At the time of writing we have owned five Finnish Lapphunds; Ohra and her daughter Kassi who live with us, Sassi who lives with some dear friends, and our first two Lappies, Mylo and Kiva who are now together at Rainbow Bridge.
It had taken me 5 years after meeting Louise to convince her to let us get a dog - she always resisted by saying getting a dog would change our lives. She was right, it did change our lives - and so much for the better!
In the summer of 2006 Mylo, our first Lappy, came into our lives and changed them forever. He passed away aged 15.5 in 2021 and is still sorely missed, not just by us but also all those who met him and knew of him; he really was an awesome dog. You can find out more about him here.
The following year he was joined by Kiva (TabanyaRuu Hyppia) who went on to become our foundation bitch - she can be see in the photo next to Mylo.
Sadly dogs don't live forever and in 2023 we had to say goodbye to her, she was 16.5. She may no longer be with us, but her legacy lives on being responsible for over 40 progeny spanning 4 generations including our two current girls, Ohra (her granddaughter) and Kassi (her great-granddaughter).
~ Mylo ~
Mylo truly was a once-in-a-lifetime dog that oozed charisma and left a lasting impression on anyone who was fortunate enough to cross his path. During the 15 years that we had with him he filled our lives with joy and love - he was the perfect pet.
He could be a little noisy, and sometimes he was a bugger off-lead but other than him being quieter and to have better recall, and not finding disgusting stuff to roll in, there is nothing we would have changed about him; well actually there is and that would have been to not have had to have him neutered as we are sure that he would have sired some wonderful pups.
Not just good looking in the fur, Mylo was also an incredibly photogenic dog, so photogenic in fact that he was chosen to be a model for Butchers Dog food, as the cover photo for the inaugural Southern Finnish Lapphund Society calendar more and to feature in a Channel 4 TV series more
Louise and I aren't as keen of dog showing as some, though we do encourage and support all of our Lumikoira puppy owners to give it a go (in fact every Lumikoira bred dog that has shown qualified to be shown at Crufts).
It was probably due to Mylo that our enthusiasm for showing waned - it's not every owner whose dog slips his lead in the show ring and runs off, twice in fact, at the same show! However he did qualify for Crufts when he won his class at a show in Wales - but we knew that there would be better dogs at Crufts so we gave it a miss, but hey, he could have been there!
Ironically Mylo did go to Crufts, in fact he went a number of years as he was a breed ambassador at Discover Dogs on the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain booth.
However Mylo was first and foremost a pet, our canine companion for over 15 years. Referred to by many as "Uncle Mylo" he was fabulous with the puppies he helped raise and the many guests that he made welcome at Dogs to Stay.
If you'd like to read some more about Mylo, including his blog, you can do so here
~ Gone but never to be forgotten ~
Mylo, Honeybears Barley Ann at Lumikoira
28 June 2006 - 21 December 2021
Our tribute to him can be found here
Mylo was about 9 months when we started considering a second Lapphund however when I made our thoughts public knowledge I was firmly put in my place and told to wait until Mylo was at least 2 before getting a second Lapphund, so I resigned myself to enjoying the next year with Mylo whilst at the same time looking forward to the opportunity of getting a second.
A few weeks later, and totally out of the blue, I got an email, ironically from one of those advising me to wait, asking if I might be interested in having one of her puppies - after thinking about it for a nano-second I wrote back with a "yes please" - a year to the day after Mylo entered out lives Kiva (TabanyaRuu Hyppia) came to join us.
~ Kiva ~
Kiva joining us also saw a change in career as when she was just over 6 months old we were asked by the owner of Zack, one of her litter mates, if we could look after him when they went on holiday; as a result Dogs to Stay was born. There have been days where we have had as many as 13 Lappies in the house, and we have now had over 150 different Lapphunds stay with us - so yes, Lapphunds are a little like Pringles, you really can't stop at one.
