sisko girls head out

I'm a bit late catching up, but the puppies had their microchips, clear vet checks and clear eye tests.  

They endured a bit less than the normal amount of in-town socialising that Infindigo puppies usually get because it was so very hot in the weeks leading up to the leaving dates.  But there was plenty of noise acclimatisation, a few car trips and only a small amount of vomit.  

Eventually they set off on their big adventures to their new homes.  They were all surprisingly lucky with cooler days for their long car journeys.  And as with every puppy who has left here for the past 10 years, we collected going home pics of the Sisko girls.  

First it was Suvi (Patty) & Kukka (Maxene), followed a bit later by Piia (LaVerne).  They are all settled in now and I hope to have some great photos to share in the coming days of the girls in their new homes with all the new cat and dog siblings.

Suvi (Patty) 

Off with Anna and John all the way to Manchester

Kukka (Maxene)

Heading up the road to Dartmoor with Naomi & Mark

Piia (LaVerne)

The longest trip of all - about 18 hours door-to-door to Northern Ireland with

Beverley, Gareth & Kristen.  Officially the best-travelled 9-week-old Infindigo puppy ever.

Good luck pups and new families!  

7 weeks old

Phew!  The photos are a very mixed bag this week.  But between the virus (mine), the hospital visit and operation (not mine), working, the big dogs and the puppies, I wasn't sure I would get any photos at all.  But here and there I still did manage to get some.  As they are - i.e. mainly amusing and/or blurry.

And we have some names to reveal this week, all newly minted by the Kennel Club.

Infindigo Sisko Suvi

was Patty

Infindigo Sisko Piia

was LaVerne

Infindigo Sisko Kukka

was Maxene

6 weeks old

It wasn't easy getting photos today.  For one thing, it's always hard!  I know, I make it look easy, right?  Riiiight...

Leggo of my tail!

But, as you see, it's not easy, not ever.  Well, almost not ever.  Puppies run, wiggle, jump, bite and generally mess about.  Posing safely on a table?  That's definitely not in their standard repertoire.

For another thing, it was 27°C this afternoon when we were trying to get these shots.  What do you suppose Finnish Lapphund puppies think about that kind of temperature?  Even when they're in the shade and there is a nice breeze?  And remembering that these puppies' absolute favorite thing ever is the frozen water bottle.  Exactly.

But we persevered, as we do on a weekly basis, dedicated as we are.  I was wishing I had put my shorts on before starting, though.  Luckily there are only 3 of them to contend with, so it all took only about one and a half hours 30 minutes.  Ish.

Patty

Is this my good side?

LaVerne

If I flap my ears, do you suppose I'll fly?

Maxene

It's not so bad, this bottom brushing

Their ears are all going up already.  In fact, LaVerne looks like hers will be almost completely up before she even leaves here.  Such cooperative ears are not completely unheard of in this house, but it is still a bit of a novelty.

Next week they will have their new names and be getting ready for the next big adventure.  Assuming I find the time to get the puppy packs together in the next fortnight, that is.

rainy days

Rainy days are tough when you have almost-7-week-old puppies who are getting housetrained and really, really want to go outside to do their business.  Then there is the matter of all the running and playing.

On days like that, it's all hands to the pump to keep the puppies entertained. As always, these puppies are very lucky to have their great-granny Neka in their lives.  She loves to get into the pen to play.  

Niko with granny Neka

Meanwhile, Eevi is busy at the tail end

Kaija joining in the fun

Neka buried in puppies - that's Malaki in the middle

still here

We are still here and still playing with puppies.  In between the house training, cleaning up, feeding, walking and all the rest, that is.

On Friday the puppies had their eye test and were pronounced all to have healthy eyes.

As you can see in this video, they also have healthy, bouncy legs and nice strong jaws.  Oh, and lungs, let's not forget the lung-power.

