Another Day Another Lapphund – well actually 2.

With Christmas behind us we can begin to look forward to a new year – helping us fill the time between now and 2011 is a houseful of dogs.

Millie, the cockerpoo, who arrived in the 2^nd week of December has made herself at home and has been busy ingratiating herself with all of our visitors and most people that she meets whilst we are out walking.  She is a bundle of energy and has been constantly playing with Rosie, Kiva and sometimes even Mylo.

Millie eyes up Wheeto's bone whilst Mylo watches on

Rosie – Mylo’s half sister who joined us just before Christmas now prefers sleeping upstairs rather than on her own in the kitchen – thought it is a little unnerving to feel a wet nose nudging me in the neck in the middle of the night encouraging me to reach down and stroke her.

Ilo – another of Mylo’s half sisters (same dad, different mum) is with us for a few days with Mary, her humum.  They arrived on Tuesday, the day that the snow started to melt away meaning no long walks across crunchy snow, we had to make do with treks across muddy fields.

Yesterday Wheeto, Kiva’s nephew, arrived for a 2 week stay.  He has been to us before but this is the first time that I have seen him as a fully grown male – and what a handsome chap he is.  Unlike his last visit he is also very calm – though he does like to play with Mylo, in, on, around and even under the coffee table and Millie, whom he knows from home as they are walking buddies in London.  Last time Wheeto was with us he slept in the kitchen in his crate - last night he decided that he wanted to be treated the same as Rosie, we could hardly say no - this is his holiday after all.

Sadly all of the snow has now gone meaning that the roads and lanes around us are wet and dirty and the fields muddy - does that stop us?  Does it heck - it just means that when we get home that the dogs have to be dried off and left to play in the yard for an hour before crashing out in the lounge and kitchen.

Chistmas Day at Dogs to Stay

Rather than writing loads I thought I would post a couple of videos of the day.  The first is a compilation leading up to present opening time, the second sees the dogs enjoy their christmas dinner.







Lappy Christmas from Dogs to Stay

Our Standards Have Slipped

After the trials and tribulation of getting home with Rosie on Friday things have been decidedly white at Dogs to Stay - in fact it wasn't until Monday that were able to get out of the village.
Things hadn't been much better further south and Rosie's hufamily had their flight to Australia delayed by over 24 hours.  Lou had been going a little stir-crazy and was worrying that we might not be able to stock up for Christmas so the decision was made that we would try to go to our nearest town (for town read Tesco).  Having warmed the Jeep up, scraped the snow and ice from it, loaded up the dogs, shovels and grit off we set.  The hill on which we live had seen many a vehicle unable to climb it but I was confident that we would be able to do so thanks to the new tyres fitted a month or so ago - time to find out.
To be honest the journey wasn't as bad as I had feared - the 20 minute journey only taking 35, we didn't see any stranded vehicles and the roads, though still snow covered, were passable with care.  I dropped Lou off at Tescos and parked up in town so that I could do some banking and shopping of my own - I lost count of the number of people who said "all you need is a sledge" as we walked through along the high street - Millie loved showing off her pink coat and the Lappies did what they do best, smile and wag tails.
It took a while to get back into the Tesco car-park but when I did I met up with Lou and loaded up enough food to keep us going till next Christmas - next stop Pets at Home where we stocked up with enough food to keep the dogs well fed before heading back home.
Now might be a good time to say that I do hope that Millie and Rosie's hufamilies are enjoying the summer in South Africa and Australia ;-)
Since Monday we have had more snow - the village isn't yet cut off again and have enjoyed some fabulous walks across the fields with Rosie and Millie, Kiva and Mylo - they have been loving the weather but also enjoying the comfort of lying in front of the fire.
Millie and Rosie continue to be best of friends - I'm not sure which of them enjoys having the company of the other the most.  Millie is as good as gold at night time, I am most impressed with her being crate trained, Rosie is happy in the kitchen but has, due to a certain someone forgetting to shut the kitchen door properly, spent the odd night upstairs next to our bed.
So to Millie and Rosie's owners - your dogs are fine, I would like to think that they could tell you so themselves - perhaps they will when you return from your sunny holidays.
Lappy days.

Let it Snow

But preferably not until I get home (see below).

