Northernmost

Saturday was a tough day. We spent the whole day deconstructing an old horse fence that we are going to turn into a dog fence for a play area and rebuild in a new location. From the early morning to the early evening we dug up posts and pulled out long nails to remove the stringers from the posts. It was hard and sweaty work, especially since it turned out to be one of the warmest days of the year. When we woke up this morning our muscles were so sore that we decided to take a break from work and spend the day on the beach instead. With the warm and humid weather we’ve been having the dogs seemed quite happy to just do nothing for a while.

Fredrik snuggled up with Thunder on the beach.

Thunder turned nine years old in July but is still very much a young dog in body and mind.

Hilary and Wilder dug a comfy hole where they could cool down in the wet sand.

They even dozed off for a while, close together.

The spiral tie-out stake is perfect for securing dogs on the beach. We buy ours from Häromi, they also have a sturdier version but since we only use the tie-out when the dogs are closely supervised the smaller version works fine for us. There are many different styles available from Amazon, probably best to test their quality at home before trusting them to work on the trail.

Struggling to stay awake?

After a refreshing swim in the sea Hilary’s energy was back!

Since Thunder isn’t keen on swimming we have to make sure he keeps cool by drinking plenty of water instead. We encourage our dogs to drink directly from the bottle when they are puppies, just in case we would one day forget to bring a water bowl when out on a hike. Some dogs take to drinking out of a water bottle naturally, while others need more training.

Wilder did a good job settling down on the beach…

...until he got bored and started digging – a sure sign that it was time to go home.

After all, puppies can only stay quiet for a (very) short time 😉

There are plenty of small sandy beaches on the coast where we live. Most of them are too small to be marked on any maps and we often discover them by chance when out walking the dogs.
There are more pics from our trips to the beach in our BEACH album.

Wilder and Thunder were trusted off leash for a while when we walked home through the forest.They stopped now and then to wait for us to catch up. Good boys ♥

We joined our friends Kjerstin and Johan and their dog training group for an active walk in the forest yesterday. It’s been nearly a year since we last took part in their Wednesday walking and training session, as it often collides with our other activities, but it was great to see everyone again and join in the fun. For Wilder it was the first time that he met with the “Bernese Mountain Dog Gang” but he blended in fast and was keen to say hello to all the dogs, which besides the large BMDs also included a Cocker Spaniel and two Terriers. Wilder is now in adolescence which makes it even more important that we continue with positive socialisation and let him meet friendly dogs of different breeds, sex and age to experience fun things together on a regular basis. Hilary is a great asset in these situations, as her positive outlook on life is passed on to Wilder and to the dogs that she meets. “The more the merrier” seems to be her motto!

The forest walk was combined with balancing exercises on rocks and fallen trees – a good mix of mental and physical exercise which made it more interesting for the dogs.

Wilder had completely forgotten how to walk nicely on a leash, he just wanted to be up front!

Hilary was more calm yesterday, maybe she is growing up, or maybe it was just a temporary thing 😉

Luna and Hilary posing together on a rock.

Nellie and Precious working on their balance skills in the background.

The BMD group is a great place to socialise our dogs with calm and friendly “big black dogs”.

The whole gang, minus two photographers.

Kjerstin and Johan’s Wednesday gatherings is all about having fun with your dog, using positive and creative training methods and not be afraid to try new things. After the walk we all sat down for a 10-minute relaxation and massage exercise – a perfect opportunity to train “Settle Down” with our two Duracell dogs 😉 Thanks everyone for a great time, we hope to see you again soon!

Below are some pics from today’s walk along the coast with Wilder and Titan. All that fresh sea air is making me sleepy so it’s going to be an early night tonight. Hope you’ve all had a great weekend, autumn is finally here, yay!!

My favourite pic from today  ♥

It’s been a busy couple of week here and the blog has not been updated for a while. To bring the blog up to speed I have published a post retroactively about a nice Dayhike to Pahtajärvi that we went on during our brief holiday in Lapland this month.

Last weekend Wilder took part in his first official event at the Arctic Circle Dog Show in Överkalix. This national show is situated about 259 km (160 miles) to the north of us but is actually one of the shows that are closest to where we live. Since we have very few shows in northern Sweden during winter, we try to grab every chance we have for ring training during summer. The judge at this event was Erna-Britt Nordin who awarded Wilder a 1st, but without HP this time, as she felt that his head needs to mature a bit. Overall the critique was very nice and she was very pleased with his temperament.

So far, Wilder seems to enjoy showing and is happy and alert in the ring,

Standing for the exam – there’s not much coat on Wilder at the moment.

