Frazzled Play

We had visitors over while Shanty was getting picked up to go to her new home and as you can see, the Tibetan Terrier - who won big yesterday was playing up a storm with the Bichon. She was also in the show but didn't fare as well.

That's the show world for you. You never know...

We are back at it again today - and home earlier.

Gidget goes home tomorrow and I will miss her sleeping in and cuddling up in our comforters after everyone else has decided it was time to be up. She is a comfort gal and I don't blame her and she wil be missed.

Then we are down to just our own dogs. Can you imagine that?

More later...>>

Shanty's Visit

We just picked up Shanty and she will be staying with us overnight.

She's fitting in really well and no worries, Paula. She's a great puppy.

The dogs are wearing her out so she can get some sleep tonight and so can we. :-)

Messy But FUN

No matter what you do at times, the dawgs look messy and that's okay. Today is one of those days.

It's busy day. They all got brushed but today we had Terra going to the vets, getting ready for the show, walks and play, play play with the pups out back. They are exhausted. I think I am too.

I am not sure if you still have leaves on the ground but we have a ton and Nathan has raked a ton. The dawgs ADORE rolling and running in them just like kids. It's a joy to watch.

The older crew really enjoy the younger set. They really help to exhaust the puppies who are fast asleep.

Here is Gidget walking step in step with KitKat... yep that's the pups name. I can see that Gidget must have been a wonderful mom. She's been really enjoying them here.

Her mom comes home on Sunday and she will leave us. We have really got used to her adding fun to the mix but she will be so excited to see her human mom. They all do and then when they come back, they have fun too. It's quite nice.

Looking around the house, the crew is completely laid out after an exhausting day getting rest till we do our night play session. They play hard and sleep deep.

Cool Brings Out Fun

Things are looking up.

It's getting cold.

You say that's looking up?

Well, us Havanese rather like the Fall chill and when we went for our walks today, everyone from Risa to Gidget was having a exuberant time. They were jumping through the leaves like no tomorrow!

The cool also brings out the play in the Havanese and Risa was no exception. The crew just had a total blast with and without the smaller set.

Click on any of the photos to see a larger view.

I put this photo up as I found it delightful. Gidget really has fit in nicely here and she always does.

She loves the puppies too and even tolerates Treasure. ha!

Gidget gets you laughing when you most need a laugh.

Well, tomorrow Terra goes in to get her stitches out.

I am not sure the leg is healed in any degree. When she toes down, she does something strange in her movement but we shall find out tomorrow.

Here's hoping for the best. We need some good news around this place.

Marathon Bath - Or Not!

Took a photo of Abigail pouncing at Fiona and went - ooops look at her feet. She's been mucking it up with the little ones for sure. But I had Rocky to wash, Kat to wash and Shoshi.

Tomorrow it will be Risa, Abigail and maybe Whitney. We shall see.

We have a busy show weekend so the Kat is wrapped again. I took the silly wraps out when we had company. I think Nathan thinks Kat looks so silly but his face stays cleaner that way so in they go till Friday.

Shoshi's hair is starting to get long so it's getting at the stage of knotting. (she has a cottony coat) She's a pet and our only cotton coat thus far. It gets a certain length and you go - cut it or deal with the knots - which shall it be. I usually end up cutting it as she is a snowball collector in the winter. We shall see how long I last. Good thing about her hair is I can take the thinning shears to it and cut into any knots and brush them out - way easy and you would never know as her coat is thick. So, I may go that route. We shall see.

Rocky, who went home today wasn't crazy about the Bathing Beauty. He was the first dog that was not happy with it sitting in the sink with him. I haven't figured out why yet but he calmed down and the washing part wasn't bad..just could tell he didn't want to be in the sink.

It's quiet around here without Rocky but I tell you, if Gidget has her way, it won't be. She was even going after Risa today. It was a riot.

If you click on the photo, you will see Gidget with her tongue hanging out.

Gidget is with us till Sunday and then we will be down to our own till December. Imagine that!

Puppy Available

This Puppy is SOLD
A friend of ours that lives in Sudbury has a puppy available. I know, not many like to drive so far but if interested, we can confiscate the cutie and you can see it up close and personal at our house.

Besides, it would give us an excuse to get another puppy to play around here.

Last time we did this for our friend, Lil' Man found a home with the most amazing couple of gals we ever got to know. So, win/win for us. We get another puppy to play with. You get to see her up close and personal and bonus, she's ready to go to that forever home now.