Millie has made herself at home and thinks that she is top dog, that Mylo and Kiva know otherwise is besides the point - Millie thinks she's top dog so in Millie's mind she is, Kiva is there for Millie to play with - Mylo is there for Millie to lie next to, Kiva is also there for Millie to lie next to.

Fire Dogs

The observant among you might notice the decorations above the fireplace - yup, you guessed it, Dogs to Stay is now ready for Christmas.  Millie was a great help with dressing the tree - OK, she wasn't a great help but she did like playing with the baubles.

Millie and Mylo
(it only looks as though they are on the sofa)

Oh - Millie has worked out how the dog flap works - it's only taken her a week but now she can let her self into, and back from, the dog run whenever she chooses - and she does choose to a lot!!

Ah - now the snow bit

We had a sprinkling of snow yesterday and the Jeep this morning was still covered.  After warming it up and clearing the snow, and ice, from it I set out to collect our next guest.  Rosie, who has been with us several times before, is Mylo's 1/2 sister (same dad, different mum) and she is to be with us until early January as her hupeeps are off to Australia (can someone please explain why the owners of our guests are all going to the southern hemisphere whilst we are in the middle of winter?).

The journey to the collection point was no trouble, 18 miles in 25 minutes,  Rosie happily got into the Jeep and we headed home.  Five miles before we reached home it started to snow - within 10 minutes traffic had slowed to a crawl and it was becoming difficult to see.  I decided to leave the main road that I was on thinking it best to avoid traffic and travel along quieter roads - all went well until I hit the last stretch - a couple of miles from home and on joining a main road the traffic ground to a halt.  Cars, vans and trucks had brought the A361 to a halt - the last thing I wanted to do was to get stuck in the snow for a couple of hours - cue 'cunning cross country plan'.

Shifting into low ratio I negotiated by way past the stranded traffic to what, to those not in the know, appeared like a farm track, well it was a farm track but one that led one across country and almost home.  I'm sure that the stranded motorists thought I was mad but knowing that the track was a fully maintained, and little used, road I felt confident that I could get through the ever thickening snow.  Had I met any oncoming traffic things might have been different but as it was my cross country route eventually got me home safe and sound where I was greeted by the pack - cue play in the snow in the garden;

Millie in the obligatory Dogs to Stay pose

Rosie enjoying the snow (she is still there an hour later)

Things To Do Whilst On Holiday

Go to pub and make friends with locals.

Check.  Two hours in the pub at Sunday lunchtime winning hearts and making friends (including time spent sat on bar stool so that people could see me).  Even better because Kiva and Mylo had to stay at home.

Stay up late and get up late in the morning.

Well this goes without saying - not only to I get to stay up late I also get to lie on the sofa with Kiva (see below).

Eat wellCheck.  I eat at the same time as Kiva and Mylo - though I do take longer than them, why do they get bits of raw chicken and i just get dry boring kibble?
Chew bones
Check.  Lots of bones in fact, this place has more bones than a graveyard.
Play ball
Check.  I do this a lot, sometimes Mylo plays with the same ball as me - then it becomes really interesting.
Play with the other dogs.
Check.  I do this a lot, especially each morning with Kiva.

Wag my tail

Check.  I do this a lot too - apparently someone said "does that tail ever stop wagging?".
Look cute
Check.  The people in this village like me I think.
Look stupid
Check.  Though I was kind of hoping that this photograph hadn't come out.

(no animals were hurt in the taking of this picture) 

Go upstairs and play on the bed with Kiva and Mylo
As if I would do something as mischievous as this ;-)
Go for nice walks

Check.  Always with Kiva and Mylo, sometimes with Sally as well.

Be spoilt rotten

Check.  Well what else would you expect.

Easy - Just Like a Sunday Morning.

