puppy fever

[cimorene]

My sister-in-law in Turku is actively looking for a dog of the bichon type, perhaps a Maltese, and it's exciting. Discussion of the hunt awakened a powerful wistfulness in me, especially because Wax has been periodically attempting to prepare me for the possibility that we can't get the boatshed/external garage de-mildewed enough to build a chicken coop in it, which would mean I can't have chickens after all. I've been planning all along to probably get a dog once the house is done being renovated, but now I really don't want to wait (I still totally plan to wait, because I have to, but I don't have to like it).

If I did want to get one right now I'd probably be in trouble though, because there's an understandable puppy boom in progress and there are waiting lists everywhere. I want a good Finnish farm dog that's adapted for the climate and the task of watching smaller animals and isn't too genetically prone to disease, which almost certainly means I want a Finnish lapphund. I've been looking at pictures of them for a while and thinking about it. And bombarding people with said pictures and factoids about the various native Finnish domesticated animal breeds.

Comments

[brownbetty]

Wow! That picture gives me the idea it's a sort of medium-size breed? Like, maybe king pomeranian sized?

[spark]

I've been following creekfiend on tumblr as she rhapsodises about her Swedish buhund puppy, which I guess is more equivalent to the Finnish spitz, but still in the general family of clever medium sized pointy nosed Nordic farm dogs? Anyway, you might enjoy.

Forgive the question, but why would your chicken coop have to be in the mildewy garage, as opposed to in your outdoor space?

[cimorene]

Because it's too cold for chickens outside in the winter. The garage has electricity already! We probably couldn't afford to build a new conditioned space any time soon.

[spark]

ahhh makes sense.

[cimorene]

They are larger than a medium spitz according to that site. Look similar in scale to a beagle at times, other times a bit larger. Wiki in English says the breed has a weight range of 15 to 24 kilograms (33 to 53 lb), depending on the size of the dog.