

and they're off

Over the weekend the puppies set off on the next leg of their big adventure - one to Cornwall, one to Plymouth and one all the way to West Sussex.  Before they went, they had 3 clear vet checks, 3 microchips and 3 clear eye tests.  There was not one episode of vomiting in all that - and not even any drooling!  Natural-born travellers, these puppies.

And also before going, there was the opportunity for a few last cuddles with mama.

Karhu having mama cuddles all by himself

Considering how much Tuuli has enjoyed spending time and playing with her puppies, you might think that she was distressed to see them go.  But no, she was quite content to see them go off one by one with their new owners and when she wagged the last one off, she promptly hopped up onto the sofa, flipped onto her back with her feet in the air and had the best, deepest snooze she has had for 2 months.  As with all things puppy-related, Tuuli knew exactly when the time was right for them to go.

After Anni and Karhu had left, Arvo was left briefly on his own.  Luckily I had borrowed Ulla for the weekend to take her to a show, so she was on hand to keep him well occupied and tire him out for the drive to West Sussex.  When you think how roughly she plays with Loki, it's amazing how gentle she was with Arvo.  And she did a pretty good job of teaching him all the funny play-faces.

And so to the home pics.  Arvo was the last to go and Karhu was first, followed by Anni shortly thereafter.  I couldn't resist including a photo of the same family members leaving with Rauhan EIGHT years ago.  I don't know if they can believe it was that long ago, but I sure can't.

Karhu off with Kirsty & Luke

Arvo heading off with Adele & Wesley

Anni with Katy, Hattie & Emma

The same family 8 years earlier with Rauhan

mid-week games

The puppies were rampaging around the outdoor pen in the way that 7-week-old puppies tend to do first thing in the morning, so I got out the camera to catch the evidence.  Of course, the minute I pointed the camera at them, they did this instead.



But they can't just sit there looking cute indefinitely.  Eventually normal service resumes, as shown below.  And if any of you were thinking Karhu was quiet, retiring and shy, you should see him when the scrambled eggs are served.  Not to mention when he gets his sister on her back in the box.  Once she has given up trying to get my attention, that is.

7 weeks old

The countdown has now started.  This time next week all the puppies will be in their new homes.  It's a bittersweet time for us - so exciting for their new owners, and it's heartwarming to be making some people so happy.  But we will miss them.  We always do miss them, and I shed a tear as each one leaves.  But we will especially miss these 3 who are so quiet and easy.  It's quite a difference to have a litter of 3 from, say, one of 9.  Quite a difference.

Having said that, even three 7-week-old puppies can make their mark is pretty short order.  Anyone who hears me talk about puppy-proofing might think I exaggerate about doing away with EVERYTHING within reach that's not tied down or otherwise firmly attached.  Woe betide anyone who underestimates the determination of a tiny Lapphund who has discovered a loose thread... or a gap by the skirting board, for example.

And people might think I'm being a bit overly dramatic when I tell them not to leave their puppy unsupervised.  Here's what the threesome did this morning in the few minutes I left them unsupervised in the kitchen.  Instant chaos and destruction. 

So, their new owners are duly warned.  But they can be pretty cute and butter-wouldn't-melt-ish too, as evidenced in their 7-week portraits, taken today with the help of some grated cheese.  So if you're wondering what's on their faces, it's cheese crumbs.  And if you ever need to bribe your puppy to do something, then a sliver of grated cheese is the answer.

Arvo

Anni

That tail?  Wagging.  As usual.

Karhu

6 weeks old

Here they are, a little late, but with their new names, which, as always at this stage, are still subject to Kennel Club approval.

Little Arvo

Infindigo Täysikuu Arvo (Arvo)

With the added bonus of Maija peeping over the top

Wagging

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Tähti

Infindigo Täysikuu Anniina (Anni)

Kuu

Infindigo Täysikuu Karhu (Karhu)