we have puppies

Yesterday was a tough day.  The book says that "the most skilled part of whelping is deciding how long it is safe ... before asking veterinary assistance and assessing whether the bitch is in trouble or if she is just having a rest."  Well, the sum total of my experience of whelping puppies was gleaned during 2 litters of puppies prior to this one.  Kittens don't count.  So my experience was severely restricted to what I've read, what other, more experienced people have told me, and what I have witnessed with Neka.  Cue much wondering, weighing up alternatives, phoning for backup verbal support, etc.

Taika & I had 2 sleepness nights together on Fri & Sat, and all day Saturday I was completely convinced she would have her puppies that night.  She kept moving in and out of Stage 1.  By 'Stage 1' I mean heavy panting, restlessness, digging and shredding paper.  This is the stage during which the puppies are getting ready for action.  When the bitch is lying on her side, you can even see the puppies moving.  So there was plenty of all this starting Friday night and continuing through Saturday and then Saturday night.  Here she is happy as a clam in her box doing her digging and panting.

I wasn't too worried at this point, because this stage can come and go for a few days, really.  And then at about 4 am on Sunday, Taika stopped panting and settled down.  I braced myself for the contractions to begin signalling the beginning of labour & arrival of the first puppy.  Instead, Taika went to sleep.  Huh.  So I did too.

Sunday morning she was acting as if she had no intentions of giving birth for another week or so.  She had her breakfast then asked to go out so we had a little stroll down the park.  She did all her business, including 2 unusually large poos then dragged me back into the house and straight upstairs.  Within an hour the first tentative contractions started.

At noon, following a few strong contractions, her 'waters broke' (for want of a better term) and she threw up her breakfast.  5 minutes after that there was another rush of fluid and the strong contractions continued regularly.  Based on my experience with Neka, and what the books say, I was expecting a puppy before 1pm.  Nothing.  Then I was expecting the first puppy by 2 pm.  At 1:30 Taika threw up again.  I got my surgical gloves and Vaseline out and had a little root around but couldn't feel anything.  And, frankly, I was nervous of sticking my fingers too far inside since I didn't really know what I was doing!  The thing is, if you can gently grasp a puppy and very slightly shift its position during a contraction, that might be all that is required to get things moving.  But I couldn't feel anything.  I called Toni who has a wealth of experience and has always been on hand with great advice during each of my whelping experiences.

At 1:50 I called the vet and while waiting for him to return my call, what appeared to be a puppy head presented itself at Taika' vulva.  Spoke to the vet, we agreed if the head was there everything would probably go normally from now on.  When there was still no progress after a couple more contractions, I got busy with my Vaseline again but there was actually no puppy in reach - just the bag, unbroken and sticking out like a balloon.  At 2:45, almost 3 hours after the start of labour, I called the vet and told him we were on our way in.  We arrived there at 3:10 pm with Taika no further along and with our hot water bottle box to collect born puppies.

I won't even go into the stress of getting Taika out of the box, down the stairs, into and out of the car.  She's heavy.

After an hour of observation, the vet decided the puppy wasn't moving further down the birth canal in spite of Taika's strong contractions and the fact that it didn't feel like a particularly big puppy, so at 4pm Taika went off for a Caesarian section.  Jay & I stood by in the recovery room and resusitated the puppies as the nurse passed them through.

So, we made it.  Taika & puppies were back home by 6 pm and while the babies settled down for a feed, Taika caught up on some much-needed sleep.















C-section births are notorious because the bitch can reject her puppies, since she has no idea where on earth they came from and does not have the experience of ripping the sacs, stimulating them to breathe & cry, etc.  So, while Taika is not exactly being the absolute best mum ever just yet, she's doing a great job.  At first she did glare at the puppies as if to say "What the %&£!  Last thing I remember I was trying to have a big old poo, the next thing I know my box is full of these strange wiggling, squeaking things that smell funny."  I still can't quite convince her she has to clean them and to lick them to stimulate expulsion of waste, but all in all it's going well.  She's happy to let them nurse, she rushes back to them when she's been out for a wee, and she hasn't tried to kill them - well, not on purpose anyway.  Phew!

And even Neka, amazingly good mum that she turned out to be, chucked her first 2 puppies out of the box when they were born, one of which was Taika herself.

Here is Taika today, much brighter, with the babies gathered around.


















Tomorrow individual pics, birth weights and stuff.  Oh, and how Neka came to the rescue when Taika lay on the puppies and squished them.

crufts 2010

Yesterday I missed going to Crufts because I was otherwise occupied supervising the ever-growing Taika.  So, it was all for a good cause and everything, but I did spend all day searching for news and feeling left out nonetheless.  We were thrilled x 3 (or more!) when the Postgraduate Dog class was stuffed with Taika's Infindigo brothers.  Taito was 2nd and Karhu was Reserve and half-brother, the young Tarkka, who is only 19 months old, came 3rd.  Then, to top it all off, sister Keksi was Reserve in Postgraduate Bitch.  Wow, what a great day.

Yet another place in the Postgraduate Dog class was awarded to Keskiyo's son Arianrhod Kirrinkurri who was VHC.  Click here for full results for Finnish Lapphunds.

Inko and Rauhan were both there too, although I hear they left their coats at home.  Carrying on the family tradition - their mum Neka, apart from Crufts 2009 when she placed 3rd in Open Bitch, never ever managed to get the timing right and was always either in season or out of coat or both when March rolled around.

Dogs shows are certainly not the be-all and end-all.  In my book, they're just for fun.  The be-all and end-all are happy, healthy dogs who live with families who adore them.  But we do (in the main) have a great, fun bunch of people on the Finnish Lapphund show scene and so we have a terrific social time when we go.  Crufts is always a special show, with more dogs turning out looking their absolute best than at any other time the whole year.  We always have a top breed specialist judging too, and that's what makes it especially exciting to do well.

