More of a bitch every day!

So it's official - Liska is having her first rutting season as I write. Well, actually she's not quite there yet, as for now she's only leaving a red trace throughout the apartment.
I'm so proud of her though - already such a big girl!
Unfortunately is she not only bleeding, but also showing all the other signs of a bitch having her period. She is constantly stopping to smell every scent we pass, and she's a nightmare to handle compared to her well behaved normal self. Luckily, me and my little brother are taking her away for some days of mountain hiking at the time when she's most fertile. It's going to be a bit difficult to handle here in Martin, seeing as her best dog friend is all-time-horny little Party-Pax.
I've been reading everything I can find online about a dog's reproductive cycle, and have found out some interesting facts:

- Some bitches come into season as often as 4 times a year, while most common is about every 7 months.

- Bitches actually have a clitoris too - so much for mating instincts...

- Although I knew this from personal experience with my family's last dog; it's actually not very uncommon that a bitch who runs free and has the chance, ends up giving birth to puppies of several fathers in the same litter!

The reproductive cycle of a dog is divided into proestrus, estrus, diestrus and anestrus. Proestrus is the time when the ova matures in the ovaries, and estrogen levels rise. Estrus is the period when the estrogen levels are at the peak, and the mature ova are released from the ovaries. This is the period in which the bitch has the desire to mate, and the chance of getting pregnant. Diestrus is either a period of pregnancy, or just a period between estrus and anestrus for the non-pregnant bitch. Either way, progesteron levels will rise, and some non-pregnant individuals may experience pseudo-pregnancy. The pseudo-pregnant bitch may produce milk, make nests, be super-cuddly and gain quite a lot of weight. The last period, the anestrus, is the reproductive resting period.
It's going to be quite interesting to see the different phases in Liska. It's really such a miracle, how the body works these things out!

Back on track

So we're back in Martin. Liska has grown a lot, and suddenly looks more like a dog than the little puppy she was when I left for Norway a month ago. It's just like everything is falling into place when we're together again. Martin and the apartment is just how we left it, except there are few Norwegians left in the city, and we've been having a new roomie for this last week - Maria from Madrid, also a member of the famous dog club, just without her own dog for the time being. But overall, we're already getting into our normal everyday routines.

I don't think I lie if I say Liska's been having a great summer. She's spent her holidays in Zabovresky with her mother, her sister and the rest of the Nobby Rock kennel. But although we've both had our share of fun this summer while being away from one another, nothing beats seeing each other again! And she's still just the same little girl I left a month ago, only a size bigger. And a bit more brutal when playing with her doggie friends. And a bit more confident.

Today we've spent most of the day in Skanzen, barbequeing with the coolest dogs and people in Martin. Liska is still not very fond of swimming or taking baths in the river, unless we're at just the right place. I really want her to be a water-loving dog, so I hope that in time she'll be right there with me...and I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!

Liska the flying hero

Settling down

We've been living with Christina and Zalomon for some weeks now. Liska had a bit of trouble settling down at first - her potty training was suddenly not what it had been and we've had to clean up a couple of puddles here and there. Now it seems as though she finally feels fully at home here, and she's back to her old rythms.
Maybe a bit too much of that home-feeling though. She's gotten quite fond of chewing stuff to pieces. The other day, she got hold of a box full of tissues that she ripped apart and decorated the entire living room with. Quite a sight, according to Christina...luckily I wasn't there.
She also likes to carry our shoes around the house. I've found mine in her crate, under the living room table and below the sink in the bathroom to mention some.

My mother and my youngest sister, Maria, have been visiting. We had a great time, and Liska and Maria are now the best of friends. My mother, apparently, is not that trustworthy...it took Liska days to let her handle her.

Oh. I wish I knew a vet who spoke english. I have been finding bumps under Liska's skin on several places, especially along the neckline. Does anyone know what it might be? My local vet in Martin tells me Liska has got acne, but I'm not sure I believe her. She did nothing more than feel them and tried to stick a needle in one of them (unsuccessfully, because Liska wouldn't stay still).

Moving out, doggy style!

Yeah...me and Liska are on the move again.
The luckiest thing (for us, that is...) happened the other day, when our good friends Christina and Zalomon suddenly had a room for rent and invited us to come and live with them in their big, lovely flat.
We've been hanging out there quite a lot lately, and we are looking so much forward to settling down there - dogs and people.
Liska and Zalomon are really good together, and so far I can easily say the same about me and Christina, although we have not known each other long.

Today, I've been training with Liska. She is really good at walking side now, and I'm eager to learn her all sorts of things. Easier now too, when summer has come and we stay outside for many, many hours every day.