Remembering Fairer Weather

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... But I want some of that green stuff and Treasure adores the white stuff but loves mucking it up in the leaves. Fall just slipped by so fast.

Well, Treasure is off to the vet tomorrow. She has an ear ache that we have to get looked at. It means our son will be taking care of the pups while I am driving in that white stuff. They say we are getting a storm. I hope not. I am not crazy about driving in anything slippery - who is.

So photos may be sparse tomorrow but hopefully the vets will fit me in early enough that I am back in the morning but we shall see.

The crew enjoyed our visitors today especially Coco and Breeze. We humans enjoyed the dawgs and the human visitors. Thanks for coming!

Heat, Marking & All That!

 When gals are in heat and the boy is not mating with her, he does this continual marking. They mark to say this is mine but I also think it releases some stress. They do get very stressed when they are not being bred and there is a gal.

To make matters worse, they drip down their legs forcing many baths, rinse offs and that is why some breeders actually place leg protectors on. If I see the lady at the show that makes them, guess what I am going to buy. heh I want 2 sets. One to wipe off and wash daily and the other to replace.

At this point I am washing Kat every 4 or 5 days and rinsing daily and sometimes twice a day. I will be glad when Fiona is done her heat. She's being mated with a different male and its a bit much for Kat to take. Do you understand? I do.

I just gave him yet another bath. This morning he had a rinse and underneath bath but he was so bad that even though I washed him a few days ago, well he had to have another. I am now trying to figure out how to protect his legs. I may put a snowsuit on him. hahahahaha

Some would be upset but I 'get' that this is temporary and it too will pass and that hormone surge is something difficult to control. He's not whining or crying as some do so I best count my blessings.

Those that do not want to neuter their males though have to be crazy cause all it takes is a gal to be in heat up to a mile away and you will suddenly have all this wonderful behavior when they reach puberty. The reality is, it makes sense to neuter unless you are breeding and if you breed and the boy is connecting with the gal, the marking doesn't occur.

Now off to find solutions to keep him clean. (PS: I just tried plastic bags with hair ties on them - let's see how long that lasts. I will take them off at bedtime and put them back on in the morning and then off when we have guests or maybe not)

On a Mission

Tonight when Nathan gets home he will be reading email and returning calls about Red.

It's been a busy day as Yvonne came to send one of her pups to his forever home and the new owners met here.

What does that mean for the crew? Well, just a different routine. Dawgs appreciate consistency but they also should have things mixed up so they have the ability to go with the flow. It's also important to socialize.

Red Adair Looking For a Home

Red Adair was heading to England next year but due to his structure (he's compact and shorter than expected but full bodied) we are looking for a pet home instead of a show home. There is nothing wrong with him. He's healthy as ever and loves his food! He's pad trained. He's loving, gorgeous and needs another dog or one on one attention. He's way smart!

He sleeps in the bed. He's still a puppy. He's had all his shots and it will kill us to see him go but he needs a forever home. He's been in a holding pattern waiting for England too long.

If you need more info or you are interested, send Nathan mail.

Balanced Dogs

From time to time I write a few articles to help you get your dawgs from one point to the next. You have a great deal, after the breeder that is, in getting your dawg to be all they can be.

Read 'Getting Your Dog Balanced'

Too often life gets busy and we don't take the time to take our dawgs for play dates, out to Petsmart or your local dog store or to classes. Then suddenly you are wondering why your dog is nervous at new things.

Conditioning is VERY important. The more your expose your dogs to new things the more he takes changes in stride.

Think about it. If you never went out of the house and suddenly you were dragged out and you had no clue where you were going, how do you think you would feel?

Sure you need to do slow conditioning in safe environments but exposure is important.

I remember talking to someone that does agility and their dawg stops when someone has a hat on. If you started putting various hats on or had someone else each time that dawg would train, eventually the dawg wouldn't react but that takes effort. Is it worth it? YEP!

You have the ability to have an amazing time. They are what you put into them and as breeders, we give them the best start possible and you bring them in for a homerun.

Hunting Squirrels

I have to tell you the Havanese love to chase the squirrels. Wasabi can even catch one but what does she do if she does? She lets it go. It's simply the fun of the game. Kat just loves to look.