So yesterday was a great day.  If you'd like to watch the agility, obedience, flyball and other fun stuff, there is a live stream showing all day, in case you didn't catch any of my many, many Twitter updates yesterday.  And today I'll still be keeping half an eye on things as Neka & Keskiyo's breeder Toni will be competing in the Crufts breeder competition.  Go Team Elbereth!

In the meantime, we're gearing up a notch now that Crufts is out of the way for another year.  Last night Taika did a little bit of digging around and started investigating good dens, so she's getting ready too.  The cardboard & newspaper floorcovering is now down.  Lactol is in the cupboard.  Scales are ready & waiting.  So are we.

puppy shopping 4

Brushes

For a puppy, any soft brush is best until they get used to it and their coat grows enough to warrant proper brushing.

As adults, they will need 2 or 3 different grooming tools. (Although it goes without saying that some of us have 12 or 13 different ones. Ahem. No, not me. Of course not.)

Stiff bristle brush like a Mason & Pearson. Being the best, these are expensive! About £50-£60 for a medium size one. However, you can get them a bit cheaper than that at the bigger dog shows. These days mine is a cheaper brand of bristle & nylon mix after having good ones stolen from my bench at a show.

Another necessity for the fine hair around ears and under the legs is a comb. I prefer those with varying length teeth, sort of like these. I can't actually find a link to a comb that is like my favorite one, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's no longer available. You need to personalise it, of course - mine has authentic puppy teeth marks all over the handle, making plastic points that are uncomfortable to hold. Ideal.

Finally, for when they moult a rake is the tool of choice. A brush also works, but the rake does it faster & easier. This is not a product like the Furminator! That doesn't only remove dead hair, it cuts the fur. What we use for Lappies is designed to remove undercoat that is already loose without damaging the outer coat. The type with a double row of rotating teeth is best.

Collar & Lead

As advised to me back in the day, I now advise that a Lappy puppy's first collar & lead should be the soft nylon cat collar type. It will take a surprisingly long time for a Finnish Lapphund puppy to outgrow this little collar. It can take a day or two for puppies to get used to a collar & lead, and one of these is much lighter & more pleasant for them to get acclimatised to the idea of being restrained and no longer being free to run amok.

Other Stuff

Bowls, obviously. I use stainless steel - easy to clean & can't be chewed. Keskiyo, however, makes quite a racket with his when he flings it around on the patio or in his crate to get attention.

Nail clippers (yes, it must be done). The guillotine sort are easiest to use & are widely available.

mama has arrived

I collected Taika yesterday and brought her to Devon and she settled right in. Unfortunately Keskiyo thinks she's just about ready to be mated and Maija thinks she is muscling in and trying to take over the position of top dog. However, Keskiyo will calm down when the puppies arrive and Taika moves completely upstairs. At the moment she is only going up to her whelping room to sleep. As for Maija, a couple of walks together will sort out her nose joint.

As you can see, the whelping room has improved enormously. All that's missing now is a bit more cardboard and newspaper for the floor.






And here is Taika showing off her belly. It looks remarkably small here, although if you double click to get a closeup view, you can see her teats which appear fit for function & ready to go. In the second photo you get a better sense of just how chunky she is.

piano

Oh yes, how could I forget Maija the piano-eating wonder! Ok, to be fair she didn't eat the entire piano, but she did take a chunk out of it. Those of you to whom I have preached not leaving your young Lapphund unsupervised and keeping them crated when alone could not be blamed for having a little snigger. After all, if she had been safely tucked up in her crate then she never could have eaten a portion of the piano, could she? Could she?

Apparently, she could. That's right. Believe it or not, Maija got her little muzzle out through the bars of the crate (past the bone, past the kong) to grind her new grown-up teeth against the piano an inch away from her crate.

There are now 2 inches between piano & crate. And a sheet of wood.

puppy shopping 3

Toys & Chews

If there's one thing I know about Finnish Lapphunds it's this: they sure do love to chew. Having said that, chewing is a necessity for all dogs, especially young ones and, to be honest, some Lappies are more interested in chewing than others.

Little did I know how lightly we were getting off with Neka in this respect. As a puppy she destroyed very few things. And those that she did get were irresistible and we take full responsibility for leaving them within reach - plastic lens cover from camera, remote control, the occasional shoe here and there.

Then Keskiyo moved in and, boy, did we get a shock to the system. He destroyed everything in sight and then some. Nothing was safe, including the exposed corners of any wood. Woe betide us if we left anything within a paw's reach of the bars of the crate in the car. Four years later I'm still wearing my very expensive waterproof jacket but since it was less than 2 weeks old it has had a few unnecessary holes and a half-missing zip (so, not so waterproof any longer, actually). You guessed it - left in the back of the car and dragged through the bars of the crate.

Then Maija came along. And, sheesh, we thought Keskiyo was bad! She was the worst of all. Socks galore, pens & pencils, several leads, the edge of the vet bed, her blanket, anything at all left on the coffee table within reach. Many, many things destroyed.

However, one interesting thing about all this was that if the chew toys were yummy enough and interesting enough, then the dogs would always prefer them over the pencils and remote control, etc. Socks, maybe not so much. They will always be appealing, I guess.

So, the moral of the story is this: when you get your puppy you'll need lots of different chew toys and bones. Our adult dogs' absolute favorite thing that they will forego all other treats for is a fresh bone from the butcher.

For puppies and their growing teeth and jaws, Nylabone puppy bones are terrific. At the rate they grow, though, FL puppies very soon graduate out of those little soft ones. By 10 or 12 weeks Neka was going through the softest of these in 1 minute flat. She still loves these little puppy bones, though, and when Maija had them we had to make sure Neka didn't steal them from her. For the bigger and older dogs, this type is also good with the fake marrow inside.

