Dog friendly park

We have not long been back from a fantastic dog friendly park, it's a 2 min drive away so Tarkka went in the car. On arrival the park seemed very quiet no dogs in site but during the walk Tarkka met/played with a golden retriever, a spaniel, 2 mastiffs (they were huge) and a couple of German Spitz (one golden one black) one wanted to play the other didn't. One of the mastiffs barked at Tarkka and told him off when he got fed up of Tarkka jumping up at him, which took Tarkka by surprise but we stayed chatting to the owners each time & Tarkka soon sussed out who he could play with and who didn't want to play so he just sat by my feet. The golden retriever was the best he played with Tarkka and accidentally squashed him (he really yelped) but was straight back up playing but gave the retriever a bit more space.

We also took a dog whistle along with us and when Tarkka wouldn't come we walked the other way & gave 3 sharp toots on the whistle. Each time he looked back at us, saw us walking away & proceeded to chase us, not sure if he will do this for long but it's giving me great confidence at the mo to let him of his lead. We also practiced puppy ping pong in the park and he was really good even with distractions and during the walk I occasionally put him on his lead for a bit then let him of again so he was never sure if the recall was for lead or just a big fuss (we left the treats on the side in the kitchen by mistake)

Anyway I'm off for a cuppa. Looking forward to seeing some of you at the Lappy walk on Sunday.

Days Out

Yep that's right we are now out in the big wide world.

First trip was to the railway station, what fun. Tarkka was not spooked at all, he seemed to really love it. Lots of fuss from people waiting to get on trains people getting off trains, taxi drivers & railway staff, even a train driver stopped to ask after him & give him a cuddle.

Next trip was to the beach, family trip late sunday afternoon. Josh loved skimming stones to the point that I had to call to him asking him to look down, yes he was knee deep in the sea.

Tarkka had a fab time, digging in the sand, paddling in the sea and sniffing through the seaweed. Not to mention all the dogs and people he met.

Monday involved a trip to the vet, he's now microchipped and weighs 5.15kg's. Unfortunately they day turned into a bit of a disaster with the vets giving me the wrong dose of worming tablets which caused Tarkka to be very sick. Thank god I had Jen and Jay on the end of the phone for support. Needless to say I've made a formal complaint to the vet and had an apology. but that doesn't take away the fact that Tarkka was v poorly & I was scared stiff.

If I sit in the big plant pot I might grow..........................

Anyway Tarkka is now back to normal, barking at the TV (Shelly he loved Snow Buddies) and ripping up newspaper normally when George is still reading it.

I made the mistake of letting him in the front room yesterday for 2 mins while I opened the curtains. 10 mins later found him chewing up one of Joshs sweatbands (match of the day ones he had just got) shhhhhhhhh don't tell Josh I've been able to fix it and put it back without telling Josh.

Where's this week gone?

So what have we been up to?

Sunday was a quiet day with a big of clicker training and playing in the garden. We also went next door to play with Emily & Harry.

Here's a clip of Tarkka with his & Josh's play tunnel.

Sunday evening we settled down and played the Wii. I was worried that Tarkka might try and jump up while we moved are arms around, fear not.

As for the rest of this week so far, I'm not sure what we have done, it's all been a bit of a blur, (so much so that I forgot my physio appointment today, whoops) Tarkka has been to Cubs twice and met other dogs. He has also sat nicely and watched the boys on their bikes, looked up at helicopters/aeroplanes and barked at birds. Tarkka has had his teeth cleaned most days and had a brush every other. He's putting on lots of weight, not sure I will be able to carry him much longer.

One really big surprise for Tarkka was going to spend the evening last night with Maija, Neka, Keskiyo & Annie Bear. Reason - George was out at a meeting plus Jay & I had an Exonian Canine Association meeting. So Jen volunteered to puppy sit. Thank you Jen (mum), hope you have got over your migraine.

Tomorrow we go to puppy class, first one. Tonight we have got friends coming over for tea, more cuddles. Tomorrow is also nail clipping day yippee you hear me cry...................not (of well I've got to get use to it).

Tarkka was entered into his first show but not for competition so he will be going to his first show on the 6th Dec to watch & learn from his mum, dad, Apina and Kippis.

Today I bought Tarkka a reflective coat to wear (partly for fun) but also so I can see him in the garden at night. Don't think it will last long.

