Hanging Out at Talemaker

All of you know that my camera was in the shop - yep WAS. I got it back tonight but not in time for these shots where Chewie went home and his mom and sister - human style came to get him and Jasper also came to visit. We missed having Chico and Missy here. Saki is visiting till Saturday.

Here is a few of the photos from today. Crummy camera but click on them to see a larger view.

The gang was hanging out on the cover. Even the wee ones were out too. Jasper really enjoyed the younger set and his siblings. Saki and Chewie have been enjoying them all week long. It's an excellent way of socializing them with the bigger set.

If you look closely, you can see three of the siblings. Can you tell us who is who?

The crowd did get off the cover eventually and I did get a lot of lousy shots - some good ones that I haven't posted but hey, I tried with this camera.

I caught a lot of Jasper with various wee ones always hanging out under him. I think they rather enjoyed him.

Treasure was whispering sweet nothings in Jasper's ears. I wonder what she was saying.

Fiona, at first was worried about her babies but she calmed down and enjoyed the time too scatting and having a grand time.

Just when you thought we had all over cover photos, yeah the pups played elsewhere. Can you name them all?

We are going to miss Chewy. He kept trying to tell Saki he was boss but she knew she was. No Chewy to try to steal someone else's food. Hope he is sleeping well tonight.

Now we get to treasure Saki till Saturday and then we will be back to our own except for Gidget - who always adds fun around this place. Yep, when the gang was here, she was getting them to run-like-hell. She's such fun.

Hope you enjoyed the photos...more tomorrow...

Wet, Wild and Clean or....Dirty

Treasure had a bath last night. Yeah... I wasn't going to do it but she cleans up nicely. I also cleaned Wasabi today and Chewy gets a bath tomorrow.

Do I have my camera?

NO but we are thinking tomorrow.

Watch for steam rising if it doesn't come my way.

We have the siblings coming tomorrow and no camera. We will miss Missy - big time.

The crew was playing in the kitchen and then we gave in and took them out to play hard and get soaked in the rain - even the pups. Okay, I am a glutton for punishment but we adore the pups so what's a little more work?

Wasabi has been playing with Chewie and Saki every chance she gets. It's quite nice. You have to love her desire to be with them even after they go home.

Monday, our golden goes in for a cruciate operation and it will be a long process of healing and recovery. It's lots of $$ and lots of work to get her back to 100% they say. She will be staying overnight.

We will be seeing the vet a great deal next week - Terra on Monday and Tuesday and weeks end the pups for their shots. They also go for a hearing test. Busy next week.

Treasure has been playing with Saki quite a bit and good thing as Chewie is going home tomorrow. She will need someone more her size to play with when her brother goes home.

The rain and wet didn't seem to bother these two today. We will miss this interaction.

There is nothing like 2 puppies playing up a storm.

Pool Covers, Visitors and Outside Play

Ever wonder if you can walk on the pool cover? Well, you can if you have a safety cover.

Click on the photo to see an upclose view.

We got the cover on purpose to make sure our dawgs were safe. It's been money well spent.

Well, each day this week and sometimes twice in a day, we have had visitors. It's good socialization but it's hard on the human here as I am grooming till the witching hour playing catchup.

Next week we have puppies going in for shots and their hearing test. Then we have a visitor Rocky who is coming for the weekend. It's a crazy week but we are going to turn it down a notch and allow this human to catch up with a few moments of downtime.

Thursday we have the siblings visiting (still no camera for me), Thursday Chewie also goes home. Saki goes home Saturday. Gidget remains till mid November.

Today we had a visitor - a Lola, Kat puppy called Mac. They do their own grooming and I think they did a pretty nice job - don't you think?

He got to see his half siblings - he shares a Dad with Saki and Chewy. He's silvering out like Kat.

Now Nathan is out at handling classes as he is helping someone showing Bichons this weekend in the airport area. You should go watch the Havanese and all the rest of the dawgs.