There's literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of different types of dog chews on the market. Most of the very best ones also have food value, so if your puppy is a destroyer and swallows everything instead of just chewing & savouring, then you need to keep that in mind and balance it with their meals. Ours all love pigs' ears (I draw the line at buying trotters and, worst of all, pig noses!) paddywhack, tripe sticks (of course they love that - the most disgusting smelly thing ever produced). Call me squeamish if you like, but in addition to pig noses, I also cannot bring myself to give our dogs pizzle. I'm sure Jay agrees.

In addition to these things, and others like them, there's all the less-natural things like Dentastix, Jumbones, etc. Ours also love all these. Regardless of what it says on the packaging, though, these are not treats to be given everyday! Our dogs only ever get half a Dentastix at a time and only once in a while. Jumbones are great because you can also buy them in slices, which is a much more sensible size of treat for a dog.

For lengthy chewing, I stick with bones (fresh, nylon, smoked, stuffed) and occasionally the other items.

Rawhide is another very popular dog chew product. We only ever give the shredded, re-formed variety because of the dangers associated with other types. Rawhide pieces get soft when chewed and it's surprisingly easy for dogs to choke on it, so we avoid it.
As for toys, no one needs advice on this, really, as pet shops are stuffed to the rafters with toys of every imaginable type and you'll soon discover which are your puppy's favorites. Be prepared for them to be destroyed as well - that's all part of the fun for puppies. There are a few must-haves, though:

• Tennis balls
• Stuffed animal for snuggling at bedtime (at least as big as the puppy - so pretty big)
• Activity ball (just put their meal kibble inside)
• Kong
• Tug ropes

For some fabulous advice on how to survive your puppy's chewing phases, go have a look at Gwen Bailey's excellent article.

puppy shopping 2

Bedding

I have found that the best bedding for puppies (& dogs, in fact) is vetbed which you can buy in most pet shops. The cheapest I've ever seen has been at shows, but you can also get it online. Vetbed is polyester fur with a woven backing. It comes in a range of colours & it's usually sold from a roll so you can get it cut to size & buy it by the metre. It looks like this or apparently like this, but I've never seen any of that stuff. You can also get it with patterns like stripes or paw prints.

Vetbed is particularly great for puppies. When liquid is spilled (or otherwise deposited) on it, it runs straight through so the top stays relatively dry. It's very easy to clean - just throw it in washing machine and tumble dryer - and it lasts for absolutely ever. I still have a piece that I bought when Neka was a puppy more than 5 years ago.

You can also get vetbed with a rubber backing that doesn't ruck up so easily or slide around when jumped on. Of course it doesn't last as long when washed & dried often.

I definitely don't recommend spending a lot of money on beds & blankets and that sort of thing. I've never yet met a Lapphund (even a baby) who didn't push all the lovely snuggly bedding out of the way so they could lie on the bare plastic/tiles/concrete/stone, etc. They do, however, like to push the vetbed into a pile to use as a pillow.

For cute pic of the day, check out Keskiyo's great find on his walk this afternoon.

puppy shopping 1

Or should I say, shopping for puppies? No, that's not it either. Shopping for puppy things. That's it!

Last night I wrote a loooong email about the first few essentials one needs when thinking about bringing one's puppy home. This is the same info blog-style.

Crates If you're planning to show your Lappy, then the size crate you need for shows is approx 31ins x 21ins x 24in because that is the size that will fit on the benches. At many shows that won't matter because you can set up your crate in lots of different places, but it's best to stick to that size for 2 main reasons:

1. You have no choice but to set up on the bench at Crufts, and there's no spare room so it's gotta fit.
2. Metal crates are heavy to carry around & who wants to carry more than necessary.

When your dog has grown out of the chewing-through-everything stage (somewhere around 2 years, I find), then it's safe to graduate to a cloth crate which is MUCH easier to carry around. Here's a selection for example. There are a lot of different types with various features & at one time or another I've tried all the ones illustrated. My favorite is the Croft Classic. Like most of them, it has a carrying bag with handy outside pockets. It also comes with metal pegs for pinning the crate to the ground in case of high wind. It has a lightweight metal frame inside which means it's strong enough to put stuff on top, and it has "blinds" over the windows. An excellent product all round.

The 31-inch metal crate can also double as a car crate if you don't want to go down the route of those designed especially for cars or the very desirable and very expensive made-to-measure dog guard.

At home, however, you will need something bigger than the 31-inch size. That one will be ok for a few weeks, but by the time a puppy is 5 or 6 months old they will need more space if spending nights in there and time when you're out. For a home crate, the bigger the better, once puppy is fully grown. I would say certainly no smaller than 94 x 63 x 69cm (37 x 25 x 27in), especially for a male. This Croft one is the sort of minimum size.

Croft are good quality but quite expensive. In my experience you don't really need a great quality metal crate. They all last & last and they don't usually fall apart - although you might need to be careful with cheaper ones if you have a bouncy puppy who jumps at the sides when excited. The more sturdy they are, the heavier and the more expensive, but I would always go for mid-price rather than the most expensive. I would also say that whichever crate, be sure it has a plastic tray in the bottom. Some come with metal trays (very heavy & likely to rust) and some come with no tray at all.

Here's another good site for crates, and they also do a good fabric crate.


* * * *

This weekend Taika moves in. I'm still working on Jay & the whelping room.

magic number

Oh, you clever things, how did you know? Despite all the evidence suggesting otherwise, most of the people who voted on the poll chose 5 puppies. And I'm thinking that after my experience of 7 and then 9 of the little beasts, then 5 will be positively easy. Uh huh.

This is how much mess 7 make when they're learning to eat porridge:














Top, L-R: Keksi, Tuuri, Seppo, Koda
Bottom, L-R: Karhu, Taito
Missing from photo: mum-to-be Taika

Kate zoomed down to visit Kath and her brand new ultrasound machine. Lo and behold, she did indeed spot 5 puppies - maybe 6, she said. So, it's quite a relief to know it's more than 2 or 3, although 5 or even 6 will not completely fulfil the demand for them. Unfortunately, some people will just have to wait until next time.