Josh has been great these last few weeks he has really taken to Tarkka and had it his own responsibility to look after him downstairs from 7.15 - 8am giving me a chance to grab a shower & sort the school bags out etc. He takes Tarkka out in the garden & cleans up after him and plays with him in Tarkka's enclosed zone (kitchen). I'm really proud of my little boy and think Tarkka and Josh now have a really close bond.

What's in store for the rest of the week? Well I still want to get to the station, puppy class, more friends coming over Friday and then it's the weekend with the dreaded microchiping on Monday.

Things I have been doing wrong (will enlighten you on a few things)

1) Letting Tarkka have my yogurt pots when I've finished with them - I now have a dog that barks the moment he sees a yogurt pot & goes mad.

2) Lifting/moving the settee every time Tarkka gets a kitten ball stuck under the sofa (other option is to let him go berserk running round & round the sofa barking)

3) Not putting Tarkka on a lead when taking him out in the garden causing problems last night when Tarkka wanted to go to the loo but as soon as his lead went on at Jen's he thought he was going for a walk & wouldn't go wee - until Jen took over (I promise I will try harder)

4) Letting Tarkka bark & try and eat the pattern on the back room carpet (any ideas how I can make Tarkka understand it's just the pattern on the carpet?)

5) 6am after going out in the garden I make a cuppa and sit down in the back room (can't remember last time I sat in the front room, might start calling it a parlour) anyway as soon as I sit down with my cuppa, Tarkka barks & yes I pick him up and he cuddles in with me on the settee.

6) Leaving back door open when I take Tarkka out to go wee in the rain - Tarkka then ran back in & went wee on the carpet in the warm & dry - another reason why he should be on his lead, I know.

I'm sure I'm making loads more mistakes but these are the ones I've realised and now need to try and improve on.

So much for me training Tarkka, I think he's doing a really good job of training me.

Friday & Saturday

Bit late on updating you but last few days have been really busy. Friday we went back into work as Paul was leaving to head off to New Zealand. I decided this would be a good opportunity for Tarkka to be among a large group of adults plus get use to things like clapping. Tarkka was very good and had lots of cuddles. Biggest surprise was when Abbie asked if she could hold him. Abbie is very scared of dogs so this was a big deal, and made me feel very proud of Tarkka that Abbie had asked.

Next I had to run a couple of errands so Tarkka stayed in his car crate while I nipped in & out of places.

When we got home we settled down to some clicker training. I was surprised how quickly Tarkka picked this up. He will sit & down. We are still working on stand. We did clicker training 3 or 4 times throughout the afternoon in 5 min spells.

In between we played out in the garden. Tarkka found a plant pot (with plant still in it) however with a quick tip, the plant was tipped onto the grass and Tarkka proceeded to run around with the plant pot on his head.

3.15 prompted school run Tarkka came along as normal, he's now happy to see the kids and be fussed by both kids & parents.

Saturday was a bit different, for a start George got up at 6am and woke Tarkka up and played with him until 7am yippee a lay in. After breakfast Tarkka had a nap, but we had noticed over the last couple of days that he wasn't so keen to go in his crate. With a bit of quick reading I decided to play games involving his crate. So I put a hula hoop on the floor & found one of Josh's training golf balls (like a kitten ball it has loads of holes in it) and it it great for zooming along the floor & bounces really well. I started by just playing with Tarkka on the floor, which was great fun but as Tarkka got use to bringing the ball back to me and giving me the ball back for a treat I upped the game. I now got Tarkka to sit in the hula hoop on the floor and then swapped the ball for a treat, then I bounced the ball into his crate. Each time he ran to his crate & retrieved the ball bringing it back to the hoop and sitting to exchange the ball for a treat. We did this for about 10 mins and repeated it throughout the day. Result when Tarkka got tired he went of his own accord to his crate and fell asleep. Plus last night after going out and starting to do the whole shutting down, turning things off etc again Tarkka went and got in his crate for bed.

We had a few visitors today. Paul & Nik popped over to say hello, Nik wanted to keep Tarkka however don't think it will fit into the travel plans as they set off for New Zealand in a week Nik's going home and Paul's going with her (Paul's turn to be a foreigner for a couple of years). We also had a visit from Pauline (next door neighbour) with her 2 grandchildren, Harry & Emily. Harry was a bit nervous but Emily happily stroked Tarkka (even if each time she bent over to stroke him he tried to eat her hair).

