wham, bam, thank you sir

We had an eventful weekend around here.  Not only was there Halloween and Tuuli's 3rd birthday within 2 days of each other, but we also had a visitor in the form of Kuura who arrived on Thursday night in the hope of performing studly duties on the waiting Tuuli at some point over the next few days.

It was pretty late on Thursday when we arrived and all the other dogs were in bed so I took Kuura for a little walk and then put him to bed too.  After a few minutes of woofing and whining didn't elicit the hoped-for response from us, he happily went to sleep.  The following morning I took everyone out for a walk two-by-two, finishing by putting Keskiyo in the car out of the way and taking Tuuli last.  Then we came back and I let them all loose to have a play and hopefully for Kuura and Tuuli to start getting interested in each other.

I left Tuuli and Kuura saying hello at the front door and I must admit that the next thing on my agenda was a coffee.  Kuura had other ideas, though, because by the time I got to the kitchen door he had accomplished the task he was brought in for, they were tied and Tuuli was screeching in indignation that she was stuck to him.

You  might think that my house must be positively palatial in order to afford enough time to achieve a mating while I stroll from room to room.  However nothing could be further from the truth.  The fact is that it took all of 20 seconds from "hello, how are you" to "way-hey, job done".   So coffee had to wait for the 12 minutes or so that they were tied.

My experience of dog mating is restricted to the 6 litters of Lapphunds I have had, plus using a couple of dogs at stud with other bitches, plus two failed attempts, one of which was the unsuccessful artificial insemination of Emmi a few months ago and the other my very first attempted mating Neka more than 8 years ago.  So I don't exactly have years and years of experience, as such, but I do have a bit.  And in all those 9 attempted natural matings (usually more than once or twice), I have never - I mean, never - had it all happen so quickly, so easily, with so little fuss and bother and without wearing out my own knees and back in the process.  Not to mention having to get far more intimately acquainted with the dogs than I would prefer. 

And in case I was tempted to think that it was just dumb luck and good timing, the next morning he did the same thing again.  This time it took all of, oh, about 30 seconds instead of 20.  Wham, bam, indeed.  And thank you very much Kuura.  I am mightily impressed with his skills!

 In 5 weeks or so we will find out if he is as productive as he is efficient, and we hope to be looking forward to new year's day puppies, give or take 24 hours.

Handsome Kuura hanging out in the garden during his visit.

And rolling around barking like a fool after his performance, utterly pleased with himself.  Fair enough, I guess - I'm pretty pleased with him too.

Pretty boy with a rainbow
















And if you're wondering whether there are any photos of the happy couple together, frankly there simply was no time.  I didn't dare let them spend any extra time together, otherwise who knows how many puppies we might end up with.

But here is Tuuli enjoying one of her favorite walks (top) and on her 3rd birthday on her favorite tree stump (bottom).

a mixed bag

Last week Emmi was scanned to see (a) whether she was pregnant; and (b) how many puppies she was likely to have.  I was quite convinced she was in whelp, and I wasn't the only one - after all, she was showing all the signs, including getting round in the belly.  But somehow she fooled us all and I got the dreadful news that the much anticipated and enormously expensive AI mating didn't work. 

I was so shocked that I actually took Emmi to a second place for another ultrasound because I needed a second opinion.  Sadly, the second opinion was the same as the first:  no puppies.

One of the great joys of breeding puppies is making families so happy when they get their new puppy.  One of the saddest jobs I've ever had is telling waiting families that the puppy they thought would be born in a few weeks doesn't even exist. 

I've been lucky, really, because this happened to me only once before, and that time we had not even accomplished a mating, so I didn't have the same few weeks of expecting puppies before getting the bad news.  Bitches failing to get pregnant is far from a rare event, so I don't really have a lot to complain about, having been successful every other time.  It doesn't make it any easier to pass on the sad news, though. 

So when Emmi's next season rolls around we will be trying again.  Not the AI route this time, which means a different sire.  Who he will be is yet to be determined, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve. 

After the heartbreaking job of reporting the mating failure, I distracted myself from my disappointment with a trip to the Southern Counties Championship show where we had a lot of dogs entered under Finnish judge Pekka Teini.  The last time we went under this judge, 5 years ago, Taito was Reserve Best Dog behind his father who was Best of Breed and Rauhan was Best Puppy.   We didn't fare quite so well this time around, but I had a terrific day anyway and managed to win Best Breeder, being the only one to enter a team.  The judge did say to me they were a very nice group and he very much liked their Finnish names.  You can see all the results from the day here.

