Meatsicle

« Double exposure panorama of the Sibelius monument and Jarkko acting goofy with Otava. Click on the photo for a larger version. »

One of the slight drawbacks to enjoying the company of a large, furry canine, bred to rescue people frozen in the snow, in your life is that when Helsinki becomes western Siberia you have to take the dog, who is oblivious to the cold, outside for a minimum of 30 minutes four or more times a day since every pile of snow must be leapt upon, rolled around on, dug into and thoroughly enjoyed. Thermal underwear is my best friend at the moment since I nearly froze last wednesday night when the wind was driving the 0F temperature down to the neighbourhood of -25F. It hasn't warmed up since then, either. Otava romps around as though it were a summer's day only with mountains of snow and balls of ice on his paws. He's like a kid where every day is a snow day. I just try to keep from transforming into a meatsicle on the other end of the leash and think happy, warm thoughts about moving to the surface of the Sun.

permalink Ω 22 January 2006, Helsinki

Koirametsä

« Minimal signage pointing the way to the 50 hectare dog forest in Sipoo. »

Since we still had the use of the rental car on Sunday we drove out to the koirametsä, a 5 hectare dog forest owned by the City of Helsinki, out in Sipoo as I had known about it for a while but never managed to pay a visit. A journalist from Poland actually asked me about it a while back when she was doing an article on dog parks around the world for a Polish dog magazine and used a few pictures from the Helsinki dog park guide I had made. She had heard something about the forest but couldn't find anything in English. It doesn't get much publicity and a lot of the dog owners in our dog park have never heard of it, which is a pity since it really is a huge and lovely place for dogs to enjoy being free to run. It was rated as the best dog park in Helsinki in a recent article about the 80+ local dog parks in the Helsingin Sanomat, too.

« A wide meadow flanked by trees and paths leading into the forest. »

The only rule is that dogs must be leashed or trained well enough to heel on command from 1 March through 19 August to protect much of the wildlife that inhabit the area during their breeding season. The rest of the year dogs can roam at will. There is also a mention that puppies under 5 months of age may be free of the leash at any time which I suspect is the source of the mistaken idea of many puppy owners in the city who frequently comment that puppies are exempt from the leash law. As far as I can tell, the rule only applies to the koirametsä.

(Note: A very nice reader sent some clarification of the leash laws that some might find useful. There are two laws; Järjestyslaki and metsästyslaki. Järjestyslaki applies to metropolitan areas and stipulates that all dogs, regardless of age, must be leashed at all times. Metsästyslaki requires that adult dogs outside of densely populated areas be leashed from March 1st to August 19th to protect wildlife during their breeding season but that puppies may be unleashed at any time.)

The forest is filled with a variety of terrain; marshy low areas, rocky nobs, wide meadows, soft mossy forests and streams. Plenty of opportunities exist for a dog to run, explore, play and get wildly muddy/dirty. It's dog nirvana. :) Take water along, wear good boots and use a compass or GPS as there is no map or marked trail and it's easy to get lost.

The directions on the Helsinki Parks Department directions to the forest are a bit vague, especially if you don't know where things are and the Sipoo map site only works with an IE browser. There is a mention that busses go to or near the forest, but I've not yet been able to figure out the schedule and routes. I made a few extra maps to make it, possibly, easier to find.

• Location in the Helsinki Area (red star on the right).
• Street level location (red star parking area)
• More detailed local map with driving directions.

« Otava bounds down the trail. »

permalink Ω 23 November 2005, Helsinki

Lucky Dog

« Curving architecture. »

Had you asked me yesterday what the most unlikely thing I would ever expect to happen I probably wouldn't have said, "To have my dog jump out the window." No, that wouldn't even have been in the realm of possibility as, generally, dogs will burn in a fire before leaping from any measurable height. Or so I thought.

Like any normal weekday afternoon, one of us goes home between 1 and 2pm to walk Otava and give him his lunch. I was a little later than usual since I wanted to inflict the chiffon pumpkin pie on my coworkers, who actually seemed to really like it, thus deepening my curiosity about the lack of pumpkin in the local cuisine. So, about 2.30 I arrived at the door to the house and was immediately met by the woman in the travel agency across the way and a cop informing me that my dog had jumped out the window. I figured they must have had me confused with the folks next door who have a little fifi dog who would, unlike my dog, actually fit through the window. No, they insisted, they had the right person. I followed the cop around back to the yard thinking "WTF!" the whole way. I expected to find either a dead dog or a dog needing euthanasia. What I found was a rather confused and bleeding puppy sitting in the back of a police van.

I got my first, and hopefully last, ride in a police van on the way to the vet. I felt around and, in spite of the blood from his chin, he seemed rather miraculously sound. I, however, was freaking out wondering what could possibly drive a dog to jump out a window. I asked the cops if there was an intruder in the house or something but they had only just responded to the call about the flying dog so they didn't know. I asked Jarkko to go by the house and check while we waited in the vet's office to see if there might be some obvious explanation.

There was no intruder and no obvious answer, either. The windows are about 1m from the floor and have a rather wide ledge inside for plants and whatnot since the radiators sit beneath them. Otava has never shown much interest in the windows but yesterday every windowsill had paw prints on them which suggests that he was desperately looking for a way out. He found one in the window that I leave open just a crack during the day so he can get some air as it can get warm. According to the people who witnessed this rather unbelievable event, he stepped out of the window with his front paws on the flashing and then somehow found himself down on the ledge below it. Uncertain on how to get back in, he dropped to the ground about 4m below, hitting a vent box on the way down. Jarkko's theory is that he needed to poop since he apparently pooped immediately afterwards, which is a perfectly natural reaction to such a traumatic event. I'm unwilling to believe that and think some sort of sound scared him to the point of panic, but it's just a guess. Perhaps Otava is part cat, certainly he used one of nine lives yesterday if so.