Millie is the first guest at Dogs to Stay that has been fully crate trained in that she happily goes into her crate at bedtime and doesn't make a sound until she hears people up and around in the morning.  To be honest I didn't think that she would be as good as she is in that she allowed us the luxury of a bit of a lie in this morning.
As a result our day began at 9.00 - Millie, Sally, Kiva and Mylo were let out into the frost covered garden to do the necessary before being given their breakfast - and yes, Millie does eat it straight away now.
Yesterday Lou went of to a dog show for the day leaving me (in peace) for the day with the 4 dogs - we enjoyed a couple of nice walks in the slush, black dogs get just as dirty as one's that aren't, they just don't look it, so much of the day was spent cleaning the dogs and kitchen floor.
On Lou's return it was a case of all of the dogs settling down in their favourite spots, Sally either on one of the sofas or in front of the fire (unlit last evening but I didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise), Millie on, or next to, Lou's lap, Kiva lying on her back wherever she fancied and Mylo in his kennel. 

Millie has quickly become part of the pack - she loves playing with Kiva and seems besotted with Mylo.  I think we might take her to the pub in a bit.
Lappy days.

Meet Millie, our guest 'till the New Year

Yesterday saw the arrival of Millie, an 18 month old Cockerpoo (Cocker Spaniel x Poodle) and what a darling she is.  Millie belongs to friends of Wheeto's owners (who will be with us over the New Year too) and will be enjoying the wonderful countryside around us for the next 3 weeks.
She quickly settled in and got on with Kiva and Mylo from the off - she has endless energy yet loves nothing more than sitting on someones lap.  Boy can she jump ......
Here she can be seen playing with Kiva during her first afternoon with us - don't worry about the noise, that's just Kiva being playful.

Oh - the black lab, that's Sally - a regular visitor to Dogs to Stay.
Millie, apparently, cruises her meals - that's to say she doesn't eat it all there and then.  That sentence now needs to be rewritten as "Millie used to cruise her meals" - obviously she doesn't want Mylo or Kiva to devour it before she does.
Millie came with a rather fetching pink coat - fortunately as all the snow has now melted she didn't need to wear it  today so we were able to walk through the village in daylight ;-)
As I write this blog Millie is asleep next to my chair - I daren't move for if I do she will follow me everywhere, bless.

Rain Rain Go Away

Yesterday was blue skies and sun shine, bloody chilly, but still very nice - almost a perfect autumnal day.

Sadly today is somewhat different - it was raining at 7.15 am, we know because Taavi wanted to be let out for his morning ablutions, why he won't use the dog run is beyond me as the others are more than happy to.

It was still raining at 10.00 - the time we normally walk the dogs, 11,12, 1, 2 and 3 were no different, to say it's wet would be an understatement, the hill on which we live could be used for white water rafting.  Suffice to say that today's walks have been somewhat misreable so I hope you're having a great time on holiday soaking up the sun.

Right now Taavi is to my right with Kiva to my left - after some of my ham sandwich maybe - Jaaka is chewing on another bone and Mylo is in the kitchen (kitchen = room with very muddy floor).


Just another day at Dogs to Stay.

And Then There Were 5

Kanto, Kiva's brother, came to stay yesterday (Monday) and fun and games ensued for the first 15 minutes of his visit. 

I think that Kanto, a regular visitor, was a little annoyed to see 2 other dogs in, what he sees as, his second home then again Taavi was a little taken aback to see someone come running in to "his" territory, Jaaka just wagged his tail in a "Oh look, someone new to play with" style.

We kept an eye on them as they jockeyed for status and with quarter of an hour the pack had sorted itself out and the day passed very quietly.  The weather was beautiful, chilly but with blue skies and sunshine, and the 3 walks that the dogs enjoyed were glorious - tiring too.

Having 5 well behaved Lapphunds in one's home must be one of life's great pleasues, the fact that 4 of them are males, 2 entire and 2 neutered, says a great deal about how they can be managed and integrated.

We are very lucky to have 2 cover boys within the pack as Mylo's was the cover picture used on the first (2008) SFLS calendar and Taavi's is the one chosen for the 2011 calendar.  Autographs copies are available, please send an SAE to; 
We're Too Handsome For Our Own Good
Dogs to Stay
W00F L4P


Kanto went home in the early evening and we enjoyed a peaceful time in front of the open fire as we decided who would sit on which sofa and next to whom.

