crufts 2014

For Finnish Lapphunds and the people in this household, Crufts has now finished for another year.  All that's left for us to do is watch the remainder of the show on television and for my voice to recover and return.  As a singer, it's a very rare event indeed for me to lose my voice - it was always used a lot and was pretty much bomb-proof, come talking, shouting or even viruses.  However, I don't do much singing these days, and 2 days of the noise and socialising of Crufts did me in.

First, there was the showing bit.  I'm so proud of all the Infindigo gang, placed or unplaced.  But we did rather well out of it, all in all!

Here I am with Neka (Elbereth Onnekas for Infindigo ShCM), who placed 2nd Good Citizen Bitch and 3rd Veteran Bitch - a class she won last year.   Ahead of her in that lineup were two girls of the same age and I found it quite moving to be standing there with these 3 dogs who all competed in puppy classes together, who grew up through the classes together, and who this year will all turn 10 years old.  As you can see, the old girl has still got it goin on.

All of these showing photos are ©Mark Treasure - with apologies for cropping them for my blog and thereby cutting out his byline.

Neka's collection of winnings

Note: the wooden box is nothing to do with the Crufts bling - its purpose is purely propping up the place cards.  Don't ask what's in the box.  No, really, you probably don't want to know.

It was quite a novelty to see the judge's critique mere hours after getting home from a show, but our judge, Stuart Mallard, turned it around in record time.  This is what he said about Neka: 

"9yo who projected herself to advantage, well built frame with good bone and moderate angles, moved steady, well handled."

Here is Jane with Emmi (Infindigo Riemu Emmi) who placed 3rd in the largest class of the day, Postgraduate Bitch, and took the top spot in Good Citizen Bitch, beating her granny.

The judge's critique: "correct outline and displayed good construction, just preferred eye of those above, moved steady, coat coming"

Here is Lexi with Emmi's litter sister, Kiittaa (Infindigo Riemu Kiittaa), who only went and won that very same huge Postgraduate Bitch class.  Her critique:  "for me this lady won with a little to spare, thought her head a delight, no weakness or coarseness, she is nicely balanced with well developed forehand, moderate angles and good bone, sound typical action, thought she was totally functional."

Emmi & Kiittaa together

Daniel with Kuura (Infindigo Persikka Kuura) who placed Reserve in Postgraduate Dog.

Photo: Daniel Spencer

And, finally, me again with Taito (Infindigo Taito) who placed... nowhere!  Although he didn't impress the judge on this occasion, I was delighted with him.  He looks spectacular and he actually performed much better than on any of his recent show outings (by 'recent' I mean the 2 or 3 times per year we get him out).

You can find all the results for Finnish Lapphunds here.

In addition to the showing there was the socialising bit.

Kuura on the bench begging for a bit of someone's lunch

Neka on the bench missing out on all the fun - photo Daniel Spencer

I stayed locally overnight and the next morning set off with Emmi and Taito to do our bit on the Finnish Lapphund stand at Discover Dogs.  I had originally intended to take Taito and Neka.  However, Neka tends to prefer getting cuddles and attention strictly on her own terms and tends to get bored if she has to hang around one place for too long, so she isn't really ideal Discover Dogs material.  Emmi, however, like her half-brother Taito, is perfect for the job.  They both love all the attention, fuss and cuddles.  In short, they are perfect ambassadors of the breed.  So Jane and Mark set off for home with Neka and Emmi stayed with me.

They had a whale of a time with all the ooh-ing and aah-ing from every stranger who couldn't quite pass without stopping to say hello.

Emmi being sweet & gentle with a new small friend.

Taito entertaining the crowds doing what comes naturally.

Smiley Taito & Emmi wagging so hard her tail is a complete blur.

Finally, there was the shopping.  If you have never been to Crufts you really cannot imagine the scale of the event with not only thousands of dogs, but also hundreds of stands selling everything from dog leads to people clothing to leather bags - all geared toward the outdoor-focused, animal-loving, doggy type of person.  Almost without exception, every company who displays there offers special Crufts prices, and there are often great bargains to be had.  