The vet barely gave Otava an exam and I had to ask them to give him something for the pain and cleaned the blood off his legs and face while we were waiting for Jarkko to return. I gather they're not very keen on the larger dogs. We'll be taking him to our regular vet tomorrow for x-rays since a dog of this size falling 4-5m onto hard surfaces is almost certain to cause some damage to the bones. His appetite is good and he seems normal with the only visible signs of trauma being the abrasion under his chin and a few mashed toenails, but I want to be sure that he hasn't dislocated or cracked any of his leg bones. Ironically, I had only just sent an email to the breeders telling them how happy and healthy his one year birthday was, along with a few pictures, before heading home to give him his lunch.

I had to run back to work to finish something and bumped into one of Otava's puppy pals on the way to the bus stop. I mentioned Otava's attempt to fly to the owner and he said he had already heard about it from a friend who had gotten an SMS. Man, this is a small town. :) So, thanks to the folks who saw him jump and grabbed him before he wandered into traffic and called the police. And thanks to the police, too, as they were very nice and rather concerned for him as well. Why he went through the window remains a deeply puzzling mystery, but next time, I hope he has the sense to use the front door. Meanwhile, the windows will remain shut.

Given the confluence of natural disasters lately and now this, I really am starting to wonder if something very strange is afoot in the grand scheme of things.

permalink Ω 11 October 2005, Helsinki

Deliverance

« Otava looks at me with boredom as I try to take a photo of him. »

Otava will turn 1 year old this coming Friday Sunday. It seems impossible that time has passed so quickly. The giant breeds remain puppies until they are 18 months so, though he is already about 70kg/155lb, he may grow a little bit more before he is finished. I'm thinking of making him a meat cake and having a little party to celebrate his solar year of life. He was born the day after HB died and I fancifully imagined early on that he might be HB reincarnated but, no, Otava is very different in spite of sharing many common breed traits and quirks that I've come to be unable to live without.

We went to dinner on Friday with a friend and a colleague of his visiting from the US and, as the evening wore on, my sense that I will experience extreme reverse culture shock when I go back home for a visit became rather acute. The guy was nice and all, but the only things going through my mind were; when does he breathe, can the people outside on the sidewalk hear him and how am I going to survive a few weeks of this? The first year or so I was here, before I started getting to know people, I'm sure that the few friends who suffered an evening with me having a chance to talk after spending most of my days alone thought of me in much the same manner. It's likely, too, that there are Finns who have defected to the land of freedom fries only to return for a visit and have a similar effect on their family and friends. I just have this feeling of dread that it's going to be absurdly overwhelming to reenter the US for any length of time.

Do Finnish vendors know how to party or what? A few of us from work are being taken up north for a few days for some wining and dining while the vendor shows us some of their new wares. I thought that this sounded pretty cool, in spite of my being the only female in the group of guys, but then there came the mention of cabins and canoes and ATVs. Uh, what? Cabins?! I was thinking a nice hotel and maybe some theatre or movies were going to be on offer but, no....it's all sauna and mökki. I swear, if I hear banjoes or hog calls, I'll run towards the nearest airport. Nothing like a bit of Finnish Deliverance to sell hardware.

permalink Ω 3 October 2005, Helsinki

Prune Mafia

« Otava eyes a pair of swans and considers swimming over to them until one of them hisses at him. He pouted for the rest of the day. »

What is it about my freak magnetism that I seem to especially attract crazy, nasty women of the over-40 set who feel the need to give me some sort of sermon about how cruel it is of me to have such a big dog anywhere but on a farm out in the country while out enjoying a relaxing walk and minding my own business? The usual ignorance about large dogs often grates on my nerves but these people with the idea that big dogs are more energetic than, say, a psychotic Jack Russell or German Shepherd are really starting to try my patience since obviously they've never had a big dog and possibly never had a dog at all.

Why people feel the need and the confidence to pontificate on how big dogs don't belong anywhere but the countryside is beyond me, but the next time some prune faced old hag comes up to me and starts to give me shit, I think I'm just going to come unhinged. Maybe there's an old pissy bitch network that will natter about how one of their operatives got bitched out by some crazy woman and lay off for a while or move their operation to another part of the city. Oh, and bitches, my dog's name is not Beethoven.

Having gotten that out of my system....The Helsinki Parks Department who also maintain all the dog parks have rather curiously added a dog park map [pdf] that is nice for getting a general big picture of where the parks are in the city but there's no information to accompany the dots which makes it not very useful for much else. If I get time, I may take the pictures and info from the dog park guide for area I and maybe make an image map to make it useful in some way. It would be interesting to see the locations of the dog parks mapped with the distribution of dog ownership in Helsinki, too.