Me, I am washing Kat and wrapping him up in a few minutes. I just finished grooming the rest of the crew (washed Fiona today too) and I have Treasure to wash tomorrow or tonight if I really lost my mind and Chewy on Thursday morning before he goes home.

Looking forward to getting the Bathing Beauty and hope it cuts down on bathing times. We shall see.

PS: If you want grooming supplies - or anything from k9groomingsupplies, email me and Doug. You can put your order in and I can pick it up for you, if you like. It wil save you in shipping charges. Just let me know.

Quito and Kooba...

Quito and Kooba were with us for 11 days and I rather miss the duo. They made us laugh. I never saw a dawg love his walk as much as Quito does.

It's quieter around this place without them.

But we have the duo (pups) that well haven't stopped playing since they arrived.

We also had Sebastian visit us and that was a treat. We haven't seen him for quite some time. He's looking good these days.

But he wasn't sure what to make of Chewy who thought the best game in the world was the - let's see if I can corral Sebastian and drive him crazy. We were able to educate Chewie while Sebastian learned the game of patience with little ones.

Without Kooba and Quito to warm me up at night and Gidget to wear as my hat - what am I going to do? Wait, Gidget isn't going anywhere yet.

Going to miss those walks with Quito marking over Kat and being delighted that he did.

I just love the dawgs. They are like watching kids that don't talk but if you watch close enough, they play similar games with each other. It's fun and it's quiet around here. Can you believe?

What a Day

We had the pure pleasure of a fun filled day with all the dawgs. Here you can see Fiona just loving two of her babies. Click on the photo to see a larger view.

Kooba and Quito will be heading home tomorrow. Baths for them in the morning.

They will be missed.

Kat had a bath today and had to have his beard covered and his belly hair covered.

Twice a day I have to take it off, and then redo it. He gets to sleep without. Too much but we have gals around and he gets his face dirty. It's an unneutered boy thing you know and he is doing conformation - otherwise - I wouldn't care enough to do such things.

The walks have been fun. Tonight Nathan had the siblings and I had Wasabi and Shoshi on one of the walks. He takes two - I take two and I am always behind him so the dawgs are forever wanting to get up in front so I have a lot of training on these walks. hahahahaha

Anyone who simply walks one or two dawgs can't fully appreciate what it takes to be the man behind.

Another breeder - who will go nameless asked me why I even bother to walk the dawgs daily seeing we have a backyard they can run in. But for us, we feel that a walk stimulates their mind. It gives you an opportunity to train. It allows your dawgs to deal with noises, people - other dawgs. If done right, it is an excellent way to slow condition your dawgs and bond. So - for us - it is important!

Yesterday we had 3 of the siblings over from Wasabi's last crew. It was delightful. One of the owners of Chico (Kaarina) took this stunning photo. She has a knack for wonderful portraits. Me, I do movement mostly but I truly admire someone who can capture a moment and she did.

We really wish we could have had 2 of the siblings here but it didn't work out this time getting the entire crew together. We will keep trying. On Thursday we will have Jasper, Saki and Chico here but unless we can talk Chewy into coming back after his parents pick him up - well there will have to be a next time.

It was great to see them and I am hoping the video works and the camera is working. I think I will buy a buy a new mini DVD for the occasion.

When dawgs come to visit, there is a bit of jockeying that goes on - trying to find their place in the pack. Kooba and Quito live together but she tried to get him to sleep on the bench instead of the bed. The first night it worked but then I told Kooba the rules and she straddled up on one side and Quito on the other. Gidget got my head and the siblings got Nathan. It's amazing how it all falls into place. Glad we have huge bed accommodations. It's a must around here!

Upset Time

So upsetting....we took video of Chico and none of it came out. :-(

I have had it with this video camera...it's (this video camera) got to go as soon as I can get another. :-(

Plus to add insult to injury, my camera is in the shop so do you think I got a good photo of Chico - NOT. :-( This one is the best we have.

Wasabi played with the pups amazingly. She really enjoyed Chico but do I have a video of it - no. We also had video of the Fiona pups with everyone.