We have also gone for walks every day around the block (in my arms) and met lots of people & dogs today we met a spaniel and a really big golden retriever each dog wanted to say hello so I crouched down while Tarkka pawed at them (not scared at all)

Tarkka was also lightly groomed today and had his teeth brushed.

Healthy eating & puppy party

Eating - Trakka was watching me sort out the slow cooker yesterday morning and I was surprised that when I dropped a carrot baton he picked it up & was off to hide with it. I thought he would then leave it but to my surprise he sat and ate it all up! Add to this that he steals tomatoes straight off the plants in the garden, I'm starting to wonder if I own a veggie dog + liver cake.

Tarkka has upgraded from chewing sticks, he's moved on to chewing trees & logs!

Last night we went to a puppy party run by the vets. It was really well organised Tarkka met a Siberian Husky, Golden Retriever and a shih tzu. He was so well behaved and played really nicely (honestly Jen) he showed the group how he sits and stands and Alfie the golden retriever and Tarkka were soon the best of friends, bowing at each other and pawing each other to play.

The Vet nurse showed us how to clean the dogs teeth and so we all had a go. We played pass the puppy so that's another 7 people who have cuddled him. After the session we stopped back as Sarah (vet nurse) was asking us loads of questions about the breed and she then showed us a great game of dog tennis to try & improve Tarkka's none existent recall. George and I are going to work really hard at this and see if recall gets better. However recall aside Sarah was really pleased with Tarkka and said it showed that we had put a lot of time & effort upfront into thinking about how we were going to bring Tarkka up and his socialisation was going really well.

I was so happy with Tarkka & us when I got home I decided to take the plunge and clip Tarkkas nails. Tarkka was shattered from playing with the other pups that he was happy to sit up on my knee and with a bit of fidgeting (he did yelp once but as I hadn't even started I didn't react) I did all his nails including the dew claws. Now feeling really proud of myself.

Tarkka when put down on the floor decided to show me how sharp his clipped claws were by trying to dig up the pattern on the carpet :-(

Something I've not covered is noise. So far Tarkka has been exposed to the following scary noisy things. Cars & lorries both during the day and night. Council big grass cutter things. This morning he saw a tractor (not sure about those) he has also met the bin men and the guys who follow behind cleaning peoples bins, he even had a cuddle with one of these guys in his scary yellow jacket. Next week we are of to the train station, watch this space to see how we get on.

From Handbags & Gladrags to Puppy & Poo Bags

Carrying on from yesterday morning the afternoon became very hectic;

Jen (birthday girl) & Maija arrived in the afternoon to play. Sorry folks but no photos as Tarkka & Maija didn't stay still long enough, far to busy charging around the garden chasing each other. Had been explaining to Jen that Tarkkas coat had needed a really good brush that morning as it was covered in something sticky and as if on cue two heads popped out from under the hebe followed by very sticky bodies covered in dead leaves. Yes looks like the hebe will need digging up & moving to the front garden.

Tarkka showed Maija his version of football, it involves running in & out of Josh's goal climbing through holes in the target rebound sheet (net had to be taken down on first day home).

He also showed Maija how to stick your front paws in the pond & drink (sorry Jen). On a good note he showed Jen what a good boy he is sometimes showing off how he can sit & stand when requested (or bribed with food), he also showed off how much better he has got at laying on his back to be fussed. Maija is a real beauty and soon settled in to playing with her brother. After a couple of hours it was time for Jen & Maija to leave & I had the school run to do. I decided that Tarkka could do with some time out so put him in his crate & then waved Jen off and went to get Josh.

After tea we had a few friends over. Josh has just gone up to Clubs as he's now 8 but his friends are still at beavers so after the drop off, Nic with her younger son Harry (4) and Sarah with Katy (nearly 3) came over. What fun Tarkka had, first Katy fed Tarkka liver cake then they all went out in the garden (Josh with then) and mum's looking on while the children all ran around with Tarkka, laughing & screaming, playing with his toys and sitting down for cuddles. Nic & Sarah also had cuddles with Tarkka. When it was time to pick the boys up from Beavers Josh & I decided to go with them, taking Tarkka in my arms. Josh had done a dog preparation diary to get his animal care badge while at Beavers and had promised to take Tarkka in when we got him. So off we went to meet loads more children & parents. By the time we got back Tarkka was shattered so making the most of him being so still I did his frontline, he was as good as gold.