The toxic algae season has arrived as well. Rajasaari is already on yellow alert so dog owners should check the warning map daily since it is deadly toxic to dogs. No more swimming for a while. :(

The Helsingin Sanomat had an article in the last week or so about doggie day care coming to Helsinki. I think it was ~20eur/day or so and likely only for the small dogs but I think it's a great service that will likely become very popular. The päivähoito is called Rakkaat Haukut and the day care is on Lauttasaari as well as a number of canine obedience courses that I've been considering for Otava. And, WETNÖZ, a dog specialty company, has a cool new toy called the 'spring roll' as well as some new very pretty looking bowls and scoops.

permalink Ω 19 July 2005, Helsinki

Dogfish

« In a lattice of light and shade, Otava wades around looking for his tennis ball near the shore of Rajasaari just across from the Prime Minister's residence. »

Otava turned out to have only a mild bit of 'tonsilitis' after we got him into see a vet who wasn't on holiday :) He has been taking antibiotics and 10ml of human cough syrup with every meal. Now he is all perky and is constantly begging us to take him swimming, so today I think we'll take him up to Tervasaari and I'll confuse him by swimming with him as it's hot here with no A/C relief. Aside from sweating and taking the dog swimming there just ain't much going on.

For those who missed the thrill of yet another giant cruise ship disgorging a hundred or so mac geeks onto the city, the macmania 'blog' has a few articles and photos from the Baltic cruise they took last week. If these guys are the Macworld editors, the excrutiatingly dull writing might explain why the magazine really isn't worth buying these days, but it does mention Finland and Helsinki at least once.

And for those not afraid of Flash, Mari suggested Baarikierros / Pub crawl [warning: requires a pop-up too] for all your bar hopping needs in Kallio. The pubs are colour coded for price and the descriptions are pretty amusing as well. :)

permalink Ω 10 July 2005, Helsinki

Mattress Porn

« Concrete barriers that look like a sea dragon in the North Port of Helsinki bathed in the bright glare of summertime. »

Otava seems to have come down with a cold in the past few days as he coughs occasionally, seems worn out and has a gunky nose. It's damned hard to nearly impossible to find a vet in the office in July which strikes me as utterly bizarre. What, one vet couldn't stay in the clinic through the month of July to see all the unfortunate pets who happen to get sick while the entire country is on holiday? It could be a case of Bordetella, a.k.a. kennel cough, which he had an immunization shot for but, like the flu shot for humans, it's not 100% effective in warding off all strains of the virus. This means, of course, that one of the dogs in the puppy park has been contagious with an oblivious owner. There was a bout of nasal ticks going around earlier this year which we were fortunately warned about early enough but, damn, why are people so stupid to bring their pets to common spaces when they shouldn't? From the aggressive dogs who try to eat Otava to bitches in season being brought to the park and various ailments being spread, I'm starting to wonder if we have a particularly stupid population of pet owners near our park. Once we have confirmed that he does have Bordetella, I think we'll post a very strongly worded notice at the park and keep him away from the park, again, for few weeks. Fucking hell, I'm pissed off.

Jarkko caught a bit of the home improvement bug after seeing a few friends' new homes recently and we suffered a bit of domestic shopping on Sunday hunting for a new bed since neither of us sleep very well and my back has gone straight to hell in the past few years. After looking through a few shops we arrived at one where, as soon as I walked in, I knew I wanted one of their beds. We tried a few of them and my conviction was complete. I have always had a 'gift' for choosing the most expensive object when given a selection with a wide range in prices which I affectionately call "SPENDAR", but nothing could have quite prepared me for the sticker shock on the prices of these beds. I had never heard of Hästens before Sunday but they are apparently legendary around here as hand-made Swedish beds. The 2000T, the top of the line non-motorized bed, will set you back a mere 17000 euro in the 180x210cm configuration. The not-quite-so-assrapingly-priced Superia model is only 4000 euro. Uh. Now, I'm willing to concede that we spend a third of our lives on this thing we call a mattress, but once I've given them an arm and maybe a leg or two, I won't be needing such a large bed anymore. I can't wait to receive the DVD and catalogue that I requested from the website as I'm counting on watching pure, unadulterated mattress porn for a few hours to hopefully put me off the idea. I must admit that the vision of the mattress industry teaming up with the porn industry to make mattress porn videos to vividly illustrate the virtues of boxed springs amuses me quite much. At least it would be honest advertising that got straight to the point. :)

And, geez, people are sure in a huff about Chirac's stupid quip about food...

You can't trust people who cook as badly as that [UK]. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food.

Having come from the collision of the possibly two most bland cuisines in the world, British and German, everything on the planet looks more interesting and edible than much of what is traditional in either country. With the exception of the still appealing haggis pakoras somewhere in Scotland, traditional British food is simple, hearty, not very frilly food. German and Finnish food are no different, really. Everything I know about French food I learned from Julia Child and French food seems to be the exact opposite of simple and hearty. But, either way, who cares if Jaques Chirac is being a typical snob about French food. There is an old saying about French cars that might apply to the food as well. If it isn't drowning in a sauce, it ain't French. :)

The French, they copy no one, then again, no one copies the French.

permalink Ω 6 July 2005, Helsinki

Isle of Dogs

« The lovely beach on Rajasaari, a.k.a. dog island. »

We skipped the Samba parade today and took Otava up to Rajasaari again instead. I've rarely seen a dog so happy as he is to run around like a crazed puppy and swim around in the water. I'm continually impressed by the dog parks in Helsinki and Rajasaari seems like one of the best kept secrets in town since there are never many dogs around when we visit. It's a rocky knob of an island with lots of trees, water and sand for dogs to play in freely off the leash. It's doggie nirvana. It sits just off the shore from the Prime Minister's home in Meilahti which likely prevents any development.