Back From A Walk And The Pub

Find enough to do on a Sunday morning and it means that the dogs get walked a little later than normal - it also means that the walk home coincides with the pub opening.
Once again it was a sunny autumn Sunday and though it had remained yesterday it was still dry enough under foot to be able to take the dogs out across the fields - meaning that they got the opportunity to enjoy running free off-lead.  Taavi and Jaaka are both excellent with their recall so we felt confident allowing them to play - and play they did.
The walk home, with 4 tired dogs, took us past the stable and yard that is home to Tony the pony, actually Twinkle the Shetland pony but I have always liked the alliteration of the former.  Kiva and Mylo are well used to Twinkle ambling to get a carrot or mint imperial - Taavi is less than impressed and Jaaka looks up at Twinkle with an expression that suggests he is thinking "OK - same colour, same number of legs but it's bloody big".
Walking back through the churchyard meant a glance at the clock - 12.05, great the pub would be open but not too busy, time for a Guinness for me and a Smirnoff Ice for Lou.  Small problem, the pub was busy - busy pubs mean can mean waiting to be served and a complaining Mylo, not today however as, with me at the bar Lou was busy with the dogs and all of the admiring looks and compliments - about the dogs of course ;-)
Taavi and Jaaka were as chilled as always, Kiva as quiet as a mouse and even Mylo was pretty chilled, meaning that out time in the pub was an enjoyable one.
With the log fire now burning and Sunday dinner cooking the dogs are all perfectly relaxed - not that we would expect the pack to be any other.
Lappy days.

A note from a broad

It has been a week of mixed emotions here. When we curtailed our Dogstostay activities because of Kiva and her pups we always assumed their leaving date would be the weekend of 9th/10th October 1-2 days short of their eight week birthday.

We already had Taavi and Jaaka due back with us for half term holidays (bizarre they should be last out, first in) but we were thought our timings would allow us five days with our pack of two, a bit of time for loving, fussing and regrouping…

Well what happens when your new puppy owners have a significant wedding anniversary (am I allowed to say 30?) which involves a most fantastic holiday cruising around Canada and the North East coast of the USA

What it means is that you get to keep one puppy for an extra 9 days which is great in itself and then you have a few sleepless nights before the posse returns to wonder how it’s all going to work….. sleeping, eating, breathing notwithstanding (just me obviously, because Simon is as cool as a cucumber at this point while I’m chewing off what nails I have left)

All of you that have watched Miika a.k.a. Dylan know he’s been the apple of Simon's eye from day one, and of course we all guessed he would run rings around the elders, well didn’t he just!

Taavi and Jaaka were fantastic with the pup from the moment they arrived, they didn’t even really mind that Alison coo’ed and billed and tried to make him fit in the exceptionally large handbag she brought with her ;) They accepted the tail tugging, mane hanging and to watch this mini-pack going on in our kitchen was a joy.

Since Flo left on the Sunday, Dylan had spent his nights with Kiva and Mylo having the complete run of the kitchen. When the two boys arrived we thought it might be prudent to have him in his pen with Kiva close by while Taavi and Jaaka had their normal run of kitchen/lobby/yard.

Mylo would be upstairs with us, lapp(y)ing up the attention and peace would prevail… or not, Dylan didn’t want to be confined and yes he soon alerted us to that fact! So having wrapped us around his little fluffy tan paw, we let him loose in the kitchen with everyone else, and THEN there was peace. Not a murmur from any of them, back to puppy times and waking them all up to make sure they were awake….

We only had four nights with the 5 of them but time and time again Taavi and Jaaka showed the softness of nature of a Lappy, not a grumble from either of them and always ready for playing with the puppy, I did wonder about all males together but I needn’t have worried at all.

It’s all been a bit quiet (in lappy speak) since Tuesday, the pack of 4 have reformed, we are now able to take longer walks without rushing back for the pup so everyone is more chilled and as always we’re having the most wonderful time looking after the most wonderful dogs….. Lappy days indeed

Taavi and Jaaka Are Back

It was at the end of July when I last updated the blog - I do have my reasons, not least the fact that on August 16th Kiva gave birth to a litter of 5 puppies, the Magic Roundabout litter as we called it.  Sadly Dougal and Ermintrude faded away in the first week and are now running free at Rainbow Bridge.  Florence and Zebedee are now with their new forever homes whilst Dylan is with us until Tuesday.  The whole experience has been one of highs and lows and it is my intention to write an article about it and to provide a link to it from this blog.