Shoshi used to be our top duck chaser, squirrel hunter with Risa not too far behind. They do adore a game of chase.

What does that tell you? If you ever have a dog loose that is heading the wrong way and he/she won't come to you, run the other way. Get her/his attention and run and the chase will be on and the dawg will come to you. It sounds counter productive but it does work.

We were at a gas station one time and a dog got out of the  car and was running towards the road. The owner was frantic. Nathan stepped into action and the dog was chasing him away from the street till the dog got close to the owner where she could catch him.

Remember, take advantage of their natural desire to chase. Be creative. Play games and get that recall down as it could save their life.

Ease of Grooming

I find 4 adult pups a breeze to room even to line comb. I think the more you do, the faster you get and the better you get. So don't give up if you are frustrated as it really does come.

Today we finally got our teak furniture in and room made for it to come in. Talk about doing things late.

The dawgs adore the snow and Kat is now sleeping up against me as if I am a second skin. We have had way too many changes and the dawgs are feeling it as if they are worried they will go and won't come back too. <sigh> I wish you could tell the dawgs things in a way that they would understand the changes.

They moped around after we lost Whitney and as our dawgs were placed other places, they are rather off kilter and I 'get' that. So am I if off kilter means down right sad. But we are pleased to hear the stories.

We love the dawgs so. Something special about unconditional love from a dawg, don't you think?

Have any of you experienced the wet snowballs that appear on their tummies from a walk?

Risa at Jeans

Risa is enjoying Jean, Quito and Kooba I am told by Jean and she is fast when it comes to squirrels.

We miss her but my heart does good when I hear from Jean and how she is doing. Risa is an amazing dawg. She's the grand dam and Kat's mom.

Thanks Jean for being you.

I am missing our dawgs as we have now arrived at our limit per our bylaw. <sigh> Who knew and how unfair that there is one when there are so few really good dawg homes. Yes, someone reported us - not for barking, not for care - but the number of dawgs.

This hurts my ability to help the rescues. Instead I have to manage and try to help in ways that I can.

Crazy as we groom our dawgs daily, love them, exercise them, snuggle with them and totally adore them!

But we are happy to hear about their adventures. Thanks everyone - you know who you are! Give the dawgs extra snuggles - will ya?

Good Things Come to an End

Teaka came to visit with her sister so she could get her Baer test. Teaka's sister went to her forever home and is much loved!

Teaka was born in Sudbury. In the dawg community many of us really try to help each other out. Sudbury doesn't have testing abilities except for clinics so we took Teaka to her appointment and tomorrow, freshly bathed she's off to Sudbury straight from  a dog show.

In the past we have been known to pick someone's dog up that is heading to Europe and being the overnight delivery people. We try to help and in return people help us.

It reminds me of the barter system that used to be so prevalent and I wonder how we got away from helping each other.

Teaka is a force to be reckoned with - an alpha in the making but I suspect she will be excited to be back at home and knowing that she lent us some enjoyment by hanging out with us. She also did a fine job riling up our crew. We will miss her!

Bathing & Raw Bones

 The problem with bones that are raw is it gets stuck in their beard even if its frozen as their face and love for it warms it up and all that wonderfulmarrow gets stuck in the beard as I saw with Risa and Raylan. So, it was wash the face time today and Raylan had a bath. So, be prepared to wash the face if you use raw bones even frozen ones. Showing and raw bones don't go together.

Tomorrow Raylan gets a bath so he can be shown.

They are threatening to have a whopper of a storm come Sunday. We know how often the weather people are wrong so...time will tell.

The dawgs will adore something more than a dusting.

When we take the dawgs out back, we are always carrying around bags in our pockets for cleanup. It's best to pickup on site. Besides, come spring you will be glad you did.

Here's Looking at You

Did you ever notice your dawgs look at you with adoration in their eyes? You can tell you are loved. It's genuine and quite nice.

If you are sad they try to take care of you. It's amazing.

I find the Havanese so intuitive.

They are also great troubleshooters and sometimes too smart for their own good or is that our good. hahahaha Can you tell, I love them!

