One ear almost up

Home after a nice weekend in the countryside. Top weather the whole time though the heavy rain met us on the way home. First time after such a long time it was very appreciated. I hope that this will be the end of the very hot summer and we will get some normal temperatures for this part of Europe. 

The puppy enjoyed  exploring new places, meeting new people and even the first bath in the lake.

Both Prima and Ruda have shown a way, they are such good swimmers! And afterwards the dogs could dry themselves running on the sandy beach. I really love this place!

One week earlier we visited my sister in her cottage in Stockholm Archipelago. It´s a very nice place as well but there are many people there during summertime and it´s difficult to find a place where dogs are allowed. We usually stay away on an uncomfortable rocky beach where we can be alone. It´s risky though as the wet rocks are slippery and I am always aware of the possible injury of runnings dogs. Nothing happened this time except the bad stomach the puppy had following night after consuming great amount of algae, duck extrements, sand and different plants.

Is there something more miserable than a wet Border?

I always enjoy coming back home, even after a short break. Not this time though. Xenon, the Cat, usually meets us when we drive up to the house. Today he is not here and I am worried sick. He was left outside but he has a cat flap and the whole wintergarden open, the food is almost gone so he must have been around the house as usual. But he is not here now.

I hope he will show up before the night comes, I will not be able to sleep otherwise!

Last minute update: Xenon is back! Hungry and untidy but healthy and happy! Now we are whole again!

Drought

Brown puppy on burned grass

The disaster continues. Not a drop of rain has fallen here in several weeks and the temperature reaches above 30°C every day. The woods are burning all over the country and the farmers are running out of food for their animals. This is not fun any more. Some people thrive, especially those who spend their vacations in Sweden but most are fed up with the situation and hope for rain. It´s difficult to work as most places are not not equipped with air condition and it´s difficult to sleep at night in the city.

The only activity I am able to do is to walk to the lake early in the morning and swim with the dogs. Later they spend time sleeping inside the house through entire day and show some signs of life again late in the evening. We are lucky living in the countryside where nights bring some relief. I have not trained the dogs in 2 weeks. Although the temperature would allow training in the evenings I am just too tired after working in this heat.

Basqa or Bashka ( we cannot decide ) has become 6 weeks old and I am quite happy with her development. She is open towards new people, curious about everything around and very  playful. Ruda does not permit her to suckle more than twice a day now but the puppy eats everything we give with great apetite.

Having hard time with the strict mother the puppy enjoys getting some positive attention from aunt Prima.

She has been kind to the youngster lately and plays with her when the temperature changes to more comfortable. Rough and clumsy while playing with Ruda she reveals all her gentle and careful side towards Basqa ( or Bashka?)

Xenon, the Cat, has teared off 4 claws on his hind paws. Accidents like that teach me to trust animals and their judgement. I had a friend here visiting with her Border Collie. According to this friend, whom I trust a lot, the dog had no interest in cats at all. But when Xenon wanted to join us on the terrace the dog stirred at him and the cat stopped. Normally he would just pass by but this particular dog scared him. I should  have understood what was going to happen and stop the the Border Collie. I did not because I trusted my friend. The dog started to chase Xenon and he climbed a tree and damaged his claws. We had to sedate him and remove all the broken nails and put the collar on for few days. He wasn´t happy about that but accepted the treatment with dignity.

I love this cat! And from now on I will never ever let him deal with unknown dogs, no matter how much I trust their owners!

Four weeks have passed

Time flies! The puppy is growing fast and almost every day brings something new in her quick development  She started to play with her mother of course but also with people and toys. Just few days ago she was walking around on shaky legs and now she is able to control the body in full gallop. She carefully examins her nearest surrounding with curiosity and bravery. She gets all our attention so she is nearly housbroken and she already eats real puppy food with minced meat and egg yolk twice a day. I am grateful for the rare opportunity to witness her grow so closely as this is only possible when there are very few pups in a litter.

The worries about raising a single puppy are still here but not so substancial anymore. I have tried to find playmates about the same age for little Basqa, as we call her, but have not succeed. I hope finding young playful pups will be easier but I have to wait a couple of weeks until she is more mature. It should be enough for her socialization, it has to be.