Kiva was an amazing dog, she was stoic, patient, calm, loving and obedient. She was a fantastic mother to her own pups and those of her daughters and granddaughter and great-grandsugnter. She was also welcoming and calming to the many Lappies that came to stay with us. She loved obedience training and strutting her stuff in the show ring (reserve best bitch at Crufts 2010 no less).
She began to go deaf in 2020, eventually losing her hearing completely. We also had a bit of a health scare with her in 2022 when she was diagnosed with pyometra - we were fortunate that she made a full recovery but we did have to be watchful after her following seasons.
Towards the end of 2023 she showed signs of slowing down, looking sad and struggling to get around. She was put on a course of Librella (a pain blocker) to help her mobility but the benefits were short lived. She went off her food eventually refusing to eat and, after some supportive conversations with her vet, the decision was made to give her peace. She was almost 16.6 (a great age) a great-great grandmother, a mother of 12 and responsible for another 30 puppies - letting her go was the right thing to do for her, even though it was heartbreaking for us.
~ Forever in our hearts Kiva, TabanyaRuu Hyppia at Lumikoira ~
29 June 2007 - 28 October 2023
Our tribute to him can be found here
~ Sassi ~
In 2011 Kiva had her second litter she had been scanned and 3 pups were predicted.
In double quick time Kiva delivered 3 boys and though Louise and I were a little disappointed that there wasn't a girl we were delighted that the birthing had gone so well. "Oh, hang on, what's that?" said Louise pointing at Kiva's rear end.
It was a fourth puppy, a girl, and Louise was smitten with her from the second she was born - she was going to be a keeper, Sassi joined the pack.
She really was a joy, loving and affectionate and a perfect playmate for Summer, one of our long-term guests.
Things with Sassi didn't go to plan though. She hadn't yet reached 2 years of age when she started to display some signs of not being well, specifically fainting whilst out walking. Our vets were brilliant and diagnosed a non life-threatening condition called polycythemia, it would be a condition that she would have forever but wouldn't have a major impact on her life. You can find out more about Sassi here
~ Ohra ~
Ohra was the product of our 2016 Trikolori (Chocolate) litter. When the litter was planned we hadn't really given any though to the idea of keeping a pup from it, however when a cream girl appeared it prompted Louise to suggest that we keep her - and like I was going to say no as I have always loved cream Lappies since first researching the breed.
Ohra has been a joy, but like all blondes she does have attitude. However this blonde is not dumb, on the contrary she is as bright as a button and very intelligent; quick to learn and slow to forget.
She has always got on with the rest of our dogs and is happy to welcome visitors to HER home, but on her terms.
Ohra has been shown a few times and qualified for Crufts in her first year, at her first ever show she was awarded best puppy and Best in Show (OK, it was a village dog show but it was a great debut!)
She has been a wonderful mum to own litters, her Corona litter and her Honey litter as well as being happy to help out with other litters that we have raised here at Lumikoira, especially Kassi's 2023 Super Mario litter which saw Ohra become a granny and Kiva a great-great-great-granny
We will be adding more photos of her to the photo gallery in due course.
~ Kassi ~
The late Mylo will always be my heart dog, however Kassi is rapidly catching him up as she is, quite simply, perfect.
Having had over 150 Lappies stay with us over the past 15 years we can honestly say that there has not been one with the sweet nature and temperament of Kassi.
She is friends with everyone, be they 2 or 4 legged, she is devoted to her mum and any of the Lumikoiras or other guests that come and visit.
Like her mum Kassi is shown occasionally, qualifying for Crufts in 2021 and again in 2022 where she was placed first in both her classes beating 5 other bitches including a Junior Warrant holder (proud owner moment).
She was a fantastic first time mum in 2023 to Mara and Obi and she has been delighted to see them when they have each visited. At the time of writing (February 2024) we are excitedly looking forward to her next litter which is due in mid March. We will of course be updating this site with news of the litter.