Cuddles & Snow

The dawgs are missing Whitney. It's strange. They sniff her spots as if to say where is she. I miss her too.

I wish I lived somewhere that dawgs live as long as humans and you could have as many as you want as long as they don't irritate the neighbours, are loved, groomed and well taken care of.

Too many dogs don't have homes. Good ones are not always easy to find.

Grooming is difficult. I need to wash a few dogs but keep waiting for the hand to get better. I am a tad crazy. I look at the dawgs and I can't handle them not being brushed and knot free.

Well, I am going to rest the hand and hope tomorrow is a better day. Catch you then. Dawgs are really enjoying the cuddles and the snow!

Hard to Groom

It was a hard day to groom as I slipped and fell yesterday and I believe I sprained my wrist. Needless to say, I did a half job but I bet you that you couldn't tell. Hopefully tomorrow my hand cooperates and we get back to doing what we normally do or I will be shaving them down....nah

Catch you tomorrow!

Nah Nah Nah

Red loves to tease. He has such a personality and he can't help himself.

He found the new snow delightful and so did the rest of the crew.

I have never been to the UK but I don't think snow is the usual in England except in the mountains. I may be wrong but Raylan and Red best get their fill as soon they will be departing and learning to bark with a different accent.

We had a roaring grand time with the snow and it's supposed to snow all week but me, I fell on my head and hurt my grooming hand. Now this is going to be fun - NOT.

Snow Squalls

I have more photos from our weekend visitors but I won't resize and post them till tomorrow. All our human and their canine friends are keeping warm from the snow squalls in their own home today. Us, we are playing recovery from the busy-ness. We enjoy it so but we do think we are getting old as we get tired. ha

I said I would take a break from grooming but I didn't.

Next weekend Raylan is in a show so between baths that are due and his getting ready for a show, it will be a busy weekend next week.

So we are taking a moment to exhale and then the busy-ness happens again.

I bet you that you can relate with all this holiday shopping and festivities. Take your own moment to exhale. It's important to seek balance!

Some Busy Weekend

We have had lots of visitors, human and canine alike this weekend and tomorrow afternoon I think we will all take a snooze. Yeah right...

Siblings got to see each other, old canine friends got to visit and the human owners got to visit. It was great though I must admit I am totally tired.

It used to be that December was a crazy boarding month for us but now we just have friends drop in to say hello, visit, catch-up so we don't lose touch completely. Thank you to those that have allowed us stolen moments to play catch-up and click a few photos for memories.

We really love having people reconnect with us, drop in, say hello and allow us to cuddle with their precious ones. Check out our moments from today.

Visitors

Yvonne was in town to meet a potential puppy buyer with her dawgs and pups. We are friends and help each other out. Her house is mine and visa versa. Our house was just closer for these potential buyers (yes they got a pup) and they got to see the dad, the grandma and hang out and hey I got to hug and snuggle with Yvonne's pups - yum!

This is one of her cuties.

It is really important to socialize puppies, adults always. We had a lot of dawgs here today and it reminded me why I used to board. It is that critical exposure to other dogs that lend a comfort ability that is necessary for a dawg to become balanced.

Here is an excerpt on socializing from an article I had written.

By socializing, we help our dogs learn how to cope and respond, in a healthy and acceptable manner, to the spectrum of people, animals, places and things they might encounter in this world. We also practice a word association to help our dogs relax when they encounter something different.

By exposing our dogs to different kinds of people, we as owners, can help create a balanced dog. What we do makes a difference. Everything from dog obedience classes to vet visits to walks in the park, to visiting our home and other people's homes, can help them develop confidence and ease. This goes a long way in helping them become stable and balanced in the face of unsettling situations.

Socialization does not end at puppyhood. It is a lifetime adventure that will lead you into making new friends and much laughter and joy with your addition. In the book "The Other End of the Leash", applied animal behaviorist Dr. Patricia McConnell talks about "juvenile-onset shyness", a period in adolescence when dogs become more cautious and perhaps aggressive towards people and animals who are unfamiliar to them. If this aggression is due to a lack of experiences in adolescence or early adulthood, one way to prevent it would be to continue socialization well into adulthood. We embrace this and have seen it create positive results.