It was the very first show for Tito and I am so grateful to his family for letting me steal him away from their holiday in Cornwall to take him.  He didn't place this time around, but he did behave extremely well for his first time.  I had intended to get lots of wonderful photos, having several Infindigo dogs in attendance.  For one thing, as well as Taito being there, so was his dad Kimmi and his own kids Tito and Talvi.  Unfortunately my big plans just didn't happen and I only got a couple of quick phone shots of each of the puppies with Taito.  I didn't even manage to make these half-decent photos because I had somehow inadvertently switched on a strange filter so the quality is very poor.  But, better than no record of the day at all.  Er, maybe.

Taito & daughter Talvi, 7 months

Taito (right) with his mini-me son Tito, 7 months

Does anyone actually use those terrible filters on iPhones cameras by choice or only ever by accident?

After the show a large group of us met at a nearby pub and sat in the garden in the sun to have a wonderful lunch.  Shout out to The Swan Inn in Newtown, Newbury, for their helpfulness and hospitality with our large group of people & dogs as well as for really terrific food.  Socialising with friends is what dog shows are all about for me, really.  It was a good day.

Back at home again, my own dogs are enjoying their days in the long grass of the field where we frequently walk. 

Tuuli (front) & Maija running through the long grass

L-R: Maija, Keskiyo, Tuuli

I love this time of year in the field.  The pros of letting them run in the long grass:  (1) They love it, (2) It's really excellent exercise, (3) They are much less likely to disappear because they can't see anything that might take their fancy, including pheasants, other dogs or people.  The cons:  just one - ticks.  Later in the year we'll have to worry about grass seeds embedding in skin or ears too, but for now the only real problem with grass fun is they almost invariably pick up ticks.  Horrid things (the ticks, not the dogs).

an adventure of a different kind

The search for a compatible stud dog for one's bitch can certainly lead down new, unexpected and interesting paths. 

I had it easy for my first two litters.  The dogs were right here in the UK; in fact, in the case of the second litter, the dog was right here in the same house.  And in each instance I had help trying to figure out how to accomplish a mating.  (Oh, did you think it was easy to get two dogs to mate?  If they were neighbourhood mutts then I have no doubt it would be easy as pie.  I'm sure it would be a matter of turn your back and - bam! - a litter of 12 or 14 more little mutts on the way in 2 months' time.    Take two prized pedigree dogs, their ancestors all pairings carefully chosen and planned for many generations over many years to maximize looks, health and character, and try to get nature to take its course - see how far you get without a little experience and knowhow.  Uh huh.) 

For the next two litters I cast my eye abroad in search of dogs unrelated to mine and to specific lines I was interested in crossing with mine.  In each case I took the bitch and dragged her to France at the appointed time.  It wasn't exactly simple on those occasions - oh no.  The first trip to France started well enough on time and with the stud dog in question accomplishing his task with the least pomp & circumstance you could imagine.  The trip home, in contrast, was hair-raising involving way too much snow and summer-grade tyres on the car.

The second visit to France was also a little more "interesting" than I would have preferred.  The French ferry workers were striking on and off with little or no warning so I took off very early in the bitch's cycle and waited it out safely within driving distance of the stud dog.  In the end we were away from home for a whole week and I had a complicated return home with an unscheduled drive south to a ferry that actually was running. 

That was followed by two more relatively straightforward matings with dogs located here at home.

My next planned litter will be a whole new adventure in dog mating.  The planned sire is the gorgeous Uni, aka Dk Ch Lapinlumon Noiadi.  You can see some more photos of him on my website here.

Uni - Dk Ch Lapinlumon Noaidi - pretty blinking boy

Uni - Dk Ch Lapinlumon Noaidi

The first intended stud dog was one of those conveniently-located-here-in-the-UK types.  In the end, though, I had to change my arrangements, which just goes to show that even an apparently straightforward plan can go haywire for one reason or another.  By contrast, Uni is not living here in the UK.  He's not even living a simple ferry ride away in western France.  Nope.  He is in Sweden.  And there's nothing simple about getting to Sweden for a mating.  Particularly so when one's bitch doesn't have a passport.  

So what's a breeder to do?

Artificial insemination, that's what.

And so it begins.  First of all it's absolutely imperative to know exactly when the bitch ovulates so that you know exactly when to inseminate.  Of course, it is also absolutely imperative that the semen of the stud dog is collected at exactly the right time so that it can be chilled and sent off by courier for nextday delivery to the waiting bitch.  (Did you know that the drivers for Fedex, TNT and the rest have in their vans canisters of semen from various species?  Bet you didn't.  Next time you receive a bag of clothing from your favorite online retailer, have a sneaky peak into the delivery van.  Those big metal urns?  Yup.  You're welcome.)

Having established that the timing is crucial, you can be certain that the bitch's season will coincide with the longest holiday it possibly can to make getting blood tests tricky.  Enter Easter.

However, the gods of Finnish Lapphund puppy breeding were smiling on me this week because somehow everything went brilliantly.  The timing worked, the blood tests were done, the results discovered in good time, the stud dog delivered the goods, said "goods" made it to the UK in tiptop condition, and so the deed was done.

"The deed" was very different from the usual "deed" that results in puppies, though.  It involved Jane and I setting off with Emmi (and Jaana for company), and heading 3 hours up the motorway to Surrey where a very nice vet at UK Clone was waiting with the Uni juice on ice.  A little root around to find Emmi's cervix with a scope of some sort (ok, a big root around that took several minutes that felt like hours to the one kneeling on the floor holding Emmi still).  Then in went the juice, then a few minutes' wait as the vet held Emmi's altogether together in a somewhat undignified manner.  Then his hand cramped and so we were free to go.  

All in all it was much less traumatic for the bitch, in my experience, than their first mating.  I do worry, though, that not having gone through the mating process, Emmi will wonder where the puppies are coming from.  But then, maiden bitches always seem to have no idea why puppies are popping out of them anyway.  Luckily hormones take over and all is well, so I'm sure it will be a similar experience for Emmi.

No, there are no photos of Emmi in flagrante delicto with the scope.  And if you are wondering how the boy-juice is obtained from the stud dog, I'm not telling you.  Suffice to say I wish I had never asked.  

And now it's a waiting game for a month or so to get Emmi scanned by ultrasound and find out whether this was all worth it.  

waiting, hoping & more waiting

Tuuli watching the blackbirds feeding their babies

You may or may not be aware that we've been getting mighty broody for puppies around here for the last few months.  And you may or may not have seen on my website that we are planning to have some puppies this summer.

I say 'planning' because that's all you can ever do with dogs.  You hope they will come into season on time.  Then you hope the male is fit and man (dog) enough for the job.  Then you hope you get at least 1 good mating.  Preferably 2, but 1 will do when you're living on hope.  Then you hope that the mating works and the bitch gets pregnant.  Then you hope for healthy puppies, all born easily and alive.  And more than, say, one.  Or two.  In fact, you hope for at least enough of them to fulfil the additional hopes of all those families patiently waiting for their puppy to be born.

In the meantime, Tuuli carries on her normal daily routine of playing, eating, walking, running, more playing and more eating, completely oblivious to all these hopes pinned onto her tail.  And completely oblivious to the fact that her season is now officially LATE.

Now I don't want to alarm anyone, but it is not unheard of for a bitch to have irregular seasons.  In fact, it's not unheard of for a bitch to have only 1 season a year instead of the expected 2.  I've warned Tuuli that if she plans to be one of those once-a-year kinda girls, then she can go back to Sweden where she came from.  Just kidding!  You didn't believe that, did you?  No?  She didn't either.

And so we wait.

And the great irony is that she is now not allowed to start her season for at least 2 days.  You see, I'm going away for a mini-break with a good friend and Tuuli simply cannot be in her fertile period while I am away.  So although she is now acting suspiciously subdued, and although Keskiyo is showing a bit of non-brotherly interest in her, and although we really, really want her to be a 2-seasons-a-year girl, we now hope that she will wait just a few days before starting her season. 

Snoozing in her makeshift den with her duck

Cuddle time

In her favorite spot with Maija behind in her favorite spot

After a run in the long, damp grass.

No wonder all the dogs have hayfever!

Tuuli playing in her favorite river & taking a little swim

and... repeat

On a number of occasions I have commented on what an amazing mother Keksi was to her puppies last year. We were all so proud of how well she did - the actual whelping, the nursing, the cleaning, the general care, the calm demeanor. The girl definitely done good. Not to mention the fact that the puppies turned out to be a pretty sweet natured & gorgeous bunch, as well.

So when I casually broached the subject with Daniel & Jim that they might be willing to allow Keksi to have one more go, they were as enthusiastic as I. Can't say how grateful I am to them for their continuing support & help - not to mention the loan of their sweet girl and the breaking up of their canine family for weeks on end. Oh, yes, and having to endure bitches in season combined with a certain teenage male dog...

