Living Pretty With Your Pets: Nalle’s House
It’s time for my favorite Friday post. I know there is a smaller group of my readers who truly enjoys these Friday posts and I do too.
Today we have Anu from Nalle’s House and I truly mean it when I say that she inspires me with everything she does. She has a truly unique style and she sticks to it. There aren’t many blogs like hers out there. And I truly love everything she does. It is different, stylish and so unique. If you’ve ever taken a peek at my DIY Pinterest board then you see that it is filled with her projects. I just love them and her amazing photographs.
Hi everyone! I’m Anu and I blog over at Nalle’s House. Julia’s pet series is so fun and I am honoured to be here today. Julia is the kindest and sweetest person you’ll meet over the internets!
Today it’s my turn to talk a little about my fur-baby, Nalle, an eight year-old golden retriever. He also happens to be my blog’s namesake! Nalle means “teddy bear” in Finnish. Our little family is first generation Finnish-Canadian and even Nalle’s doggie dad was imported from Finland so he’s half-Finnish as well! He was also named after my dad’s beloved, childhood dog, Nalle-The First, who was a German Sheppard mix. My dad always had the best stories about his Nalle. So the name was a double win in that it had a great meaning and sentiment for our family.
Nalle was the runt of the litter and he literally chose us when we went for our first visit to the breeder. He was the tiny puppy that was left behind by the rest of his siblings, but when it came time to visit with us he made sure to let his siblings know that we were his with his little bark. Nalle is our family’s second fur baby. We had a rescue cat first and he was Nalle’s best friend. They had the best wrestling matches and all of us were so sad one day when he disappeared from our country property. To this day even after a 40 km move to the city I still stop and check every black and grey tabby cat I cross paths with to make sure it’s not our lost family member.
The best characteristic of Nalle is that he is the most friendly and social dog. He thinks any passerby will instantly love him and give him all the attention in the world. He’s even mastered a submissive trick that he uses with dog owners/walkers. Nalle will submit, laying flat down on the ground in front of the other dog (even the ones that are a tenth his size), and then commando crawl over to the owner to get some human attention. The other dog is usually happy to feel dominant and rarely notices that Nalle has gotten over to their owner for some belly rubs. Most can’t resist his puppy-like face and often think he’s a much younger dog.
Nalle can also be quite stubborn. If you take him on a walk he’ll let you know where he wants you to go. He’ll put on the brakes if you turn toward home too soon.
A couple of Nalle’s favourite hobbies have been given very technical terms:
1) Mad-Doggin’: Nalle loves to spread his wings. If you let him off the leash he will instantly burst into a wild run consistent of swooping circles and figure eights. His tongue is usually hanging out the side of his mouth and he really does look a little “mad”.
2) Checking Pee-mail: Nalle must keep in touch with his other furry friends. He is excellent at checking for any messages at every post and fire hydrant. 🙂
A question we often get is about how Nalle is with the kids. He’s both really great with them, but also indifferent to them. He let’s them do whatever they want to him and is super gentle with them. However, he rarely plays with them. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that he was a little older when the kids came and maybe he still misses his cat brother. Nalle does get his own one-on-one time with Mummu and Pappa (grandma and grandpa) which he really enjoys.
Even though he acts indifferent to his brothers, I think he really does like them more than he lets on. Just look at his expression below. He’s loving that kiss from baby brother!
I also try to make sure the boys know how important Nalle is to our family. Nalle’s birthday is a pretty big deal and we have a tradition of getting him an ice cream cake. Ice cream is Nalle’s favorite!
I posted the photo below on Instagram this summer and someone commented that it will likely become one of my most favourite photos of the boys and I think she is right! I thought to myself that it would be great to recreate a similar shot each year, but that reminded me that our time with Nalle is so short. I’m not sure how many summers we still have with this buddy and his unconditional love. I think that God gave us these devoted creatures that we may have a glimpse of His love.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know our “teddy bear”, Nalle. Thanks so much Julia for having me here!
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ok i’m crying….. i am such a sap. it makes me sad to think there won’t be years worth of pictures like that one of nalle with the boys recreated. 🙁 he’s such a beautiful dog, and i love anu!
Oh my goodness what a precious dog and family!! That last photo is just beautiful. I love this series!!
Love Nalle! I never knew what his name meant before….what a great story about it :). And pee-mail–lol!
I completely agree on that last photo, such a cute and special little moment. Pets and babies together are priceless!
Oh my, I’m in tears too! I have a huge soft spot for Goldens, what a sweetheart Nalle is, our Rio has many of the same characteristics. Loved your story and photos, Anu!
Nalle is so handsome and I would love to give him a big kiss and hug. Your little boys are adorable, too. I’m sure Nalle loves them very much. Thanks for sharing your fur-angel with us.
Oh, how I adore the last photo too. So fun to find out the meaning behind her blog.
So many great pictures of Nalle. It was so great to get to know more about him and of course I LOVE me some Anu and her awesome designs!
Love Anu! She really is amazing and inspiring! Nalle is exactly like our girls. They are so good with our kids but completely indifferent to them as well! Too funny!
Love your Friday series Julia and what a precious dog and his family:-)
Thank you so much. Yes, they are so sweet
I love Anu! And her pup is cute, cute, cute!
Angela @ Number Fifty-Three