So socialize but do it in a safe way!

Taking Photos

Ever take a photograph and someone is doing something you don't want? Well, with the Havanese all you have to do is keep on clicking as they always seem to be dong something that you want to remember.

Sure they may squint like in this photograph or maybe they got dirty or ... but isn't that something you want to laugh about for years to come?

When taking photos for holiday cards, you can get them done professional but you can also do them yourself. Just try your hand at being creative. Have fun and enjoy!

In a couple of months Raylan will be off to England so we are doing a lot of memory keeping with him and click, clicking away. The same goes with Red. We will miss them but they will be loved dearly in their forever home. We know that.

Today was a funny day for the dawgs. I got them playing retrieve every chance I got. We got a lot of cuddles in and I am tired today. But I doubt they want t go to bed like me. hahahaha

Lessons Learned - A Mark in Life

Yesterday, in the pouring rain I had to take Whitney in to get put down. She hadn’t been eating for several days and she was vomiting. She was down to 48 lbs. That is very tiny for a golden. She had lost 20lbs. All the way there I had to listen to her choking and trying to breath. It was one of the hardest and it felt the longest trips. Mixed that in with the last time I went to the vet we had lost a puppy – our 2 ouncer that wasn’t meant to be. The other I was supplementing gained 3 ounces since we started eating food – oh my. She is almost 2lb at 4.3 days. She will be fine. Save one, not another. One was meant to be and the other not, I suppose.

We all arrive at the rainbow bridge eventually. Intellectually you know this. Your heart still breaks. Whitney was an exercise as lessons learned. She taught me to be more patient, understanding, to go for it despite everyone saying she will never be more than a broken fearful dog. I can’t begin to tell you how many trainers told us just to love her and it will never be better. They were wrong. It took walking her next to traffic 8 times a day and walking by that dog on the other side of the fence and peeing on couches and not getting angry – just getting a new couch and putting waterproof coverings on it – just understanding fear and having a strong desire to release her from those constraints. On and on she had so many issues and we are not give up people. When she stopped walking 2 years ago Nathan took her in the pool several times a day and exercised her legs. She began to walk again.

She transformed into a happy dog and I am pleased that she graced me with learning about fears, how to eradicate them by slow conditioning and what true unconditional love is about.

There will never be another quite like her but her memories and lessons will remain for a lifetime. I am better due to her. We are all better if we allow our dawgs to teach us what we often don't take the time to learn.

Life is too busy...too hard...too everything but they live in the moment and a broken dog can become whole with love and patience and time. Maybe if we took 5 minutes each day to connect with someone else's fears, feelings, loss etc something special would happen to us.

We would suddenly be better than if we didn't take the time. Life is memories to treasure. You can choose to make them special or not. Life sometimes gets in the way but suddenly you arrive at your own rainbow bridge without leaving a mark. Now that's the real crime.

Breathe... get past your own issues and connect and care and love with your dawg - with your family, your partner etc. Life is too short not to and what is the alternative? You will mourn missed moments.

We have so many memories and if I had to say what created that glint in her eye that you would see here and there – it was the puppies. She LOVED them so. It was as if they transformed her.

Allow your dawgs and your loved ones to transform you. They are worth it! All you have to do is try and want to.

I think I have had all but an hour of sleep quite literally. I took her bowl out to feed her and then put it away. I am beyond sad.

It's Raining

Today I drove to our vet and held Whitney as she took her last breath. It's moments like this that you wonder how life can be so short for our pals that give us so much.

I am not even sure how I made it back but I think the rain was pouring off my face inside my car. But I won't bore you with my sadness.

What did Whitney teach me in her short life? Patience, unconditional love and that being broken can be turned around. Whitney was a rescue with a heart of gold.

We never put so much into a dawg as we did her trying to turn her around and rid her mind of fears and we were successful with much work. She was happy. Her only residual fear was thunderstorms and even that was minimal as the years went by. She taught me that when others tell you something is impossible, go for it as it may not be so.

She is already sorely missed. Our gentle soul that adored the puppies all the way to the end.