Remy Goes Home

RemyThe Remster has left us and I bet he is already snoozing as I type. He will be missed.

It's rather quiet around here with just Cesar and Shanty. Cesar is smitten with Treasure and has been running after her nonstop and she is loving it.

Treasure's that gal that always gets attention and revels in it. I am not sure why the boys like her but it has to be her fun lovin' way she embraces life.

I washed, Remy, Fiona, Wasabi and Abigail today so no photo gallery today. I hope you understand. I am now off to watch the puppies and relax. More tomorrow.

Visitors Playing Like Crazy

The crew is having an amazing time with the visitors.

If you click on the photo, you can see the funny expression Treasure has on her face.

We have a few visitors till Monday morning and they are really enjoying themselves.

When we have visitors. we always introduce one at a time. This way the visitors are not overwhelmed and the crew connects.

It was a very fast transition with this crew.

I got to see a Bathing Beauty in action today. I was impressed. Anything that can save me time and product bathing is alright with me.

Pool Time or Not?

The crew is excited that there is no rain this afternoon. They are totally confused about it - as am I but excited. I swear this is the summer that wasn't.

Daddy's going to hang out with the crew and I am going to hog the puppies and catch up on work.

He's busy this week so he needs to get it and so do the dogs before this weather changes.

How are you coping with the rain? Better yet - how does your Havanese like the rain? Some want to get sopping wet - others don't want their feet wet. Yep - just like people. hahahaha

Dry a Havanese or Blow One Out the Door?

What type of dryer did you think you were going to use on me?

My mommy has a nice Oster dryer that is gentle on me but takes longer to dry. Some of her Havanese friends suggested she use the canister air high velocity type of dryer that is noisy, powerful and I think I can fly like Toto (figure out what movie that is from)

Well that dryer certainly gave me that stand-up look. I didn't like it but it did take less time. hmmm

I wonder what dryer she will settle on.

Crazy humans and here I thought after watching Marley and Me that she would never wash me, let me do whatever my heart desires and be a top dawg. ha!

Anything for a Treat

Treasure is highly treat motivated. Heck she is food motivated. You should see her when it is dinner or breakfast time. It's as if she just was told that treat is a million dollars.

Well, it was bath times today. Got the Abs to do still. Kat, Fiona and Wasabi had theirs - Abigail will get hers next and tomorrow Rufus gets his and Gina gets hers on Tuesday morning before she goes.

So many baths...so little time and where did that weekend go? Still Nathan did a marathon walking the crew and then some. I couldn't go as I was attached to the grooming room. Did you get out and enjoy the warmer weather? I hope so!

More tomorrow and a clean Rufus before he goes.

Bathing Woes of the Havanese

Well Daddy said I smelt dingy smelly dirty. It must be all the mucking around that I do in the backyard. A gal has to do what a gal has to do.

So Mommy had to give me that B word. You don't know what that was? Well, it's a B-A-T-H and it's a mighty dirty word.

Well, Daddy was kind enough to buy Mommy a Groomer's Helper so she can leave her hands free and I don't do the struggle on the drying. Am I not going to play the wriggle game with Mommy? How will I ever survive?

While Mommy was at it she bathed Fiona much to her disgust. Now Mommy can stop apologizing for me looking so dirty. hahahaha

Well, we have another handling class somewhere out in lower slabovia - a drive away that makes Mommy get the GPS thang going. We hope we can find it and we have more large dogs to get conditioned to.

I try to play with dogs - these great big huge things and sometimes they growl at me so I growl back. Mommy says I need to learn my manners - whatever THAT is. It's okay. I figure it's a new game they are playing but Mommy whispers something about doggie communications. Gad - if she only knew what those doggies were really saying. Oh yeah - she can read their body language but I am a d-a-w-g and I know best! See you at class!

All Good Visits Come to an End

Well, today Gidget woke up, had her breakfast - well the breakfast that I told Nathan she will eat and then she had her bath. She wasn't overly crazy about it especially the blower but think about warm air blowing in your face and some crazy lady brushing your face - and well - how would you find THAT!

The Gidge will be going home today and the crew - including us will miss her.