Otava certainly likes to swim, but we're going to have to work on his floating ball retrieval skills as he wades in like a water buffalo, drinks around it, sniffs and then wanders off while drinking more water in search of something more interesting. Perhaps we need to stuff some sausage into the floating kong ball to pique his curiosity. :)

I left work early on Friday in order to try some mämmijäätelö at the Häme regional fair in Senate Square. Many of the Finnish regions seem to offer these during the summertime and it's fun to try regional oddities. I am still pouting that we arrived too late for the mämmi ice cream and I'm thinking that I'll just have to make some myself. Otava got to try some of the boar pyttipannu since he caught a whiff of it while we were snaking our way around the stalls in search of ice cream and decided that he was going to park it in front of the pyttipannu stand until he was served. Oh, the ladies loved him and gave him a wee taste which sealed our fate of having to buy some and lure him away with it. At least he wasn't behaving like he does at the pet store where he walks along the treat aisle and just shoves his face into the bin of stuff he likes the most. :)

One disappointment was being with a friend who wanted to take some pictures of some cute ceramic pots in the Häme market. I was busy holding Otava, who was interested in heading towards the food section, and couldn't quite believe that the vendor started giving her an incredibly hard time about 'using the pictures against her' or some really wacky justification for being viciously rude instead of saying 'please, no pictures.' It didn't occur to me until we were walking home that it was very likely because the friend isn't white and I thought about going back without Otava to see if I would get the same treatment if I tried to take pictures of her cute, but unoriginal, pottery though I wasn't sure how I'd respond if the vendor were to smile and offer to show me other items while I was taking a few pictures. It's always the little things that get under your skin and fester.

permalink Ω 12 June 2005, Helsinki

Master Gimp

« The patient in recovery is unable to keep from fiddling with his bandages and is made to wear a t-shirt to keep him from damaging them. It looks more dignified than a cone, but makes him look goofy anyway. :) »

Given how the week has gone, including getting trapped in the lift that goes down to the machine room bunker at least 4 times, and that tomorrow is Friday the 13th I am considering staying at home and hiding under my bed with a book and a bottle of whisky. :)

Jarkko showed me a hilarious trailer for Star Wreck V: The Pirkinning tonight which made me try to think of how many space or sci-fi Finnish movies there are and I couldn't think of any. I thought the lack was somewhat curious. As the title might suggest, Star Wreck is a series that features characters with names that are fun to say, like Mr. Fukov.

We finally took Otava in for an x-ray after his limp continued and settled in on one leg. The x-rays showed that his hips are very good but that the elbow on the gimpy leg had an inflammation due to a thickening of the cartilage, a.k.a. Osteochondritis dissecans or OD, on the surface of the joint part of which breaks off and causes pain in the joint. The vet took him into surgery straightaway, removed the offending bit of cartilage and reported that the joint looked very good otherwise and that he should recover nicely.

He was awfully groggy when we went to pick him up and the vet seemed to think that he could gimp the few blocks home without a problem, but after about 20 metres he sat down clearly zoned out of his gourd, and drooled so we called a taxi to rescue us. As soon as he came through the door at home he flopped down in the hallway and I sat next to him and read a book for a few hours until he woke up and whined at me. I didn't want him to come out of the anesthesia alone since the last thing he knew we were sitting in the vet's office while he was thinking about food, sex or sleep. The vet suggested that we put a t-shirt on him if he started trying to lick or chew at his dressings and this provided at least an hour of comedy between getting the shirt on, giggling at how he looked in it and the amazing amount of attention he seemed to attract while walking him in the shirt. :)

In spite of his surgery, he is beyond eager to go to the park and play with his pals and exhibits an extreme amount of stubbornness when that singular goal is not achieved. He is all Missouri mule when it comes down to the battle of leaving the park. It's going to be a long month of petulant stubborn puppy while his joint heals.

permalink Ω 13 May 2005, Helsinki

Planet of the Anklebiters

« Otava curled up on the couch and looking adorable at six months. »

Since the weather was abnormally lovely over the weekend we spent most of it outdoors with Otava. On Saturday, we were taking a rest on a bench in the woods when a pair of small dogs walked by and, of course, started growling at Otava. After a few hilarious minutes of growling on one side and bewilderment on the other, the micro-dogs trotted on. After they had gone I chuckled for a few minutes as it hit me that George Lucas had seen this dog when he thought, "Aha! That's what an Ewok should look like!" I always wondered why the Ewoks growl in the movies and now I know. The Ewoks are just small dogs who are still short and annoying even on two legs. Gee, talk about a planet best avoided. Planet of the Anklebiters.

Sunday we went down to the rocks, a.k.a 'beach', on Suomenlinna and there were quite a few swans floating around near to the shore. Otava somehow got the bright idea that he should try and catch one of them. He stood watching them from a rock for a while and then dove to the next rock in hopes of getting closer to his desire. When he pulled himself up, the male swan arched his neck and hissed menacingly towards Otava even though it was far enough away to feel safe from this amateur canine. We were very amused but Otava sulked for most of the rest of the afternoon. I'm hoping that the pictures I took of him and the swan turn out well as it really was pretty funny. :)

permalink Ω 18 April 2005, Helsinki

Scene from Brazil

« A full moon hangs over the power tower in Töölö. I've always thought this building has a striking visual effect since the signs are all the same colour, which is unusual, and they converge on adjacent sides of the building. Maybe it's only because I usually see the building when I'm drunk and snarfing food from the Jaskan Grilli across the street. »

Otava kept us up most of the night as his itchy-scratchy condition reached critical mass. The HU Vet Clinic couldn't give him an appointment for two weeks so we had to find someone who would see him ASAP. I spent my afternoon at the vet and dragging my ass to the pet store for a new giant bag of food and to the pharmacy for some medications. First we try a medicated shampoo and topical pesticide in case it is caused by microscopic mites, otherwise we will have to start hunting down the allergen which could be a long, tedious process. But, for now, he's sleeping comfortably without itching and whining which is a major improvement for us all.

