Damage, B-person, time... Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

Arh, yes, the tropical rain forests of Stavanger (does six to eight degrees centigrade qualify for 'tropical').

If you go in for this whole concept of 'A' & 'B' people, then Kin is definitely a 'B' type. To walk him, feed him and make certain he's okay before I leave for work means that I have to be up between 0530 and 0600. On coming down the stairs he can just about lift an eyelid to see what's going on... I can't even get him to get up for a pee. The first day of this new routine, I managed a walk to the end of the driveway before he stopped and made it abundantly clear that he wanted to go back to bed! Since then I've tried every morning to take him out and I haven't managed to get him out of the garden yet! Now his food has to be soaked for 30 minutes before he can eat, which now means that we have our main bout of affection time prior to me leaving for work! He's so sleepy that he hardly even mouths me! That said he's mouthing less and less.

Today he's six months and wet... so there's no point in weighing him. Washed him yesterday and did grooming (lt), so if his coat ever dried he'd look quite good! Drying him yesterday I used the air blower and held a can of liver paste in my hand... I don't think he noticed the drier! And it didn't upset his stomach.

Damage so far has been limited. I haven't found any in the outside kennel yet and this is the main damage inside from him being alone. The matt could have read, "This matt was whole last week..." And the damage to the wall.

All this demolition can get quite tiring:

(He still hasn't got the hang of the fact that sometimes the stove is excessively warm and should be given a very wide berth... Karma wasn't great at this either; it's probably something to do with the coats being wet all the time!).


One thing I have to figure out is how to have a life as well. At the weekend walking in the forest in the pouring rain, I thought of long distance trips that I've had in similar conditions,

(this was last year when David & I walked the North side of Lysefjørd - arrive soaking wet at a cabin then get the fire going to dry gear out and cabins just should have fires going, whilst you pass the evening talking).
Now these kind of trips I can't take Kin on, in fact there's lots of stuff that I do that I can't take Kin with me. I'm hoping that despite the rain in Stavanger there will still be enough snow to go skiing locally:

Yes some of the folk here are skiing in shorts and some are skiing across a frozen lake. This is 900 m up on the 8th of June, 2008 the start of this ski is about 1 hr 45 min drive away.

Here is one of the winter closed roads in the area being opened in mid may:

(this picture I didn't take. It appeared in the local newspaper [Stavanger Aftenblad] a couple of years ago whilst they were opening the Suleskar veien, which that year wasn't open until towards the end of May and we generally take our last ski trip of the season towards the end of May/beginning of June from this road).

{I have plenty more pics... but you get the idea}.
The point is trying to get to do stuff like this. I think at some point I'm going to have to introduce Kin to a kennel just so I can still do this kind of thing.

But more pressing is what to do in the evenings. My days are get up, deal with Kin, cycle to work, work for eight hours, cycle home, deal with Kin, dinner, walk and feed Kin, prepare for next day, and go to bed... Without Kin some days I'd drive to work, with the glider/kayak/sailing gear/climbing gear/orienteering gear, in the car and go straight from work to do something like this... can still go skiing after work but bit of a drive! With Kin this isn't an option unless I can find someone who can take him for a few hours... Have to figure out some form of balance here, so my life is more than catering for his life.

Also bouncing around ideas for some viable income that has me outdoors more, preferably one where I can have the little chap with me.

With Karma, I had an arrangement with my ex-samboer where she'd take the little chap so I could go off and do stuff. Kin, I don't have this with, although Jan coming on work days and feeding/being with/walking the little chap is a godsend.

Some thinking to be done here.

Wet weather, first week of work: - Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

Just checked the weather forecast... dry... which is strange as it's raining so heavily that a twenty metre walk outside would have the same effect as standing under a shower.

Now I'm not trying to say that the weather has been bad (or the weather forecast less than accurate... you'd think that self preservation would have a subroutine that updated the current weather to reflect what you see out the window) but have a look at this forest track:

Obviously with the Newfie pup splashing ecstatically through it.

Apparently stumped, as to why I would take the longer route through the woods rather than the direct one through the puddle (didn't think to bring a kayak with me...). As I write this I can see the little chap sitting in the middle of the lawn, alternating between eating a bone and digging deeper holes in the garden... I'm beginning to suspect that he's trying to dig a lake.

Now this weather has a few drawbacks, not least of which are the thoughts of the mid 20ties that we had in April like the distant memories of holidays in warmer lands. But cuddly boy, never actually gets fully dry. Added to that muddy puddles and the mud matting in his coat and him being damp when in the house, makes both keeping him and the house clean, a rearguard action. It would be a distinct advantage now if I could hose the floors downstairs!