More later>>

Top Havanese Dawg & Dirty Legs on Walks

Okay, we believe in having fun around here and we mean it. Who's top dawg in this photo? hehehe
Well, we have had a busy day today. It started early and it was too wet on the deck from morning dew for human daddy to hang out on but he gave it a shot this afternoon.

Remember you can always click on a photo to see a larger version.

Talking about hanging out on decks, I take photos of decks but rarely lay my ahem down on one. The floor in the house is a different story.

Well, I managed to take a photo of our Wasabi who hasn't been cleaned now for a week and still, she is the only dog that still feels silky and looks great messy - don't you think? That gal gives stylin' a new name - I tell ya!

I gave Sebastian a bath today (yeah he needed it - as you will see below) and he has the same hair as she does. I hope he keeps it as hers never knots and is so silky.

Well, Nathan did training with the dawgs today. Miss Abs wasn't behaving so he quit on her - hahahaha and then a few hours later went back to it and she started acting up again and he got her on track. His goal is to kick ahem in handling class - well I think it is.

We also went on walks and I am not sure about these people that let us watch their dogs. We surely let them get D-I-R-T-Y. They would be flabbergasted.

Must be some of that desire in us to let them be dawgs despite having to wash them afterwards. Here you can see poor Sebastian's legs. Got to love it! He surely did chasing Katsuro and Shoshi and Risa around the playing field filled with wet and mud and oh my...

But all was not lost as some of the crew went to the forest and stayed dry and didn't have to get washed. I can't imagine washing all 10 in one day. Thanks to the little silver linings in life.

Well, Coco is surely getting along with the crew today. Here she is off with a walk with her sister Fiona. As I type, she's laying under my desk snuggling with Fiona. Life is good.

More tomorrow. We may be losing Coco to Yvonne's house tomorrow. We shall see.

Stoned Havanese Vegging With Fave Human

It's not a great photo as I was taking shots into the sun but dear Miss Abs came back from the vets after getting 2 of her canines pulled and she is stoned on morphine - chillin' out in the backyard on the deck with her fave human. That's okay as tomorrow she has to get show training busy. Today she has the day off. :-)

If you are getting your dog neutered or spayed, this is the time to deal with any teeth that just don't want to come out like Abs. Hers had roots that were larger than the actual tooth.

We have a great vet who let us bring in our crate so she can feel comfie.

Nathan also dropped over to Yvonnes to hang out and wait for the Abs with a few of the other dogs. He also managed to get a few photos.

Here you can see Rita's Minnie chasing Wasabi's Sebastian, Rita's Opal behind them and Downsey and Fiona behind Opal and good old Terra laying on the deck.

If I have any mistakes in this, forgive me. I will fix it tomorrow. I have a very conked out Abs laying in one arm while I try to type with the others. She never lays here for this amount of time as she is always too busy playing so I am treasuring the moment and dealing with the difficulty of typing.

Remember you can always click on the photos to see a larger version.

I asked Nathan to take photos so I could see Downsey's colour and to see if she is the same size. She looks like the same size but wow that colour. We are really getting excited to see what Cocoa looks like - their other sibling who comes on Friday. I will have to remember to charge the video camera.

Well more tomorrow. It's way too hard to snuggle and type.

Last Class Results

Well, this was the last class of this round for Miss Abs and Sebastian.

The results are.... well click on the photo here to see a larger one and you will see 2 ribbons and his certificate for most improved. I have to say, Mr. Sebastian really brought it home. If Miss Abs had to lose out, well it couldn't have been to a better dawg.

We are so tickled to death when we see our dawgs go to homes that put their all into them and get them to be all they can be. Bravo - human and C-bass the dawg from the Talemaker crew.

We will fill you in on Miss Abs later. She did down and MOST things but heeling, running - :-) Miss Abs will be starting handling soon. We are thinking *I* may be the problem having mommy there.

We get to see Talemaker's Remy tomorrow on his last class. Can't wait.

More later and have you checked out the auction yet?

Havanese Grooming Day Tips - 1 More Done

As many of you know, Opal chewed off Katsuro's hair so we have had this inbetween hair growing in. It's sort of like dealing with puppies as their hair grows in but not long enough to do a beardie knot back.

There are ways I make grooming easier.
1. I use a grooming table.
2. I put a treat bag on my waist for easy access.
3. I use a hose/sprayer in my sink.
4. I arm myself with spray conditioner, a great brush that helps take knots out, a cat comb with flexible teeth, a face comb and a blower that I do not have to hold - just direct.
5. I use Cindra hair gel .