After a cuddle on the settee it was time for bed.

Slugs, Snails & Puppy dogs tails

Yes with the arrival of wet weather Tarkka has taken to bringing in Slugs & Snails, he tries to sneak past me heading for his crate so he can eat them, but with help from Josh (calling from the garden that Tarkka has something in his mouth) I'm able to do a quick exchange for a chew toy. Last night we left Tarkka home alone for an hour after tea so we could go off and do the supermarket shop and today I'm upstairs in the office catching up on emails etc while Tarkka is left in the kitchen.

Barking & nipping have become are biggest problem. Tarkka has taken to barking at us when he wants attention, or if you are making a cuppa as he believes I should be feeding him. He also barks at our coffee mugs? We have even resorted to using the pet corrector, however here's a photo of what Tarkka thought of pet corrector.

Nipping - as the days have gone on he has started to nip, we have followed Ian Dunbars advice of calling out Ouch and trying to walk away but Tarkka just barks at you and then either runs around the furniture or follows you trying to nip again. This is normally first thing in the morning & 8-9pm which ties in with him being most active, roll on being able to go out for walks.

This morning I tried to do some pond awareness - failed miserably as Tarkka's attitude is yes mum I know it's a pond and yes I still want to chase frogs and tadpoles so I'm off in.

Tarkka has also taken to creating dens in the bushes and barking and chasing the baby frogs through the bushes, my poor wildlife. Late last night I sat watching the frogs jumping across the decking in the rain heading away from the garden. It could be that it's that time of year for my frogs to move on but I still think Tarkka has helped them make the decision to leave us.

Tarkka charging out of one of his many den's in the bushes.

Today I gave Tarkka his first brush down, he was very good and stood really still.

After been told off for trying to remove the washing off the line as fast as I was pegging it on, we then set up the bubble machine in the garden & Tarkka spent a good half hour chasing bubbles all over (windy days have some benefits).

Tarkka is now tucked up in his crate hopefully having a sleep before Jen & Maija arrive. He did have a temple tantrum about having to go in his crate which involved digging up his vet bed, but I think he's now sound asleep (I assume this as I'm sat upstairs and all is very quiet).

Last few days

Ok firstly sorry I've not been updating the blog but I'm shattered. So here's an update of what we have done over the last few days. Sunday, Tarkka met both sets of neighbours for cuddles & then went over to my friends home (Maria, Tony & Dom's), this also involved going around the block (in my arms) so Tarkka got to meet so other people who live near us. It's great we have lived here 3 years and all of a sudden people stop you in the street to talk and ask about your puppy. We then played games in Tarkka's zone (kitchen) which even included chasing ice cubes.

Tarkka decided it was more fun to lay in his play tunnel than go for a wee, yes it's dark, yes it's cold, yes it's 10.30pm, go for a wee Tarkka..........

Monday Tarkka came with me on the school run (in arms) and met lots of children, mainly little girls asking if they could stroke him + mum's & dad's. Then I had to go into work so Tarkka came with me to work and was greated & stroked by loads of people at work then layed on my knee asleep while I did a bit of work. Then we headed of to the Vet for first injection. Tarka was really good he didn't flinch (might do in a fortnight when he's microchiped). Weight was 3.6 and vet was very happy with him. Then the Nurse stole him as she wanted to show him off to the other nurses as they had being guessing what he would look like (they do have another Lappie on the books but he's a brown tri) Spent most of the afternoon asleep. However did come with me on the afternoon school run this time in a dog carry bag (trying not to strain my newly fixed shoulder) Again was stroked by loads of parents & children while Josh proudly told everyone what type of dog he was. Katy even had a hold of him (she's nearly 3 and was so good with him) I then got a texted later from her mum just to let me know Katy was proudly telling her how she could hold "TURKEY" ! Bed times have been great Tarkka goes to bed at 10pm & we wake him when we get up at 6am and yes the crate has, to date been clean. Tarkka is also happy to be left, George & I took Josh to cubs last night then nipped to the chippy and when to got back he was fast asleep.

Garden - What can I say. I use to have beautiful shrubs, bushes & flowers now it's all a flattened mess. Football goal net has been taken down & replaced with a rebound sheet which Tarkka hides behind. Sticks & Stone will break my bones (or back, as spend most of my time bent over taking sticks & stones out of Tarkka's mouth). Pond, yes we have been in a couple of times & still don't seem to have learnt.

