Vinlands Icelandic Sheepdog Puppies One Week Old Today

 Kit and her pups are doing very well. She is a great mother and they are well fed, fat, happy, and quite quiet. For now. It's hard taking photos of healthy active puppies. Kit doesn't like it because she's mom, of course. The pups squeak and cry a bit during the photo session which makes mom more uncomfortable. The pups don't hold still because they're looking for mom and also miss the warmth of their siblings during the photo session. It's also still hard for them to hold up their heads too. Heads are heavy, muscles are still  not fully developed. Nevertheless, here are some shots together and in birth order with their probable American Kennel Club registered names and their call names. Clicking on photos will enlarge them. The blur is because of movements.

Vinlands Katur (Katur)

Vinlands Katur (Katur)

Vinlands Kria (Kria)

Vinlands Kria (Kria)

Vinlands Hvitabirna (Birna)*

Vinlands Hvitabirna (Birna)

*White Bear - as in Polar Bear

Vinlands Icelandic Sheepdog Puppies

 On December 23, 2020 Kit gave birth to two female and one male Icelandic Sheepdog puppies. (Hidow Sweetness Overload and Vinlands Ulfbehrta* Kit) All are doing fine; the pups are gaining weight steadily.

Birna, Katur, Kria (top to bottom)

Katur, Kria, Kit, Birna (l to r)

 

I'm still thinking about names. The boy might be Otsi after the "Iceman" who was found frozen in the Alps (on the border which is now between Switzerland and Italy). He could also be Katur after my beloved and greatly missed Kata. Or possibly Otsi Katur (OK). That could be complicated as I'm always saying OK to my dogs. He has the rather typical charcoal camouflage covering to his puppy fur that will disappear with time. Looks like he will have a muzzle mask, a "V-shaped" white blaze on the back of his neck and should eventually have tannish-yellow colored fur like his dad Cola.

Kria, Katur, Birna (from top to bottom)

The second born is Kria named after my much loved Thordunu Kria who passed away this fall after a good and long life. She looks like she is going to be almost completely black although tan coloring should start to creep up her legs as she gets older. She has a very small slash or spot of white on the back of her neck.

Kria

Kria

The third puppy was a complete surprise. It shows the very rare pied coloring pattern. I think the spots, although very dark now because of the charcoal camouflage, will lighten to one of the many shades of tan that Icelandic Sheepdogs show. In the genetic background of both of her parents is a dog bred by Helga Gustavsdottir that she named Kersins Tappi. I'm thinking of naming her Tappa. Or perhaps Otsa because she, polar bear like, is white. Birna would be a good name - from Polar Bear? (officially Hvitabirna) I have dozens of photos of pied dogs - I guess it was inevitable that sooner or later after probably more than 15 litters I would get one myself!

 

Birna

Birna, Kria, Katur (l to r)

Kit

So, with help from Silla -  the tan shade male: - Vinlands Katur, the tricolor female: - Vinlands Kria, the pied female: - Vinlands Hvitabirna (in birth order). I think pups should be named early. It helps when talking about them and they simply just deserve that, imo. I personally also think that as often as possible Icelandic Sheepdogs should have Icelandic names - there are so very, very many great names for them. There's a heritage that should be respected.

* spelling error was mine - alone

Icelandic Sheepdog Puppies - December 2020

Early in the morning on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 three new Icelandic Sheepdog puppies arrived quickly between 4:30 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. Soon after their arrival another beautiful dawn arrived on the Michigan side of Lake Huron. Daylight will start increasing. Yay!

With only a few days left in the year, Kit delivered her first litter of puppies. There were two females and one male; all are healthy and hungry. Although it's still very early the boy looks to me like he's going to look a lot like his AKC Champion dad Cola (below). Cola is owned by Barbara Beers and Veronica Dowling

Cola

Cola

Understandably Kit is being especially camera shy right now. Here are some older photos of her.

Kit

Kit

One of the girls is a tricolor (1), which means mostly black with a few tan highlights on the legs and face and also some white. She might look like her maternal grandma Kria (below). The new puppy is almost completely black so she will not have as much white as Kria did. (She is also like her maternal grandmother Kria genetically because she also carries one b-gene for chocolate-brown.)

Kria

Kria*

The third pup, also a girl, was a big surprise. She is mostly white with what might turn out to be tan spots. I'm not sure where she got her unusual pattern although she does have Tappi (Kersins Tappi) way back on both sides of her family. That's quite a long ways back for those genes to persist.

Kersins Tappi**

Here are some photos of the three pups taken on their first day.

The pups are all close in size and weight. 

Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

1a. Tricolor dogs have three colors - specifically: - mostly black, with some tan and white.

1b. Three color dogs have three colors. Always there is some white but also they may have a shade of tan varying from deep red through several shades of tan to very light cream to almost white. They also have some black hairs which may be in the form of a mantle, or a mask, or a black muzzle, etc.

* Photo courtesy of Cathi Winkles Photography

** Bred by Helga Gustavsdottir

Professional Picture Hangers

 Jon and Tracy came last weekend to hang some of my larger canvases. We ate and drank well and had a great time. Unfortunately I got to spend virtually no quality time with Warhol and Frankie. Kit is filling out nicely. Bear, Totty, and Pila are getting larger and older also. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Jon Parlangeli hanging "Authentic" by Waleed Elharith Johnson

Tracy assisting Jon's hanging of the Johnson in front of a Jonathan Rajewski work.

Authentic - Waleed Elharith Johnson

A Charles Alexander leaning on a new-old barnwood door

A Jerome Feretti Tryptych (left) which features a Niagara piece

Jon hanging one of his drip paintings above another Jonathan Rajewski

Bryant Tillman's "Fisher Building" (lower right)

Kaleigh Blevins' "Yellow Pants"

Kaleigh Blevins "Yellow Pants" and 

Kelly Carnahan "New Mexico Winter Storm"

Jon and Tracy hanging Jon's painting depicting the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43330/my-papas-waltz

My Papa's Waltz - Jon Parlangeli

Busy Times

 It's been a long time since my last post because we've been so busy. Here are some recent shots.