Meet Toby

After more research it seems that most of the breeders of Finnish Lapphunds have a very long waiting list for their dogs. They’re still a relatively unknown breed in the UK, so there aren’t many of them about. We may get onto a waiting list and still be here 18 months later and not getting any younger!

So I started looking at more common dogs. Labradors, to be exact. There are many more of these about and there is a local breeder at Gairloch, a few hours drive away, with a litter ready to go. Health scores seemed good, they were Kennel Club registered and they’ve been raised in a family home. We decided to take a drive out and see them with their mum a few days ago.

I don’t know what the collective descriptor is for a lot of puppies, but a tumble of puppies seems appropriate. I’m not sure that there’s anything more adorable than puppies, except perhaps kittens. All sharp nibbling milk teeth and rolls of silky fur and puppy fat.

The mum had a litter of eleven pups, and although some of them had gone to their forever homes, there were still half a dozen or so all running about chewing each others ears and tails.

Mum was a sweetheart of a dog, a fine chocolate brown Labrador, friendly and affectionate. This was her first litter at the age of three. Dad was a Crufts champion, a handsome black Labrador.

We’ve always thought that choosing a dog is a two-way process, and that we’d see if any of the pups chose us when we were interacting with them. And sure enough, two of the pack did. An adorable little black girl pup called Madge, who had the sweetest face, and the last remaining chocolate boy, who they’d called Derek. Both wanted our attention and followed us about, clinging to our legs and licking our hands.

We agonised over our choice throughout the two hour drive home. Both were happy, healthy little animals, well socialised and beautiful little bundles of mischief. I was seriously tempted to take them both.

But in our situation, where most of our local friends with dogs have un-neutered males, we figured that the practicalities of a young female in amongst all of them wasn’t perhaps the best way forward. She’d be constantly pestered when coming into heat and would need to be neutered herself at the earliest opportunity. So we decided on Derek. Although the name would have to go.

I thought of lots of types of chocolate when thinking of potential names, him being a chocolate lab. And what chocolate is super chunky, like our little pup? A Toblerone..

Meet Toby the Toblerone.

Those eyebrows make these dogs look perpetually sad, but he’s a happy little pup. Full of energy and life. Tail constantly wagging.

Here he is with three of his sisters. Madge was the one in the pink collar.

He has his final set of inoculations on Tuesday at eleven weeks of age then he’s ready to leave the litter. We pick him up next Monday to come to his new forever home.

We’ve got a week to buy dog beds, feeding bowls, chew toys and poo bags, so I’m on the case. Welcome, Toby!