I picked up a new collar for Tuuli from my favorite Essenjay and I did my usual annual stock-up on vet bed for my puppies from the lovely folks at Bronte Glen.  There was a stall selling leads that caught my eye, but I didn't have time to stop at that moment and I never got around to returning there, unfortunately.  And there was another stall I liked that was offering a service that shall for now remain nameless as I am planning a little gift from there for a friend.

Part of the great fun of shopping at Crufts is collecting all the amazing freebies on offer.   In addition to the usual pocketfuls of courtesy poo bags, this is my haul of stuff from only 2 well-timed stops.  Big thanks to the folks at Dog World and Your Dog magazine for the handy carrier bags full of great samples.

All free!

So that's 3 qualified for Crufts 2015.  Now to try and get a few more to join them.

happy birthday

Very happy birthday wishes to the Riemu litter who turn 2 years old today.  According to all received wisdom, now is the time to leave puppyhood behind once and for all and be sensible adults.  Well, that's the theory, anyway.

You never know, their owners might be inspired to send me birthday photos, which I will be sure to share.  But until then, here's how cute they were at 2 weeks - eyes only just open.

Tiia

Kiittaa

Miia

Emmi

Jacob

Mikko

growing up pups

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

Fiia at 10 weeks modelling her smart hi-vis harness

Kai practicing being cute at 10 weeks

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

Talvi having fun in the park

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





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

goodbye to Gink

Gink  -   ? June 1999 - 6 January 2014

A few months ago, after 14 years of excellent health, Gink started to show signs of being unwell.  He was diagnosed with severe diabetes and we duly put him on a special diet.  With Gink there was no question of going down the insulin injection route everyday - whenever faced with something he disapproved of, he would simply move out!  So we made the decision at that time to give him as much quality time as he had left without putting him through any kind of stress just for the sake of a few extra months. 

He was a terrific cat who first came into my life when Lenny, who was then about 10 months old, brought him home one day.   He had no microchip and no collar and was about the same age as Lenny.  I waited for him to go back home, but he never did.  In the end I started to feed him and he duly moved in with Lenny and I.   When a few months later I moved, Gink came with us and stayed ever since.

But only just.  He was one of those cats who would quite happily mosey into other people's houses, if given a chance.  I don't know if he ever went through anyone else's cat flap, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he did.  He certainly had to be rescued out of people's garages from time to time.  More than one neighbour over the years threatened to keep him, as he regularly visited them and they were so taken with him.  That's when it occurred to me that I had originally gone off with someone else's very friendly, very disloyal cat!  Oops.

Reading about juicing

Helping Jay at the computer

He clearly had several stops on his neighbourhood rounds where a tasty snack could be found.  As a youngster he was diagnosed with urinary tract disease which was controlled throughout his life by a special diet.  In spite of this, he was known as a big cat - very big.  And by "big" I mainly mean "fat", thanks to his many admirers.

In recent months he stopped going outside much and he steadily lost weight until he was half his original size.  When he stopped eating and drinking we knew it was time to make that difficult decision, and so today we said goodbye to him. 

I will miss him on the end of the bed, taking up all the space.  And I will miss the way he would demand food in the mornings, even though there was always food in his bowl.  I will miss him sunning himself in the garden in the summer - and I'm sure the dogs will too.  Who will they chase and poke now?  And in the evenings it will be strange not to have him rolling around on the stairs, scratching the carpet to shreds.

In the "shade" of the clothes line

He recently took exception to the water in his bowl.  Thinking he didn't like metal bowls, we got him an earthenware one - after all, who likes to drink out of metal?   But apparently all this time he actually preferred to drink from glasses.  We'd rather not think how long he was drinking from Jay's water glass at night before we caught him red-pawed...






Run free, Ginger Cat.

happy new year

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

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

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

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

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

Kuura looking gorgeous with a little help from the wind

Bo with her rosettes

Bo looking so much like both mum and granny!

house training and Tito departs

"The house training seems to be a bit more complicated with this bunch than I've been accustomed to with earlier litters."

