Puppies...they grow up so fast...

Me and Vojak just came home from a couple of hours in the park and at school. Vojak got on the weight again down at the clinic, and this time it stopped at 14.4 kilos. He's becoming a big boy, and all too fast!
In the park he had his first close encounter with the river. I went in as far as my wellies allowed me, and after first looking at me for a while, his eyes clearly saying: "I knew it. Mum's finally gone crazy!", he came running after to see what was going on. He loved it, and went mad after - just ran around and jumped in the air!

A couple of weeks ago we had my mother and two sisters visiting. We had a wonderful time, and Vojak grew very fond of his grandma and his aunties Karen Kristine and Maria! He did not have one boring second while they were in the house, and since he's not really used to getting mine and Halldor's full attention at all times, he actually slept longer than we did in the mornings. How great is that!?
Unfortunately, they didn't stay more than a short week, and I think Vojak really felt that they left a hole when they went back to Norway.

Vojak has lost some teeth, and gained some new ones since I last wrote, and I find it really fascinating to try and get a hold of those he loses to investigate how they look. He hasn't lost his canines yet, and they are small, so he looks really cute with his new, big incisors!I collect the teeth I find or help out of his mouth in a small cup, and I think I collected 6 out of 12, which I think is fairly good work, seeing as I never found a single one of Liska's teeth when she was a baby...
He also got up one pair of molars in his upper jaw, and one in the lower. They are massive! He really looks like a carnivore with those, I'll tell you that.

It's easy to see him developing these days, it all goes so fast. What I like the most is the way he understands more every day. He's good at remembering names - his favourite ones except mine and Halldor's being Belle and Chucha, his best friends in the dog world. Whenever I say one of their names, he runs for the door totally alert and ready to go play!He's also interested in all else that moves around him, and he can sit on the balcony for as long as it takes me to hang out the laundry and just watch people in the street, or birds singing in the trees outside. Totally enchanted.
The biggest problem with training him right now is his eagerness to go play with every dog we meet. We've been experimenting with super-treats and fun toys for every time he chooses to stay with us instead of running out to play, and it seems to be working according to plan. He is almost as crazy about food as he is about playing, and you can see how hard it sometimes is for him to decide, although in the end he somehow jumps to the right conclusion...well, most of the time anyway!

Dogs hate to be given baths, don't they?

At least, that's what experience raising 3 dogs have taught me. But with Vojak that's all turned upside down! He loves to be bathed. He loves attacking and drinking the water sprinkle from the shower, and he loves the warm water on his feet. And more than anything he loves the squeeky shoe he's only allowed to play with in the bathtub. It's amazing to have a puppy where the trouble is not getting him into the tub, but rather to pick him up and get him out of there again! Just watch him playing with Halldor as he's getting his bath a couple of weeks ago. It's a good thing he doesn't have anything against the tub, because he has to be in there quite a lot these days. The snow is half a meter deep outside and Vojak gets his stomach and thighs full of snowballs every time we are out playing. These, of course, have to be removed with a good spash of warm water after every round of playing outside...
Vojak got his rabies vaccine last week, and he'll be ready for Norway in July, which we're very happy about! We also got a general check-up at the clinic, and Vojak is a bundle of health. He weighs 10 kilos as of yesterday, and is gaining weight by the week. No wonder really, we never saw a dog so happy to see the food be put on the ground. He eats it up so fast it's like it was never there - and then he looks at us with those eyes, like saying: "Wasn't there more!?"
For now, we're giving him Royal Canin Maxi Babydog food, and although we've heard some criticism about their products lately, I have to say Vojak's doing wonderful on it. I don't know what to believe when it comes to pet food quality, everyone seems to have an opinion and I reckon the best thing to do is just feed them what you already do if they seem happy and healthy on it. At least that's a whole lot better than changing fodder every time there's a new number one in some review!

We've had a couple of days in Martin, where we used to live, so that Vojak could meet some of Liska's old buddies. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend a lot of time with everyone. Vojak got bitten by a Staffordshire puppy, a really cute girl with razor sharp teeth. It was unprovoced and quite scary, although he bled for just a moment and then ran on, happy as before. Mothers will be mothers, and I felt my heart in my throat as I registered what had happened. Luckily, Anniken was fast to take control of the situation, and it never got serious due to her reacting so quickly. We stayed with Anniken and Angel for two nights, and the two dogs got along really well. We're looking forward to play with them again next time, as well as we're looking forward to Vojak getting better aquainted with the rest of the Dog club dogs. I'm sure he'll be having a lot of fun with Pax, Kira and Ariel too in the future!

One month with Vojak

Lively, unafraid, mischievous, hungry, friendly, beautiful, playful and with razor sharp teeth - we have a new carnivore in the house!
Vojak has done wonders for us after he moved into our flat. Days seem lighter, moods are better, but...well, nights seem shorter, for some reason!?
Vojak is just a big ball of energy. He's already faster than we are, and he takes every obstacle around the house as a challenge. He'll be opening doors as soon as he's tall enough, and I'm sure he'll be able to open the cupbord door to where his food is in not very long now..
He really loves to eat, and in the morning when we've been out for the first pee and poop and me and Halldor really would like to stay in bed just one hour more, Vojak has no mercy on us. It's food time, and he's ready!
We've been busy with socializing him this past month, and he really has gotten a lot of friends both on four legs and on two. The children in the building are all very fond of him, and they often come to the garden whenever we're out to play, just to have a cuddle! And guess who loves the attention!? We've also worked on getting him used to different environments; he's been to vet school and charmed all my teachers, he's also been with us to the city, to the clinic, in the park, the forest, the hills, the noisy guard-dog neighbourhoods...you name it! And he's dealing well with all of it.
In a couple of days we'll be going to the clinic again to get him his rabies vaccine, which he can only get after the age of 3 months. I'm hoping he'll be as easy going then as he was for his last vaccine. If all goes as planned, we can take him to Norway in July - fingers crossed!