It's so lovely to give people the good news - yes, there are puppies on the way and if nothing goes horribly wrong, then you shall have your long-awaited Finnish Lapphund! Equally, it's terrible to give people the bad news - sorry, not this time. On a mating attempt long ago, we were unsuccessful and I had to tell a bunch of people that there would be no puppies at all on that occasion. Including Kate who ended up with Taika 8 or 10 months later. And this time, the news will also be sad for some who were hoping for a bigger litter. We've all been there with the wait for a Lappy puppy - a very lucky few just happen to turn up at the right place at the right time and ask the right question and not have to wait at all. Most have to wait a bit, especially if they prefer a specific colour or sex.

And so on to the list of prep chores: I am now in possession of plenty of liquid puppy wormer & Kate is employed administering a squirt to Taika everyday. I also have a stack of puppy insurance packs and a whelping box which is currently flat-packed until such time as the junk room is cleared - see previous post. I'm awaiting puppy sales wallets which have been ordered. None of these do much to help whittle down my list, it's true.

Things to add to the list:

• Update the puppy information pack
• Update the sales contract & send to everyone so we have a chance to talk it through

So what's the holdup? If you've had half an eye on Twitter this week you will know that I've been busy setting up a new work-related website. Yawn. Part of the job entailed photographing tiny electronic parts and somehow getting them more or less in focus (yeesh, my eyes!) For this purpose, I needed a smooth, bright white background and so I was using the glossy back of a spiral-bound report we had for something or other and placed it in the feeble natural light coming in through patio doors.

Keskiyo thought it looked like fun, and he decided to help out. He's much more photogenic than these other things, don't you think:

shopping

No, not for clothes and makeup, alas.

Where the 30-ish days post-mating always grind by in an infuriatingly leisurely manner while everyone plays the is-she-isn't-she game, the 30-ish days pre-whelping zip by quite smartly. In the meantime, I've been procrastinating over clearing out and preparing the whelping room - otherwise known as the back bedroom, or more frequently, the junk room. But I've decided it's best to delegate that job to Jay.

Before you judge me too harshly, consider the fact that I don't even know the names of some of the things in there, let alone what they're for or where a likely alternative good home would be for them. (Um, bin?)

Witness:


Now what am I going to do with all that xmas wrapping paper? And I don't foresee much call for an electric fan anytime soon. Does that fan even work?

No, that pile of abandoned shoes is not mine, as it happens.

And those little electronic thingies? No idea.



Apart from that job, there's all the stuff that needs money thrown at it, and now, with just over 3 weeks left to go, there's no time to waste. So, today I've ordered the whelping box. I never know which size to get. The first year I ordered the one recommended for Border Collie size dogs. It was exceedingly spacious and is fitted with 2 large washable mats (with 2 extra for washing & swapping) and side rails to provide a little escape channel for the puppies to stop them getting squashed under their mum against the walls.

The second year I ordered what I thought was the same size but got a slightly smaller version. Still plenty of space for Neka & her brood of 9 but the rails and mats didn't fit - 1 mat was too small but 2 were too large. So I ordered new mats and Jay made the rails fit. Well, they still didn't fit, as such, but they accomplished their purpose nonetheless.

This year I didn't know whether to buy the larger or smaller size. In the end I opted for the smaller so that I'd have only one mat to wash at a time instead of 2. I guess I should also have ordered new rails, but I'm sure Jay will want to participate in some small way in the setting up again this time around. I'm hoping the rails will miraculously appear when some of the stuff starts moving out of the room. Perhaps they're hiding under the wrapping paper.

Other jobs to do / things to buy:

Puppy food for Taika, starting next week
Wormer for Taika & puppies, ditto
Puppy-holding contraption for the postage scales
Holding box (bigger than last year's!)
Lactol milk
Find hot water bottle
Clean & disinfect all the just-in-case tools - thermometer, scissors, tiny nursing bottles, syringes
New batteries for clock/room thermometer combo
Chicken soup for new mum

And if you're one of the people who is planning to be visiting the puppies when they're 4 weeks old, then start saving your newspapers now. It is no exaggeration to say that I will not be able to get my hands on enough newspaper when the puppies arrive. So, save your own and if you can also get all the papers from your friends and neighbours, then so much the better. No one will be given entrance without a newspaper offering.

It's not much to ask for the chance of cuddles with 1-month-old pups, really.

no poll result

If you've been checking out my Twitter feed (which shows on the right-hand side of the blog window under the photo slideshow as well as on the news page of the website), then you will know that Taika is indeed in whelp. Sadly I cannot announce the result of the poll though because, whaddeya know, things didn't go quite as planned.

On Friday I had a call to say that the ultrasound machine had broken and could not be fixed. Oh, the timing! A new one has been ordered, but it won't arrive probably until Taika's puppies do. So that left us all at the mercy of Kate's vet who very helpfully rearranged their afternoon appointments on Saturday to squeeze Taika in to have her scan there. The only problem with that, of course, is that vets are notoriously squeamish about naming numbers. I don't know if they are afraid of unreasonable comeback from people after the birth - "But you said she was having sixteen!" - or whether it is simply because they are not radiologists and so do not have the expertise to make any kind of accurate estimate.

That's what's great about using the people who are experts. They're not afraid to name the numbers, and we all know that 4 can actually mean 2 or 7 and that 9 can mean 5 or 10. We just accept that it's not exact - but in my experience, the helpful woman I've used in the past has always known.

So for a fat fee, the vet was able to confirm that yes, Taika is carrying puppies - plural. Strong heartbeats & plenty of space. All seems well with however many are in there. But she wouldn't even say she heard/saw 2 or 4. All she said was she didn't think there were "lots" in there. My question would be how many she considered "lots" to be. "Lots" for, say, a Labrador would be 12 or 14 whereas for a Lappy, "lots" could be 6 or 7, although a vet would be very unlikely to know this.