…on the move.

BOB at the Arctic Circle Dog Show, and Best in Group-4, was FI MVA Neatut Kadluk, aka “Jyry”, who is a son of our boy Thunder. Jyry performed beautifully in the ring with his breeder Anne Korhonen and seems to have exactly the same sweet personality as his daddy. In fact, they even share the same name; kadluk means thunder in one of the Inuit languages.

Jyry, who is now also a Swedish Champion, showed off his balanced movements in the group final.

BIG congratulations to his owners Anne Korhonen and Jouku Mikkonen!!

Straight from the forest in Lapland to the show ring – our puppy Wilder has a busy schedule this summer! The opportunities for ring training are few and far between in our part of the country so whenever there is a class or match show available we try to go there, just for the sake of training. Sunday’s match show was Wilder’s second and he did really well and was shortlisted among the top five for BIS Puppy. It’s always nice to bring home some ribbons but the real reward is to see how well he behaves in a busy show environment. He’s a really sweet boy, excellent with other dogs and with people and kids of all ages. The fear period from a month ago seems to have passed and he had his tail up at all times and looked very relaxed and happy.

Mtn Home’s NM A Touch Of The Wild at 7 months of age. Breeders: Sue & Roy Fuller.

A special thanks to judge Tommy Danielsson who was very patient with all the inexperienced puppies (and handlers!) and gave Wilder a nice critique: “Excellent type, well-shaped and marked head, well set ears, correct bite, good coat in summer condition, well angulated front and back, well set tail, well developed chest for his age, strong topline, well presented.”

Hanging out with Fredrik during the long wait for the finals.

A kid we met at ring side decided that Wilder needed some extra grooming and he was happy to oblige – although he is in his summer suit now and there really isn’t much coat left to brush.

This girl clearly has a natural flair with dogs.

Wilder made some doggy friends too – here with a 4-month old Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen puppy.

It was a long drive to get to the show but well worth it!

Fredrik came to visit us in Hetta and brought along Titan for some quality time together with Hilary and Wilder. We have a big fenced play area at the cabin in Lapland where the dogs spend a few hours each day. If I could bring anything from Lapland with me home it would be this beautiful play area. The pine trees provide shade on warm summer days and the soft ground vegetation, made up of moss, heather and berry shrubs, is perfect for running and playing. Right now the blueberries are ripe and I have seen Hilary munching away in between play sessions. Happiness and harmony are words that come to mind when I watch the dogs play in the forest.

Can I stay in Lapland or bring a piece of Lapland with me home?

Our week in Lapland went by very quickly but we managed to squeeze in a little hike before it was time to return home. On a sunny morning we packed our bags to go on an 18 km (11.2 mi) dayhike to Lake Pahtajärvi, just outside the village of Hetta. Titan and Hilary carried our picnic in their bags while puppy Wilder carried an empty pack, just to get used to having something strapped to his back. The temperature was just above 10^o C (50^o F) and it was a perfect day to spend on the trail.

Wilder chose to work up front for large parts of the hike – that’s promising for the future.

The “work horses”, Titan and Hilary, crossing a bog on a wooden boardwalk.

Two happy Mals – Wilder, 7 months, and Titan, who will be 4 years old in October.

The goal of our hike – a lean-to with a view by Lake Pahtajärvi.

When we arrived at the laavu, Hilary cooled down in the lake. There were reindeer nearby so we had to keep her on a leash but that didn’t stop her from swimming back and forth in the cool water. This girl loves to swim – is this another sign of the beaver gene??

This 18 km hike could have counted as a WPD-leg for Hilary and Titan, who have yet to complete their packing titles, but since we did not have access to a scale at our cabin we were unable to weigh the contents of their bags prior to the hike. So the hike ended up being just a “leisure hike”, but I think the dogs were just as happy 😉

Wilder did well on his first longer hike; soon it’s time to start training him in harness!

The trails in Finland are well marked and often offer good facilities along the way. During the second half of August most of the mosquitoes are gone and one can enjoy the scenery in peace and quiet.The beautiful autumn colours don’t start to appear until September, which is also a great month for hiking in Lapland. The website www.Outdoors.fi has useful information about trails and nature areas in Finland, and is available in Finnish, Sámi, Swedish and English.

We had visitors today! Three handsome reindeer came by to say hello after breakfast. They stayed for over an hour and in the end I had to chase them away as they came a bit too close for safety. The reindeer are odd animals, sometimes they are shy and run away as soon as we look at them, and sometimes they seek our company by following us around on the property. Right now they seem mostly curious about the dogs but since they are unpredictable and their antlers are dangerous we try to keep them at bay. After the morning’s excitement we went down to the river to cool down. It is true what they say – every day in Lapland holds at least one small adventure 😉

A young bull?