I use the treats as an incentive for the dogs to stay put and they do as I, layer by layer, spray with the leave-in conditioner, brush and then use the comb to make sure no knots exist. I don't dry bone dry but as you can see here - pretty much dry - just slightly damp. This way the hair stays in good condition. I also use this Cindra hair gel to flatten down the hair around Katsuro's forhead near his eyes so he can see and you can see his eyes. I simply put a dab on my fingers, distribute and comb/brush in the direction I want it to go with a face comb. Face combs are great for that daily cleanup around the eye area. Eventually, when the pups get older, the cleanup around the eyes is much less much like a retriever - just clean the corner of their eyes. I will fill you in on cleanup around the eyes after I do the pups.

As you can see in this photo, Katsuro is ALMOST dry and I will do a comb/brush through later but its enough. In the summer, I may skip the drying all together and just brush/comb a few times to eliminate any knots and let the air dry him.

When I want the feet cleaned up (may have to learn this) I just have a groomer come in to trim the feet so they look neat and cut the hair between the pads to eliminate slipping on walks, and shave the tummy area and around the butt to eliminate any stuck poo.

Sorry for being so graphic but couldn't think of any other way to put it. Hair artist, I am not.

Now I just tried 'gold on gold' shampoo on Fiona and Abigail to see what I get. As you can see from this photo, Abigail is a tad relaxed, more so than Fiona, but that comes with age and a conditioning process to this bathing stuff. They do relax especially if you reward them as they go along.

I have a grooming table noose that I didn't have to use on Abigail even though I line brushed her - and that takes a bit more time but comes out nice. She has a lot of patience. I even used a face comb on her feet and she had no issues with it. Usually the feet and the bum area are the most sensitive to puppies. She doesn't seem to mind at all.

With Fiona, I had to use a bathing tether in the sink (a suction cup with a noose) and a grooming noose (see the blue thing hanging) to get her done.

These tethers do NOT hurt them in any way, shape or form but rather allow you to free your hands. This also allows me to focus on getting her done and focusing on making it a positive experience.

As you can see, Ms. Fiona looks really calm but as the blower was going, the brush and comb and the spray - well she wasn't so complacent but she also wasn't crazy - I can't handle this experience either.

Fiona actually enjoyed the blower more than Abigail. It was sort of like the dog that hangs it's head out the window to feel the breeze. That is what she did.

As you can see, she's snuggling with her daddy, glad its all over.

This is also a way to reward them for a job well done by lovin' them up.

Doesn't she look like a tiny bear, all soft and smelling wonderful. Now she is sleeping after a good lunch.

She's having marvelous dreams, I imagine and is calculating ways to undo the 'looking good' that human mom did. Ah - well that's okay as a dawg has to live too. It's not all about those looks.

They do tend to sleep after you spend this time with them cleaning them up but that's a good thing. They stay clean for longer, allows you to do other things like typing on this blog and then they wake up and you can enjoy them again.

Here's daddy trying to stack Abs midair after her bath and she's doing her best to do a pointer stance. You want my tail up? Nah...I am a pointer - don't ya know?

Well, how do I take care of the eyes?
I clean the eyes with a makeup pad saturated lightly with 'Eye Envy' liquid solution. I use a face comb, and I take the 'Eye Envy' powder with my finger on the staining around the puppies eyes. I then use the face comb to make sure it covers the entire cuticle. This keeps the area dry and stops it from staining any further. Cleaning twice a day on a regular basis gets you through the stage where they have leakage to the stage where it solidifies making the cleaning MUCH easier.

I have also used plain old vaseline to coat the staining and end up cutting the ends off over time till no staining exists. But I have had good results with 'Eye Envy'. It's just a pain to remember it. It's easier to remember once a day vaseline vs. twice a day 'Eye Envy' but the labourous route gets them cleaner and gets rid of the stain over a matter of a month. They say days but I haven't had that experience.

Another thing you can do instead of the vaseline on a white dog is use Chris Christensen White Creme Cover-Up. This stays on and covers up the stain but also protects it from getting further stain and gives you the perception that there is no staining. You brush it in and comb it through. It does not run off - has to be washed off with shampoo. This will also work where you can cut the ends till the stage where the leakage starts solidifying and you will no longer get stains.