So, after all this, you would think that in 4 weeks' time we are guaranteed to have puppies, wouldn't you? There are several people who are certainly hoping that's the case. But it's not entirely that straightforward. (Did you really think it would be?) It's true we will probably have puppies. But as with seasons & mating, there are certainly no guarantees, and this is another likely reason vets don't want to name numbers. For example, she could be in whelp with 4 puppies now but re-absorb, say, 2 of them before the birth and so we only end up with 2. Also, stillborn puppies are certainly not rare so they might not all make it. The scariest scenario is that something goes wrong and the mum needs to have a Caesarian. This can also result in one or more dead puppies.

So, in case you have uncrossed your fingers, toes & legs, thinking we were out of the woods now, please just give your limbs all a good stretch and then re-assume the position until all the puppies arrive safe and sound.

tomorrow

So there is one more day left to vote on the poll and that means that tomorrow is the day. If I told you that today was going to be the day, I apologise. I apologise whole-heartedly for giving you a full 24 hours more anticipation than you thought you were going to have. Today could have been the day, as it is the magic day 33 after mating. However, I couldn't quite manage to get all the necessary people in the same place together until tomorrow. Kath the scanner and Kate with Taika, that is.

So as soon as we get back, you'll be the first to know the result. Well, right after the very few who have been waiting a year now for this event (!) and who have been faithfully promised a puppy should we be lucky. They'll be the first-first to know. And if you're waiting with bated breath for a text tomorrow night, don't think that no text means bad news - I remember from past experience that the village we're going to has notoriously poor mobile phone reception. And, to add insult on top of that injury, what the village lacks in phone masts it more than makes up for with its terrific pub so we're off there for dinner after the scan to either celebrate or commiserate and plan our next move.

But don't worry - as soon as I can let you know, I will let you know. Promise.

On other other hand, if the news is bad I'm not sure I will have phone reception or access to a computer from Venezuela or Outer Mongolia or wherever it is I will have to flee to if Taika does not prove to be in whelp. Do you suppose they have good beaches in Outer Mongolia?

more old wives' tales...

... or not.

I'm charmed that so many people have voted on the poll and I find it interesting to see that the majority vote currently stands at 39% for 5 puppies. A super-competitive someone who always likes to win (and who shall remain nameless) has even voted twice - once with his own guess and once because I said I thought Taika would have more than 7. That's not what I voted, though - I voted for 7.

Don't ask me who just at the moment because I can't quite put my finger on the right book, but it has been said (by someone who ought to know) that the sex of the puppies is determined by the sire's genes while the genes for litter size come down the dam line.

As I'm a bit short on photos at the moment, here are a couple of cute old shot of Neka's first litter of 5 dogs, 2 bitches (including mum-t0-be Taika). The sire was Elbereth Kimmi, himself from a litter of 4 males and 1 female.















L-R: Taika, Tuuri, Keksi, Taito, Kultainen, Seppo, Karhu

That's just how cute 4-week-old Finnish Lapphund puppies are. And here they are 2 weeks later.















L-R: Karhu, Taito, Keksi, Tuuri, Seppo, Taika

Neka was one of a litter of 7 (6 bitches, 1 dog) and her mother, Pigga, had 2 other litters of 6 puppies each. Neka's second litter was 9 puppies. We thought it best to stop there - who knows how many we would have ended up with had we gone for a third batch.

Here, in their entirety, are the Devon Nine who inspired the conception of this blog:











L-R (I think!): Jaana, Inko, Tarmo, Jaska, Sulo, Rauhan, Viivi, Maija, Tarkka

Albmi is one of 3 boys and he has sired two litters of 6 each; 2 males-4 females and 5 males-1 female. I don't know what his history has to say about this theory.

spring

On the subject of mating (which seems to be the unavoidable topic of choice for the time being), spring has arrived in my garden. Clearly we are following the pagan calendar around here. The frogs certainly are, anyway.

We have had a few days minutes of warm, sunny weather and the frogs are celebrating with their annual gathering in our small pond. In a couple of days I expect the surface of the water will be roiling and eventually the frogs will all return from wherever it is they come from, leaving masses of spawn behind. After that we will have a few more days' hard frost - enough to re-freeze the surface of the pond, and when that melts it will officially be spring.

Have I been paying close attention to the weather forecast? No, I usually don't. But over the half-dozen years we've been living in this house, I know that somehow the frogs know exactly when the last hard frost of the year will be. You can plan your calendar around them - and they're early this year.

And where is it they all come from, anyway? Perhaps the same 100 go around the whole village populating every pond with spawn and then split up to return to their normal homes. We usually have a few resident frogs keeping the newts company. It's quite amazing that we don't witness what must be a mass migration as they arrive and depart each spring.

And what's the Taika update today? Well, Kate says she seems to think she's eating for at least 7. But, frankly, that's not unusual, so don't let that get your hopes up.

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.

showdog returns

We had quite a hectic weekend. Or, should I say, I had one.

First, I zipped into the Newton Abbot show at the Matford Centre in Exeter bright & early to set up my stuff in a convenient place. I knew that by the time I finished with Neka's check up at the vet and got back to the show it would be heaving and I would struggle to even get through the door.

Next stop, vet, where Neka was given the all-clear. The second blood test revealed she did indeed have pancreatitis and we were lucky because one of the dogs who had been inflicted with it the previous weekend had died. She may or may not ever have another episode, but we'll take small steps in an effort to avoid a repeat performance.

At the moment we feed our dogs a mixture of Arden Grange or Purina Pro Plan complete and raw meat and vegetables. Because pancreatitis can be triggered by high fat or high protein content in the diet, we'll be looking at quality complete foods with a lower fat content for Neka. And from now on, no more raw. She'll be very disappointed with this news, as she is very fond indeed of her raw meals. Perhaps just an occasional chicken wing won't hurt.