In the meantime I hope Prima will take some part in rising the puppy. She has stayed away from it so far but this morning she started to play and I suppose it was just a beginning!

Otherwise life is good right now. We work only 4 days a week and our summer guest, my dear cousin, helps a lot with the little one so I can leave and train the dogs sometimes.

Wonderful summer weather continues! I cannot recall a summer like this in Sweden! But, of course, everything has its price. The lawn is brownish and a lot of plants are running out of water. We still have some water in our own well but it may go dry anytime now.

Hoping for some rain, that´s what I do now! I never thought I would!

Two weeks and 1850g of happiness

Two weeks have gone and the little puppy has grown into a fat, shapeless creature mostly resembling a well fed seal cub. The eyes opened on day 11 and I noticed first play attempts today. They were doomed to fail because the puppy rolls over to a side as soon as it tries to make a fast movement but there was an attempt to jump and chew on her mothers leg! They develop so fast! Watching the puppy and listening to all the sounds it makes has been my best meditation lately!

I have stayed away from work as much as I could, but sometimes I have to work and then take the dogs with me and make them comfortable under my desk. It works very well, as for Ruda our work is a second home. She feeds and grooms the puppy and comes out from her kennel when the puppy falls asleep. Then she starts to beg for food, she has become very hungry these days. I wonder what would happen if she had 10 hungry parasites to feed!

A long weekend is ahead. Sweden´s biggest holiday, Midsummer. The holiday, when we usually drive away to the countryside to enjoy summer weather with our friends.But the weather has changed drammatically, which isn´t unusual at this time of year. All the rain we were waiting for during last 6 weeks comes down all at once. I decided to stay at home with my gang, we have my sisters Dandie here as well. No use to crowd in a little cottage with wet dogs. And the puppy is too little for such a long journey. 

Xenon, the cat, is interested, though quite cautious about the puppy now. He sits and study it often and touches it lightly with its paws when the chance is given. I hope they will be good friends and play mates when the pup starts to move around. The cat has been trying to get our grown up dogs to play with him but they would not understand his intentions at all! They actually think the cat wants to attack them in real and avoid him!

I hope the playful puppy would not have any preconceived notions about cats and take advantage of the situation!

One week - two great events

Most important of all: the puppy is born! And it is a female! A healthy, strong and beautiful little creature came to the world on June 7th at 10 o`clock pm. The delivery went smooth and Ruda is a devoted, caring mother! I am very, very happy and hope the puppy will grow nicely as there is no need to fight for a place at the milk bar.

Already after the first night its weight increased from 370g at the birth until 400g! There is some amount of positivity in being a single puppy! And I am so proud of Ruda!

Little Prima has made me proud as well on last obedience competition! She completed a whole program with no mistakes ( except some happy jumps for which there were some deductions ). We have collected 277,5 points of 320, an excellent result and are now approved to compete in class 2. And I am a bit proud of myself for keeping my spirit up and controlling my nerves during that competition, let´s hope it will work even better in the future!

Some serious training is waiting ahead. Have to maintain Primas joyful attitude but at the same time improve her precision. I think we should be able to compete in next level in the fall, which means I will have both dogs in the same class. Will be interesting to compare the results of these two! They are so different!

That´s what I call a perfect beginning of a summer season! Full of hope, joy and exciting plans! Let´s live it!

Waiting

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Waiting time. Still a week to go. Last ultrasonography, a week ago, confirmed that there is just one pup in Rudas belly. I am a bit concerned but I hope she will manage to give birth to it without complications. The vet said also that, judging by the puppy´s heart rythm, he thinks it might be a male. 

Rudas belly has not changed much however her tits have become enormous and filled with milk. Well, nothing to do, just wait and hope for the best!

We have had wonderful time on our training camp. We have been able to work despite Rudas pregnancy and Primas damaged paw. We did what we could. Quite a lot actually. Except obedience we tried some nose work and searching objects in the woods. I think I will continue with both as this is such a good activity for the dogs and both liked it.

We had perfect weather, nice company and the place was a dream! So beautiful and quiet, in the middle of nowhere, just like I love it!

Generally we have had sun every single day during last 4 weeks and summer temperatures. We have been able to start swimming in our lake on May 10th. I do not remember a May like that! Not in Sweden anyway!  It´s good for dogs to swim every day as Ruda does not move as much as usually. And as temperatures are above 25°C the dogs are slower and sleep a lot during the day time. 

