southern counties 2015

Usually I really enjoy the Southern Counties dog show.  Usually we have a Finnish judge and no one can ever predict what choices will be made on the day.  It's usually great fun and we usually have a terrific turnout.  And usually the sun shines on us.

Yesterday all that was true again ... apart from the sun bit, that is.  It was cold, it was wet, it was crowded in the tent.  But still a good day for team Infindigo, overall.

Our judge was Harri Lehkonen and first up was Tito in the big Postgraduate Dog class.  At only a month out of Junior, I dare say he was the youngest in the class, so I was especially thrilled when he placed 3rd out of 8, qualifying for Crufts 2016.  And hot on his heels in the same class was Kuura, shown by Jane and placing 4th.  Kuura & Jane then went into Limit Dog and placed 4th again.  So proud of my boys!

Infindigo Pippuri Aatami (Tito)

L: Tito  R:  Infindigo Persikka Kuura

Kuura & Jane

I should take this opportunity to point out that despite appearances to the contrary, I was not actually wearing baggy men's Y-fronts over my trousers.  Truly I wasn't.

Next up was Taika in the mixed Veteran Dog or Bitch class.  I took Taika to the club show last month, and that was the first show she had attended in .... I don't even know how long.  But the time can be counted in years rather than months.  And plenty of them.  But once a showdog, always a showdog, and she was a little brown star, placing 4th out of  a big class of 8 and beaten only by 3 champions.  You go, old girl!

Infindigo Taika - the old girl's still got it

Next came the biggest class of the day, Postgraduate Bitch, where the total of 9 competitors included Emmi, Talvi, Kiittaa and Jaana.  We were all thrilled when Emmi took 2nd place and qualified for Crufts and Talvi took 3rd.  And then they both went into the Limit Bitch class and did exactly the same thing again.  Super proud of my girls too.

Infindigo Riemu Emmi & Jane

Infindigo Pippuri Talvi & Ian

Apparently the judge didn't like the creams - he binned every one of them, including Kiittaa.  For Lexi it was a completely novel experience not to place.  Never mind, we thought she & Kiittaa did a great job anyway.

Infindigo Riemu Kiittaa & Lexi

As Mark was pressed into service showing Jaana, photography for the class fell to me, which explains why the pics are not up to their usual standard...  But after a little emergency ringcraft from Jane, Mark did a stellar job of showing the tiny brown dog and she actually looked more or less like a showdog.  Perhaps for the first time.  Can it be that she's growing up just a little?  I particularly love the shot of her looking straight at me, wagging away.  Hopefully that doesn't count as double handling (which, in case you are not aware, is strictly forbidden).  I wasn't actually trying to attract her attention. 

Lapinlumon Pilvipouta for Infindigo (Jaana) & Mark

Cutie-pie Jaana & Mark

3 of our 4 girls.   L-R: Jaana, Kiittaa & Emmi

You can visit Fosse Data's website to see the full list of Southern Counties results. 

happy birthday ...

... to the Pippuri puppies who are 1 year old today.  Has it really been a year?  Surely it must be time for more puppies in this house.  That's what I'm thinking, anyway. 

Tuuli was a terrific mum to these sweet little black peppercorns who, apart from Tito who is the image of his dad, all looked just like her.

Here are the sweet babies all grown up (well, kinda).

Infindigo Pippuri Aatami (Tito)

Infindigo Pippuri Kai (Kai)

Infindigo Pippuri Fiia (Fiia)

Infindigo Pippuri Kaito (Kaito)

Infindigo Pippuri Talvi (Talvi)

catch up on the pippuri litter

In addition to the birthday dogs, I have also been collecting recent photos of (some of) the Pippuri puppies who are now 4-almost-5 months old. 

Pippuri Talvi has passed her Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze award.  She's so young to have achieved this already - what a clever girl she is.  And good job, Liz, too!

Little sweetie pie Pippuri Fiia not looking very grownup yet.  On second thought... I'm sure her ears were the first up.  I think this is an old photo!  But very cute.

Pippuri Kai looking a big boy and sweet as can be.