While I was waiting in the pharmacy, I was looking at the cute doggie lunchbox that the pet shop gave to me for buying the giant bag of food which opens into two bowls with a water bottle and a food compartment when some nice old guy sat down next to me and started chatting me up about how a metal one would be better and such. I was so tired that I just smiled and nodded since I don't think I could have made conversation even in English. The pharmacy downtown is straight out of a scene from the movie Brazil with the cascades of pneumatic tubes that transport fresh drugs from the basement up to the awaiting customers.

Sean Burke made my evening last night when he pointed out one of the best reads I've had in a while: Dabblers and Blowhards. Even if you're not a geek or one of the incestuous digerati who will find this cutting a little too close to the bone if they read carefully it's a fun read. I remember distinctly when my bullshit-o-meter pegged on 11 when Tim O'Reilly and bunch of others at OSCON one year were starting to go on about how programmers were really artists and could be funded by patrons of the art of programming, etc. I imagine we were drunk, possibly stoned, and still it seemed like an incredibly pretentious way to put a good face on dot.bomb unemployment. The downside of the essay is that we are reminded of ESR's treatise on oral sex for geeks at the end. Hurrr.

permalink Ω 6 April 2005, Helsinki

Growing Pains

« If only he could operate the remote control.... »

Take a teething puppy, keep his activity minimal [meaning no playing with friends in the puppy park] and reduce his daily ration of food and I can guarantee that even the most angelic puppy will turn into a petulant monster. We tried to take Otava to a nearby island on Sunday, where most of the area is a dog park, but not long after we got off the bus he started limping again, only on the other front leg. His limp became rather severe and once we got home I gave him some aspirin to help ease the discomfort a bit while I started hunting around the net for some information on what might be the problem.

I am unwilling to believe that it could be a joint abnormality and he has had no trauma or undue stress to his legs. I found something known as "panosteitis". I've known and had my own giant breed puppies for two decades and have never heard about this affliction. But, essentially, it's a result of him growing too fast. Large breed dog owners don't feed vitamin supplements and switch to adult food around four months of age to avoid the dangers of this happening. Somehow, in spite of doing everything right, he is still growing like a weed.

Panosteitis (commonly called "growing pains," "wandering lameness," or simply "pano") is associated with large breed dogs and usually occurs in dogs 5 to 12 months of age, although it has been found in dogs as old as 5 years. It most commonly affects males by a ratio of 4:1. Females are most often affected around their first heat. It is possible that the condition is partially genetic since so many German Shepherd Dogs are prone to it. However, many other factors have been associated with pano: diet, viral diseases, autoimmune problems, hyperestrogen, and vascular problems. In other words, no one knows what causes the disease. It is characterised by excessive bone production on the long bones and is an inflammation of the membrane covering the bone. Dogs will generally grow out of the problem, but it is a painful condition.

Symptoms: Favoring of legs, limping, being subdued. Pano is also called "shifting leg lameness" as it can show up in any leg and may come and go without warning. If the limping goes from leg to leg (for example, one day the dog limps on the right rear leg, and the next day, it limps on the left front), it is very likely the dog has pano.

Diagnosis: If the dog is x-rayed during a bout of pano, lesions on the area above the growth plates will be visible.

Treatment: Enforced rest is usually prescribed. Painkillers are controversial since the pup will play more without pain, and may exacerbate the condition. Some vets recommend a reduced-protein (usually an adult formula) diet.

The pathology of the disease matches the description of his symptoms almost perfectly. I've changed his food to a Nutro's low protein adult formula and started giving him 500mg of vitamin C. There's a lot of conflicting advice on the net, but the food, limited use of aspirin for the pain and reduced exercise make a lot of sense. The vitamin C hasn't been confirmed as helping, but the vitamin has a lot to do with calcium metabolism in the body so it won't do any harm at least. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it is just growing pains and that he'll grow out of it soon so we can enjoy the summertime.

On the lighter side, our new offices are very nice and my southern exposure window is terribly luxurious after years of dark cubes, although the drawback is that it is rather soporific in the late afternoon. For some reason there aren't any rubbish bins to be found anywhere in the building which is both mysterious and inconvenient.

It's Dr. Fun's Peeps Week again. I miss marshmallow peeps. :)

The photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's Earth From the Air series will be in Helsinki from the 17th of June through the 18th of September according to today's HS. I've seen the exhibit in London and will be happy to see it again as the enlarged photos are quite amazing. This summer, the London exhibit will be getting textured photos so that the blind may enjoy them as well.

permalink Ω 22 March 2005, Helsinki

Best in Show

« A competitor at a recent puppy show in Ruoholahti peeks out from his nest to check out the local scenery. A small gallery of photos from the puppy show. »

Otava couldn't go to a recent puppy show, but I went anyway with a friend just to see all the adorable puppies. I had originally imagined that it would be an amateur sort of fun show for owners and their pets, but there were a lot of serious owners there looking for serious competition although it wasn't quite Best in Show. The Kaapelitehdas is an old cable factory with a large space inside, which was filled to the gills, and giant windows that allowed sunshine to pour in, creating wide beams and pools of bright light like stage spotlights in each ring.

