I'M SORRY

I just came home on Sunday morning, after being gone for a week. The first thing that met me was Maja. She just explodes with happiness when someone comes home. True, she explodes with happiness if you have been away for twenty minutes, but I quite simply do not think it is true that dogs do not have a sense of time, and that being away for hours or for days do not make any difference to them! Being gone for some hours is still stability, while being gone for days is instability, and there is a big difference between these things.
When we come, so is really crying, she runs to pick up one - or preferably more - of her toys to bring, and she wags so ahrd that it almost looks painful :) Oh, how wonderful it is to come home when you are met with something like that - tired from journey, but you still get energized and so happy when you are met with so much love and joy :)
And it is so obvious that Maja enjoys it so much when we are both home - everyone is there, everything is safe and stable, everyone is satisfied, there is nothing at all to worry about. Life is perfect for a little dog.
But then, sometimes life brings bad surprises. Yesterday, after only two days, I was off again. Maja is good at spotting when people are packing, and I was also a bit sad for leaving, so I think she understood that something was not the way it was supposed to be.

Off, little sweetheart. I'm sorry for leaving again and for making you worried again. Why do we have to break up when everything is perfect? But I promise, when I come home we'll have long evenings, long scratching-sessions on the floor, long walks with goodies, and long times on the lawn where you can just goof around while I do some work. I have not left you, or left you for another dog! Everything will be fine - just hang in there for 10 days. Soon home!

A REAL SWIMMER :)

We went to some lakes an hour driving from us yesterday. It is so warm outside, well above 30 degrees, so we thought it would be a good idea to cool down with a swim. It's not the best temperature for a furry dog either, but then - the water temperature is perfect, probably around 25! After some walking (and a little bit of playing with other dogs for Maja), we found a small opening down to the water, with a wonderful sandy bottom.

Maja was the first one in (!), immediately swimming for a stick that we threw not far out. But then - Jurgita swan out quite far, and when Maja saw that, she threw herself into the water: Destination Mummy :) It was really quite a far swim - reached mummy, then turned around, met me halfway to the shore, then saw some ducks to the right that she immediately set sail for..

God, she was fast!! And the rest of the time she spent swimming obviously for fun: swimming out to meet me or Jurgita, hunting ducks, catching sticks or bubbles, and just totally enjoying. It's now final: our dog is a born swimmer :)

The goal that we set ourself for the summer is accomplished!
With style!!

Maja - the mountaineer dog.

Our peaceful little dog Maja has found her inner wild animal :) We have stayed for some days in a cabin in the mountains in Norway, a paradise for a dog. It's not like Maja has a lack of outdoor activities - we have a big garden in Vilnius where she can walk quite freely, we take her for long walks, and she is out at least 2-3 hours every day. Still, a new world has completely opened up, a world without borders, without limitations, and with endless possibilities. On one side of the cabin we have a big field that is split in two wit a fence - on the other side of the fence there are cows! Every day Maja goes say hi and to sniff her new friends, then she spends some time on the "right" side of the fence, digging in the grass, sniffing new smells, completely occupied and seemingly deaf to all our calls. The cabin itself is in small forest, a heaven to loaf around in, dig a little bit here and there, smell new flowers, berries.. And, on the first day at the cabin, Maja met three weasels. The peeked out from underneath the house, hissing at Maja while Maja was barking at them. Maja would be so tired when she came in, but at once there was an opportunity to go out again, she would be so ready to explore more :)

  

   

   

   

Maja has peed here

Maja is now a quite well travelled dog. Here is quite a rough map - to be updated in the future, hopefully with more countries and more places :)