As you can see his puppy coat isn't that good just at the moment. This is after a walk at Bråstein.

You can also notice a slight increase in size between this photo taken at two months old and the one above when he's almost six months old. Notice in the above picture he does not even come over the height of the screen!

And looking longitudinally...

Still a bit too small to stop using the ramp/be lifted in/out the car.

Now at my brother's wedding one of the speeches made had the following line in it: "there's nothing quite so funny as watching a best friend falling off a ladder!" {I'm not really certain how my sister in law was supposed to take this comment!}. But there is humour to be had in this...

This picture does not do Atlas (the Leonberger) justice. He's five years old, weighs in at 70 kgs, and from nose to tail is over two metres long. But the angle the picture is taken at and the contrast with Kin's black coat makes it hard to see the large size difference between the two. Now Atlas first met Karma when he was a puppy younger than Kin is now (Kin's also met Atlas a few times before). Atlas's owner and I were talking at Sørmarkka whilst the dogs were running around and Atlas went into a muddy puddle up to his waist, coating the long hairs on the backs of his legs and on his chest in mud. I pointed out how good Kin was at not going in there (which I was somewhat surprised that he hadn't). Every time Kin went near the puddle, Atla's owner was willing him in... it wasn't long before Kin was similarly coated to Atlas. And thus both of us got, "our best friend and ladder experience"!

(Despite the sunny symbols on the weather forecasts it's now raining so heavily that despite the sun going down close to 23:00 hrs, it's gone dark out of the window (time now is 18:00 hrs)).

This is the first full week I have worked since getting Kin and I've been out the house for ten hours each day... but Jan (one of my neighbours, who had a Berner Sener {Tony}, dotted on Karma, and has a similar relationship with Kin) has kindly come everyday to take him out and feed him at lunchtime. Both of them enjoy this arrangement but I can't help to think that Kin and I by far get the better deal! A huge thank you to Jan who has made having Kin (and a job) significantly easier.

Helen at my work, asked me how I managed with a dog and the kind of work that we do... I told her that I didn't know yet, but will make it work. After all what's the alternative? I like dogs, and work to live, I don't live to work... a distinction that many folk would do well to focus on.

The other issue with working is now I get to cycle to work. round trip of 28 km... which doesn't sound much but after taking a plane to work for the last four years means that I have little cycling form... five days cycling to and from work is 140 k (which again doesn't sound like much), but wow, come the weekend do my legs hurt! And now I'm going to have to brave the pain in my legs and the torrential rain to take wet boy out for another trip!

One parting comment:

It's great being out. I'm looking forward to when Kin and I can walk miles together... six more months we will be able to go much further than now. Even on bad weather days I take enjoyment in being out, the freshness of the air after a heavy shower, and just look at the vividness of the greens in the above picture (which doesn't match the vitality of the reality).

Early teens, new job, climbing - Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

This is probably going to be a rare sight soon... Puppies pee like this, tail goes up and they don't really care where they are, middle of dual carriage way... fair game... tail goes up and they stop whilst they pee...

Kin's earlier efforts to cock a leg,  invariably ended with him lying on the ground, pretending that he meant to end there. Indeed he's somewhat early for cocking his leg... but he's began... as he's began to ignore commands... at slightly under six months he's tooooooo young for both these behaviours; but doesn't understand when I point this out to him.

Now when I picked Kin up, I  started to work part time for the companies that I was employed by ( www.sway.no & www.swayturbine.com {both great ideas with a lot of potential}).Now both these companies are based in Bergen, so I worked some of the week from a home office and the rest in Bergen; which involved me taking a plane/car/boat, most weeks from Stavanger to Bergen, and for various reasons I didn't want to move to Bergen (the wettest place in Norway)

This is a shop in Bergen that repairs umbrellas... get the idea... (to be fair the whole west coast of Norway tends to be wet because of the Gulf Stream, moist air... we're a long way North without the Gulf Stream it'd be WAC (Wicked Assed Cold) here. Bergen town is spread along a strip surrounded by hills, which means when the clouds roll in, the hills slow them down and often it rains in Bergen. Stavanger is flatter (relative term in Norway), and it's generally winder in Stavanger then Bergen).

I also needed to be at home for some time with my new pup... so since the eighth of March I haven't been working (resigned my job(s) in Bergen). On Monday I start a new position which means that I'll be out the house for close on ten hours a day. One of my neighbours will come in and see/feed Kin during lunchtime so we'll see how this goes.