There were oodles of micro-dogs, golden retrievers, bernese and leonbergers. A trio of basset hounds were a source of much amusement as they would wrap their leashes around the legs of those who came within their reach. A group of great danes gathered in a large room off to the side to keep from unwittingly stepping on the tiny dogs. In spite of the tremendous difference in size and temperament, the scuffles were few. I bought one of the programmes and noticed that many of the registered names were in English which wasn't really what I was expecting. Some of them were pretty cute and amusing, too.

• Fanny Love - Makes me wonder if he is an ass biter. It's even more disturbing if the British translation of fanny is used. :)
• Unleash Me - ...my darling, let me go.
• Love Machine - Soon to be a big hit on the stud circuit.
• Angel of Demon - A dog with a split personality?
• Simple the Pest - Complex the solution.
• Darth Vader - He probably drools a bit more than the original. It breaks the tradition of fearsome names like 'killer' being given to chihuahua's and names like 'daisy' going to the giants like this one.
• Made in Denmark - Better than Taiwan.
• I'm Your Boogie Man - I'll bet his nickname is Freddie.
• Jet Plane Pilot - "This is your captain, woof woof wooof woooooof.."
• Miss Twiggy - for a labrador no less. :)
• Intercepted Pass - Don't play frisbee with this guy.
• One Night in Bangkok - gets his kicks above the waistline, sunshine. And I thought I was the only one who saw Chess.
• Bee in a Bonnet - for a shih tzu. awwwwww. :)

permalink Ω 21 March 2005, Helsinki

37.25 kilograms

« An ornate iron bird adorns a cornice on a beautiful Jugend building on Kalevankatu which had its façade restored last summer. »

We had an appointment with the veterinarian on Saturday and were pretty surprised to find that Otava now weighs 37 kilograms at the tender age of five months. HB only weighed 65kg when he was fully grown so, considering that Otava has 13 more months of puppyhood, I think he's going to be a bit bigger than I had originally thought. :) We asked the doctor about a slight limp in his left front leg we noticed that morning and, after a very thorough examination, the doctor thought it might be a slight sprain and that we should keep exercise to a minimum for the next two weeks in addition to a course of an anti-inflammatory drug. Already he is pretty pissed about not being able to go play in the dog park with his friends. He's young and it will likely heal and pass quickly, but HB had a sprain when he was 9 that never quite healed so I'm a bit nervous. The real disappointment was not being able to take him to the puppy show in Ruoholahti today. I went anyway and there were quite a few adorable puppies in a wide range of breeds, but not one single Saint Bernard.

I had to giggle at a friend's response upon hearing the name of the veterinary clinic; "HauMau? Is that a vet or a Chinese restaurant?" [to explain: hau hau = bow wow, mau mau = meow meow, HauMau sounds plausibly Chinese/Japanese and it's not unusual to joke around about the origin of the white meat in your Kung Pao Chicken.]

Of the many euphemisms for vomit and vomiting, Ralph is unusual as it can be male first name. I still giggle that the Finnish word is yrjö, a.k.a. George, which is also a male name. I don't know enough slang from various languages but I'm wondering if it's common to use a male name for vomit. Guys get a bad rap in Finnish slang [nice on-line Finnish slang website] as Urpo is a male name that can also be used for 'dimwit'. :)

permalink Ω 6 March 2005, Helsinki

20 Weeks

« Otava plays with Urpo. »

One of the things I regretted as HB got older was that I didn't really have many puppy pictures to remember him as a fuzzy and playful puppy. It's easy to forget so many of the details of a life that I've had to slowly relearn all the things I had forgotten about puppies in 13 years. I noticed I had a bunch of pictures from the breeder as well as some other photos of Otava's first few months and decided to mark his upcoming 20-week milestone with a small collection of photos of Otava from 1 week to 19 weeks old. I've not been out with friends in nearly 2 months, he rarely lets me relax on the couch in the evening, his teeth are making him cranky and thusly driving me nuts, but he's an adorable, cuddly little furry monster.

permalink Ω 4 March 2005, Helsinki

Tenacious Memory

« "Hey, pass me the remote and get me a beer wouldya?" »

I don't know who came up with the idea that dogs don't have a memory, but whomever it was never owned a dog or at least not a bright one. Otava has a mental catalogue of each and every tasty bit of puke, poop, discarded hesburger wrappers, sticks, dead birds, etc. within a 1km radius. I even think that sometimes he plots our walks and consciously takes me to these spots so that he can make one more attempt at eating whatever it is that I've kept him from. I have a hard time remembering what day it is or what I ate for lunch so his memory seems to be far more tenacious than mine. We are also pretty convinced that he actually watches TV when he's up on the couch next to me since his eyes appear to follow the motion and he perks up if a dog barks on the screen. Any day now he's going to be watching porn and ordering take-away while we're at work. :)

permalink Ω 26 February 2005, Helsinki

Green Cuisine

« There is a point where comic book frames and life merge. :) »

How is it that the puppy who turns up his nose at his bowl of gourmet kibble is the same puppy who finds a frozen green turd in the park absolutely irresistible? Is it the equivalent to a big sack of candy to kids? Mmmm....crunchy green turds.

permalink Ω 13 February 2005, Helsinki

Big Foot

« On the first night we had Otava, we were walking down the street and saw that someone had drawn a giant paw in the snow on a manhole cover. Perhaps it was a warning to small dog owners that a sasquatch, a.k.a. bigfoot, lives nearby. :) »

You know you've become a neighbourhood legend of sorts when kids you've never seen before come by the dog park on the way home and ask if the adorable furball is named Otava. He's something of a curiosity since there are so few Saints in Finland which is odd when there are so many Bernese [closely related to Saints] and Pulivari, the Saint in Aku Ankka. Some of the older kids, and adults, remember HB and start to ask if I'm the one with the other Saint and realise mid-sentence that they've not seen him for many months. He loves kids and trots up to them almost without exception and licks at their hands. Loud noises, especially the snow trucks and plows, still frighten him but I don't blame him as I'm not very fond of them myself. He has adjusted well enough now that I think it's time to have friends over to meet him finally as everyone wants to see how adorable he is at four months.

