The days are getting shorter, the news keeps coming, and Finland has found the perfect antidote: a round-the-clock livestream of six newborn puppies. Yle, the country’s national broadcaster, is once again running “Pentulive” (Finnish for “Puppy Live”), and the nation is glued to it.

The stars are Hilkka, a Lagotto Romagnolo, and her brand-new litter. Here’s why a webcam pointed at a dog bed has become one of the most-watched things in Finland.

Meet Hilkka and her six pups

According to CNN, Hilkka gave birth on October 10 to six puppies, two females and four males. Yle News reported that thousands of viewers followed the birth live, and that in the days since, all six pups have been growing well and gaining weight as expected, with regular weigh-ins showing each is getting enough milk.

Hilkka is 5 years old and this is her second litter. When she’s not starring in a livestream, she has a day job: she’s a “school dog” who provides emotional support for pupils, and she’s currently on leave from that role.

The stream comes from the breeder’s home, but Yle isn’t disclosing the breeder’s identity, to protect Hilkka and her puppies.

Slow TV at its finest

Puppies sleep up to 20 hours a day, so don’t expect nonstop action. That’s kind of the point. “Pentulive,” now in its sixth season, is a classic example of “slow TV,” the format Norway’s public broadcaster made famous in 2009 when it aired a seven-hour train journey.

Viewers have been promised the puppies’ milestone moments, from opening their eyes to learning to walk and their first playtime outside. Yle’s highlight clips so far include the firstborn pup caught “training” late at night, Hilkka twitching through her dreams, and one puppy “bulldozing” its siblings to get to the milk.

The numbers are wild for a country this size

Finland has just under 5.66 million people. Yet CNN reports that the Pentulive page racked up 6.5 million page views last year, and Yle’s social media channels drew 20 million views. Based on early viewing figures, this year’s litter looks set to beat that.

Why it works

The puppy cam was launched in 2021 by Yle science reporter Pirjo Koskinen as part of a series on canine science. She told CNN the idea was partly “to shed light on a dog’s crucial first few weeks,” since what happens at the breeder’s shapes the rest of a dog’s life, much like early childhood does for people.

She also thinks the timing is part of the magic. “It is all about caring, love, and nurturing – all those positive aspects of humanity that often get pushed aside by a constant stream of unpleasant news,” Koskinen said, calling it “a wonderful escape from the human world into a ‘puppy bubble.'”

Experts agree there’s something different about a live feed compared with the endless short clips on social media:

  • It’s real and unedited. Miiamaaria Kujala, an adjunct professor at the University of Helsinki, told CNN the stream offers “something real, genuine and fragile,” with calm stretches and unexpected bursts of action.
  • It’s calming. Kujala added that it’s “immensely calming to observe a sleeping puppy.”
  • You get attached. Following the litter over weeks gives a sense of continuity, so you get to know each pup individually.
  • It fits the season. Sonja Mutanen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, said these streams are a much-anticipated highlight of the dark Finnish winter, when people tend to stay home more.

Naming day is coming

So far, the pups only have nicknames from their breeder. That’s about to change in true internet fashion. The public will help narrow down a list of names, and then the puppies themselves will “choose” by sniffing their way around a circle of sealed envelopes and snuffling the one they like. According to CNN, the official naming happens on Saturday.

The bottom line

The stream runs until the puppies leave for their new homes in December, so there’s plenty of time to tune in on Yle Areena, yle.fi or the Yle app. In a news cycle that rarely lets up, a dog bed full of sleepy puppies might be the most relaxing thing on the internet right now.

Image: Cute puppies sleeping in puppy pile. by vaishaliagola27 via WordPress Photo Directory, CC0 1.0