This is so FRUSTRATING!

Well, I do have a video of Wasabi last night with Chewy and Saki and I am hoping Chico's owner sends us some stills of Chico while he was here...but till then, enjoy the Wasabi, Chewy and Saki video.

Boarding at Talemaker Havanese

As you know, Darlah writes the vast majority of the information on this site. Every now and then I slip in a comment. Today I feel like contributing.

We are currently doing our version of boarding with five additional Havanese. I say our version because to call us a kennel brings up images of crates, pens and chain link fences. That's not us. What we do is bring those dogs into our home and treat them just as we treat all of our dogs. Since some of them were born here in the first place that comes as no surprise.

Anyway, this means we play with them, love them, walk them, brush them, let them play with each other, love them more, greatly help any dog with socialization, let them sleep on the bed with the rest of the dogs unless the owners have specifically requested that we do not, and give them free run of most of the house and all of the backyard.

All of this evolved from the days when we had a single dog, an incredible German Shepherd named Lacie. Lacie was a King Shepherd, a large version at 105 lbs. She didn't growl at a stranger, per se. She simply looked at you and you froze in place until given permission to move. And yet she was a complete pussycat as you'd expect of a dog raised with seven children. But when we had to go out of town we had to board her and we hated it. The last time we did it we picked her up shaking and quaking we swore "never again". And from that day to this one of us stayed home at all times.

So when we decided to cross that invisible line and get into breeding and raising Havanese, offering boarding was a no brainer. We already knew this is something we ourselves would have wanted. And it just made too much sense. It truly was one of those win/win situations. We provide a dog with the best possible experience we can, almost as good as being at home with their family, and most important, we provide the knowledge to the people that have trusted us with their dog that they will be well looked after and loved. They are not here marking time waiting until their families return. They are interacting with our family and our dogs and loving it. But make no mistake, they are thrilled to death when the families return and they can once again go back to being the center of the universe instead of having to compete with all those other dogs here!

If you have a Havanese you wish to board with us, please email us, in advance. Believe it or not there is a limit to how many dogs can sit on me on the recliner at the same time.

Thank you,
Nathan

PS: If you haven't seen or purchased your 2010 Havanese calendar brought to you by the Havanese Canadian national breed club, please do so now. This link takes you right there. http://www.havanesefanciers.com/?q=Calendar2010. I really like it but then I'm bias as I created it with the help of a lot of photos sent in to me from HFC members from coast to coast.

Getting Downright Comfie

Kooba likes to watch TV with Nathan. Doesn't she look comfie?

The pups are fast asleep. Nathan just came inside - bare feet and all after taking the dawgs out.

It's wet and the dawgs get mighty messy but not Kooba with that short hair. Just a brush out and it all falls out of hair this short.

Lately Abigail is playing with Kooba and Quito.

The two pups, Chewy and Saki are non stop playing till she says enough - just like her canine mom. Got to laugh.

Chewy likes the x-pen - seems to feel comfie laying up against it. Although they are now playing with the older set, well nothing like a sibling.

Let the Play Begin

We had a little fun with this video. Anyone who has been following our blog and our lives knows Shoshi was always a dog that didn't socialize all that much with other dawgs or humans unless she really knew you but these days you can see her climbing up on anyone's lap that will have her and playing with visitors and the pack.

Kat as he has grown older tend to not play with anyone unless the gals are getting close to being in heat but these days he is playing up a storm with the gals - you'll see Gidget and Shoshi playing too - and Fiona is just loving motherhood. Watch how agile she is in this video.

We do not believe in all show - keep the hair pristine as it doesn't help the mind and body so we say, let the play begin. What wil be, wil be.

Hope you enjoy!

Be sure to check out Talemaker Puppy Life to see the pups. We had them out in the rain today to get them conditioned. Six weeks old - wow so fast!