Food - Tarkka likes, scrambled eggs, rice pudding, Arden Grange mixed with tinned puppy food, cheese & liver cake (yes I had a bash at making Toni's liver cake) but we only use this for treats.

Ok I'm sitting & showing you my very long tongue so can I now have a bit of liver cake.......

He now sits on command & often give you his paw. He walks & runs lovely on a lead up & down the driveway. He's met & has been stroked by 64 strangers, I had to double check this but yes school & work have been a big part of this.

Today I had to go to an all day meeting, so George took the day off work, sounds like they had a busy day which involved them both needing a sleep this afternoon. Again Tarkka was left for a short time while George nipped out.

Tomorrow Jen & Maija are coming to visit so Tarkka will have someone else to show how to lay in flower beds and I'm sure he will show Maija how to run round & round the settee.

Look Jen we are even having a bash at this whole relaxation stuff.

Saturday 27th early start

Today started at 4.30am as I was awoken by Tarkka & Inko barking to go out. Amazed myself at how fast I could jump out of bed and get them into the garden to go toilet. Then I put them back into the crate (this time with a towle over the front) and headed back to sleep.
6.30am Josh wakes and calls out to me asking if he could get up? Clue puppies barking. So at this point we all got up, headed out to the garden to watch the morning begin. Tarkka & Inko chased each other around right up til 9am when Paula & Adam started out on there journey home with Inko, who was now ready for a kip. We now had to get ready for a journey of our own as today was my step dad's 60th birthday party. So of we went to spend the day in Somerset. Tarkka met loads of family and a couple of dogs however spent a lot of the day outside in mum's back garden in his car crate (by choice most of the time). He was brill & even travelled back in his car crate. After lots of playing when we got home we all went to bed at 10.30. Tarkka barked for a few mins but soon went off to sleep.

Tarkka chilling out after running around with my niece's & nephews.

Friday 26th September. Coming home

Yes the day finnaly arrived. We picked Tarkka up after Josh finnished school and headed home only 25 mins for us down to Plymouth. Tarkka sat on my knee was very good.
When we got home he went out in the garden for a wee and then came in to explore the kitchen. We first put him in his crate and then after a bit lethim out in the kitchen. Each time he got spooked he run to the safty of his crate. Yes he was spooked by the reflection in the bin and the oven door. Josh then sat with Tarkka while George & I carried out a few bits around the houes. On coming back to the kitchen we found Tarkka & Josh both asleep on the kitchen floor (Josh on a cushion).
So bed for Josh & crate for Tarkka.
Shortly after this Inko, Paula & Adam arrived. Tarkka no longer spooked or timid then proceeded to run riot with his sister both inside & out. They discovered a game that consisted of chasing each other round & round the settee in the back room, much to our amusement.
By 11pm we were all shattered so with puppies tucked up in crate we all went off to bed.

Bournemouth Show

Jen took me up to Bournemouth show yesterday, what a great day. Paula who is also waiting for a Lappie pup from Jen's litter even ended up in the ring (puppy stakes) she was so brave unlike Adam & I who declined Liz's kind offer.

Anyway good day was had by all and between the wind & short showers we must have had sunshine as I had a pink face when I got home.

As always the shopping was great, Paula & Adam did really well I think getting most stuff on their puppy list, but as I had already done a big chunk of my shopping at Paignton Champ, I was able to top up with some more brushes, a treat bag, gift for Jay who's at home puppy sitting, pet correctors and an arm band for when I pluck up the courage to go in the ring.

Tarkka's den is now ready for him, so I'm sure after the first week speeding past the next 6 weeks and 4 days might go a bit slower.

Paula & Adam are heading down to Devon later this week so George & I plan to meet up with them for a bite to eat & a drink in the evening (sure the pup's will be main topic of conversation).

Tarkka is still with mummy.

As our puppy is only 1 week & 1 day old he still lives with his mum & dad (Neka & Keskiyö) and is being looked after 24/7 by Jennifer & Jay. So until he comes home you will need to follow his progress at <http://infindigo.blogspot.com/>



We have been waiting a long time to get our Finnish Lapphund and even now have only got as far as deciding to have a boy from the litter. At the moment they are like little fat black & white guinea pigs, but I'm assured this will change over the next few weeks.