As we were busy raising puppies we didn't have any guest dogs - Taavi and Jaaka, who arrived yesterday are therefore our first visitors since July and are with us for 2 weeks.


Today is Jaaka's 1st birthday and a while ago he shared some of his birthday chicken liver cake with Taavi as well as Kiva and Mylo, little Dylan had to have a slice too.

Earlier today they all enjoyed a hearty breakfast - yes even Taavi.

Yesterday and last night passed smoothly, Dylan (proper name TabanyaRuu Karuselli Miika) is totally unfazed by the bigger dogs and they are all considerate towards him.  We were woken at 8.00 by Dylan wanting his breakfast - a new day at Dogs to Stay had begun.

Not the most exciting video and also not the most professionally filmed - it's a tricky job feeding 5 dogs with 5 different meals whilst filming it. Hey ho we got there in the end.

Dogs to Stay Can Do Languages

привет вам в России and alo untuk Anda di Indonesia - life at Dogs to Stay is great, just look at these videos to prove it:

And then a little later in the evening the dogs chill out.

And Now - A Different 5

Thanks to BT I had problems uploading yesterday's blog - by problems I really mean that we had no broadband, again.  So apologies for the lack of update, suffice to say all is well with the pack.

Today we were joined by Rosie, Mylo's 1/2 sister and a regular walker with Jaaka and Taavi - she is with us whilst her hupeeps holiday in Russia.

 

The video above was recorded earlier this afternoon and demonstrates just how well a pack of Lapphunds can get on.

Come back tomorrow for a further glimpse into the world of Dogs to Stay.

And Now There Are Five

Well, 4 and a black lab - then again if you included Kiva's pups to be it would be 10 :-)


Fun and games at Dogs to Stay as Fat Sal's humum managed to lock herself out of the house meaning that Sal is with us a little early, not that it's an issue as the pack met up with Sal yesterday and enjoyed a romp in the fields with her.


Other than yesterday's walk with Sal, Taavi and Jaaka enjoyed an early evening walk before having their supper and chilling for the evening.  The night passed quietly, though one of the boys did start doing an impression of a wolf around 6.00, oh joy.  We know that it wasn't either Kiva or Mylo because they are enjoying the experience of spending their nights upstairs.


Breakfast was served earlier than normal however I don't think that Taavi or Jaaka minded at all as they both tucked into their kibble, nature diet and chicken (whoops, that was supposed to be a secret.)





As I write, post walk, Jaaka and Taavi are lying on the kitchen floor, Sal is to the left of my chair, Mylo to the right whilst Kiva is busy nesting under the ivy.


Lappy days.

And Then There Were 4 (and 5 little grape sized ones)

Yesterday saw the arrival of Taavi and Jaaka - 2 males that live together in Hertfordshire that are staying with us for a couple of weeks whilst their hupeeps "do" Indonesia.  Well whoop de do hupeeps, you get to spend ages on a plane whilst the furkids have fun ;-).
The 4 have settled in superbly, Taavi is continuing his love affair with Kiva - we haven't told him that since their last meeting she has "met" another lappy - and he is contentedly licking her ear (amongst other bits) until she lets him know when enough is enough.

Despite our concerns that Jaaka might not sleep in his crate their first night passed well - Taavi (well we think it was he) did make a few "please pay attention to me" noises throughout the night but in the main I think we all slept well.  Hopefully today Taavi will understand that when is food bowl is put in front of him it means "eat your breakfast" rather than "go for an amble round the garden".

  Jaaka is gorgeous and does everything he can to get a loving stroke 
it works, could you refuse him? 

At the time of writing the dogs are all relaxed - I on the other hand am doing cartwheels (well metaphorically that is) as we have just had it confirmed that Kiva is pregnant with 5 puppies.


On Friday Mylo's 1/2 sister is coming to join us - 5 lappies should be enough for anyone however we are hoping that Kanto (Kiva's brother) might come and join us for a walk on Sunday.


Watch this space and as always, Lappy Days.