His personality is starting to manifest itself already. He's a climber. He cannot get enough of going up and down the hills in the park or diving into the big drifts of snow. The sofa has presented itself as his own personal Mt. Everest which he attempts to conquer each and every evening. Yesterday afternoon, I hid behind the door to the living room, to let him try it just once as he appeared to be looking for something in the cushions whenever he tried to scale Mt. Largesse. Through the crack between the door and the wall, I watched him wriggle his way up to the top, sniff a little, survey his domain and flop down into the cushions while letting out this loud, satisfied sigh. I suppressed the urge to laugh and walked into the room and pulled him off of the sofa. I fully expect that someday, when he's older and has full run of the house, I'll come home to find him on the sofa drinking beer, eating pizza, and surfing for porn on my laptop.

We are also convinced that he was a woodchuck in a former life since his lust for wood and paper of any kind continues; Books, paper towels, tissues, newspapers, trees/saplings and anything else containing trace amounts of wood pulp. He has not as yet figured out that the furniture is loaded with this magical tasty substance. He's housetrained, he knows how to sit, he knows how to come when called, but the cunning doesn't extend to getting the clue that all the furniture is made of wood. Of course, as soon as I utter these words he'll devour the entire dining room table in an afternoon. Well, I've always thought furniture was rather bourgeois anyway.

He is, perhaps, one of the most affectionate and well behaved puppies I've ever known. Aside from the occasional excited barking before meals, his fixation with the sofa and being reluctant to leave the house and/or the park [though he is improving], he's very attentive and happy. I happened to see a beef kidney at the market yesterday when I was out shopping and bought it since it was only a euro. I chopped it up, cooked it with some carrots and rice and gave him a bit of it with his dinner. I don't know that I've seen such a happy and contented puppy give such a look of utter love and devotion before. I think that he has decided to keep us. :)

permalink Ω 6 February 2005, Helsinki

Concentration

« Otava parked in the park. »

You never really appreciate how much concentration is required when sitting on the toilet until you have a furry beast who is tall enough to rest his head on your knees, has big brown eyes and whines in intervals perfectly timed to prevent you from succeeding in your moment of repose. It's also a challenge to stifle a giggle while issuing a throaty and stern, "NO!", when he bores quickly and seeks entertainment by chewing on my underwear or going for the TP, pre- or post-wipe. And I thought that I was the one who was easily entertained. I have no time to relax, no time to myself, not even in the toilet. :)

Otava is a bit of a silly puppy since he is very reluctant to go out the door to go outside but, once he is outside he wants to go to the park and when he's in the park he doesn't want to go back home. I'm not entirely sure how to correct this sort of behaviour since dragging a dog who is going to weigh more than you will in a few months is not an option and he won't be fooled by offers of treats, either. Honestly, I think he's pretty irate at being separated from 2 of his sisters who kept him company until he left home. Right now he's lying at my feet under the desk, quiet and contented, giving no indication of the rather implacable monster he was last night after the dog park was deserted and he didn't get a romp. He's a good puppy overall, but it's clear that he's going to be a lot of work in the next few months to make sure he doesn't become a problem child.

The dog park protocol is just like the kiddie playground protocol where parents chat and keep a watchful eye on their little darlings to be sure that they aren't precocious homicidal maniacs. Otava is at a difficult age since he's too big for the tiny dogs, too small for the bigger puppies and dogs, but he loves to play and tries to fit in just the same. Size doesn't always matter as there have been a few wee dogs who have managed to play rather well with him. We're starting to get to know who has which dogs and their names. I wish there were some sort of playdate sign-up board for dogs of similar size so that we could meet dogs he could play well with at a regular time every day since the look on his face when the park is empty just breaks my heart. He looks at his reflection in windows and the oven door and he whines and licks at it which is precious, too. I wish we had enough space for two.

Winter has finally come to Finland with -15C, snow and wind. I'm still wearing the waxed jacket from the warmer seasons and I will note that waxed canvas becomes stiff as cardboard around -10C which isn't really a desirable feature in a winter jacket. :)

And, since WLM didn't translate the article from last Sunday's Sanomat for the International Edition this week, Roman Schatz has a new book coming out in mid-February published by WSOY's boutique imprint Johnny Kniga called Suomesta, Rakkaudella in Finnish and From Finland, With Love in English. The article mentioned that he is a German man who has lived here for close to twenty years and wrote a column for a lacklustre English publication in Helsinki until the readers complained about his opinions which, from what I surmised from the story, contained certain truths about expatriate life that are difficult for some to come to grips with. One particular quote I found to be rather astute was that he said that he didn't consider himself a German anymore, but also that he wouldn't ever be quite Finnish either. This sort of 'stateless' identity is common for those who have left the land of their birth for another which may come to feel like home but will always have qualities of otherness to it unlike the place where you spent your formative years. There are very, very few books written by expats who are in it for a lifetime and not just a short assignment abroad, especially in Finland, so I'm hoping that the book is as good as the Sanomat makes me believe it will be.

