Summer & sand

There's nothing so mind-clearing and relaxing as spending the afternoon on an empty beach. A great start to the holiday!

Lathyrus maritimus - sea pea or "strandärt" in Swedish. 

Glad Midsommar / Happy Midsummer!

By the seaside at Bjuröklubb - Midsummer's Day 2011.

Plans for summer

We're planning a cool mountain packing trip this summer and I'm already dreaming myself away...

  This is the place where we'll be hiking - can't wait!
Check out Jack Brauer's beautiful mountain sceneries at http://www.widerange.org/

We use the Wenaha Dog Pack on our hikes and are really happy with how well it functions in every weather.

It's really important that your dog is comfortable wearing his pack, especially during a multi-day hike.

 

Besides Wenaha, there are also many other brands available on the market. For those of you who are planning to go hiking with your dog this summer and need a dog pack - here are links to a couple of manufacturers:

• Wolf Packs - An American brand that can also be bought in Ireland, Iceland and Australia.
• Ruff Wear - Another American brand with retailers all over the world, including Sweden.
• Granite Gear - An American brand which so far is only available "over there". Their Alpha Dog Pack and Long Howl Dog Pack look pretty cool!
• Mountainsmith - A brand that is available in most countries in Europe, as well as in North America.
• Snowdogs -  A Swedish brand with good reviews (I've never tried it myself). 
• Laika Kløv - Norwegian brand with many "best in test" awards.

 

One reason why we prefer the Wenaha Dog Pack is its durability. We have never had a problem with zippers or seams even though the packs have often been under water and used in snow and rain. The Wenaha pack is also very roomy and can pack lots of useful items that you need on your hike. Many of the newer packs are neat and small and we find it a lot more practical if our dogs are actually able to carry some of our bulky gear in their bags, such as extra hiking boots, dog food and cooking utensils.
 

A whole book about backpacking with your dog!

Charlene G. LaBelle has written a book on backpacking with dogs that covers the most important issues a beginner should know about packing. The book was published in 1992 but there's also a revised edition from 2004. The author is a breeder of Alaskan Malamutes under the prefix Belle Kennels in California. She is also director at the Alaskan Malamute Club of America.

Next week I'll post some tips on how to prepare for a multi-day hike with your dog. See you later! 

Tuisku's kids in Denmark

Our friend Toni Bøgemose Chrillesen of Unavoq Kennels in Denmark recently organized a Puppy Party for the Tuisku x Uniq litter. The pups are now 9 months old and are growing up fast. Here's a video from the weekend showing at least five of the siblings mingling with some older friends. I showed the video to Tuisku and he got very excited watching his kids, lol. :) Lovely to see so many dogs having fun together. Thanks Toni, and Bettina & Anders, for doing such a great job with this litter!

I found a photo of Tuisku from 2006, when he was the same age as his kids are now.

This is Tuisku's son "Tocho", owned by Toni, - definitely a case of "like father like son", don't you think?!

A visiting puppy

We had visitors today - 14-week-old American Akita puppy "Lova" and her owner came to visit together with our friend Johann. Lova and "our puppy-sitter" Gemma spent some time together but it's not always easy to communicate across breed boundaries.

What language do you speak?

Gem did her best but Lova was not overly interested in playing. 

Maybe if I make myself small you will come to me? 

 OK, I give up, but it was nice meeting you anyway. :) 

Lova is a cool pup, very pretty and confident. She wasn't taken aback by being greeted by five adult Malamutes. In fact, Little Miss Independent was not very interested in them at all. ;) 

We noticed today that mosquito season has started and we're hoping our Mosquito Magnet will work as well here as it did in Lapland. After spending time in the garden I now have bites all over. So far our dogs don't seem so bothered - having a thick coat in summer is not always such a bad thing!  

Summer snapshots

Lilacs and lupines.

Garden lunch - Gem chatting to Fredrik's 96-year-old grandmother.

Strawberries! I vaguely remember reading that strawberries can be toxic for dogs. When I Google it most sources claim that strawberries are safe. Anyone who knows for sure?

Cooling down with an evening swim - Tuisku loooves it!

Making new friends at the beach.    

There's something magical about summer nights in June...brings back happy memories from my childhood. 

A pair of fine eyes

While there are many features more important than eye colour for a working sled dog, dark eyes provide the soft expression which is a hallmark of the breed. I do love a pair of dark eyes in a Malamute. In fact, the darker the better!   

Long weekend

Bank holiday and beautiful weather - what a great combo! We had planned to go hiking during this long weekend but decided to stay at home since there is a lot of work that needs to be done around the house - such as mow the grass, mend fences, move logs and plant potatoes.

We're really loving our new location, it's a great place to be especially during summer. The birdlife in the village is incredible, we often sleep with the window open and it's like being inside a bird house! We haven't identified all the sounds yet but we have swans, cranes, canada geese, peewits, cuckoos, eurasian curlews and great spotted woodpeckers just outside the house and on a couple of occasions we have had golden eagles circling above us. There are beavers in the lake and moose and deer in the forest - the abundance of animals near our home is keeping the dogs busy at night!  

 Tuisku, Thunder and Gem exploring the fields.

Snowhow Shade of Raven, WTD, "Leia" at six years of age. 

      Titan's sprained foot has now healed and he can join in the games. 

Someone has stolen my slipper!

Evening fun on the fields.

Most of the dogs are still in full winter coat but they nevertheless seem to enjoy these early days of summer. So far, no mosquitoes and no bugs - let's hope it stays this way!