Nathan has left a new comment on your post "Let the Play Begin":

What is most extraordinary about this video is the fact that Kat is playing with them like this in the first place. He is THE MALE in the house and totally dominant. Normally they wouldn't dare play with him at all without his invitation. Today he wanted to play with his girls and he did. Keep in mind he's known Shoshi his entire life. I love this dog. I love all the dogs.
Nathan

Big Dawg, Little Dawg Play

We finally recovered SOME of the video. Below you will see a video of what we do with the dawgs daily. Even though we are pretty hands on with them in the backyard, it's not enough, in our opinion. There is nothing like the walk.

We do daily walks to help then get a change of head space and see new things. We don't follow the same route as dawgs get bored too and so do you.

We skip walks on Halloween night as it contains way too much activity and all sorts of new decorations that we don't tend to want them to have sensory overload. We do walk them up to that date so they do see the decorations but not all the costumes and running kids.

In this video below you will see the big dawgs and the two Wasabi pups. We also did another video on Talemaker Puppy Life with Fiona's pups and the Wasabi pups. Do check them both out to see how life is going for the crew.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy having the fun.

Snoozing After Play and Walks

I have to tell you that the crew really had a grand time from the little almost 6 week pups to the Wasabi pups to the adults. They played hard in the backyard and I even got video of it but DVD issues so hoping to get something I can recover but won't be till tomorrow to see if anything can be.

The crew also loves their walks and I have to tell you that I think Quito thinks walks are what life is truly about.

Some people say - can't they play in the backyard. Well, they do but truly would you be happy if all you saw was your house and backyard? I wouldn't be. So, we walk our dogs including all the visitors each day so they get a different perspective of life. Then they come back and snooze. Can you blame them?

Gidget and Kooba are two peas in a pod. They adore the pups and I can understand why. I have to say that everyday of me grooming Gidget, I get to put that top knot a different way and smile when she can't get it out.

Yes, each day I groom all the dogs. We do walks. We get snuggles in and every single one gets one on one attention.

When we go to bed, we get the dog drape thing going on and that's nice.

PS: the Wasabi pups actually slept solidly last night but they were playing up a storm today with Saki getting her point across to Chewy when she wanted to relax.

She now tells him in no uncertain terms - it's time to relax brother of mine!

Couch time is required around this place.

Even the humans after a full day need to chill on the couch wrapped in dawgs and watch some TV.

Of course not animal shows as some actually watch and try to bark at animals.

We use it as a moment to correct. You can too!

Can you believe they can see the TV!

It's good to give some downtime to the dawgs.

We also had a tad bit of competition around this place with games of retrieve. Chewy thought he was going to get it and Treasure had other ideas.

Saki decided she liked the yellow duck better than anything those two had. Who can blame her?

It was a VERY full day. We are tired. My camera is in for repairs. We are trying to recover videos and where is that bed? I think even the dawgs would appreciate nice cool sheets and a snore or two.

More tomorrow!

Pups, Visitors & Much More

The crew -from visitors to ours are really enjoying the outside weather.

It's something about the cooler weather that invigorates them. I wish it did the same for me.

This was Quito coming in from outside play. He's really enjoying the crew and so is his pack mate, Kooba.

Ah...fresh air...

Lots of dogs...equals a great deal of fun.

The pups that are here - Saki and Chewie - litter mates from Wasabi's last litter are going and going and going. I think they slept oh 30 minutes the whole night as Chewie was so excited to see Saki that he couldn't help himself. I think tonight will give them more sleep.

Saki is now telling Chewie off when she wants rest. Bonus, he is listening and guess what - this is a learning experience as they learn to 'get' when one is saying and when wants to rest.

Gidget keeps getting in the mix with the pups and her hair keeps going 5 ways to Sunday. I just have to laugh. That's okay, I just finished fixing all their hair and they look fabulous.

Unfortunately my camera may have to go in for repair. It's not working up to par and that will mean lousy quality pix with Nathan's click and take camera but we will survive. I will have to do a video or two.