Now he's getting bigger, more folk are scared of him. Had first jogger scream at me today... Yes he 'should' be on the lead but he's just come out of a lake... that's why he's wet. People get sooooo nasty about it. Also it's a bit pointless trying to teach your dog commands whilst he's on a lead... Of course folk are scared of dogs when they don't interact with them and therefore don't understand their motivation. A lot of the time I don't really like people, huge generalisation but so often folk can't walk the length of themselves to see that there might be a different point of view. The leash law is an ffffing stupid law that does little to protect the public from 95% of dogs but does make the none dog public believe that dogs are scary and thus must be kept on leads, and so a new generation of folk become scared of dogs as if they weren't dangerous why would they be on leads. Many people have no concept of living in harmony with nature... why should we... we've conquered it! Bup-BRRRRRRRRRRRRB thank you for playing... We (humans) will either learn to live more holistically or we will die out... (And for the record I understand that folk can be scared of even friendly dogs, and I endeavour to ensure that my dog doesn't scare or inconvenience other folk, but we have a right to live as well. Let your dog off the lead and see how he leaps, bounds, and generally shows you how happy he is just to be... he can't do this on a lead... having a dog on the lead all the time is cruel).

As part of trying to take him with me to as many of the things that I do as possible, last Thursday he came climbing... or more specifically he watched without any real enthusiasm for these new antics...

Here he is on the short walk into the crag.

The second black blur to the left of D in the trees is Kin, being un-impressed by my concept of 'togetherness'. But I think that it's better to bring him then leave him alone. Whilst I haven't been working we spend almost all the time together, but as of next week this will change so I want him used to doing things that I like to do. {And yes I'm aware that the crab is the wrong way around on the sling in the above picture... It was the correct way around when placed but on pulling rope up through it for second to climb it rotated 180 degrees, which means if you fell on it, you stand the chance of the rope falling across the gate and opening the crab - thought I'd mention it as some smart a_sed bar-steward would doubtless pull me up on it...}

Here's Susana trying to placate him whilst I'm packing the climbing gear back into a rucksack. Prior to her assistance he was taking flying leaps towards me, which wasn't a great idea for lead, collar, tree, and especially the little chap's neck.

Years ago I used to climb with a chap called Berty in Scotland and we used to take his dog, Kim, with us. She could solo up to Diff standard and then often had to be rescued... One time climbing on the Cobbler we heard shouts, looked down and there was Kim going through other climbers rucksacks looking for food... Berties comment at the time was: "glad that's not my dog!" Kin's first outing was more successful than this although he didn't try climbing!

Back in the garden where he can get really comfy!

What's the big deal - Kin

Kin's take:

After a nice dip, there is nothing that I enjoy more then coming home and relaxing on the sofa.

 Indeed, if you look at the sofa, it was obviously designed for me to get comfortable.

I can climb up from both sides, stretch out and have great fields of view... perfect.

Although it seems I have to work on my human as despite doing my best to ignore him, he inisists on lifting me down every time... although he was laughing so perhaps there is hope...

17 of May- Norwegian National Day - Nurhan

Nurhan:

17 th of May is the Norwegian national day where folk are frighteningly patriotic. A day off work, but if you are Norwegian, you put on your 'glad rags' (preferably a Bunad - National dress). Put at least one Norwegian flag up on your property (many is better), and then leave the house to go and find a parade to celebrate being Norwegian with other Norwegians.

In the UK nationalism and the flying of flags, is more often than not, an 'ugly' affair that has a hint of neo-Nazism to it, with a distinct undercurrent of violence. On first coming to Norway, the 17th of May, had a refreshing, charming, naivety to it; after living here for some time this mutates as you realise that their is an unspoken understanding in the Norwegian populace that boarders on xenophobia, which is veiled in a clock of tolerance of other lesser cultures. Many people have speculated as to what will happen in Norway when the oil and gas run out and Norway will have to exist as part of a larger economic and social entity.

My default version for the 17th of May is to go skiing. But it is a National party day, and this year, intention was to get Kin used to crowds, marching bands, and drunk people.

Don't misunderstand me here, 17th of May is a party day in Norway, where folk are generally happy. But as a foreigner, it's difficult to embrace this cultural entity with the zest of the Norwegian populace. But if you are visiting Norway, experiencing this event is a must. The bands, the tom foolery of the Russ, the different parades. Where everyone smiles and talk to each other regardless of what ever the weather throws up. It's a happy time.

Kin did remarkably well, and he charmed folk.

Here's Kin with two women in Bunads (Norwegian national dress). The Bunads are a bit like tartans in that each region has it's own specific Bunad. The main colour is black, but they also come in different shades of blue, green, red, and white.

When I came to Norway, women would wear anything on their legs as long as it was jeans... this meant that the one day a year that women general wore Bunads was something of an oasis to the leg lover; the one day a year where you might catch a glimpse of an ankle... all very Victorian... But Bunad's are very feminine, with a dash of elegance about them.