And at some point I promised to share another cute shot from the Jenny Duckworth photoshoot and then I forgot.  So here it is now.  Can you see how much they have changed in 2 weeks between the still and the video?  Click on the image for a larger size.

L-R: Tux (Veli), Ensi (Malaki), Liila (Kaija), Tan (Niko), Kukka (Eevi)

6 weeks old

The fluff-monsters are 6 weeks old, cute as can be, and have their new families and new names all arranged.  I'm busy as you like - or at least certainly as busy as I ever like! - so without any fantare, here they are.

Tux - Infindigo Juhla Pikkuveli  -  to be known as Veli

Pikku is Finnish for "little" and veli is "brother" and he is going to be the little brother of Pikkukarhu (Karhu) in Glasgow with Wendy & Scott.

Kukka - Infindigo Juhla Eevi  -  to be known as Eevi

Eevi is a Finnish girl's name.  She is going to live with Helen & Matt in Flintshire, north Wales.

Ensi - Infindigo Juhla Ismo - to be known as Malaki

This boy was named in honour of his dad Kuura's big brother Ismo (Lakeslapps Rakko) who died too young less than a week before these puppies were born.  Run free at the Rainbow Bridge, sweet Ismo.  We will remember you whenever we think of this puppy who is so affectionate, calm and waggy.  This boy will be going to live with the Sinclair family and his new big Lappy brother Shadow.

Liila - Infindigo Juhla Kaija - to be known as Kaija

 Kaija is a Finnish girl's name and also the pet name of Infindigo Monta Sulo, so there's a fine recipe built in there to keep me confused.  It doesn't take much these days.

She is staying right here in Devon and going to live in Plymouth with the Perks family and 2 rabbits.

Tan - Infindigo Juhla Niko - to be known as Niko

Niko is a Finnish boy's name.  He stole the hearts of photographer Jenny & Rob and will be going to live in Nottingham and be the subject of many, many photos!  That's the plan, anyway, if they can convince him to stay still long enough, that is.......

random acts of cuteness pt 2

Thanks again to Jenny Duckworth, I have some photos to post.  Here's a selection of the gang at 4.5 weeks in various states of cuteness - all were taken by Jenny.

That's just about it now for Jenny's fine work.  You've had the cute portraits, and you have had the hilarious scale photo.  Here are the candids and there are just 2 more special ones I've been holding back.  One will be posted tomorrow and if you want to see the other, you'll have to get your hands on a copy of the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain yearbook when it is published in March because that's where that one is going.

Various chomping activites

Hanging around activities

Ensi looking adorable

Tan & Ensi

My guess would be Kukka

Various snoozing activities

Pile of puppies

Bookends

Toes!

the great outdoors

It's been super-cold here since the puppies moved downstairs so they haven't been spending much time outside.  Ok, so it's not super-cold by Finnish standards, but it's definitely cold by English ones, and with a north wind, it's downright nippy.  Too nippy for baby puppies for very long.  They go out into the pen for as long as it takes to clean out the indoor pen, and hopefully that's about the length of time it takes for them to all do their wees and poos too. 

Today it was a bit warmer and they got lots of outside time.  You can see how much they love it in the big pen.  There is much pouncing!

4 weeks old

Well Tuuli has done it again!  She has produced a litter of puppies who will all (more or less) sit and stand to have their photos taken.  It's difficult enough to get photos of puppies without expecting them to be still.  And more difficult again to try and accomplish this single-handedly.  However, we did and I did and it all went beautifully well.

Until I checked the photos I had taken.

Apparently I had forgotten to check the first one or two to make sure the camera was lined up properly on its tripod...  Yes I did forget to do that.  I took at whole set of impossible-to-achieve photos with the tops chopped off.  SIGH.

So I set it all up again and did it all over again.

Tux

Kukka

Ensi

Liila

Tan

And from the If-Only file:

Kukka looking demure

Liila doing her supermodel pose

Tan being all kinds of cute

And Kukka doing the same!