And so the crucial moment came around again and this time our rendezvous was with a local boy who lives conveniently just a few hours up the M5 from me. But travelling for mating purposes is never that simple for me, somehow, as you will be aware from my past exploits as reported on this blog. On this occasion I wasn't plagued by strikes like last time, and we weren't under threat of the worst snow storms in absolutely years like I was with Taika's mating trip. However, as I drove north to meet with Jim & collect Keksi, it did indeed start to snow, and it got heavier & heavier. I had visions of a repeat of the awful weather we endured getting to and from France wtih Taika, but luckily the busy little flurry ended and the accumulated snow started to melt pretty much immediately as I waited in the car park of the Air Balloon pub for Jim & Keksi.



















Whilst on the subject, I recommend this pub. It's pleasingly picturesque inside & out, it has a very friendly & welcoming landlord, and it's conveniently situated a few minutes off the M5, just south of Cheltenham, more or less on the edge of the Cotswolds. And although we didn't stop to eat, the menu looked very nice too.

So off Keksi & I went to deepest Shropshire to visit Liz, Ian & Usko in between visits to Glenchess & Elaine & Steve Short's delectable Ilolas.





Looking very pleased with himself. And quite right, too.















Having a scamper around.















As a puppy himself, taken in April 2011.














I have been in love with Ilo since first laying eyes on him as a young puppy. Not only is he a beautiful dog with a wonderful coat, color, head & expression, but he has one of those fabulous sweet natures that I so admire.

And no wonder, considering who his parents are. His father is the top winning Danish dog Multi Champion Lapinlumon Elämänilo. His mother is another little Lappy I have liked since first seeing her in Helsinki when Elaine was collecting her. Her name is Terhakan Uunu Leenu, and she's still a little beauty.
















Keksi mainly enjoyed her daily trips to Wyre Forest, rain or shine.


















Not to mention being the centre of attention with no competition for cuddles.


















And so now we wait. We hope.

je suis fatigué

Those who check in with the website from time to time will probably have spotted that for some time I've been planning a liaison between Keksi and a mysterious French gent. Well the time finally came and Keksi and I set off on our aventure française together.

The object of my affection was this adorable boy, Lapinlumon Kuuraturkki, known as Elias:
















As it happened, Keksi's affection was rather more inclined toward the cream sable puppy BjØrn. He, bless him, had no idea what her intentions were and would attempt to play then flip onto his back. Eventually Keksi came around to the idea that Elias wasn't so bad.

I was expecting the visit to take a few days because I knew we were, in fact, a tad early in Keksi's cycle. You might wonder why go through the effort and expense of progesterone testing and pre-mate testing at the vet if I then ignore their advice that she's not yet ready and go ahead anyway. However, I was using a third method of ovulation prediction as well. Between that one and the results of the other two tests, I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen when. What I couldn't predict was what days the French workers would be striking.

When I got the email from Brittany Ferries telling me that my ferry to Caen had to be rerouted to St Malo due to industrial action I didn't have my normal reaction. Normally I would take that as a sign that Keksi was not ready, as suggested by the tests, and that I was being given the opportunity to save some money and wait until after the strike to travel. Instead, I decided to take it as a sign that my travelling to and/or from France might be tricky and so I should just get there and worry about everything else once I was safely ensconced within driving distance of the Kennel Des Royaumes du Grand Nord. So that's what I did.

In the end I think things were a day or so later even than I was expecting, but with a bit of rearrangement of travel plans and similar jiggery-pokery, we got what we went for and now we wait to see whether this sweet couple will produce any puppies for us.














Photo: Stéphanie Dubois

Elias wasn't overly keen the whole time, either - he knew when she was ready and when she wasn't.















While we were waiting there was plenty of time for socialising, trips to visit the ponies and to the beach.
















Photo: Stéphanie Dubois

I can't thank Stéphanie and her family enough for their generous hospitality - not to mention the amazing pink peaches that I carried home with me from Madame Dubois's garden. I hope Elias didn't mind sharing - never have I seen a dog enjoy fruit so much! He would hear a peach fall from the tree and off he would go to retrieve it and quickly devour it. He had an additional stash of them piled in a little den under a shrub. There were moments when we wondered whether he was more interested in the fruit than in his girlfriend. But luckily he had sufficient attention for both.

And so now we wait.

old wives' tales

A friend and I were chatting the other day about her puppies and my hoped-for puppies (hereinafter to be referred to as HF puppies - at least until things have been confirmed one way or the other). She knows a thing or 2 about dogs, my friend, so when she asked whether Taika drooled a lot during the mating, I didn't laugh. As a matter of fact, she did, said I. As a matter of fact, Kate came away from each mating with a very wet knee/arm/hand from where she squatted holding Taika still. Apparently, according to my friend, that's a very good sign that the mating will be successful.