Bunad's for men, I am still undecided about:

(one of these ladies was "deathly scared of dogs", doesn't show very well in this picture!). But they do add to the special feeling that is abundant on the 17th of May, when everyone greets each other by saying "happy birthday".

A twist on the Bunads is that the embroidery on them means something, one arrangements of flowers can mean a certain town, and an individual flower can mean a specific turn in a glen... Tartans, to the initiated are easy to recognise, I'm not so certain if the same can be said of Bunads.

Story behind this picture is that, this lady had got Kin to hold the flag and her in a Bunad with him waving a Norwegian flag (even though he's only 1/2 Norwegian, his father's Italian!), would have made a great photo... he obviously didn't think so as every time the camera came out, he put the flag down!

Still great day.

 Kin was exhausted when we got home.

Somebody trying to tell me something... Kin

Kin's take:

Do you ever get that nagging feeling that someone is trying to tell you something?

Newfies & Sofas - Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

No, this isn't a terrible domestic accident... Strangely enough the little chap still insist on bending himself around things whilst he's trying to sleep... with the one notable exception last week when he swaggered into the living room, whilst I was sitting at the dinning table, he got on the sofa, made himself comfortable and then lay down... for a minute I was waiting for him to kick off his slippers, get his paper out, and take a sip from his tea cup, and that would be him for the night! He did it so naturally that he almost had me convinced that he should be there! It was fantastically cute, and had I not already have had a Newfie, he might have fooled me... Obviously he ignored my verbal protests; so force had to be reverted to... on trying to move him, he did his 'sack of potatoes' impression, making it very hard to relocate him! What got me was where he got the idea from. He's not in the living room unless I am, Maddie hasn't been over for months to teach him bad ways, and it's not even like we have a television in the house where he might have seen this!

Haven't weighed him for awhile but he's getting big... in fact I'll go and grab the scales and see if I can lever him off the floor...

Right he's a sleepy 39 (ish)*  kgs, at five months & one week old.

* not the most accurate scales in the world, so this is correct ball park figure.

Here he is trying to tackle a 'Krypton factor' puzzle... you are supposed to move the sliders to push the treats out... but being a Newfie pup, he's so large that all he needs to do is throw the puzzle around (generally off the furniture) enough and the treats are ejected from the puzzle... much more entertaining!

He's now had his first ticks, and we are trying some stuff that we bought from the pet shop. Normally (okay that's not right), With Karma we got poisonous drops from the chemist that you needed a prescription for, these drops from the pet shop are not as potent and so far have proved to be just as effective.

The little chap has also had 'Kennel' cough. No idea where he got it from as he's not been in a kennel and we don't know of any other dogs who have had this. Karma never had kennel cough, so this was a new one for me. He's better now.

I'm still being mouthed... puppies bite, this is a fact of life, but now he's getting quite impressive teeth on him, and I have to figure out how to get it through to him that he's not allowed to mouth people; especially young kids who don't differentiate mouthing and biting... scare a kid and you end up with a potential adult who is frightened of dogs. He's only doing what comes naturally to pups, and I'm sure that it'll pass as he gets older...  Arh the 'joys' of 'parenthood'!!!

He's tried cocking his leg a couple of times before, but always fell over... today he did it and made it look natural... and he's only five months old!

17th of May coming up... This is Norwegian national day, and marching band season... normally the school bands do a practice march through the areas a week before (and remarkably very few of them are killed by motorists)... This was Kin's first experience of a marching band and to say that he was slightly sceptical would be a mild understatement, as he strained on the leash to run away... Now the human reaction is to comfort him... this is of course 100 % wrong as this then teaches him that his fears are justified. First pass by the band, just ignored him and held the lead as though this was 'business as usual'. Second pass no words but he did get some roast beast treats (no comfort and good experience)... I get to see how well we did next week!

Kin has been one of the few complaining about the great weather. Look out of the front side of the house and you can see snow on the mountains, yet with temperatures up in the 20 ies (degrees centigrade) it's definitely been shorts weather. Now for the occasional long walk I've taken him down to Lille Stokkavann:

Where, just as Karma did he's straight into the water, retrieving balls, sticks, and almost a duck (until the duck noticed!). He's not so co-ordinated and he was pushing one ball further and further out into the lake when I had to call him off (as the water is still too cold for me to venture in without a wet suit on unless I really have to).

As he's still got a puppy coat his coat takes about five hours to dry, unlike the adult coat that takes about 36 hours to dry... this is one (amongst many) very good reasons for not letting him get the idea that he should lie on the sofa!!!