Impressive antlers!

The river runs peacefully at the edge of our property. The water is always ice cold.

Both Hilary and Wilder love to get wet!

Wish I could have let them swim and play off leash, but it isn’t safe when the reindeer are around.

“I’m so thirsty I could drink a whole lake!“

On my way to Hetta for a few days of cosy cabin life. Nothing major planned, just going to enjoy the quiet life in the forest, pick some berries and mushrooms, read books and hopefully catch up with some old friends. My travel companions, Hilary and Wilder, will probably drag me along on some hikes too, but my aim is to have a relaxing holiday rather than an extremely active one, if I can.

It’s always special to return to Lapland, as this is where my roots are and where I feel most at home. Most likely we will be relocating the kennel back up north in the future. Not next year, and probably not even within five years, but some day. Meanwhile, going here on holiday is quite nice too 🙂

Last week we visited the Höga Kusten (The High Coast), about three hours south, for a fun day hike in beautiful surroundings. The High Coast is listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and is named after the area’s many tall cliff formations that were created by postglacial rebound. The Skuleskogens National Park lies just off the European Highway E4 and is one of the many attractions along the approx. 130 km long High Coast Trail. The area is suitable for both easy day hikes and longer treks and dogs are welcome too, as long as they are kept on a leash.

An impressive entrance to the higher sections of the trail.

The majestic Slåttdalsskrevan ravine is almost 200 metres long and only 7 metres wide.

From the Slåttdalsberget we enjoyed fantastic views of the Bothnian Sea and the archipelago.

The way down was rather steep and rocky – a good opportunity to train “slow down”, “go behind” and “stop!”. Both Hilary and Wilder did a god job following these commands.

In the forest we had to keep our eyes on our feet to avoid stumbling over protruding tree roots.

In many places the ground vegetation was already showing off beautiful autumn colours.

Our hiking companions – Hilary & Wilder. Can you tell that they are half-siblings?

Puppy Wilder had a fun day on the trail 🙂

This week he turns 7 months old – time flies!

If you’d like to find out more about the High Coast, visit www.hogakusten.com and www.skuleskogen.se It’s an accessible part of Sweden – situated about halfway between Stockholm and Haparanda, on Sweden’s beautiful east coast.

Puppy Wilder (6 months) had some fun with Titan (4 years old) today. Big sister Hilary (2 years old) was there to make sure Wilder behaved himself around an older dog. Hilary is a sweet girl with a rich vocabulary that enables her to get a friendly response from most dogs that she meets. At home she can be a bit of a boss dog too – making sure everyone are on their best behaviour 😉

After the play session we went down to the beach to cool down. It’s summer again!! 🙂 

Wilder attended his first match show yesterday and was BIS-2 Puppy! We are very proud of him, especially since he just entered a fear period this weekend. The timing is pretty uncanny, since I  said in my previous blog post that so far Wilder hasn’t shown any fears! Fear periods often start overnight and for us the change became very apparent as all big and dark items, such as loud speakers, bin bags, baby buggies etc. were suddenly really scary. It’s pretty amazing how much a fear stage can affect a puppy – going from absolutely bomb proof to suddenly being apprehensive about new things. The Second Fear Period (6-14 months) is believed to be tied to the dog’s sexual maturity and that makes sense in Wilder’s case, as he has just recently started lifting his leg. The judge was really nice and gentle and got us through the show and hopefully the fear period won’t last too long. If you are interested in learning more about Fear Periods in dogs, dog trainer and behaviour consultant Adrienne Janet Farricelli has written a good article on the topic.

It was really cold up in Southern Lapland, I wore jeans and a jacket but wished I had brought my down parka and woolly hat! Perfect weather for showing Mals though.

Handsome Wilder with his pretty ribbon – good boy!

As you may have noticed, right now this blog is focusing a lot on our puppy Wilder. He’s at that age when a lot is happening in his life and I’m using this blog mainly as a diary for myself – to keep track of things. Our adult dogs are of course keeping busy too, since the summer in northern Sweden came and went in May, and left us with cold weather during most of June and July, our fall training has already started and Fredrik has been taking out the dogs with the bike or cart for a few weeks now. I will write more about our working activities later in the fall, right now I’m pretending it is still summer, even though the thermometer reads depressing 12 degrees (54 F) 🙁