happy birthday

Very happy birthday to the Tuisku puppies who are four years old today.  FOUR!  I can hardly believe it.

They're a lovely bunch of grownup Lapphunds at four years, but at four weeks they were positively adorable.  Although it is my tradition to post photos of puppies in corresponding months or weeks of age to their current years of age, for some reason I can't locate the 4-weeks-old photos this morning.  So you will just have to make do with these from the 5-6-week-old pile.

Minna, Kallio, Usko, Kesa, Lana

Minna, Lana, Kallio

Kallio, Usko, Minna, Lana

Weston beach walk

On Sunday we met a bunch of old friends and new friends-to-be with a rather large group of Lappies for a walk at Weston-Super-Mare again.  I have to say that I'm pretty unimpressed with the council for charging such extortionate parking fees.  Even in the middle of the winter the minimum charge was £2.50 and when we went there in November it was twice that.  So I don't think we'll be troubling their lovely beach again with our half dozen cars and twice the number of dogs.  There are lots of nice places to walk that don't cost the earth in parking.

The weather was incredibly kind to us, if chilly - the forecast was for cold & wet but we only got the cold.  Phew!  Even those who were threatened to be homebound by snow managed to make it.

Thanks to Mark Treasure for the great photos, as always.  Most of these are his, the poor phone shots 1st & last are mine, as usual.  We didn't manage to remember to get a group shot of everyone there, but if my memory serves correctly, we had 12 Finnish Lapphunds and about twice that in people.

That sign beyond which everyone is walking?  It says something like: "DANGER beyond this point."
Yup.










Much running & playing.
L-R: Kaija, Miika, Kesa, Taika
It's anyone's guess who is running to catch up in the distance, but my guess is Minna.  She is not one to miss out on a good game of chase.











Case in point:
L-R: Minna, Kaija, Taika, Miika

Even Keksi did a little bit of running, but mainly she stayed close to the humans' legs (and pockets full of treats).
L-R:  Keskiyo, Keksi

Neka, the eldest in attendance, had a wonderful time, racing around like a dog half her age.

And this tells the story of later that evening.  Evidence of a very good day.

five things that are not so great about having a dog

1.  You are often carrying around a bag of poo.

2.  All your pockets are stained with dog treats.  And your walls/furniture/car with mud.

3.  Much of your wardrobe is chosen on the basis of what hides dog hair most effectively.

4.  You can forget disappearing off to Paris for a spontaneous romantic break - spontaneity
     requires advance planning.

5.  You are forced to get fresh air & exercise everyday whether you want it or not
     and regardless of the weather.

Wet, muddy Kesä having a drink

chaos

Even with no puppies in the house, we've had a busy summer. Perhaps I should specify that we've had no new puppies in the house. We've had a few to visit.

The latest visitors are Taika & Minna who have been here almost 2 weeks and are going back home in a couple of days. That means that we have 5 dogs in total in the house at the moment. And if you wondered how many dogs is too many, then I think my limit is 5. Or possibly 4, actually.

Don't get me wrong - I have really enjoyed being over-run with canines. And these particular 2 are extremely well behaved, so they don't actually cause much more chaos than our normal daily amount. However, once you factor into the equation the fact that Jay has been almost completely incapacitated with a back problem for the whole time, you can see that I've had my work more than cut out for me.





I'm pretty sure there's still one missing... on the way back to the car, and still no Neka...












Quite apart from the walks (during which at least 2 need to be kept on lead for some reason or other), at this time of the year there is the post-walk daily dog de-seeding. It's only a small exaggeration to say that we have as many seeds in our bin as are left in the woods. What we really need at this time of the year is a dog-friendly beach nearby. No seeds.

In July BF (before seeds) we had Buddy for a week and before that Kesa came to stay for a few days.






Kesa & Maija mid-game

















An unlikely pair of bookends
















In between, the puppies and relatives went to a few dog shows. Apparently every photo we took of Keksi with her offspring at the National Working & Pastoral show was out of focus. Huh.