Memories - thank you, Liska

It's been a while, and that has it's reasons.
This autumn we learned that Liska had cancer, only 1 year and 8 months old! It was a great shock to us that such a healthy-looking and energetic dog could be that sick. It all started with some sneezing, which we consulted a veterinarian about. After a while, the sneezing was followed by swelling in the nasal region. We demanded that they took an x-ray, and it turned out she had something as odd as an ameloblastoma, a benign cancer in the oral cavity connected to the dental development.
Liska had surgery to remove the tumor, but only got worse. She died quietly the week after, and we asked for a pathology. It turned out the cancer in the mouth wasn't the only thing wrong in that small body of hers. She'd suffered from multiple tumors of multiple origins spread throughout most of her body. Her body was so totally worn out when she finally died, that it's almost unbelievable she could keep going as long as she did, looking so healthy and thriving to our eyes. She must have been fighting it so hard, for so long, while fooling us all with her joy for life and her unstoppable energy.

I think loosing Liska has been one of the most difficult times in my life, and it's still difficult to realize she's gone for good. Still, I'm glad the suffering she must have felt finally came to an end, and that she got to find peace while being held and cared for by the ones she loved, her "pack".

Dear Liska,
being my first dog, you've meant so much to me that it's impossible to really explain it. You've been the best friend in the world, and that's a bond nothing can break, not even something as consistent as death.
I like to picture you in dog heaven, looking down on us as you take a break from doing all those things you love - jumping high, running fast, chasing cats and catching balls!
Wherever you are, I'll never forget all those special moments and memories we had together the short time you got to spend down here. All the hours we spent together playing hide and seek in the fields, your crazy flights to get the frisbee before it touched ground, and exploring the world together every day.
You are the most special dog I've ever met - the most loyal and caring dog, and the most playful one too! Not one day went by that you didn't let me know how much I meant to you.
I remember picking you up in Zabovresky when you were only a baby - the wildest and most lovable baby puppy I'd ever seen. I remember how I was supposed to bring home one of your sisters, but instead ended up with you - because that was just how it was supposed to be. And not one moment have I regretted it. Even though our time together was much too short, there's no one else I'd rather spent it with!

I remember how you came to Slovak class with me in the beginning, because you were not happy being away from me too much.
And I remember how you later used to look for me and Halldor through the window of our flat, waiting for us to come back - or just checking if the coast was clear to do some mischief!?
When I think of you, I remember all those happy moments seeing you grow up to become that wonderful dog that everyone who got to know you, couldn't help falling in love with..
You didn't only mean the world to me, you also lightened up the days and lives of all your other friends who loved you, and who you loved back.

We just brought home a new, little baby. Vojak's from Zabovresky too, and I think you'd really like him. He's unlike you in so many ways, but on the inside he's the same material as you, and having him around keeps all those wonderful memories alive.

Thank you, Liska, for giving us all those wonderful moments and adventures to remember you by!

What happens in Roudnice...

Of course, in the time of exams nothing feels better than updating ones blog!

Since the last update, our family of three went for our first real road trip.
The car was rented for the weekend, and as it had no air conditioning whatsoever, we were sweaty and happy to finally reach our destination after a day and a half of driving on country roads.
We put up our tent just by the track, at a sweet camping-place just by the river Labe, which runs through the beautiful old town of Roudnice - location of the Belgian Shepherd World Championship of 2009.

People came to Roudnice from all corners of the world. Cars from Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden were parked outside the show grounds, where beautiful Belgians could be observed mastering sports like agility, mondioring and tracking, and where eager dog-lovers stood in line to pay up for their dog's chance to win 1st prize in exhibition!

As we stood there, ready to part from the 50 € it was going to cost us to walk our three exclusive rounds with the dog on a leash, we had no idea that the hard work we had done on brushing off all of Liska's winter fur the day before would actually harm her chances!
It wasn't until we came home again that we found out from the Norwegian Kennel Club's data that it could be not less than disqualifying for a Belgian to be put on show without underfur. News for us! Liska got away with a "Very good" diploma, also reminding us how little we indeed know about dog-shows, as it says conclusively; "Completely out of coat today!"

The judge was very fond of Líska though, and as we went to talk with her after the show, she had only good things to say. I would not be surprised if she'd let Líska get to the top if she had just not shed her fur yet! We had a lot of fun that weekend anyway. Halldor was completely fascinated by the activities on the mondioring track, and I hardly get tired of letting the agility dogs and their masters impress me!

And the town of Roudnice Nad Labem is a sight - a typical Czech small-town with a town center that lets you believe (for a short time only) that you're in a city of some size, with just farmlands upon farmlands stretching out around it!
We might just take a trip to visit it again.

I would love to write more, but Liska hurt her paw and I should go tend to it - and then maybe study a bit for my physiology exam before today is over and panic enters the building...