8 weeks old

In case you ever wondered what it looks like when puppies are ready for their new homes, it looks something like this.  Mayhem reigns in the outdoor pen.  It's a bit trashed, there are a couple too many squished-in poos, there is shredded cardboard everywhere, the toys and vet beds are all a bit worn around the edges, and in the case of these particular puppies, the water bowl is up on bricks like an old jalopy.  I'm warning the new owners now, you literally cannot keep water in the water bowls. 

Many of my puppies have been water babies to one extent or another.  I've usually had at least one who would sleep snuggled up to the bowl, or with head or other body part dipped in.  Occasionally there would be a water digger.  In fact, at least two of Tuuli's last puppies are water diggers to this day.  I have assured their owners that they will grow out of it ... eventually ... we hope.

These puppies were a tad late to the water party.  I was pleased and, frankly, surprised.  You have seen their sire, Salo, right?  No?  Well, check out the videos at the very bottom of his page.  Yes, that is the father of these puppies lying in the waterfall and swimming with the goldfish in the ornamental pond. 

In the end, genetics kicked in and the puppies did discover the water bowls, and, lo, they did create a mess.  Over and over again.  It's mainly Jaakoppi and Ulla, though, so perhaps the owners of the others will be off the hook.  We will see.

Anyway, jacking the water bowl up on bricks did work briefly, but Ulla eventually delighted in finding a way to climb up there and still get her front feet in, occasionally tipping the bowl entirely over.  But often it's too much trouble, apparently, so it usually remains more or less intact. 

The indoor bowl is another matter entirely.

Tomorrow the first puppies fly the nest (or the damp pen).

photo shoot

Thank you to Mark Treasure for our somewhat rushed photo shoot yesterday.  We managed to grab a few shots between showers and just before it got dark.  More or less.

These puppies will have the middle name "Maila" which is a Finnish word meaning tennis racquet and also a girl's name.  If you're wondering what tennis has to do with these puppies, then have a quick look at the birth announcement.  It also explains where their baby names came from.

As usual, all these names are subject to Kennel Club approval.

Infindigo Maila Siinto
(Novak)
Siinto is a Finnish word meaning "gleaming"

Infindigo Maila Koru
(Roger)
Koru is a Finnish word meaning "jewel"

Infindigo Maila Loki
(Stan)
Loki is the Norse god of mischief

Infindigo Maila Ulla
(Serena)
Ulla is a Scandanavian girl's name

Infindigo Maila Jaakoppi
(Andy)
Jaakoppi is a Finnish boy's name

6 weeks old

Admitting defeat here.  I won't go into the series of catastrophes that we had this week, let's just say it culminated in the fridge dying yesterday (or in fact sometime before yesterday) so that we had to throw away more or less all the food inside (and clean up a rather big mess).  A quick prod later and it's in perfect working order again now.  Ever get the feeling someone is conspiring against you?

Or perhaps the culmination was actually Keskiyo getting up for a poo three times in the night last night because he had a rather wonderful fresh bone yesterday.  If you don't keep up with the fresh bones, then when they do have one, it does have this unfortunate effect.  Keep up with the fresh bones, people!

Or - horror of horrors - the culmination is yet to come!  Don't even go there.

Anyway, yesterday's photo shoot was a rather hurried affair.  And it was raining or drizzling all day so the light was terrible too.  Cue some truly awful photos!  But better than nothing, is what I'm hoping.  Right?  Right??

It has been just about all decided which puppy is going where.  I have given a choice to one person because her family has had a looooong wait for this day.  As soon as they choose, the rest will fall into place, so to speak.  Then I will be able to reveal all the names as well.  And the best news is that Mark and Jane will be visiting today and we have a photo shoot on the cards, so I'm hoping for some really terrific shots for the name-reveal.

Of course, it would help enormously if it stopped raining sometime before they get here...

busy

Took a little post-lunch video a few days ago before it started raining.  Somehow forgot to post it.  Six-week pics tomorrow.