L-R: Kuura, Keksi, Ukko, Tippi

Yes, those ears, I know. I think the subject of ears deserves its own blog post.

family reunion

Yesterday we drove up to High Littleton in Somerset to meet a bunch of other Lappy folk for a walk in Greyfield Wood. We've been there before and yet somehow I always manage to get a little lost when trying to find it. I was amazed when the other people who came - and who had not been there before - all found it quite readily. Especially as the directions were wrong. Who wrote the directions? Uh huh.

Don't ask me what the moral of that story is.

Anyway, we had a fantastic turnout of 12 Lapphunds, at least twice that number of people, and one honorary Lapphund in the form of Toby. Missing from this photo is said honorary Lapphund and one ornery little madam off to the right who didn't squidge in close in time for this particular shot.











Dogs, L-R: Marja, Keskiyo, Maija, Neka, Kaija, Usko, Taika, Minna, Ben, Seppo, Miika

What was particularly nice for us was that, in addition to our own 3 dogs, of the 12 Lappies were at least one member of every litter of puppies we've ever had. Later at the pub (which, needless to say, we had no trouble finding), We tried to get a few family shots but had to make do with just a couple.

You might remember Marja who was the Marilyn of the last litter. She's 5 months old now, still platinum blonde, very little and super sweet. She wasn't too sure about getting out of her car when she first arrived at the walk. I don't suppose she has seen so many dogs in one place at once time - let alone 11 Lapphunds all in one place. Then granny Neka spotted her and started to bark with excitement. When Marja heard her and recognised her, that was it - she was off and utterly fearless from that moment on.






Trying to keep up with the big dogs














Scrambling up the water fall


















Pause for a treat or two









It's pretty tiring stuff for puppies, but there was plenty of time for recovering at the pub later.

















Marja's sister Tippi is coming to stay next week and I can't wait to get the 2 girls together for a play date. Check back - there should be plenty of news over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, here is Taika and a selection of her kids.












L-R: Kesä, Taika, Minna, Usko

growing up puppies

In only a week the Tuisku puppies will be one year old and no longer puppies at all. I've had some updates here and there - and it is perhaps needless to say that we got to see one or two of them when the last bunch were receiving visitors.





Minna and Taika just a tad muddy after a walk during their visit.
















Usko also came to visit and we had a bit of a challenge to get him calm enough for a photo as he was rather excited to be here seeing us & his granny Neka.













Kallio had his first ever bath.












Lana went skiing in Scotland with sis Ellie & the rest of the family.







"You can't catch me!"







While Kesa enjoyed the snow down south.

it's all in the details

Finnish Lapphunds are beautiful in their details




Lappy bottoms! 2 of Taika's puppies getting wet














Keskiyo's snow nose












Kesa showing off her brand-new teeth














Tiny toes & noses - Honey, Marilyn, Kuusi, Vee & Junior












And in close-up










Tomorrow the puppies will be 2 weeks old already and there will be photo updates and, of course, the poll result. Oh, the suspense!

beaches

The lovely beach in the last post is at Teignmouth, south Devon. We are so lucky to be within spitting - or at least driving - distance of many, many fabulous beaches. It was one of the reasons I moved here and it is one of the 3 things that keep me here. The beach at Teignmouth is small but conveniently located and the town is one of the few seaside towns that still retains some of it's charm. Forget Torquay & Dawlish and don't even go near Paignton - for me Teignmouth is the little coastal gem around here. And it's only a 10-minute drive from home.

Granted, on a day like Saturday it was a 15-minute drive over icy hills, but we made it unscathed.