Salivating Sal

When not busy devouring the odd bone or 3 Sal is more than happy giving herself a good wash.  We know that she does so even if we aren't in the same room as her as she does like to make a meal of it - a loud meal.  At least she's clean though ;-)

She enjoyed her romps across the fields yesterday - coming back as she does when called makes for better behaved Lapphunds.

We are slowly but surely running out of "indestructible" dog toys - a labs jaws seem to be able to gnaw their way through almost anything - balls seem to be the flavour of the day today.  No matter, Sal is happy, the weather's nice (cloudy but warm) and everyone is calm.


Lappy days.

Oh Blogger!!

Things aren't what they have been at Dogs to Stay because yesterday we got a phone call from Sal's hufamily asking if she was OK as they hadn't seen a blog update.  I had written one on Friday and thought that I had uploaded it - obviously things went awry as upon checking it was no longer to be seen.

Suffice to say that all is well with Sal and she has once again made herself perfectly at home.


She has found almost every bone that Kiva and Mylo have accumulated over the years and is steadily munching her way through them (does she have a volume button?) and the lawn is scattered with them.


Walking the 3 of them can be a nightmare however Sal's behaviour is improving as we run the gauntlet - hey ho.


As I write I can hear the sound of birds singing in the garden - well I would be able to if Sal wasn't lying next to me devouring yet another bone.

Running the Gaunlet

Always an interesting time - however today we managed to complete it with nary a bark or a lunge despite the distraction of Tinkerbell (damn stupid name for a dog, sorry, rat that barks, if you ask me).  The secret, ha, all will be told upon Sal's hupeeps return.

We did off-lead in Church's field; Sally and Kiva running along together Mylo, how seems to have had a personality transplant, happy to walk along beside me.

On the way home we managed to find and take home a lost dog - Sally being most agreeable and even enjoyed a quite, yes quite, chat with Lulu and her owner.

Not much else to report - Sally sleeps, Sally eats, Sally jumps up onto the sofa - Sally sleeps, Sally roots around in the toy basket, Sally chews on a bone, LOUDLY, Sally sleeps, Sally washes herself VERY LOUDLY.

Hope all is well in the land of far-far away.

Lappy days

Sal Latest Holiday

After getting over the after effects Kanto's "I want to hump Sal" episode (Mylo had to remind Kanto that Sal if anyone was going to hump Sal it would be him)  things quickly settled down and the rest of the evening passed calmly - in fact it's been pretty calm ever since.

Walking the 4 of them was a bit of an issue on Monday (Kanto liked it here so much he wanted to stay another day) however with me taking Sal and Mylo Louise was more than able to manager brother and sister Kiva and Kanto.  Kanto went home yesterday evening and since then Sal has rediscovered the toy box, the sofa and how to make the most of the dog-flap.

Pictures, maybe even a video, will be added later, but for now rest assured that Sal is as chilled as ever - now if I can just do something about her snoring .........

Hector Gets Wet

A beautiful day here meant for an enjoyable walk.  Out of the house for 11.00 and home for 1.00 - not all walking I hasten to add as we did stop off for coffee at Nina's on the way home (Nina being the Munsterlander with whom we have been walking).

The nice weather meant that the dogs could enjoy the garden:

And the pond:

 Especially the pond:

Fortunately a hose was at hand to give Hector a good wash down before coming home.  As I write the dogs are all sleeping, Kiva and Mylo in the shade, hector in the kitchen and, hopefully, drying off.

I Kind Of Like It Here

Dogs to play with, company at night and all day, access to the garden (though I can't suss the dog flap thing out), walks with other dogs, lots of things to chew (and ruin .... tee hee) and lots to eat.

This is one of those rare occasions when I am actually lying on my bed - most of the time I'm dragging it round the lounge or the garden with Kiva chasing me.

Hector has settled in well and is a wonderfully well behaved 10 month old boy - rumour has it that he might be back with us in August - if so it can't come soon enough.

Hector's In The House

On Saturday Hector came to join us for a week, he is a 10 month old Springer Spaniel, one of Louise's favourite breeds and one that we did consider before deciding on Finnish Lapphunds.  He is a very well mannered dog and quickly settled in to life at Dogs to Stay - he found where the toy box was and proceded to empty it, the lounge floor quickly getting covered with bones, chews and toys.

Mylo watched on with disgust finally deciding that pretending to sleep would be the best option.