Sleeping arrangements - Wasabi headed for the couch last night. The couch is in our bedroom. Nathan took Kat to another room so he could get rest before a show and I got the rest of the crew. Risa kept making grumbling noises - oh my the pups think they are sleeping on MY pillow but that worked itself out and Saki won the day sleeping on top of my head. Chewy slept up beside me when he slept and wasn't pouncing on Saki's head. Really - it was funny but I think I am tired. ha ha

I Think Saki is too.

Gidget is truly adoring the little ones. She will climb into my lap and watch TV with me. Quito asked to be picked up and will enjoy the cooler ottoman though he lays his head on your leg. It's so cute. Kooba - well she just got finished throwing out every toy we had in a crate and then laying down smiling as if to say - look what I did.

The visitors are having a roaring good time but so is our gang.

Sleep tonight so I can do line combing the gang, cleaning around the eyes and massages. Yes..we do - well I do - give them massages. I want one. Do you think I can talk any of them to do one on me?

More tomorrow. Hoping to do a video.

Caught By the Tail

It's exciting times at the Talemaker Havanese house. Two litter mates from Wasabi's last litter are here and they are playing up a storm non-stop.

They certainly add a lot of fun to the mix and Kooba is beside herself trying to join them but the two are playing so fast and non-stop that I bet you they sleep tonight.

We also have Gidget here and you can find her watching Fiona's pups. She seems to adore the little ones and Kooba - well she adores Kat - hahahaha and she gets him to play non-stop.

Quito has found his place with Abigail.

But you know what is funny - it can all be different tomorrow and it's bound to be.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see how sleeping with 14 dawgs works out. We will fill you in who sleeps where and if Chewy - one of the pups licks our faces, pounces on our heads and tries to play at 3am...ROFL.

But we love it...honest!!

Dawg Happiness

What's the best game for a Havanese to play with another Havanese? The chase game, of course.

Kat is rarely caught but looks like he best watch out as Abigail is either cutting him off or catching him in sheer speed. She does practice this game a great deal and Kat only has moments of pure fun where he does.

He's rather happy at the moment as he has Quito, Kooba and Gidget here and he really likes what they bring to the mix. Kooba tends to be relentless forcing him to run and play hard and he loves it.

Male dawgs that are intact in a pack usually invest too much time in other things to just let loose but when someone engages him in play, it's like chicken soup for the Havanese soul. I put it up there with his diving in the pool - well almost. Nothing seems to compare to that for him.

Plus today we had a visitor over and their daughter was running around and getting them going. It was sooooooooo nice to see. So the dawgs are in fun mode and to be honest - it's contagious. I hope you catch the bug.

It All Comes Together

Shoshi is a pet dog. She came to our home strictly as a pet. When we first got her the breeder pushed us to get her extra early saying she would fly in with her sister and you don't want her flying alone.

We wanted to come to the breeder's house to get her but always a reason why we couldn't.

These are all warning signs as you should be able to visit your breeder if you live close by or even if you want to fly in.

Breeder's have lives too and have doctor's appointments, dinners out and all the things that us humans do so we are not here waiting for people to visit and when we have litters, we have to be extra careful as those visiting breeder after breeder can bring things on their feet, hands, clothes etc.and you can lose puppies that way so we balance our puppies needs with those interested.

If you are just wanting to get a puppy fix and not serious about acquiring one, you should think about the health of the pups and be extra careful. Leave your shoes at the door, wash your hands and if the breeder won't let you hold that puppy as its too young, then listen. It's not about you but the health of the puppy. As they get older, then everything gets easier.

So far Shoshi has been really healthy. We have been lucky. But she came to us very shy, afraid of the world and not socializing with people. If she had been homed without other dogs, she may have remained so. But she was lucky that she came to the crazy Talemker Havanese home.

She gets exposed to many people and dawgs. This has been positive and as she gets older, the more secure she gets. You can find her now sitting on stranger's laps and enjoying people.

