We just brought our sweet, little pupper home!

[Deleted member 43650]

Ohhhh heck! He's just such a sweet boy that I had to share with my ACF fam! His name is Tamlin - he's a Finnish Lapphund, which is a very old and rare breed from...you guessed it! Finland. They're a Spitz breed (much like the infamous Shiba Inu) and were used by the indigenous peoples of Finland - the Sami - as Reindeer herding dogs.

My wife is a vet and one of her clients has two beautiful Lappies. They're a very mild-mannered, sweet, loving, and playful breed. We've wanted a dog for two years and were very discerning, finally settling on the Finnish Lapphund (they're great with kids, which are in the near future for us).

We are very grateful to have Tamlin in the family - again, the breed is rare and their organization has very stringent rules on breeding/genetics, so litters are hard to come by. We lucked out and there happened to be a litter that put us at bringing our baby boy home over this preceding weekend.

He's such a trooper: our breeder is in New York; fortunately, there was a big dog "conference" or something of the sort in Canada and another breeder was able to meet ours and bring Tamlin home with her to Memphis (much closer to HTX, cutting our drive in half). So, he spent two days in a car with some strange lady with other strange doggos, then two days in her strange house in Memphis with said strange doggos...THEN, two weirdo hoo-mans (my wife and I) came along, picked him up, and took him for another day-long car ride to another strange house (his forever home, over which he already has total dominion). He's been doing great through all of it and has acclimated so well. We're super proud of the little guy.

He's very loving, sweet, maybe a bit too smart (srs it scares me), and cuddly. Training is going very well with the exception of some mild separation anxiety, but I'm sure we will rectify that as he begins to realize that we are never, ever going to leave him behind.

Anyway, here he is!!

tl;dr We got a super sweet puppy and I can't not show him off to y'all!

 

[AudriTwo]

Congrats on becoming dog parents to the goodest of dogs!

 

[Lelo1]

ZOMG

 

[Sophiestique]

sooo cute had a pekingese since i was 9 for 18 years... and we loved it, we want to adopt now( in Romania sooo many puppies that are homeless) we will prolly do it in spring as i dont want a dog for inside anymore.... but i so love dogs , congrat for your puppy. if ur wife is a vet maybe we can get some advice

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

Adorbs! Don't forget to hold him while he's smol. I just went through old pics n vids and yeah.... they'll never be that size again

 

[Bocefish]

Congrats!

Please keep us updated on his growth...

Awesome breed!

 

[Deleted member 43650]

Thanks, gang! I will gladly post updates! He's the sweetest thing EVER!!!!

Also, @Sophiestique - good for you for adopting/rescuing! And yes, if anyone ever needs pet advice, let me know and I'll have my wife chime in ;D

New pix soon!!

 

[SaffronBurke]

He's so precious and a very good boy!

 

[Deleted member 43650]

Okay, back by popular demand!!!



Being a weirdo. Yes, this is how he sleeps.


"I just peed on the floor but you'll love me anyway" said every cute pupper ever.


The handsome boy goin' at it with his new salmon bully stick!


At his first puppy socialization/training class with Mama and Papa.


He loves eating our antique carpets. Delicious (NOT) treats!



With my niece. Look at that silly face! That's our little bear!

 

[Deleted member 43650]

Here's our pupdate:

He's doing SO well with the training program my wife wrote for him and we're VERY proud of him. He's definitely a clever, curious puppy. He hates peanut butter but LOVES frozen green beans and carrots (like, srs? what dog does this?!). He's a pokey little bear and prances around like a show dog.

We've learned sit, down, stay, and we're working on ringing the bell by the door with his paw whenever he needs to go potty. He knows how to ring the bell, but we're working on the "the bell = go outside to potty" part. We'll get there!

He's also had a BLAST with socialization outings! Puppy socialization is CRUCIAL between weeks 8 to 12 and can determine the disposition of your dog for the rest of its life. You want to expose them to as many new, different (but SAFE!!) things as possible during this time, including hundreds of people and other dogs.

Every week, we do something new: the farmer's market (crowds, people handling him, children, loud noises), the arboretum (different plants, substrates, weird sounds from birds and frogs), meeting the disabled (wheelchairs, crutches, elderly folks - these things all look alarming and new to dogs), etc. We always give nice people treats to give to him so he knows that people = good!

He's grown to a whopping 15lbs (from 10.2 when we got him). His personality has certainly come out - he's playful, kind, silly, a bit of a weirdo, smart, and greedy as can be! He loves cuddles and play biting (if anyone needs advice about puppy biting, let me know!!) and he sleeps on his back with all four paws in the air. Haha, I feel like I'm writing an ad now, so this should suffice!

Thanks ACF!

 

[Bocefish]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like he's doing great and in good hands. Like you guys... can't stress enough the socialization puppies need at that age for a well-adjusted dog.

 

[Deleted member 43650]

PUPDATEE!!!!

Okay, so a forewarning: we're obsessed with our dog. People say that, but like, we decided to forego having children because we're satisfied with having doggos (srs) - at least for now. As you can see, Tamlin has gotten so big! He's just shy of 30 lbs now and about to be 6 months of age. Lappies are a slow-developing breed: he will max out around 50lbs; at about 18 months, he will shed his entire coat and grow his adult coat - which is much, much longer - with a plumed tail.

He's the sweetest little boy - he's never violent or aggressive or nasty; Lappies are known to be friendly to a fault (sometimes, they want to be 'friends' and don't pick up on the fact that another dog is just not interested). He's extremely clever and perceptive and is very gentle around smaller dogs and children. He loves to play - especially chasing/being chased and puzzles. Puzzles are his jam! We found this Swedish company that makes complex dog puzzles, along with all the alternative methods for feeding your dog (dog owners: check out the bob-a-lot and snuffle mats!) This breed is very intelligent in that they think before they act and are very careful/calculating (not atypical of herding breeds); this means he figures things out very quickly and likewise adapts and gets bored very quickly. We always have to come up with new games and puzzles to keep his mind occupied. It can be tiring - especially during his weird 7 p.m. witching hour when he's suddenly bouncing off the walls. Eh, worth it.

He's also a quirky little weirdo: he doesn't bark, he howls...like, exclusively. He doesn't sleep at the foot of the bed; he sleeps at the head of the bed - on top of our pillows above our heads. It's not uncommon to wake up with his head resting on top of yours. He wakes up like a little hoo-man - he first taps you on the shoulder with his paw, then starts to nudge, and finally will shove you awake. He's a HUGE mama's boy and I've never seen a bond between human and animal quite like it. It's very special to witness.

Anyway, I looooooove 'little bear' (one of our many nicknames for him) and had to share an update!

 

[Fatquack]

We need an "aww" icon!

 

[curvyredhead]

OMG SO CUTE!!! And my word what photogenic young man!

(also i read this thread title as "bought our sweet little pupper a home" .....and thought this was gona be a thread about doggo homes haha