Showing posts with label girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label girls. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Maija & friends

It's been a busy few weeks since all Maija's siblings left home. With the puppies in residence, we tended to put off all the other urgent business of life. And now it's flooding back demanding to be taken care of with no further delay. Most days I don't know if I'm coming or going. Not much change there, then, you might say. There's the garden re-design which has been zooming ahead (on which, more later). On top of all that, there's the business waiting for me to catch up (2 hours a day isn't getting me very far) and, of course, we too have a new puppy needing to be trained and generally fussed 23.9 hours a day.

Maija has started to attend puppy socialisation where she is the smallest and most clever (obviously). Mind you, the tiny Jack Russell probably won't grow very much more and Maija is likely to be bigger than he is by the next class. She's had her injections but has been out and about on her lead since 8 weeks. In my book, I'd rather take the chance on nasty rare diseases than miss out on valuable socialisation weeks. As a result, she's quite brave and not much bothers her. At the moment we're working on after-dark walks as I suddenly discovered that she's a bit nervous of meeting other dogs when she can't see clearly. So each night & morning before daylight we're out going up and down the park with my pocketful of liver sizzlers.

Great treats, these. The dogs love them, they make a nice attention-getting snap as you break them & they're very clean in your pocket. They're also very useful when I'm out in the park with Maija off her lead as even her most nosey of noseying is interrupted when I call an enthusiastic "Come!" to the tune of the sizzler snap.

We did have a weekend away last week to visit Jay's parents, and here is Keskiyo lounging resplendently in his favorite fragrant evergreen.















While in the neighbourhood, we invited ourselves around to visit Liz and her pack while Paula & Adam were also there with Inko. The weather was truly unbelievably good for mid-October and we sat out on the terrace in the late afternoon sun which left Jay & I both glowing the next day. Maija and Inko had a fantastic time playing in Liz's spacious garden and by the time we finally left, the formerly bright white paws were all the sludgy shade of Surrey mud.

Here is one photo I tried to take of them playing followed by a short video. Check out the artistic, slanting sun rays. Ok, ok, I know that it's just poor photography really. For the best photo of the day, go see Adam's result on Inko's blog.

















Pups gone bonkers:



In addition to travelling the length and breadth of the south of England, Maija has also been quite busy at home and work with me. She's a little sweetie, happy just to amuse herself so long as she gets plenty of attention from Jay & me, but particularly her canine family. Here she is playing with Keskiyo. At last I managed to capture them in action to get a picture that is more than simply a blur of fur and teeth.

















And, finally, a couple of shots of Maija indulging in her new favorite pastime - chewing.

Under the stairs in Annie's den, hiding her bone from Keskiyo:














Finding all the sticks in Surrey:













Over the next few days I'll try to post an update on some of the other puppies with new photos. Also, for those of you who are partial to building sites, there'll be some news on the state of my garden.

Friday, 3 October 2008

Maija at home / Tarkka at home

Quick update on Maija. We had intended to do a family portrait to tie in with the photos of all the other puppies leaving home. Did we manage to find the time/energy/photographer for the task? Well, no. But we are ever hopeful and might accomplish something before she grows completely out of her puppyhood.

In the meantime, here are a few shots of Maija as new top dog of our house. First, here she is cuddled up with Lenny, enjoying her last few remaining days of being allowed on the sofa.


















And, having a game with mum Neka. Neka has always been the master of games, gentle and patient with all manner of puppies, tireless with her friends. I'm hoping she passes on her games skills to Maija. Keskiyo also loves to play with Maija, but his idea of a game is a bit more steal-the-toy-and-run-like-hell. Except when he's rolling around on his back with Maija on his chest. Very sweet and apparently impossible to capture on film.

Tug!

















Displaying her famous super pouncing skills:
















If you look closely you just might be able to see the state of Neka's raggedy coat as she's now in full-on post-whelping moult which will, in 2 or 3 weeks, result in her skin gleaming pinkly through the last dusting of remaining hair. If you can't make out the clumps of fur hanging off her flanks, then you can certainly see the effect on my carpet! It's a 4-times-a-day vacuum time now. Do I vacuum 4 times a day? Of course not. In my house, the carpet is lucky to see the sucking end of the vacuum once a day. Hence the grey, furry carpet.

On Wednesday Maija and I went visiting in Plymouth to see Jo and Tarkka. Jo seems to be saving all her puppy photos for the SFLS calendar and Tarkka's own blog, so in order to see how he is developing you'll need to go see him there. In the meantime, here is a very short video of the remaining Devon Two gallivanting in Tarkka's garden. How alike they still are! You can spot Tarkka because he's the one with a little bling hanging from his collar - his fabulous new bone-shaped id tag. You can spot Maija because she's the one scampering and pouncing like a maniac. Nothing new there then.


Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Inko at home

If you haven't been keeping up with Inko's antics on her blog, here is a chance to see how she's growing up. I thought that we were keeping the naughty pup, but although Maija certainly has us on our toes, I think perhaps Inko gets the award for Puppy Most Like Her Naughty Mum.