That's a line I started a draft blog post with a year and a half ago.  It never turned into a full blog post because apparently I was overtaken by events.  I have to say, with hindsight I don't actually remember those puppies being particularly difficult to house train, although their owners might have different stories to tell. 

What I can tell you, though, is that the Pippuri puppies were all asking to go out for poos by 6 weeks with most of them asking for wees by 7 weeks.  Amazing.  However, then it started raining and it all went to pot (so to speak). 

I received feedback that most of the puppies were doing well with the house training once they left here.  The ones who gave the most trouble were those left in the southwest in the truly horrendous torrential rain and ferocious wind.  And don't think it's just newbie owners who struggle with this -  I was finding it difficult with Tito too.  The classic house training problem (which is made so much worse in bad weather) is that you stand out there for AGES with the puppy usually just lying down in the wet, then you give up and come back in, at which point the puppy promptly wees on the floor.

The reality of housetraining a puppy during an English winter

This is the advice I give to my puppy buyers on how to house train a puppy.  It sounds easy, in theory.  And it often is actually easy in practice.  Until it starts raining, that is. 

The most important element in house training is to take him outside before he realises he needs to go. 

A puppy has a very small bladder and no control at all, so they cannot hold it even for 2 seconds.  As soon as they realise they need to go, then they need to go NOW and it’s too late.  Therefore, you need to get him outside regularly and often to encourage him to go before he is even aware he is ready.

Every time your puppy wees indoors is a lesson to him that it is ok to wee indoors.  Similarly, every time he wees outdoors is a lesson that it is ok to wee outdoors.  You don’t want him to ever learn it is ok to wee indoors, so you ideally want him to have every wee outdoors.  That means you will need to be vigilant and put in the hard work in the early weeks.

·         As soon as your puppy wakes up, whether it is first thing in the morning or after a daytime nap, take him immediately outside for a wee.

·         When your puppy is awake and playing, take him outside for a wee at least every 20 minutes.   By the time he realises he needs to go, it’s too late.

·         I suggest you take him on lead to the area of the garden where he may perform and give him a word of encouragement (eg. 'be quick', 'have a wee/poo', or whatever command suits you.  Be consistent in the words you use.)

·         When he obliges, praise him and give him a little treat.  Your patience at this time will be well rewarded as you will soon have a puppy who knows where to go and can be encouraged to go on command – most useful when you are away from home or it's pouring with rain!

·         He will wee many, many times a day at first, and will poo a few times.  If your puppy is looking very busy sniffing the floor, walking in circles, then he needs a poo.   Sometimes they get quite frantic with it – that’s normal, don’t worry.  Take him outside on a lead and stand in one place letting him move freely around the length of the lead until he obliges.  When he is done, praise him and give him a little treat.  Be patient – this can sometimes take a long time because your puppy will be easily distracted.  Don’t give up and return to the house for 12-15 minutes or he is likely to go as soon as you get back in!

·         If your puppy has an accident inside the house, never punish him for it – he doesn’t know any better.  If you punish him for these accidents he will be confused and he will learn to hide away from you to do it.  If he has an accident inside, simply take him outside to illustrate where he is allowed to go.  If you catch him having an accident, say “no”, pick him up and get him outside. 

·         It's a good idea to train your puppy to perform on a variety of surfaces such as grass, pebbles, concrete, etc, and when he is out and about to perform away from home as well.  You don’t want your pup to think the only appropriate place is one corner of his garden at home!

Always take your puppy for a wee or poo on lead and stand in one place waiting patiently.  Your puppy will suddenly find a dozen other things to take his interest and attention away from the job at hand.  Just wait him out and praise him when he finally gets around to performing.  

The key to quick house training is constant supervision.  Don’t leave your puppy to wander around left to his own  devices so that you can spot any accidents in the planning.

See?  Easy, right?  Uh huh.

I wish Tito's new family all the very best of luck with continuing the house training that I started.  Hopefully their weather is the southeast is better than we have been having.  He's a clever puppy and I'm sure he will catch on quickly.

Here he is setting off with the Carusos.

And here he is with Luca and Matteo settling in to his new home.

Cuddle time

And, finally, here is a wonderful picture that Matteo made for me of him walking Tito.