Did I say in my last post that I was planning to pop into the show after our vet appointment if I had time? Well, I arrived there shortly after 8am to set up, returned by 10am. Yup, we had plenty of time. More than plenty, in fact. We finally got home at 4:45pm. Phew, long day!

But it was worth it. We had two big classes of Finnish Lapphunds entered but unfortunately with many absent, there was only Keskiyo and his half-sister Taru in attendance. Under judge Krystian Greenland Keskiyo got Best of Breed and then we had a long wait for the group judging. Again, I didn't regret hanging around for hours because Keskiyo won 2nd in the Pastoral Group. I really felt the judge wanted him to win the group, and he gave us every opportunity by getting us to move and move and move again. However, after the long day Keskiyo was a bit tired and as it was his first show in a very long time, he was out of practice, so he wasn't his usual sparkling self by then. Nonethless, we're certainly not complaining about coming 2nd.

It was a fitting result for my little showdog's return to the ring after his stint in semi-retirement! We've got a couple more open shows over the next few weeks to take advantage of him looking so nice at the moment.














Photo by Farlap

This was the photo I was hoping to use in our Yearbook this year. However, something went haywire with my order and so it didn't arrive in time and I ended up having to use (after some Photoshop-ing to try and improve the perspective) the pic I took myself. That should be interesting.

outtakes

Frankly, the title of this post could apply to just about any on which I post photographs that I've had anything to do with, whether behind the camera or in front of it. Any attempt at photography on my part results in far more outtakes than useful shots. In fact, I'm lucky to get even one useful shot at any time. But, perhaps that's true of everyone at least some of the time.

Except, perhaps, Kate Moss. But then again, even she has been the subject of photos that she had rather never saw the light of day.

You may or may not know that I'm the treasurer of the Southern Finnish Lapphund Society. As such, one of my tasks is to produce a little report of the year to be printed in our Yearbook. By far the most onerous job, though, is to get a photograph of myself to go with the report.

As if it wasn't difficult enough to get a photo of the dogs to go into the book! And I've wailed about that very thing here on this blog on more than one occasion. But a photo of myself is just too much.

Last year Pia took one of me with then-puppy Maija on my lap when we were at the Molesey xmas Lappy walk in Surrey. Unknown to me, she bunged it into the book and when I got my copy & opened it up, there we were. What a fright! I do usually try to stay away from the pointy end of cameras.

However, a pic is fair enough, I suppose. This year I thought I'd better seize control and so I sent Pia a photo that I actually like. You can't really see my face, and I'm dressed up like the Michelin man because it was so cold. However, I'm in my favorite place (on the beach) with a bunch of Lappies around me - Neka and various of her offspring. This photo, in fact. Unfortunately I neglected to check the size of the file and when printed it would apparently come out about 2cm high. Okay, so not quite large enough.

So out Jay & I went this morning straight after coffee and before doing anything less important like work, etc. Trying to get a photo - not only of me looking presentable enough to go into a book and so be committed to the annals of history for all eternity (yeesh!), but also with the dogs all facing the camera. Or all in the same direction, at least.

Here are a couple of outtakes.

First, trying to get everyone to at least sit.













Oops, our neighbour walked by.












As you can see, Neka is doing well. Thanks to everyone for asking. In fact, she has even improved throughout the day and I'd say she's totally back to her old self tonight. She had a great time on her walk this afternoon and was zooming through the woods with Maija as if nothing had ever happened. She has her checkup tomorrow morning and, if there's time after that, I'm going to pop into a local open show with Keskiyo for a little pre-Crufts practice... just in case Taika decides I can go and waits until the weekend after to have her puppies. Hoped for puppies, that is. Obviously.

insurance

What a tough few days it's been in this house. On Monday morning I went downstairs to discover that Neka had been throwing up. Now, it has to be said that this is certainly far from an unusual occurrence. Our dogs vomit on an unfortunately regular basis - they drink too much water too fast, up it comes - they've been running around playing and swallow a load of fur, up it comes - swallowed a bit of chewed up stick, up it comes - ate their dinner too fast, up it comes (and then disappears back down again just as quickly). So throwing up in itself never worries me. I cleaned up and then took Neka out for her morning ablutions.

Normal wee, normal poo - normal, normal, normal. Then as we were strolling down the park she started to vomit again and began to look distinctly unwell. Then she lay on the frosty grass and didn't want to get up (Does that sound familiar to long-time readers? I wasn't panicking like I was this night, but it's always a worry when Neka chooses to lay still.)

I got her into the house and took Maija & Keskiyo out and by the time I had finished with them Neka's condition had deteriorated already and she was clearly in some discomfort. Discomfort that continued to worsen over the course of the next hour until she was very clearly in a lot of pain - panting, the pupils of her eyes were dilated and she had started to hunch her back.

I phoned the vet & told them I was on my way and within an hour Neka was in hospital on a drip with a temperature of over 104ºF (40ºC). Her condition was so unstable that they didn't want to do an xray to see whether she had a blockage because of the strain even a small amount of sedation would put on her organs. They took a blood sample and sent it to the lab for urgent results and gave her some pain relief and then we started waiting.

Our vet surgery is a large, busy hospital in Exeter and so when there is something about they are always one of the first to hear about it. That weekend they had no fewer than 3 dogs in intensive care with vomiting, diarrhea and pancreatitis of varying severity and danger. Although Neka's symptoms were slightly different, they suspected that she was victim number 4 and started to treat her for that and gastroenteritis.

Two days later, and I've just brought her home. She was almost as excited to see me as I was to see her! Each day when they told me she would have to stay overnight, I desperately wanted to go and see her but managed to control myself. It might make us feel better to see for ourselves that she's ok, but I know that if she saw us and then we left without her it would be much worse for her. So we stayed tough and when I called three times each day I took the staff's word that she was doing well.