If interested, send Paula email. She'll answer all your questions. Let her know you heard about this cutie here.

Time Changes Everything

Hi, my name is Gidget, formally Paris. I am visiting at Talemaker Havanese. You can't tell by this photo but I am sitting on 3 pillows stacked on top of each other. I am a gal who adores comfort. I also love to snuggle at bedtime with that human female here who grooms me each day even if I think I don't need it.

I settle in immediately when I visit and so does my son Louis who also visits at times. He's visiting over the Xmas holiday.

I am the only dawg that gets away with jumping on Kat's back. He doesn't seem to mind a bit though he gives me the look - like what are you - crazy gal?

When I come, I tend to take the top pillows. I figure I am one of the leaders around here and hey I am also a party gal getting the rest to run, chase me and play like never before except maybe with Teddy who doesn't think he is boss but brings new meaning to party guy!

I am hanging out, playing, taking walks and having an adorable time putting Treasure into her place when she thinks she is all that. I am here till the 15th then my owner comes home and someone else will have to vy for the boss position.

Well, the winter holiday schedule is starting to get filled. If you are thinking of going away over the holidays, let these humans know as spots are filling up fast.

Long Day

Treasure was hanging out with the pups today playing. She really enjoys them and I can see why.

They are now 8 weeks so they are more able to keep up with the older crew.

We had a very full day. We had the crew outside playing.

We had to take Terra home from her cruciate operation.

Here is a photo of her stitches. We also had to get her a collar to stop her.  It's interesting getting her out to do her business and manuever her around but we are dealing - ice packs and all.

Tomorrow I wash Fiona - maybe tonight and start doing my regiment of washing dawgs one by one each day to get them all done.

Rocky comes this Friday till Monday and the crew will have fun playing with a new visitor. We can't wait.

Busy week - busy times but we seem to thrive in such. What about you?

Bad News

I know Terra is not a Havanese but she's our regular mascot for socializing the little ones with big dawgs. She's gentle, sweet and adores her rides and play and even barking at that squirrel and getting the pack moving in excitement.

We took Terra in for a cruciate operation and heard both legs were ruptured and she has stage 4 hip dysplasia.

Many would put their dawg down instead of spending the dollars and the daily rehabilitation that we will have to go through in hopes she enjoys many more years. I kept asking, will she be functional? Chances are she will be. Some may say why do this? Well, we firmly believe she will be up, playing and having a great time with her fave pals by March. We will have about 4.5 months of rehabilitation. We will do everything in our power to get her muscle mass and keep her thin so she enjoys life. She'll be our water dog in the summer months right along with Kat.

She will be our resident big dawg socializer.

So forgive us but we will let you know how she is doing from time to time and may even start a blog on how the rehabilitation is going so others facing similar know what it entails.

In all of this, I didn't get to tie Kat's hair up. I have work to do. I need to put my grooming stuff away and set up my room again. I need to groom. I need to work and where did the day go?

We already had a outdoor session with the crew. They played up a storm especially this trip and got so messy that I have to wonder how I am ever going to get them to look good again but I will. They jumped through leaves, rubbed in mud and got old fashioned dirty. Plus, letting them just have fun and be a mess is good too. There - I said it. ROFL

Transition Time

Some of the crew was slipping out today despite the rain and wind.

I was a tad worried as Saki had a bath and I figured just like Chewie, she would muck it up and have me wanting to clean her up again. ROFL

But she managed to stay clean thus far and soon her parents will be picking her up. It was great to have some of the Wasabi pups here. It was a great visit.

Saki was not thrilled with the bath but I used the Bathing Beauty on her and she feels wonderful. Less shampoo and conditioner, a massage from it and faster experience. I know - I already said I love it!

Saki's been playing with Fiona and Treasure and sometimes Abigail.

Here's a photo of Saki right after her bath.

Although there was rain, we still managed to play outside and Saki played in the xpen with the pups so wonderfully. Check out Havanese Life later on to see some pictures of this.

Well, Saki's parents came. She was so excited and we are so - oh my gad she's already gone.

We just have Gidget with us and Rocky come Friday for the weekend. So, the fun continues.

Quiet Around Here

Saki says, I hear my human Mommy is on a plane from far away - Hong Kong and she will be coming in very late tonight and my human Daddy will be in Saturday night.