A couple of weeks ago we were on a very different, very much longer, flatter, muddier beach at Weston-Super-Mare for a mini Infindigo reunion and impromptu Lappy walk. In addition to the various people attached to each dog, we had Neka & Keskiyo, the girls Taika & Keksi and the boy Taito from Neka's first litter, the girls Maija & Kaija and the boy Rauhan from the second litter and sisters Minna & Kesa from the last litter. In addition to the Infindigos, we had Keksi's housemate Ismo, Rauhan's housemate Sukka and little 14-week-old Miika out on his very first Lappy walk who had a grand old time chasing the older dogs. We even had 2 non-Lappies whose names escape me now, but there was a very fetching (and large) 8-month-old Rottie X and her tiny terrier housemate. Unfortunately my camera had given up before they joined the group for photos.



L-R: (in shot) Sukka, Miika, Taito, Kaija, Neka, Maija, Taika, Kesa, Keksi, Rauhan, Ismo
Hidden behind other dogs: Keskiyo, Minna
Missing from photo: non-Lappy guests









3 generations of girls
L-R: Taika, her daughters Minna & Kesa, her mum Neka








Keskiyo's family
L-R: Neka, Keskiyo, their girls Maija & Kaija (Sulo) and boy Rauhan





Shame everyone was already sandy, muddy and bedraggled by the time we took the photos, but that's just the way it has to be when you're at the beach. Needless to say, no one was in the mood to pose before the walk. We even had quite a time trying to keep Minna still after the walk, as you can see from her expression: "Let me go!"

pupdate

The puppies are 17 weeks old today. Is that all? Doesn't sound like much, does it? Around 4 or 5 months of age Lappies tend to go through a gangly stage. They have a growth spurt... of ears, muzzle and legs, anyway, and the coat can't keep up. They tend to be, um, cute-challenged. Not these puppies, they're cute all the way. (Um, mostly. So far.)

Note the fuzzy tufts of lighter fur behind the ears - a classic feature of the wolf sable puppy as the coat colour changes.

No new pics of Usko, but he's coming to visit in a couple of days, so stay tuned.

Jaana has been on holiday in Cumbria.




"Where'd they go?"













A perfect seat for two... Lapphunds.










Minna has also been on holiday - camping with the relatives! I've been assured she was a complete angel the whole time. No, really!







Snoozing with auntie Kaija in the foreground.







Kesä illustrating the play-bow. And looking very much like Kallio.







Kallio looking quite grown up... well, sorta.








He hasn't yet learned you can't out-stare a cat.






And, finally, in honour of Jay's recent birthday, Inko sent this greeting:

water babies

You might think that with their thick, heavy coat Lapphunds would try to avoid getting wet. It has been my experience, though, that they love water. I know of a few who have learned to swim - for sport or in therapy or just by mistake after falling into deep water (Neka, Keskiyö).

I think that most would not choose to swim as a matter of course in the manner of, say, a Labrador, and ours certainly don't choose to get soaked head to tail. However, they love to paddle. Neka will playfully jump over waves in the ocean, while both Keskiyo and Maija head straight for any available river, pond, puddle or even mud.

The recent warm weather encourages even puppies to have a go. Although there is unfortunately no photographic proof, I have heard that Kesä, at only 8 or 9 weeks old had a swim in the family pool before the chemicals went in. Certainly, Keskiyö had an accidental swim in our garden pond at the ripe old age of 7 weeks, 2 days. (Incidentally, that event encouraged me to hastily remove the thick layer of pond weed obscuring the fact that there was, in fact, water underneath that seemingly solid green carpet.)



Usko trying out the stream












Kallio watching to see how the big dogs do it








Karhu cooling off












Taika on her first trip to France, on holiday 2009
















Everyone waiting impatiently to get their leads off at the river yesterday









Keskiyö paddling in sunbeams with his Collie friend Kye in the foreground

7 weeks old

The puppies turn 7 weeks old (already!?) and we get ready to say goodbye. I've half-jokingly told everyone to just come round one evening when we're out & help themselves. But no, we'll be here to wave them off as one by one they set out on the next adventure with their new families. But first, the 7 week update and lots more photos & videos before they leave over the next few days.

Minna (2 Toes)
































Kallio (2 Tone)

































Kesä (Grey Wolf)
































Usko (Dino)



























Piia/Jaana (Butterfly)