Riinu
Riinu at the age of thirteen months, April 2002.
Riinu, Kristull Rhianna is our newest arrival, being imported from Texas in October 2001. At the time she was some eight months old. Riinu stands about 55 cm (21.7 in.) high and weighs around 15.5 kg (34 lbs). She has a reddish brown coat with some white on her throat, chest and belly. Her coat is not quite as silken as that of Ali or Siru and there is some rougher hair on her lower back. Her coat color and black mask were both inherited from whippets. The black mask is rare in silkens.
Riinu has the longest of noses, we often hear funny comments about it from friends and passers-by. In fact her nose is so long that when she sniffs at something her cheeks will often flap like the sails of a large schooner in crosswinds. Riinu has soulful, dark eyes and she seems to be wearing mascara. She tends to keep one or the other of her ears pricked up while the other is drawn back which gives her a mischievous, comical look.
Taken in November 2001, this shot gives an idea of the size difference between Riinu and Hippu. At about 48 cm, Hippu is what used to be considered a large female whippet though today she is at best medium-sized. Riinu is of a representative height for a silken.
Though the height difference between Siru and Riinu is only three or four centimeters, Riinu seems much smaller and more compact. Siru takes up lots of room in our car or on our couch while Riinu fits unobstructively into the same spaces.
An alert-looking Riinu in February 2002. She seems to be wearing mascara. Photo: S. Jääskeläinen.
We thought that we knew exactly what we were getting into when we obtained another silken windhound. But Riinu is rather different from our previous silken friends. Like most silkens Riinu is very interested in people and other animals. But she is far more cautious than Ali or Siru, at first shying away from new acquantances. It can take five or ten minutes before Riinu becomes comfortable enough with a human stranger to approach him. She also keeps well clear of children whereas Siru enjoys their attention.
On meeting other dogs Riinu displays similar restraint. She keeps well to the rear of the pack, emerging only after Hippu and Siru have met the strangers and even then she is ready to bolt just in case the other dog turns out to be a terrible monster.
But other than meeting strangers, Riinu is a rather relaxed dog. We call her the No Problem Dog. She likes car rides, usually lying down and napping during them. She refuses to make a problem out of shortening her claws, of taking medicine or of visits to the vet.
Riinu and Siru play in snow, November 2001.
Training Riinu has proven a challenge. We thought that Siru was independent-minded but Riinu is much more independent, making her own decisions about things irrespective of what we pack leaders want her to do. With Siru we have used a Motivational Training System to good effect. MTS works well with Siru because she would gladly sell her own mother (Kristull Kali) for a couple of dog cookies. But MTS is not that effective with Riinu who does eat cookies but is not at all fanatical about them.
Thus we have used MTS and tried to reinforce all good behavior while trying to kindly discourage incorrect, unruly behavior. Time will tell if we are successful. Physical obedience training techniques used in training German shepherds and other guard dogs have of course no place in the world of sighthounds - sighthounds are kind, tender creatures and such training would break their hearts and turn them into cowering, frightened wretches.
Riinu and Rose sleep on Salla's parents' couch in Kajaani in December 2001. Riinu likes our
cats though they do not appreciate her playful attempts at chasing them.
At home Riinu craves for our company. It is not important what we're doing but she likes to be in the same room with us. Often she will simply lie down on the floor next to us and pass out. When we leave home she suffers from mild separation anxiety and can on occasion chew up things in order to feel more comfortable.
When she feels cuddly which happens about five times every day she will do whatever it takes in order to attract our attention. If we are watching TV and there is no room on the couch (which in a family of three sighthounds is the normal situation) she will nonchalantly climb on top of us... If we're sitting down at the table she will often raise her upper body onto someone's lap, begging for attention and at the same time checking out if there is anything edible within reach on the table. If we're lying down she likes to park herself in an armpit and fall asleep. Riinu is one cuddly silken.
How long does it take to housebreak a silken who has lived the first eight months of her life in a kennel outdoors ? In our experience it takes around eight to twelve hours. Siru, Ali and Riinu have all been housebroken in that time. In fact the only difficulty you are likely encounter is one of perception. A young silken is used to taking care of these things while off-leash and because you have not yet bonded with the dog you tend to keep her on leash... the result is that the puppy does not do anything outside but will immediately relieve herself when she is set free indoors. We solved this problem by attaching several leashes together in order to give the puppy the illusion of being free. Then we just sat down on the porch and waited for the dog to get around to doing it... and when she did we heaped praise on her. Silkens learn fast and usually immediately grasp the concept of doing these things outside. Riinu has since that first night had one accident but no relapses.
A frosty morning walk in Kajaani on December 29, 2001. The temperature was a cruel -28° C (-18° F). While silkens can certainly survive walks in these temperatures the outings must be kept short and athletic. The dogs' coats protect their bodies but their snouts, ears or toes can still freeze. In this photo the silkens are running away from the camera, playfully harrassing each other as they go. Riinu is on the left, Siru on the right.
We obtained Riinu because we felt Siru needed someone to run with. She has performed well in that function and provided Siru with some much-needed, daily high-speed exercise.
Having run for a while, Riinu and Siru are warm enough to stop and stalk each other despite the arctic temperature. The object of the stalking game is to stare at the other and to try to make her nervous. Whichever of the dogs first loses her cool and starts running has lost and has to be the bunny in a game of tag which begins immediately. Riinu is a firm believer in the idea that you have to keep your head down while stalking your friend... how else is the other supposed to know she is being stalked ?
December 27, 2001. -14° C (7° F).
Tag is the all-time favorite game of all sighthounds. It involves lots of cornering at break-neck speeds and is excellent practice for chasing long-eared prey. During a game of tag the dogs speed up and down the clearing or field, one trying to throw off the pursuer, the other trying to catch the pursued... this goes on until suddenly the second dog is no longer "it"... the roles change and the dogs turn around, speeding off in some other direction in reverse order... Eventually they tire and either begin stalking each other anew or are ready to continue the walk.
Riinu goes for a swim... the ditch was surprisingly deep, too deep to ford by usual means so she first
found herself completely under water, then swimming frantically. She swims "dog", of course.
Riinu is an apprentice swamphound. We do not have many pictures yet but we certainly will later. She loves splashing about in ditches, lying down in muddy water, drinking from dubious water sources. She even cooled off by lying down in a half-frozen puddle this spring. It is now May and she is already taking two showers a day. Our plumber is going to love this...
Stalking Siru in November 2001. Her ears are in their usual, mischievous arrangement.
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