Big boys, baths, work visits, and things that put a smile on my face - Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

Finally we meet some Newfies at Bråstein! These two chaps were 65, and 78 kgs! Both three years old with the most beautiful lush, black coats. Kin looked decidedly small and scruffy by comparison... this wasn't helped by both of them deciding to roll Kin in the mud (yeah, like he really needs help to do that!).

Met them on the beginning of the trip and then met them at the end... they went a lot longer than us. We took an inordinate amount of time to not go very far. Giant breeds you need to be very careful with when they are pups... despite this Kin might have started limping on the way back to the car when we met them again... Now the lass above is one of the committee members of the local Newfoundland club, and if indeed Kin did start to limp, this is a bit like being caught by the head master with a spray can in your hand and a particularly graphic description in wet paint on a wall directly in front of you... I'm by no means certain that Kin was limping, but nothing to be done but heave his 36 kg(ish) up onto my shoulder and carry him back to the car... he's been fine ever since, so if he was limping it was most likely something between the pads of his paws that I dislodged when I checked them.

The amount of exercise for a giant breed is a controversial point. Puppies (all breeds) have lots of energy. The trick is to burn off the energy without damaging the dog. One suggestion is that you should take the pup on trips that last a minute for every week of their lives, so at six months you should be able to walk for twenty six minutes... Another is to let the dog decide... but puppies will try to please their owners, so this can be quite difficult. Kin's breeder came out with at six months I can take him for a thirty minute trip...definitive literature on training is elusive... I can't remember what we did with Karma. With Kin I need to take him out to burn off his energy but also to train him. Short walks, try to have him off the lead as much as possible (he has to want to go with me when he's an adult, so I teach him as a pup to do this). If I do take him 'long' then the next few days are very short walks... The idea is not to walk him until he limps and back off, but to keep him well within his limits but still use his energy and make trips fun... I believe that we've hit the right balance...

 After being rolled in the mud, I had to wash him. Now with the weather straying into double figure temperatures it was time to introduce him to the hose... Now Karma hated this... Kin gave the impression that he wouldn't choose to do this, but didn't seem particularly fussed. Here he is soaped up.

Here he is rinsed.
And then we sat on the back patio with the dryer and it was remarkably effective. Only needed to dry his face with a towel (didn't want to use the dryer on his face). Okay we did have to 'sacrifice' a cow to get his co-operation, but it all went rather 'swimmingly'. And his puppy coat became sooooooo soft, but he did lack the sheer sheen of the adults he'd met earlier on in the day.

Didn't last long... next day we helped a friend moving some stuff on and off his island. At lunch time Kin dug a  trench to lie in... if only I could get him to do them to order, I could send him out to work! As it is my back garden is taking on the impression of a mutant mole's convention... Out there the other evening to bring Kin in for the night and every time I turned the ground moved... It was covered with worms and when the light from my head torch fell on them they 'dived for their fox holes', freaky and a sight that goes on all the time but is rarely noticed by humans!

With the hot weather, drinking from a tap becomes a 'requirement'; although being a puppy he's a bit clumsy at doing this:

Kin had his first 'work' visit. We dropped in on Allan, he runs a modelling agency... This is models as in building everything from scale planets to ships, to templates, he's just got two contracts with Aker Verdal to build two jackets (as in Oil rig platform supports) and a barge, so that they can check rigging placements when these are lifted off the barge, flooded and placed on the seabed. I know him as he's made three models for projects that I've been involved with. He's very good at what he does and he's also a good chap.  (Allan is the one on his knees, and Marcus is to the right, Marcus helps out and is Allan's son). Just above Allan's head is a light house model that they have been commissioned to make.

 Good weather means flowers! Think one of the neighbour's kids has bought this van... years ago I had one of these vans... wish I'd thought to do this with the back. Spontaneous creativeness isn't something that happens a lot in Norway... but occasionally one comes across gems to be cherished...

 Met this chap after a nigh out in Bergen, he was bigger than me. Just sitting by the side of the road drinking his bear, ummm sorry beer and taking in the atmosphere!