She's still not completely back to her old self - far from it.















It frightens me to think how ill she has been. However I'm hopeful she'll recover pretty quickly now that she's back home. We have 3 different drugs to give her for the rest of the week; one anti-sickness tablet and two different kinds of antibiotic. And she's back to see her friend the vet on the weekend.

We still don't know if she has pancreatitis; it will take a couple of days to get the results of the second lot of blood tests. And we still don't know - and probably will never know - what caused the problem in the first place. But if several dogs have had the same thing, then that implies there is a strange bug around that attacks particular organs. Luckily, everyone else in the house has been absolutely fine.

Maija was at work with Jay when Neka came home, but she had a very warm welcome from Keskiyo.
















Neka had a long drink then settled down in her favorite spot for a snooze. For the first hour Keskiyo just lay about a foot away watching her. It was quite sweet to see him be so attentive. Usually when he's focused on the girls it's not with attention so much as with intention.

Here's Neka a couple of weeks ago, her usual bouncy self. Hopefully we'll see some more of that before very long.



















And the cost of Neka's good health? Priceless, you might say. Except that we can, of course, identify a very precise price in the form of vet bills. This episode - £400. Actually, I thought that was pretty good, considering 3 days, 2 nights, 2 blood tests, and a load of drugs. After all, if her ailment had been caused by her swallowing something she shouldn't that had caused a blockage (as I first feared), then there would have been xrays and surgery as well. That would likely have pushed the price into 4 figures.

Ask around and you'll get lots of stories about why animal insurance is a good idea. This is just one of them.

So, is Neka insured? Er, no. But the others are, and after this Neka will be too because if she can contract a debilitating mystery illness out of the blue, then surely anyone can, and absolutely anything is possible.

new poll

I've been rooting around looking through the blog archives and enjoying the puppies all over again. It's hard for me to believe, but I haven't had a poll on the blog since Sept 08 when Maija's litter were going off to their new homes. Has it really been that long? The polls are fun and when there are puppies in the house there are loads of events to have a little game about, so I thought I'd kick off with the first one about Taika's litter.

Hoped for litter. Do you suppose I'm jinxing the whole thing by even referring to it? There is one school of thought - the School of Superstitious Paranoia - that says you should keep your mouth shut about stuff until it happens. But where's the fun in that?

So, I'm giving readers plenty of time to vote in the poll as these news-less days I know many people only check in with the blog occasionally. The most votes I think I ever had on one of the puppy polls was 16, which was pretty good, actually. However, there are a lot more people reading these days. I've had messages & emails from all over the world from all sorts of strangers saying how much they enjoy the blog, and that's very nice, folks - thanks! So it will be interesting to see if some of those readers participate in the polls too and bump up the number of votes.

In 3 weeks Taika will be scanned to see whether she is indeed pregnant and how many puppies she is likely to have. By the time the scan date rolls around we'll probably have a pretty good idea whether she is pregnant or not, but the number of puppies is always a big mystery. Kath, the woman I go to for scanning is excellent, I must say. With my first litter she said "It's a bit early but I can definitely see 7." And Neka had 7. With the second litter Kath very kindly agreed to see me as she was practically on her way out the door heading for the airport and her holiday. It was the earliest possible day it's even worth scanning and I was on my way back from a show. So, we were all in a bit of a hurry. She had a very quick rummage before Neka shifted position and she lost the image and said she saw 7 again but that if she had more time she might find more. Yep, that would be the 9 then.

So, Taika will also be going to see Kath but it won't be so early. With Neka, either by the time of the scan, or literally 2 days later, it was very obvious that she was pregnant. So, I guess we'll know with Taika too, even if we suspect bad news and don't want to admit it to ourselves. The poll, then, is this. How many puppies will the scanner find?

I was going to add an option to vote that she won't be pregnant at all, but that really would be tempting fate, so I'm just not going there.

For those of you new to the Infindigo polls, you can find the voting buttons at the top right of the blog. Happy voting! Check back in 3 weeks for the result. And if, in all the excitement, I somehow forget to post the results, I'm sure someone will remind me.

Now we're off to the beach, so photos later.

more mud

On the first Sunday of the year I host my Devon Lappy walk for the SFLS. Last year we had 8 dogs (including one honorary Lapphund in the shape of Akita Anniebear) and a bunch of people and we met at Bigbury on a clear, cold, windy day and got lots of great photos.

This year the timing of the tide wasn't very helpful and we were in constant and imminent danger of being under way too much snow and ice to attempt the winding back roads to get there. So we did the ever-popular walk at Saltram House in Plymouth instead. It was busy over the holidays. I mean, it was - whoa! - BUSY. Plenty of dogs, too many people, lots of bicycles and kids on scooters. Not really my flavour. Thankfully it had somewhat improved in the new year when we went, and we had a nice walk followed by tea in the cafe.

In spite of the biting wind, and all the ice and snow we had before and after this day, it perhaps goes without saying that the dogs still managed to find rather a lot of mud.

















L-R: Alan, Liz & Helen with Koda; Jo & George with Tarkka; Jay with Neka & Maija

What were those dogs looking at, you ask? No idea. But there was plenty of action in the vicinity to choose from and it was quite handy for getting the dogs to sit still long enough for the camera moment.

The first Sunday of the year is a tough time to gather folk & their dogs as everyone always has lots of commitments around that time. So I think I'll try to pull something together later in the year when it's a little more convenient. Suggestions for location would be more than welcome. I love Bigbury, but I'm not sure how dog-friendly it is in high season. And Saltram is just too hectic. I'll have to do a bit of research & get back to you on that one.

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

in with the new

I declare the new Infindigo website 'open'!

At last.