Now, don't ask me. I have no idea whether that is biological fact or just one of those stories breeders tell. But I know what I reckon. And I have to say it sure doesn't sound like anything scientific.

The other 'very good sign' I've heard about is when a bitch squeals, screams, howls - or makes any of those embarrassing loud noises you really wish they wouldn't - during mating. Did Taika do this? Yup.

Neka neither drooled nor squawked during her successful matings. She did, however, grunt in a quite amusing way the whole time and Keskiyo threw up during one of his ties that led to a litter of puppies. And I haven't heard any anecdotes to support my theory, but I'd bet there have been bitches who did drool and howl and yet did not end up in whelp at the end of it.

So, what I'm saying is, we won't know anything until the scan.

Unless, of course, Taika has been having a bit of morning sickness...? Unlikely. Nothing would put that girl off her food. But I will ask.

This waiting & wondering - tough, no?

As for the drooling = puppies on the way theory, far be it from me to doubt the wisdom of those with far more experience than I. I'm not one of those who doesn't believe stuff without solid, tangible proof. Frankly, I believe in lots of things that others say have not been proven. Just because it sounds unlikely doesn't mean it is unlikely and just because no one can identify a link between drooling and having puppies doesn't mean there isn't one.

As in so many things, we shall simply have to wait and see.

For your visual pleasure, here is an admittedly poor shot of Taika playing with her boyfriend.

waiting again

So, we got to France, we met Stéphanie and her mother who both offered us fantastic hospitality. We partook of much delicious coffee & food (well, it was France, after all), including la galette des Rois. Kate won the prize, la fève, from the cake and so got to wear the crown and is now also due a year of good luck - hurrah! However, it also apparently means she's supposed to buy the cake for next year's celebration. I wonder if she realises she's going to have to go back...

Stéphanie's dogs were quite adorable, and we particularly admired the boys who were the sweetest of all, jostling each other good naturedly to be first in the queue for cuddles from the strangers. Kate fell in love with Armas who kept snuggling up to her demanding to have his chest scratched. He reminded me so much of Keskiyö which is, perhaps, unsurprising as they share a sire. Lucky for us, though, Taika fell in love with Albmi. Or something like that. Here they are having a little get-to-know-you game.



The video was cut unfortunately short when I accidentally hit the stop button with fingers numb and shaking with cold. If anything, it was even colder in Normandy than in the UK and with lots of snow. Albmi wasted no time and we got what we wanted quickly and with a minimum of fuss. As a result, we actually changed our return journey home to a day earlier. And it was lucky we did, as it started snowing as we left and by the next day, when we were supposed to be leaving, the road to the ferry port was impassable.

Much like the roads home when we arrived Tuesday night.

After an enforced stopover in a hotel near Stonehenge, we finally made it to Kate's where I collected Maija, who had been keeping Jerome & the children company while Taika was away. Late morning yesterday, I finally got home. No one can say we didn't put a great deal of effort into this event.

But now we have to wait again to see whether it worked. And I guess Kate will be watching Taika with hawk eyes to see if she is showing any telltale differences in behaviour.

Courting

waiting

Any day, any day at all now, Taika will come into season. And when she does Kate & I are taking her to France to meet this handsome fellow for a romantic assignation.

Lapinlumon Albmi























Photo: Stéphanie Dubois

His parents are Dk Ch Lapinlumon Kiiski and Orso-Farm Caamos (whose photos you can see if you scroll about 1/3 of the way down the list on this page) and I originally found him when I was researching the offspring of Kiiski, who I just love, love, love the look of. It just so happened that he lives conveniently in southern France instead of somewhere rather more difficult to get to with dog in tow, like Denmark or Finland. What luck!

So, when will Taika come into season? Well, that is anyone's guess, unfortunately, as she doesn't share her mother's regular hormonal cycles and has historically had her seasons whenever she felt like it. Seemingly. I can see a trip to celebrate Noël in my future.

And what colour will the puppies be? Again, that's pretty much anyone's guess. Taika is brown tricolour from two black tricolour parents and Albmi is wolf sable from one wolf sable parent and one black & tan who carried the recessive gene for brown. Therefore, there is a good chance that Albmi also carries that gene - and looking at the colour of his coat, he looks as though there might be some brown in there. However, we won't know until he produces a brown puppy. So Taika's litter might turn out black tricolour, brown tricolour, wolf sable or brown sable. But my money is on wolf sables and brown tricolours, if that means anything (which it doesn't, really). But it will be very interesting to find out.