Talking of sleep; Hector's first night passed quietly, I think he enjoyed the company of Kiva and Mylo.
As I write the dogs are still sleeping off today's earlier walk, the best part of 5 miles in nice weather and good company as we were joined by Sally the black lab and Nina a black and white Munsterlander.  Lappy days indded.

It's A Weekend So It Must Be Raining

Fortunately we missed the rain when we walked the pack - they are all now totally relaxed ... right, that's enough words let's allow the pictures to tell the story:

You might like to turn the sound off before playing the video clip - the breathing sounds as though it belongs in a horror movie ....

The Secret of Scrabble's Unbroken Night

will remain a secret ... suffice to say that it worked again last night.  As a result we almost overslept which would have been embarrassing as Fat Sal was due to arrive for the weekend at 8.00.

Fortunately we were up in good time,  just as well really as Phil was early delivering Sal.  No matter, all is well and, following breakfast, the pack are now well settled.  Smuu to the right of my chair, Tuukka on his bed, Sal on the sofa (no change there), Scrabble busy emptying the toy box, Kiva in the kitchen and Mylo in his kennel..... all is calm at Dogs to Stay.

Sadly yesterday's blue skies and sunshine have gone, it's grey, damp and miserable - hopefully it will have brightened up by the time the dogs get their first walk.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen ....

We had a busy day at Dogs to Stay yesterday as we played host to a couple from Wales who came to meet Kiva with a view to maybe having one of her puppies when she is mated this summer. Sue and Ralph are long term Samoyed owners but they are looking to downsize to a Lappy. They turned up with a bag full of treats - the dogs were most impressed - and spent a couple of hours with us interacting with the pack - Scrabble making his presence known, Smuu and Tuukka as chilled as always (I think that they were rather taken with Tuukka), Mylo being Mylo and Kiva winning hearts. 

After they left we met up with Fat Sal for a late afternoon walk.  I think that Scrabble found it all a bit tiring :-)

I have just got back from a walk with the 5 dogs and with them all chilled am able to get down to writing today's update, not that there's a lot more to say ....

The day started late, Scrabble sleeping through the night - I think we have found the secret to a good nights sleep ;-).  Breakfast was served, the dogs were walked, I checked the election results :-(

Now that we have discovered how to ensure Scrabble sleeps through the night I can safely say that our guests really are no trouble, Smuu and Tuukka are 2 of the most chilled guests we have ever had and I'm so glad that Smuu left her bark at home.  I am delighted with the way our own dogs get on with our visitors - though they are normally well behaved Mylo and Tuukka did have a minor set to when they first met some 3 years ago - I think that must have forgotten all about it as they are best mates now. Kiva enjoys being with her granny, I think that the feeling is reciprocated and Scrabble is, for a young puppy away from his humum for the first time very well behaved, he can be a pain in the butt sometimes - he seems to delight in trying to trip me up when we are out walking but he has grown on us, he's also groing up ... he can cock his leg now ;-)

A short clip of 4 of the 5 dogs at Dogs to Stay.

Smuu - asleep at Lou's feet
Tuukka - asleep on his bed
Kiva - chilling
Scrabble - doing an impression of a cute dog

Mylo - sleeping in his kennel

Oh Joy - A Lie In

Well, a sort of lie in if you can call 6.45 late - Scrabble, you just have to love him don't you !! ???

After his early start and excursions (it must be very tiring making all of that noise) and after his morning walk and breakfast Scrabble is now asleep - an hours respite for me ;-)

I managed to get the grass cut yesterday - the guest dogs weren't bothered at all, maybe because they stayed indoors - planting up the tubs was another matter, Scrabble was desperate to help.  When the time came to hoover the living room - a daily job with 5 dogs, it was a different matter with Smuu and Tuukka seeking solace in the garden, yup, on the freshly mown lawn.

Smuu is happy to join in every walk and is showing no signs of aching joints, perhaps little and often is the answer - she certainly appears to look forward to the walks as does Tuukka.

Right - must get on as I have the house to get ready for this afternoon's visitors - a couple are coming across from Wales to meet Kiva as they are hoping to have one of her puppies (fingers crossed) this summer.