It's up and running, although there's still some work to do. There are a couple of dead links here and there and I'm hoping to eventually publish a page for every Infindigo dog bred, but at the moment I'm not sure I've got quite enough space in my hosting package. Plus, that constitutes as much work again as I've already done... so, y'know, we'll see about that one.

In the meantime, go check it out and link to me: http://www.infindigo.com

And I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy and healthy new year, full of all the wonderful things that puppies bring without any of the crap.

muddiest walk

Apart from slipping on the ice & whacking my head on the 23rd, we've had some wonderful walks over the past couple of weeks. When the rain finally stopped and it got cold it was ideal walking weather and, of course, the dogs have been loving it.

You would think all these pleasant walks would be good opportunities to get dog photos, wouldn't you? As will always now happen to me this time of year, I'm desperately trying to get photos appropriate for the SFLS Yearbook. We went to a show a couple of weeks ago and although I didn't take any of the dogs into the ring (it's a long story), I did manage to bag a rendezvous for Keskiyo with the Dog World photographer on site. Luckily he was looking fab at the time and so I've got a good image for his Yearbook page.

I didn't have time to do similarly with Neka & Maija before leaving the show so I've been trying to get pics of them ever since. *sigh* Neka hasn't quite got her full coat, so any photo of her will only be ok. Here is a sample of my attempts to get a pretty shot in the bracken of Maija the Ever Moving Target.










You get the idea (and, yes, that is her bottom disappearing out of shot at the bottom of the 3rd one).

So yesterday we drove to Taika & Kaija's neighbourhood which is almost exactly halfway between us and Rauhan. There we all met with full families and, because all the pretty frost has melted, had the muddiest walk imaginable in Greyfield Wood. I'm hoping I managed to get a better photo with Kate's camera after mine died. Here's my 'best' attempt.















People L-R: Isabelle, Jerome, Emily, Jane, Jay, Adrian (with Dorothy on his back)
Dogs L-R: Taika, Neka, Kaija, Maija (with Keskiyo behind), Rauhan

What is everyone looking at, you may be wondering? They are watching Emma try to catch Sukka, who escaped. Ah, what japes. Anyhow, just have a look at the colour of the dogs - particularly Maija's formerly white legs.

cold

Boring weather discussion alert.

All over the UK there have been unusually happy Lappies these last few days. Yup, it's been snowing a-plenty. But not here. And while that's just fine by me, I'm sure the dogs are feeling hard done by when they hear about what their friends and relatives have been up to.

They've been enjoying the temperature in the garden, though, and skidding around on the patio-turned-ice-rink. If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you might remember Keskiyo lounging on the frozen pond last winter. Yesterday he dropped his tennis ball "into" the pond and was delighted to find that it didn't sink. It was very amusing watching him gingerly testing the ice to see if it would hold his weight - and almost falling in head-first when it didn't.

He's pretty sure he can reach it if he just tries hard enough.















And speaking of cold, a couple of weeks ago we met up with Jo, George & Tarkka for a defiant walk on the beach because we were all fed up to the teeth with the endless weeks of rain, rubbish walks and soggy dogs. Apart from the ferocious wind and horizontal sleety rain, it was a great, although it did take some hunting to find a bit of beach on which to walk as the tide was in. But, Lappies being what they are, thought the disgusting weather was just fab, thank you very much, and even had a paddle or two in the water. Brrr!


















Tarkka enjoying the wind blowing rain in his face



















And having a paddle

still here

ho hum

But I guess everyone concerned is quite glad we won't be descending on someone's family christmas accompanied by a dog with an agenda.

In the meantime, here is a cute photo of Albmi's sire, Orso-Farm Caamos, that Stephanie took last year. What a sweet fluff ball he is.

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.

Inko visit

At the moment Paula & Adam are having one or two little changes to their home decor. Ahem.

Anyway, while they have moved out, Inko has come to stay with us and it's been fun & games pretty much non-stop from first light to lights out. Did I say fun? Well, fun for the Lappies, anyway. For us, it's pretty tiring sometimes. You would think they would wear each other out, but long after Keskiyo & Neka have given up, the 2 youngsters are still going strong. Maija will miss her so much when she goes back home - perhaps I'll send her to stay in Surrey for a few weeks in return...

Here they are on the way home from a walk.












L-R: Maija, Keskiyo, Inko




















And this is any typical evening.




















Maija on top

Just to prove that Maija's not always the one stirring up trouble, in this one she only wants to go to sleep. No chance!

happy halloween

I don't have any cute festive dog photos, but my friend Karen certainly does. Check out adorable Taivas doing her pumpkin impersonation.

And here are Jedi and Ahsoka doing their bit to celebrate in Australia.

Tarmo visit

A few weeks ago Stacey & Shane stopped by with Tarmo for an hour on their way home from holiday in Cornwall. It was wonderful to see them all - especially as we hadn't seen Tarmo since he left home more than a year ago. He and Maija had a great time playing together, although it was more or less impossible to get a photo of that. Nonetheless, I did get a couple of still shots in the car park before they left.



































Having a cuddle with Shane

And, lo & behold, check out his side saddle sit:

scarecrow

Oh, there are few things more pathetic looking than a bald Lappy. Yet, with agonising regularity they have an enormous moult and lose all their undercoat - and sometimes most of their topcoat as well. Witness poor little Maija. She will, perhaps, never forgive me for publishing this terrible photo of her looking her absolute worst. But the good news is that it grows back better than ever. Eventually.

congratulations

...to the SFLS. We are so proud to have won 1st prize in the Dog World / Midland Counties competition for our wonderful Yearbook 2009 and quarterly newsletter, Lappy Tails. If you haven't joined the Society already, then don't miss another issue of our award-winning publication! You can download a membership form here.

thank you

We've had so many lovely messages about Annie from so many people. Thank you all. I know there is nothing to say on these sad occasions, but it really has helped to know how much she touched the lives of so many.