Here she is with her reindeer:
















And doing a bit of creative gardening that Lapphunds are so good at:

Monday, 29 September 2008

Jaana at home

Looks like Jaana wasted no time settling in with Baz in Brighton. Thanks to Mike for being so quick with the camera even after such a long drive home.

Don't miss Harry the cat checking out the new arrival from a safe distance. He's obviously clever enough to keep the trees close by when the puppy is on the loose. But I'm not altogether sure he has anything to worry about - looks like Jaana only has eyes for her new big brother.















Sunday, 21 September 2008

... and 5 to go

Viivi must have known that today was going to be a big day for her because she woke everyone up at something after 5 am.

Here are Sherralee and David, thrilled to be setting off with Viivi to her new home (yes, Surrey again - big county, that, ain't it). I'll bet Viivi's new big brother Jaska can't wait to meet her too - not her litter brother Jaska, but another one entirely. He won't know what hit him when Viivi lands!




















Farewell Viivi, have fun with your fab new brother, and I'm so looking forward to the photos. Since Jay's parents are conveniently located in Surrey, we expect to see lots more of these puppies in the future. Lucky us!

* * * *

And on a completely different topic, you might have thought that cleaning out the pen would have been a slightly easier job this morning with 2 fewer puppies. Wouldn't you? I did. Huh, was I wrong. Let's see what tomorrow morning brings (well, ok, I know what it will bring, but let's see how much of it arrives.)

Friday, 12 September 2008

the bitches - 6 weeks

Jaana
What I love best about her is her sense of humour and cute expression that photos just don't seem to capture. She's fearless & funny & very licky.


































Maija
I love her bright expression and little gremlin ears. She will sit tilting her head from side to side knowing that's a sure-fire way to get picked up for a cuddle.




































Sulo
Think you're confused? Sulo used to be LMP but is now Cross. Don't ask... I'll get myself sorted out eventually. What do you mean, I'm running out of time?
I love this girl's quiet personality; she's cuddly & shy until you try to pick her up & then it's catch-me-if-you-can games. Wonderful fluffy face.



































Viivi
What can I say? She has so many endearing qualities. She's still the "Flash" who shoots around the pen. She knows her name and she invented chasing games, grabbing toys and running like mad in the hope someone will follow.



































Inko
My favorite thing about her at the moment is that she's a cheeky, engaging little monkey. She's a real people puppy and one of the first to throw herself into the air hoping to be picked up.



















Thursday, 4 September 2008

the bitches - 5 weeks

Jaana - formerly known as Spot
How sweet is that face! She's the little one who growls when she plays, pretending to be vicious. It's all an act to keep the big boys in their place. In fact, she's cuddly and very waggy.


















Maija - formerly known as Boots
She's the powerhouse who charges around the pen demanding games long after everyone else has gone to sleep. Master pouncer.



















Aurinko (Inko) - formerly known as Cross
Always the biggest of the girls but gentle as can be. Not too happy about being up on the grooming table, she's much more at home rolling a ball around the pen, pulling out clumps of grass, or dragging newspaper all around. Happy to play all by herself if necessary.



















Viivi - formerly known as Flash
Named Flash for her flashy markings, her proper name means 'lively' in honour of her energetic entry into the world. She spends most of her days on her back with all 4 paws in the air playing with 2 or 3 others who pile on top of her. Occasionally requires rescuing from under the scrum. Loves to pull her siblings' tails.




















Sulo - formerly known as LMP
The "Perfect" markings she had at birth which inspired her name changed as she matured until her feet stopped matching! But she's still pretty perfect to us. The little girl who tries to climb out of the pen for a cuddle. Super wagger.

Thursday, 28 August 2008

the bitches - 4 weeks

Here are the photos for week 4 - face shots and "show stand" poses. I had forgotten how difficult it is to get these without having expert handling skill available! (I don't suppose you fancy a trip to Devon for a photo op, Toni?) I will attempt to improve on some of these photos as the day progresses and will replace them as and when (if!) I get something better.

By the next weekly update I should have made my final decisions on which puppy is going where and so they will all have their proper names. In the meantime, I give you...

Spot




































Boots

































Cross






































Flash




































LMP



















Thursday, 21 August 2008

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

escape attempt

Quick photo of Boots making her bid for freedom this afternoon while her brothers look on in envy. And, no, she didn't make it. Yet.

I wonder who she was standing on in order to get her nose over the edge...?

Thursday, 14 August 2008

the bitches - 2 weeks

Here come the 2-week portraits. For some reason, my camera has chosen to record many of them with a weird sepia tint rather than use the flash. Never mind, I'm sure the puppies were grateful for the lack of flash.

Weight updates to come tomorrow.



Spot


















Boots:

















Cross:

















Flash:


















LMP:

Thursday, 7 August 2008

one week old - bitches

And happy one-week birthday to the girls. I'm confident about the identity of the girls, but not quite so much about the steadiness of my hand when trying to hold the camera and keep the puppies still at the same time. Why is it they suddenly wake up and start thrashing around the minute the camera appears?


Spot
















Boots
















Cross




















Flash














LMP
(late addition - sorry!)