Lappy days

If there are any typos in this entry I do apologise but it will be due to me being incredibly tired.  Scrabble decided to make himself heard at 3.00 am and so as to not annoy the neighbours, or those living in the next village, it was necessary to come down stairs to placate him.  To be honest it wasn't that hard as he soon settled, so it was back to bed for me.  I later discovered that it is still dark at 5.15 am, yup, Scrabble made himself known again; same procedure, same results - peace, well at least until 7.15 am.

The little darling is asleep  right now, he's had his walk, enjoyed his breakfast and is now in what was once mine and then Mylo's chair.

Smuu was as eager for her morning walk as any dog we have had stay however I think that she was a little disappointed that she didn't see a squirrel in the churchyard like she did yesterday.  The picture below was taken 5 or 10 minutes ago - suffice to say that she is chilled.

Tuukka has sussed out where his food is kept and can be seen in the picture below loitering with intent - he is now sleeping on his bed.

Regular readers will have read that Mylo doesn't do beds or crates, unless, that is, they belong to our visitors - here he can be seen enjoying Scrabble's crate - how he got in there and turned around is beyond me.

Though bright and sunny yesterday was cold and the dogs were more than happy staying indoors - they enjoyed their walks and meeting the other canine residents of the village including Fat Sal, who will be with us at the weekend.  Today is again bright and looks as though it might be quite warm - time to do some gardening maybe.  I wonder how our guests react to lawnmowers - they sure don't like the Dyson.

Later today we will be meeting up with Fat Sal again for an afternoon stroll - this time I just hope that Scrabble doesn't try to trip me up ;-)

Lappy days.

When 3 Become 5

 woke at 6.25 this morning, an amazing stroke of luck because it was only one minute after Scrabble awoke - hence the blog being updated so early today.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Zomba - his hufamily have now got themselves pretty much organised in their new home so after breakfast we headed south to drop him off.

The day coincided with a prearranged gathering of Lappies in St. Albans and the collection of our next dogs; Kiva's grandparents Tuukka, Smuu and German Spitz Klein Scrabble.  In addition to the 3 new guests 3 other former guests at Dogs to Stay were also there; Taavi and Jaaka and Kiva's nephew Wheeto - we were pleasantly surprised to also see Finlay there (sadly no photos yet) - a rather wonderful wolf sable male.

It was typical bank holiday weather - we had sun, cloud and rain, we even had hail.  However bad weather does NOT deter the committed Lapphund walker or their dogs; 8 Lapphunds and 2 German Spitz Klein.  Apart from Kiva falling in the lake; a classic "Ooops TV2 moment and Mylo going walkabout in the restaurant it was an enjoyable way to spend a bank holiday.  The journey home wasn't too bad - however could someone please explain why the motorway has a 50 mph speed limit and signs saying "50mph to protect the workforce" when no one was working.

Once home the dogs quickly settled in, and down, Smuu and Tuuka finding their beds the perfect place to lie after their strenuous day, while Scrabble decided that he couldn't decide between one of the dog beds or the sofa.

Mylo being Mylo he too wanted to try out the beds;

I was delighted with the way that all of the dogs had integrated; the day's earlier walk had served to reinforce the pack philosophy as well as tire them out.

As I write a video recorded yesterday evening is being uploaded, Mylo is in the garden, Tuuka and Smuu are on their beds, Kiva is on the lawn and Scrabble is once again eager to jump up on my lap.




Lappy days indeed.

An Unexpected Pleasure ....

Yesterday I took Keksi and Ismo back home leaving us with just Zomba who was, according to the booking, due to be going home today.

The dynamics have again changed, though Mylo and Kiva still rule the roost Zomba has more space to play, without stepping on Ismo's toes, OK, paws, however it is evident that he misses Keksi who was much more willing to play with him than Kiva.

Zomba doesn't seem perturbed though as he has discovered the contents of the dogs' toy box - Father Christmas seems to be popular as do all of the tuggy toys.

I mentioned that Zomba was due to go back home today ... well he's here for another night :-) and will be dropped off tomorrow en route to a Lappy reunion walk in St. Albans and the subsequent collection of 3 new guests.

 

It's a busy life at Dogs to Stay but I wouldn't have it any other way.