HULD, THE ALPHA BITCH
Don't let the sweet smile fool you.
My dogs are what make my life complete. They can be challenging but are worth the complications.
Having a suburban home with a limited amount of space and a complementary dog pack is not ideal. Adding a new dog, Bear, to the already existing and established pecking order is complicated. Having a pregnant female deliver her litter at the same time a new dog comes from Norway/Sweden is unavoidable and not a smart thing to do. Kata has always been ready and willing to take over as Alpha Queen Bitch from Huld. Huld has always successfully and easily retained her crown. Pila, returning late to the family, has always been treated with suspicion by all of the dogs but especially Totty.
Things are calm and pleasant 99% of the time. Honest. No exaggeration.
Sooo - when someone comes for a visit now it's exciting. It's chaos at the door. Icelandics love company, whether the company is someone they know or a total stranger, the greeting is raucous for the first two (+/-) minutes.
Yesterday when Eileen visited Yankee, the puppies, Pila, Totty, Huld and Kata were besides themselves to get her attention. Poor Eileen!
I have heard that some breeders do not allow visitors. I like to welcome people into our home but I am concerned that the tumultuous greetings could be off-putting.
I am also concerned that outsiders could bring in disease bugs on their hands or clothes. Puppies have very few antibodies against germs and are extremely vulnerable once they stop nursing and before they have had their shots. (Mom's antibodies to germs pass in her milk to the pups.) Most vets give pups their first inoculation at about the time they stop nursing - six - eight weeks.
When you have puppies, the older dogs get largely ignored. This entry is devoted to Huld and Kata who richly deserve their titles as head bitches!
(The plant is Italian Jack in the Pulpit and is much larger than our American variety.)
Afterthought: Huld's Mom is Edda, Kata's mom is Brella. Edda and Brella lived together in Iceland and were also at each other's throats. History has repeated itself.
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