Mommy will be on a different time zone and we 'get' that after our Bali trip. So, we said leave the cutie with us till human Daddy gets in. Have something to eat together then come get the cutie then she can be your total focus.

One good thing is she will be sleeping a lot too as they usually do though we are waiting to hear about Chewy as he may be the exception. He's a go, go type and his human siblings keep him going. Was looking at his little gal sibling and she's simply gorgeous and loves her Chew Chew as she so affectionately calls him.

Well, we have a show today. Nathan is a traitor and is showing Bichons for a friend. I hope he does really well. I will be at the show early afternoon. I was there last night for setup. I also picked up my Bathing Beauty and will be using it today on Kat and tomorrow on Saki and who else knows which dog.

One of our dearest friends had a puppy last night - a gorgeous tri-colour. We hear its a strong feeder and is doing rather well. It will be going to a new home in 10 weeks once it has one. We will be posting links when she updates her blog.

I got my camera back. So far it is clean - heh and seems to be working well but will be giving it a workout at the show. We will let you know. Wasn't happy with how long it took and I may be exploring places like Vistek vs. Henry's Camera for that 7D that I am coveting but we shall see.

Till later ...

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.

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!

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!

Cutting the Hair Short

This is Abigail's haircut that she got today. She plays hard and loves to muck it up so I went short to see how it would look and to make it easier and allow it to come back in glorious shape. Just like humans, their hair can use a haircut every now and then to get off those dead ends.

Now when Abigail has puppies hopefully this fall, she will have a short, easy care do to get her through the pups wanting to feed and chew on her.

This was Abigail getting ready to pounce on our visitor Lucy. They take turns enjoying each other. Nothing like two havs playing together.

Tail End Havanese Daze

It's the Tail end of the day. Mom has been busy washing 2 dogs before they go home - doing my usual grooming of each dog. The Zack and Coco are gone and it's a quieter place around here with just Louis and our usual crew.

Pups are growing - getting cuter by the minute. The weather is lousy but next week heat stroke time - yeah right.

But next week - maybe by Sunday we will take the pups out. Now that will be fun...in the backyard of course but still new environments.

Shhh Treasure thinks she is all that. She told me. ROFL

Shoshi just lies down and sighs...the young whipper snapper - she thinks...

Havanese Louis Visit

Louis - an old time boarder came over with a new haircut. I think it looks smashing. When Fiona is done showing...hmmmm They are about the same size. What was interesting is Louis has a lot of grey overtone and grey on his face.

Louis tends to get along with everyone. He is so highly socialized that he knows how to react to all types of dogs. His parents take him to the park daily.

Louis is a Tiny/Paris pup and perhaps he will get to see his mom while he is here. He will be here til late August 2nd.

Louis is always a wonderful addition to the crew no matter who is here visiting. He's one of those calming dogs.

Treasure is off to a show this weekend just for Saturday. Nathan is taking her for one day events just to keep her feet wet before she heads to Chicago in August. She decided to jump in the pool. You got that right - jump in the pool. She needed a bath but NOT this early.

Almost Over Folks

Fiona spent a leisurely day outside and inside lounging around. She's an entirely different gal in heat - clingy - lovey - well she's lovey but not clingy which is often the case when hormones are raging.

Today we have Zack and Coco visiting till next Sunday and Louis coming on Friday for 2 weeks. We thought we would get swimming in today but no go. Fiona is still very much in heat. Poor Kat can't handle it and I know you are sick of hearing it but this is what it is like when you have a male not fixed and a female not fixed. It's loony tunes time - or is the saying loony bin times?

We found a solution so Nathan and I could both be outside but it means Fiona is in the house or Kat is in the crate outside. Yep - we brought a crate outside and if covered, he calms down most times and rests - which he sorely needs.

According to my calendar, sanity clicks in on Wednesday or Thursday. Then - it is till the next time...straight jacket for me or the dawg...I don't know.

But we still love them even when they lose their brains.

As you can see, I was playing with the monochrome. Risa - when I did her - it was hard to tell the difference between monochrome and colour. heh

This monochrome photo is Nathan doing the crate walk. Kat actually finds it comforting at times like this. It's something to think about when you are training your dog. They should be comfie in a crate in case they ever need medical care. We rarely use them closed but when we do, our dogs find comfort in them by sleeping in one when left open always etc.