Pippuri Kaito looking adorable with smiley face and ears up. 

Finally, over the weekend I had a chance to meet up with Pippuri Aatami (Tito) and managed to grab a few shots.

Soaked after a few water games with the boys

After a great Lappy walk in the warm sunshine at Bodiam Castle, I even managed to get a cuddle.  He was marginally more interested in getting to the other puppy on the ground just out of shot.

growing up pups

The Pippuri puppies are almost 3 months old and growing fast.  Pretty soon they will be sprouting new adult teeth into jaws not quite big enough to hold them yet (and the chewing will ramp up - yes, it does get worse before it gets better!)  At the same time, their legs will shoot up and their noses will shoot out.  Do you get the impression it's not a very attractive phase?  At some point soon their ears will go up too (one hopes).

Fiia at 10 weeks modelling her smart hi-vis harness

Kai practicing being cute at 10 weeks

Kaito at 10 weeks... on the sofa, no less

Talvi having fun in the park

And, finally, a little video of Tito having fun with the boys his first time at the beach.





Meanwhile, the extended family visited last week, and Jaana, too, is growing up.

happy new year

At this stage I'm still missing the puppies and still worrying about how they are doing, although I know that their owners are getting on with puppy stuff and barely giving me a thought.  As it should be.  Or, that's what I keep telling myself.  I try not to email/text/phone everyone daily to make sure all is well, you understand, but still it's nice to get updates.

Around about the 10-week mark the house training is going well, the first vaccinations have been done, there have been lots of experiences with new places, new people and new dogs, and everyone is getting ready for their puppy classes to start in a week or so.  The main questions that everyone has are:  (a) how do I get him to stop biting me? (b) is it ok when I do X, Y or Z? and (c) how do I get him to stop biting the lead?

Lots of biting-related questions at this stage, and everyone is always relieved to hear that it's all perfectly normal and necessary.  Although, to be fair, that probably doesn't help with the scratches, torn sleeves and various other puppy-teeth-related injuries.  It is an age where puppies must learn that it is never acceptable to bite people and they must learn what it is ok to bite (i.e. toys and chews - not legs of anything, whether they belong to humans, other dogs or even tables).  And it is an age that the humans must survive.  As with all puppy-related issues, time and gentle, consistent guidance will see you through.  Leather gloves come in handy too.

Wishing all my friends, readers, visitors and puppy owners a very happy new year!  May 2014 bring you all you wish for and more.  And may it see the back of what you wish would bugger off.

I will leave you with a couple of photos of some grown-up puppies that were sent to me in honour of their recent 3rd birthday.  Incidentally, Daniel tells me that Kuura has had another phase of calming down and maturing - there you go, Pippuri puppy owners, only two-and-three-quarters-of-a-year to go.

Kuura looking gorgeous with a little help from the wind

Bo with her rosettes

Bo looking so much like both mum and granny!

8 weeks old

Today Tito leaves home with his new family, so there will be lots of tears in this household.   I miss all the puppies after they leave, and so it's that much more special when I get photos back of them having fun and growing up in their new homes.  These are the puppies at 8 weeks old (or thereabouts).

Tito
Infindigo Pippuri Aatami

Showing off his tongue

"And this is how my tongue looks from the side."

Kai
Infindigo Pippuri Kai

Showing off his teeth

Looking adorable (& innocent!)

Fiia
Infindigo Pippuri Fiia

Looking oh-so-cute, having claimed a lap, er, chest!

One ear up!

Kaito
Infindigo Pippuri Kaito

In the traditional birthday sitting pose

And the standing pose

Talvi
Infindigo Pippuri Talvi

Tug for two with Usko

Practicing being cute while Liz refuels

8 weeks old & leaving home

The puppies are 8 weeks old and only one is left here, although we are sadly packing his little bag in preparation for his new family to pick him up on the weekend.

It's always a mixture of sad and happy to see the puppies go off to their new homes.  You have to be happy for them to be starting out on their big adventures, and happy for their new families.  But I'm always a little sad to see them go and there is always a tear or two shed.