permalink Ω 29 January 2005, Helsinki

Need Sleep

« "All politicians are shit. Make a statement by not voting." A fitting rebuke on inauguration day for all the people in the US who didn't vote. Four. More. Years. »

Otava is settling in well. At first he was shy and skittish but now he's enjoying his first snow and meeting other puppies in the dog park. His love for books and just about anything else continues which mandates constant supervision. We pulled HB's giant crate out of storage, cleaned it and gave Otava his own cozy personal mini-cave but he has spurned it. I had forgotten how much energy puppies have and how slow they are to tire. I haven't taken many pictures of him yet as I'm exhausted and he is always next to me or in constant motion. It's wonderful to have a dog back in the house again, even if it is like a 2nd full-time job.

permalink Ω 20 January 2005, Helsinki

Arrival

« Welcome home Courmayeurs Stairway to Heaven, a.k.a. Otava! »

We left for Stockholm on Sunday evening as it was finally time to go get our new baby and bring him home. The seas were pretty rough through the night and I began to worry that maybe an hour or three in a crate on a plane might have been a less stressful option than the slow overnight boat. Unless you enjoy the drinking or loading up on the duty-free stuff, there's really not much to do on these boats in bad weather except read and try not to think about the Poseidon Adventure.

After four or five hours of wandering aimlessly around Stockholm, we met the breeders back at the ferry terminal for our lovely puppy. It must be the most difficult moment for all breeders when the puppies go off to their new homes. The puppy arrived in the back of their Volvo wagon and I wasn't entirely sure what size to expect since it had been so long since HB was that age; he's 15kg, he has huge paws, he's only a little more than 3 months old. :) We said good-bye to Lasse and Sussi and took him to the ship which was a bit of an adventure since, for him, everything was new and confusing. Saints have a lovely trait of quietly observing the world around them and so, we did a lot of waiting while he observed and did a lot of coaxing to get him onto the boat before it left the dock without us.

He settled into the room on the ship rather quickly by comparison to the doubtful trek we took through the terminal. He drank some water, flopped down on the blanket we brought for him, toyed a little with the kong tennis ball and started napping shortly thereafter. We got some sandwiches from a cafe and sat around reading for a few hours when he woke up and tried to nibble on the book in my hand. Jarkko looked up and said, "Otava", the name of the great bear constellation and a book publisher, which I immediately thought perfect for him. He made all the right signals when he needed to go pee, even if he was more than reluctant to leave the room he seemed to love riding in the lift up to the 'poop' deck. He even slept through the night without much trouble, perhaps lulled to sleep by the hum of the ship's engines.

The EU has a new 'pet passport' regulation and it really does look like a passport with a photo and pages for a lifetime of vaccinations, vet certifications and customs stamps. We had to wait around for a little while for the Tulli guy to come around and check Otava's papers since the pet inspectors never seem to be on the premises. The same thing happened when we brought HB from the US as we could have cruised on through the airport into Finland, but if I go to the trouble to fill out the paperwork, someone better be prepared to check it. I was awfully surprised that the customs guy hadn't seen one of these new pet passports yet though.

We arrived home and tried to make him feel safe, loved and welcome so we gave him water, food and a little space to wander around and check things out. It must be so disorienting for him as everything is new and very unlike the cozy kennel out in the Swedish countryside which was all he had ever known until now. So far he has been very happy to stick as close to us as possible. He came with us for a brief visit to the local pet shop a few blocks away for a proper adjustable puppy collar and it seemed liked he trusts us a wee bit more. The next few weeks will be important to help him have as many positive introductions to new things as possible while teaching him what is and is not acceptable behaviour with much patience. And lots of love.

permalink Ω 18 January 2005, Helsinki

Instead of watching CNN

« A picture of our expected bundle of fur at 12 weeks :) »

Having caught up with the news after our holiday in a country that had few TVs and even fewer western newspapers, I just don't know what to say and will instead just share an adorable Saint Santa photo from the breeders that they sent to us. I love the look of quiet indignation at being made to wear the costume. :)

permalink Ω 1 January 2005, Helsinki

When puppies attack!

« Jarkko holds our eagerly awaited new baby. :) An entire gallery filled with adorable Saint Bernard puppies. »

We took a trip to southern Sweden this weekend to visit the litter of puppies we liked and to pick one along with the usual things you look at when selecting a breeder. The breeders, Lasse and Sussi, asked us to stay at their house and were really terrific people. As soon as we saw those 9 adorable little furry faces looking up at us any doubt we might have had disappeared. Of course, 9 puppies who are 7 weeks old and who are just getting their teeth in along with the teething that goes with them are dangerous creatures to everything within range of their mouths. :) We spent a few hours getting to know the furry piraña and decided on the puppy we liked originally from the pictures. We haven't picked a name for him yet, we'll just have to see what comes to us as a fitting name.

We have to wait until the first week of January to bring him home because of the EU regulations, in spite of Sweden being a rabies-free country, requiring that the puppy have a rabies vaccination before entering Finland. So, we must wait 5 long weeks until we can bring him home so he can fill the house with hair, drool, chew toys and all those familiar St. Bernard sounds that we miss so much. :) Happiness is a warm, fuzzy puppy.

permalink Ω 29 November 2004, Helsinki