We do not train as much as we usually do, it´s simply too hot. And our plants need a lot of watering every day... But I cherish every moment! 

I cannot compete with Ruda anyway...

Primas wound is almost completely closed now, after more that 4 weeks of changing dressings, putting on/taking off her shoes and watching her so she would not lick. I hope it will heal until June 6th when we are supposed to compete in obedience class 1.

This is the only plan I have for the summer except taking care of a little puppy and enjoying every moment of the best season of the year!

The world in full bloom

In just about a week of summer weather everything has been altered! The brownish, tired world has changed to an explosion of colors with dominance of different shades of green. The plum trees are blooming already and the apple trees are ready to start within maybe two days. It is not unusual for Sweden that spring would be omitted but this year is exceptional!

The dogs have been helping out with garden work, must have been boring for them but no complaints. Prima would just run about with a stick in her mounth and Ruda would wait until I throw some weed away so she could catch it. But it has been warm, too warm to be active a long time. So in the end they would just find a nice and shady place and watch me working.

I had to take some painkillers every day but managed to have all the neccesary work done. So now we just have to wait for results. And water every day. There is no rain in the weather forecast for a long time ahead. I would really need some now.

The swimming season has been opened very early this year. Our lake is warm enough to enjoy swimming, not just for jumping in and out. Prima has been allowed to take a bath despite the wound on her pad. I do not think it would delay the healing, it is going to take ages anyway! So we could not compete on May 10th. I had to change the date for her start in class 1 until June 6th. I do not even know if the wound will heal when we are scheduled for a training camp in the end of next week..Still there is at least 6 mm of open space between the edges of the would that would have to close.

Ruda has been acting as normally as ever. Every time I train with her she shows the same commitment as usually. I am glad for that, especially now when we are planning to drive away for the 3 days training camp. I hope for a bit cooler weather without rain though the weather forecast says something else.  We are going 300 km away from Stockholm with other dog training lovers to a beautiful place at a lake. I am sure just being there with people sharing the same hobby will be great! Even if it rains...

Spring in the air and a single puppy in Rudas belly

After rather cold and rather wet long weekend in the countryside we are expecting some nice, warm and sunny spring days! At least if one can trust long term weather reports. 

Somehow it is always easier to believe the positive reports and I have so many plans that depend on the weather. First of all I have to take care of the garden if we are to enjoy our own veggies this year. It´s already quite late. This will take lots of my energy and time.

And maybe just as well as I am deprived of the usual ways of spending my free time right now. Meaning I cannot train the dogs as one is limping and the other one pregnant!

I was supposed to compete with Prima on May 10th but when we were in the countryside she must have stepped on a root or something sharp enough to deeply cut one of her foot pads. There are still some days left but I do not think it will heal. I tried to change the dog and a class and compete with Ruda instead but it was not possible. That was the last chance for Ruda as it is not permitted to enter competition with a pregnant bitch 30 days prior to delievery.

And a veterinarian saw one puppy during ultrasound scan I made 3 weeks after last so called mating. I was pretty sure she was empty  but I saw the embryo with my own eyes. I will check her again, of course, but first on May 24th. We will see if that single embryo will survive and maybe we will find at least one more?

So I am quite happy about the weather permitting the digging, sowing and planting.  Ruda is still easy and willing to train but she certainly is a bit slow. This isn´t something unusual for her after the season so I do not see any difference and I would never guess on her behaviour only the she was pregnant.

After a walk he rests in the middle of the table completely exhausted

Prima is more than willing to work but what can one do with a dog jumping on three legs? I change her dressing few times a day and try to keep her still. It is a difficult task-the dog is full of energy! The wound is getting better every day but with 4 days left to competition I do not think it will heal completely.

Our cat, Xenon, has started to go outside and loves it! The problem is that I am worried every time he is gone where I cannot see him. On the other hand it is so wonderful to watch him enjoying the freedom and lying in the sun and trying to catch insects that I cannot just close him inside. I just wish he would stay within our fenced ground!

Oh, right now it isn´t so easy to be a pet owner! The plants are much easier!