I still keep my dogs eyes clean and none have leakage as adults but I like to get rid of the crust or what some call fondly - eye boogers. It also allows me to remove any stray hairs from their eye that they can't remove that may be irritating them. You stay aware of any issues by investing time in grooming. It's not just about them looking good but also this timeframe allows you to see if anything is not the usual.

Well, I THOUGHT I run out of steam. I did manage to get Super Sassy Lassy to have a bath and she has wonderful silky hair - not a SINGLE knot in her. Must be that magic brush, her hair or just luck but wow - nice! Doesn't she look great? I was going to do her Friday but she is off on an adventure starting tomorrow on Valentine's Day so I wanted to get her smelling just gorgeous as she is.

Sassy is off to hang out with Coach for the long weekend. We can't wait to see the photos of those two.

I decided my Valentine gift to myself was to have a 'no grooming' day. Can you imagine that?

I still need to brush and comb the rest but no more baths. I did 4 today and then start in again on a few more on Friday. It all depends on my energy level but the dirtiest was cleaned already. Boys...heh - yeah you guessed who was the dirtiest.

Gad, I just adore snuggling with the really clean ones.

Dog Shows - Woodstock 2008

Well, I woke up in serious pain - actually been up half the night. My back hurts terribly and not sure why. I did manage to get the Woodstock dog show videos up on You Tube. You can find them here:

I couldn't match music - too long and you can't put it up as one file as You Tube has its limits so I had to do 4. I didn't make them slick - just way too much work when I have other things on my plate but it does allow you a view. I didn't not erase ANY copy so its crude. Sorry but the owners get to see what their handlers were doing and the owner handlers get to see what the other are doing in all their glory. The only thing I did was take out the audio. Sorry, Kathy - I did not get that winning face. Enjoy!
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqXqp0MikE
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmT-eLDiHD0
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsdrGK2JCmw
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KTvMYCzGoI UPDATED

More later on the Talemaker crew after rest.

Last Bath of Year

Sassy had her last bath of the year this morning. Here's daddy drying her gently with a towel - more patting down as rubbing will create tangles and Louis is looking on trying to figure out if he is next but mommy needs to finish brushing him before he gets a bath. You never bath a dog that has knots as it tightens them. Keep that in mind.

Tips for bathing - always use a whitening shampoo to keep the whites brilliant. I use Chris Christensen and a couple of other brands and they don't lighten the darks just brightens the whites - not bleach - just gives it that nice white and these pups have that white as a driven snow colour - which is nice - most don't and they take after Wasabi for that. I also use Chris Christensen's Day to Day conditioner. The thing about conditioner is it's a must to reduce the tangles but you must get all of it off other than your spray on conditioner like Ouidad that is safe and good to leave on. If there is any residue, your dog is apt to scratch and let you know you didn't get it all. If that is the case, a warm face cloth wiping in the direction of the coat will remove the last residue. You can even do this just to be sure. I forget at times but realize after a few rolls in the snow, they have essentially done the same thing. Some pups are more sensitive than others.

I also use Ouidad spray on conditioner and I use a comb throughout the hair and without, a comb may catch as tangles may be starting. You may feel your little one squirms too much but I have a great trick that helps especially if you have a crate like mine with an opening up top.

I take my blower - which never gets hot but warm and you can use a blower dryer on a low setting but anyone with more than one dog should own a blower, imho. I do not know how I did without it but pricey it is. Place your dryer on a stand or have someone else hold it. You put your pup in the crate like I have and spray and comb and/brush through the opening. This helps me have free arms to do what I need to and the pup is in a safe place but you must brush/comb as you dry to eliminate any tangles. Next bath, I am going to introduce Sassy to laying down on various sides to allow me to thoroughly comb her out but at this point, the key is to get her used to the combing itself which I am doing daily now - not that she needs it at this point but she will end up like the rest of my dogs laying down without issue and allowing me to comb and brush them out. It's all slow conditioning and it works.

Well, off to get ready for our road trip. Mommy has to brush out all the Havanese. They had baths 2 days ago and Louis and Sassy were the remaining dogs. Louis will have to wait till we return.

More later...