It's even more difficult when there is only one who stays behind longer than the rest.  I have spent time training and socialising him and bonded with him even more than I had when the whole litter was here.  Hopefully his family won't mind if I just tie him to the gate post for them to collect so I don't have to watch him leave.

Here are Tito's 8-week-update photos.

And now that I have my laptop fully functioning again, here are the belated farewell photos for the rest of the gang.  I particularly like the photo of Fiia leaving - which just goes to show that sometimes the outtakes make the best captures.

Kai the first to leave with Holly & James

Kaito off with Phil, Rae & William

Talvi setting off with Liz & Ian to meet Usko at home

Angela & Jonny with Fiia refusing to look at the camera

final week from instagram

You may have noticed it's gone a bit quiet around here.  It's not because most of the puppies went to their new homes over the weekend, although they did.  No, something far more dramatic and life-changing happened: on Friday the electric cable for my laptop died, quickly followed by my laptop, containing all my photos carefully preserved for the blog.  Zounds!  What bad luck and quite rotten timing, just as the puppies are moving into the next stage in their young lives.

Luckily the phone is still operational, so I do have a little update from Instagram on the gang as they leave for their new homes.

Fiia teddybear  -  Tito's little bear paws
Kai having a thoughtful moment  -  Tug for two: Talvi & Kai
Peeping over the gate of the pen: Tito, Fiia, Kaito, Kai

Emmi visits  -  Neka discovers watermelon
Kai in his new home (simples!)  -  Kaito in his new home
Fiia in her new home  -  Tito the only one left

And, finally, Talvi in her new outdoor pen with new big brother Usko.  Fun times ahead for them, as I hear that Usko was just a little thrilled about the new family member.

Next up:  updates on the gang in their new homes, what Tito has been up to while the only puppy here and big news as Jane and I run a very special and exciting errand tomorrow.

beethoven and other noise

As soon as they are born, my thoughts turn to starting the puppies' socialisation process.  It's something that the new owners will have to work on through their dog's whole first year and beyond, but particularly in the first crucial weeks after they leave the litter.  Long before that time, however, I am already putting in a great deal of work to make sure these puppies grow into happy, confident and relaxed dogs. 

As soon as they are born the experiences start with the vacuum going around their box daily.  They can't see or hear it at that stage, but they can feel the rumbling.  Having said that, by the age of 6 weeks you would never guess they had been exposed to the vacuum every day for their entire lives - they still cower in a heap in the corner everytime it comes around.

They are exposed to sounds, people, strange things like hats and umbrellas, they have (soft) things thrown into the pen with them, they visit other houses, they have a little car ride, they have two trips each into town to do some visiting there.  It's hard work, but it pays off in the long run. 

Another experience each litter is treated to is a little burst of piano music, courtesy of Jay.  As you can see, the Pippuri puppies don't appear to be exactly enamoured with Beethoven.  I love the way they tilt their heads at the beginning.

7 weeks old

The puppies are 7 weeks old. Wow is what I have to say to that.  They are such a joy that I don't want them to go, but they are, nonetheless, now getting ready to set off for their new homes.  In fact, by the time they hit 8 weeks, all but one will be in their new homes.  And what of that one?  Well, we've decided to keep Tito.  KIDDING!  Tito will be heading off to his new home the following weekend, so there will be 8-week update photos of him (and of the others too if their new owners are willing).

In fact, I've started packing one puppy bag already as Kai will be the very first to go.  In his standing shot you can even see his bling in the form of his brand new little red collar.  The puppies wear their collars for a couple of days before leaving us to get them accustomed to it, and he has hardly taken any notice of his at all.  The lead, on the other hand, is a slightly different story.  I'm sure he will be so busy exploring his new surroundings that he will soon learn to ignore the lead too. 

Tito
Infindigo Pippuri Aatami

Kai
Infindigo Pippuri Kai

Fiia
Infindigo Pippuri Fiia

Kaito
Infindigo Pippuri Kaito

Talvi
Infindigo Pippuri Talvi