She is one of the reasons we know that anything is possible given time, exposure and conditioning with love thrown in. Due to coming home too early, she was under developed in reading other dawgs, how to introduce play and how to simply meet and greet. But not everyone has a home like us with many people and dawgs coming in and out.

Here we have Quito and Kooba who is visiting us. When we first started boarding, we worried about conflicts and we learned how to introduce and how to read dogs and how to handle situations Every dawg that has come in no matter how nervous feels relaxed when matched with another that welcomes them in. Abigail is the very best for this job. She's like the person at the party and everyone is standing separate around the room and she gets them all interacting in a positive way. It's marvelous to watch.

Who are the best pals these days? Abigail and Shoshi. It does my heart good!

Look for Gidget and Saki and Chewy coming soon. My camera will be busy for sure.

Creative Expression

Kat was in a bit of a funk today. Do dawgs have moods - YEP.

They have likes and dislikes. Each have their very own unique personality and that's what makes them truly a delight.

They also pick up on YOUR mood. So, if you are in a total funk, your dawg may try to get you out of it or he will be your best friend and sulk and pout right along side of you.

Havanese are very intuitive. They are smart and tend to read your emotions like a book.

If you are in obedience training or conformation and you are upset at the wife/hubby/friend, the boss - whomever - don't fool yourself but that new trick you want to teach them - well unless your mood lightens up will be a tad more difficult to teach than if you just try and find your happy place.

So, no matter what is wrong with your world - all is right when a Havanese is in it. You just have to make it so for that Havanese and you!

Today's Mucking It Up

When female dawgs get together and there are puppies involved, there is always some good natured one upmanship like we experience at times with this crew. In play and in all things, they are still trying to vy for top female.

It's sometime off before they rise to that occasion but they do play and they do have a true fondness for each other.

This was just some of the pictures that Nathan took today.

Almost Two

Abigail, the dawg inside the bed will be 2 on Wednesday. Abigail is an apricot sable who is the heart dog of this crew. She takes a nervous dog and gets them to feel accepted. She has a heart as big as ever and is quite special, in my book.

Abigail is going in for her final tests before she has another heat this week. She's due to come into heat at month's end and will be bred to Kat. We are very excited about the possibilities of these pups.

It's a busy week. We have visiting dawgs coming this week and we are SOOOOO excited. It's nice to have the lull of just our crew and then we start missing what visitors bring to the mix and suddenly we are enjoying the craziness of dawgs. More walks - more play - more bedtime snuggles.

Hope that all of you survived the holiday. Go easy on the turkey with your dawgs. They may get upset tummies. Each dawg is different. Practice moderation.

Now back to grooming and outside play before mother nature and rain spoils all the fun.

Cold and Havanese

It's bitter cold and the Havanese love it! I am not sure I do. For them, it is invigorating. It's fun to watch. It's like poetry in motion!

Dress real warm - get outside and get them to practice movement. If you join in - think of the fun you will have. You may even laugh at yourself trying to keep up.

I think tomorrow, I will cuddle up on the couch after a jaunt outside and enjoy hot chocolate and Havanese and blankets. What about you?

Fondness of Each Other

Can dawgs feel fondness - even love for each other? Absolutely!

Do they have similar feelings for you? Yep!

What's great about your Havanese?

1. They never tire of your company

2. They are usually sensitive to your feelings.

3. They don't talk back - well almost never. heh

4. They take up a small space on the bed and keep you warm on a winter's night.

5. They bring laughter to your life.

There's more but start listing them and I bet you that you will be AMAZED at how many things you get down on your list.

The Havanese are amazing but some do have their quirks. Wet grassy feet - no - I don't think so. But playing and hiking and walking and agility and the list goes on - absolutely.

Here as it warms up from all this rain...well there's NOTHING like those Havs.

Next week we have a few visitors including Wasabi's pups. We can't wait and we will certainly be taking photos and videos of that!!

Well, back to basting the turkey. The dogs are smacking their lips. Yep, we are doing Thanksgiving tonight. Then off to a show tomorrow.