Finland's puppies live: why a nation watches a litter for eight weeks

While the rest of the world follows the news, Finland is following a litter of dogs this autumn. On 6 October 2026 the public broadcaster Yle launched the sixth season of Pentulive, where puppies live on camera around the clock, from just before birth until they leave for new homes at eight weeks old. This year's star is Hilkka, a four-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo, and her six pups. The format has done so well that, according to Yle, British newspapers dubbed it "Big Brother for dogs", and the Dutch public broadcaster has bought the rights.

Puppies live and a million viewers

Pentulive is a classic piece of what Finns call slow TV: no presenter talking all the time, no editing, just a camera on the whelping box and life going on. The numbers are serious, though. Last year's fifth season, in which English Springer Spaniel Muru had 11 puppies, drew more than a million viewers and was one of the most watched shows on the Yle Areena platform. Clips on social media got about 20 million impressions in 2025. The year before, the stream was watched for a total of 2.6 million hours, which producer Jyri Loikkanen said works out to about half an hour for every Finn. The aim, he said, is the right balance between entertainment and factual content about dogs.

Earlier seasons featured litters of Labradors, Shibas, Whippets and Border Collies. This year, according to Yle, the stream can also be watched in Sweden via the public broadcaster SVT.

Hilkka, Zorro and six pups

This is Hilkka's second litter. The sire is a Lagotto called Zorro from Mustasaari, for whom it is the fourth and final litter. The breeder, whose home is the set, stays anonymous on purpose: Yle publishes neither name nor location so the breeder can focus on the puppies' welfare. As the breeder describes Hilkka, she thinks everything is fun and that the world is full of possibilities.

Viewers follow every gram. At the first "birthday" check, one week in, the litter weighed 4,335 grams in total, and one pup had already doubled its birth weight. A test weighing before and after feeding showed a pup gaining about five grams from one meal, roughly a teaspoon of milk. By 20 October all of them were over 800 grams, the heaviest at 922. Since the pups do not have proper names yet, they go by nicknames based on their markings, such as Blondi, Heart Boy and Star Girl. Viewers voted on naming themes, and the winners were Finnish literature and the writer Aleksis Kivi, Italy, and fairy tale characters.

Why eight weeks matter

Behind the entertainment is a serious message. The stream lasts exactly as long as a puppy should stay with its mother and littermates, and viewers watch day by day what happens in that time. In those weeks puppies at first only feed and sleep, then they start crawling, exploring, playing and competing with their siblings. Their mother cares for them and gradually teaches them limits. Growing up in a home rather than an isolated kennel means the pups get used to human voices, household sounds, smells and touch from an early age. Those little moments, which look like cute clips on screen, lay the foundations of a dog's future behaviour.

What it means for dog owners in Serbia

In Serbia, puppies are still often sold through online ads, sometimes too young, with no chance for the buyer to see the mother or where the pups grew up. The Finnish stream is a good reminder of what is normal and what to ask for:

• Do not take a puppy before eight weeks. Time with the mother and litter is not wasted: it is when a puppy learns bite inhibition, how to communicate with other dogs and how to settle.
• Ask to see the mother. A relaxed, friendly mother is a good sign. If a seller avoids showing her, be cautious.
• Ask how the pups were raised. Were they in the home, around people, sounds and different surfaces, or kept isolated? It shows later in behaviour.
• Keep socialising straight away. The first few months in the new home matter just as much. If you are unsure how to go about it, a trainer can help you make a plan.

And the Lagotto Romagnolo? A curly Italian dog known as a truffle hunter, which fits this season's nicest message: a dog that gets a good start has a far better chance of becoming a happy, well mannered member of the family.

Sources: Yle, Pentulive 2026 (Finnish), Yle, Pentulive news feed (Finnish), Yle News, Yle's popular Puppy Live returns for new season (English), Yle News, Yle's popular Pentulive puppy stream returns for fifth season (English)

Photo: Alberto Ziveri, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons