Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Happy birthday Finland! 100 years of independence today!



The day is celebrated big, the whole year has been a jubilee year. I cheer with my boy Piki, my Finnish Spitz, who is more Finn than anyone I know. Finnish Spitz is our beautiful, national dog, the title was given in 1979.
Yesterday morning, like I wrote, was very cold. Piki, this brave, modest trooper, spent the night outside, in his little house, buried in piles of hay. The first thing when I woke up, I walked downstairs, called him, asked if he was cold and wanted to come in. He was not cold - no, he did not fancy coming in just yet. Not a hay stirred in his cabin, he was curled sound asleep, slept tightly through my calling.
He can come in/go out as he pleases. He prefers to stay out most of the time. His fur coat is thick; he has the best long johns I have ever seen anyone wear. I am in envy, as they beat mine. He is climatised to these northern latitudes. (As we Finns are, we are deep down - also known as a wool sock nation. Give a Finn a pair of wool socks and he is in heaven, grateful for the rest of his life.)

When Piki is out, he reports to me everything. Nothing goes on outside without him noticing, loudly getting back to me what ever it is. Outsiders think that this is inconvenient, annoying barking, but to me it means that my boy is taking care of me the best possible way he can think of. (Also, human Finns are very aware of their neighbors, and their doings.)
He cuddles on my lap on the sofa, my big teddy, sweet and soft, but take him to the forest and his personality changes. It is his element. It looks as if his feet don’t even touch the ground as he flies among the trees and stones. It seems like he has abandoned me, but no, that is not the case, he is never far. He is a hunter, mainly birds, but other game as well. Our Tina, his predecessor, fished too. She used to stand in the lake and try to catch fish, the very same way foxes do. (Most Finns, even hardcore city dwellers, have country cottages. Towns empty during summer months when Finns travel to country side.)
Piki is a wise man, Finnish Spitz is an intelligent dog. Piki is attentive, he knows lots of words - about the same amount as an average Finn, Finns are usually quite quiet; don’t have a clue how to small talk. He has studied my gestures so carefully that he most of the time knows before me what I am about to do next. He has situational awareness (very valuable feature in Finland).
Every morning I make warm oatmeal to Ruusu and Piki, I don’t eat it myself, this is mostly just for them. It is a long habit that I introduced when we had Tina. She became sick, needed antibiotics. I was told by the vet that the stomach of a dog is sensitive, same remedies work both in humans and dogs. What better way to protect her stomach was there than to give her oatmeal before antibiotics. I am not sure if this worked or was needed, but during her life, she had to take many times antibiotics and never had any problems. Could be that her stomach was well prepared for them anyway. Nonetheless, she had warm oatmeal for two weeks, was not going to give up this habit that she very much liked. She preferred hers with a touch of butter and milk (both non-lactose). (Oatmeal was highly valued few decades ago in this country, when we did not know all these different cuisines of the world. Rye bread and potatoes got us this far… For a while we did not value our gastronomy, but lately careful studies have revealed that we have some delicacies… like oatmeal, rye bread and potatoes.)

So Ruusu and Piki have warm oats every morning. Ruusu gets hers first, as she is the grand old lady. She always stares at the plate, when I put it on the floor, she is very eager, and waiting is extremely difficult, her gaze is at the plate, not at me and can barely wait for “ole hyvä”, please, go ahead words. Piki, on the other hand, never looks at the plate but always looks at my eyes, never shows any signs of impatience. He is not a self-seeker, in a way many dogs (and humans) are. This willingness to please is very pleasant in daily life and routines. When he has met all his needs; walks, food and little dose of love, he does not ask for more. He is content, independent (as this country has now been for 100 years) and low-maintenance little big man.

I could go on forever, as you know is the case with most cat or dog lovers, they never know when to shut up… but I will summarize Piki, the Finnish icon, in three little words; he is persistent, intelligent and full of sisu. Sisu is a Finnish word, that one cannot translate well, I guess you need to be a Finnish Spitz or a Finn to grasp the real meaning of the word, but it has a hint of guts, stamina, determination and balls buried in it.
Wool with you, and cheers to Finland!
Lene

15 comments:

  1. What a lovely post Lene. Paying tribute to your country and your faithful companion Piki. I am enjoying your advent posts, mostly because we are seeing more of you than usual. Happy Independence day!

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  2. Happy Birthday to your lovely country! I really enjoyed seeing the pups in your post and learning about them. But mostly I really enjoyed finding out about your country - I am a fan of Finland but never knew anyone before to tell me important little details. Please give your pups a cuddle from me, and have a happy day.

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  3. Such a lovely post about your dogs and Finland and I enjoyed it very much.

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  4. GrannyPurple17:55

    A friend with Finnish connections recently gave me a beautiful centenary mug, which I use every day for my first latte. Your beautiful tribute to Piki brought wonderful memories of my own dogs, who were also fantastic individuals. Thank you!

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  5. Anonymous18:07

    Ihanat koirulit! Kiva idea selittää mikä tämä Suomi oikeastaan on koirien kautta. / Loved this Independence day posting, it's a nice idea to explain "us" through our dogs!

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  6. I loved reading this ode to Piki!

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  7. Great post and Happy Independence! Loved your videos of the reindeer as well.

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  8. nothing better than having a(nother) sweet dog in your life.

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  9. Happy Independence Day! and what a nice tribute to your dog. I think there is nothing better than hot oatmeal on a winter morning.

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  10. I love to learn about your Finnish culture...thank you for sharing XX

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  11. How I would love to meet your dogs, especially Piki. I love the way he has "learned" you and the way his personality shifts depending on his location and activity. I was amazed that he stayed in his little hut all night until I realized that he had a thick coat. My West Highland White Terriers Maisie and Griffin send your dogs Advent love!

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  12. Happy birthday, Finland! I love to hear about your country, your animals, and whatever you are making at the moment. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  13. Thank you for introducing me to oatmeal for dogs. I have had Boxers for many years. They have notoriously sensitive stomachs. I dealt with that via pumpkin puree. I will now try oatmeal. Thank you very much.

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