Remy Tries to Get Abigail to Play

Remy & AbigailSomething about Abigail that Remy really likes.

We just have Remy and Shanty till Friday. Remy started playing with Shanty last night. It was an interesting game of chase.

Then Abigail came down today and Remy just had to be where she was.

Remy is really missing the guys but Treasure is his mainstay.

No photos today as it was a wet and cleanup day.

I may not have any for tomorrow either - sorry as it's my b-day and I intend on relaxing and enjoying learning something new - well I hope. We shall see. But I will be updating the pages.

When I do photos, it takes me a long time to resize then upload then update the pages here. I don't mind but once a year I get to be lazy, I hope.

TV, Havanese & Much More

This was a lazy day as lazy as it can get around this place. I took a nap...shhh rare thing but the dawgs kept me up 2 nights in a row so I went to sleep and suddenly Ripley was here.

Ripley is a Kat/Lola pup sitting on Nathan's lap.


We all watched a romantic movie together before and after dinner, thank to the PVR.

It's nice how you can leave and come back these days.

Before that, I gave a bath to Daisy before she went home. I started too early as she looked interesting when Ripley's mom came but I just brushed her up again.

She was so pretty so I am hoping she gets to mom that way - no pressure. heh She's a hard one to calm down. She's like our Shoshi - oooh a bath, let's run and roll and get a mess NOW!

When Nathan sits down to watch TV, he has a bunch of dogs on the recliner. I usually have some on the couch and sometimes we pull up the bench so dogs can sit next to the recliner on the same level. I know it sounds crazy but we rather enjoy all of the dawgs counting and being with us.

Today, Ripley gets a reprieve and we will include him in the line up for grooming. His mom even brought chicken treats. Right now he is settling in, fitting in rather well and he LOVES the outside.

Jazzy was playing wonderfully with Katsura but where was the camera? Nathan yells, come see. They were both playing a chase each other game.

WE are going to go live with the new site this week. Watch for an announcement. When we do, we will start doing a daily thing on the puppies to come. Check back here!

Learning as You Go

Really mom, I am not a bulldog.

Shoshi had a bath and she has hair that is thick and stands on end. It's a tight wave. It doesn't look that way when you blow it dry but it does when it is wet.

Poor Shoshi looks like she has no neck but really she does.

I used to have someone thin her out but I haven't and probably will do it myself come spring. She's one that you can take out half her hair and she still would look like she has a ton.

Yes, they do have various types of hair from silky to cottony. Shoshi is our only cottony type dog. A cotton type coat is more difficult to maintain except when it is thick, if you use thinning shears in knots, well you can't tell. But I have learned a lot of tricks with taking care of Shoshi's hair. I figure if I can do her hair and keep it mat free, I can do any Havanese on a regular basis. Besides, I have learned brushing her daily thoroughly keeps all the knots away.

I do not find the silkier coats hard to maintain and thanks to Shoshi, I learned how to take care of cottony coats.

So, she is more than just our heart dog but a learning experience. Those of you that have children - more than one child knows that as you go along you learn, you get better and the last one is easier as you are either so conditioned or you simply have the confidence that you may not have that first moment they entered your life. This Havanese business is a truly exciting learning experience and what you give, well you get it back 10 fold. They are truly special beings.

Progress at Talemaker Havanese

Abigail ate a great meal this morning and another one this afternoon without us going through lots of - do you want this - or that or...

It seems her morning sickness is over, for now. She is playing, as you can see in this photo with Treasure.

We are celebrating and are looking forward to her and Wasabi's ultrasound on Monday.

Abigail wasn't the only one having fun.

Wasabi was also outside having a grand time soaking up the snowflakes.

Yes, we finally have some snow but not much - just enough that the dawgs really enjoy it. I do too, I must admit.

Walks were more enjoyable without tons of sand and salt on the ground as we now we have a thin blanket of white stuff on top.

We have been literally picking up the dawgs to cross the street to avoid dirt and salt. It's interesting carrying 2 at once across the street. Nathan does it in style and easily, me I am a tad clumsy about it though they are secure, I just have to perfect my technique. Practice makes perfect.

Today is Jazzy's owner's b-day and here at Talemaker we wish him the very best b-day filled with great memories.

Tonight we are going to cuddle and love the dawgs and enjoy...oh we do that everyday...well extra ones.

Chico, Kat and Saki

Well, Chico is here overnight and then we have Mia staying overnight on Sunday. Are we going to have fun this weekend.

Kat has to have a bath and so does Fiona. I am playing a game of procrastination. Don't we all at various times? I tend to do a dog bath here and there till they all get done so I don't have to wash them in a blitz from morning till night.

Do you know what I have found? If you clean around the eyes and use corn starch - a dab where the eyes drain down, it absorbs the wetness and eventually gets rid of the staining. It's also very cheap vs. all the other products and bonus it helps with any fungal (yeast) conditions which is the usual with eyes drainage. (that's the smell) You have to dab it pretty thick - one good dab under each eye. It all goes away so don't worry about it looking silly but enough stays on to absorb. Those of you dealing with eye staining should give it a try. It takes time but I have found it helps this greatly. Daily use should give you a difference in a week or 2. You must do it daily though.

Jazzy Goes Home

Jazzy has been with us for 12 days and we truly enjoyed him.

This is a photo of him on my grooming table.

Jazzy fits in really well here playing mostly with Treasure but also with Abigail, Kat and Fiona. He was also very smitten with Wasabi.

But today he was playing up a storm with Saki. He also loves Kit Kat and thought she was quite fun.

Jazzy is a great boy and his human parents do an amazing job with him. He is quite lucky.

But when I washed Jazzy and had him perfect for his photo, he decided to mix his hair up, as you can see.

I just had to laugh and laugh. Anyone who hasn't had a Havanese, well you missed something as this is one of the moments of pure joy that you see a Havanese display.

They go from one thing to another rustling up their hair in grand Havanese style. I just LOVE it!!

Saki was really enjoying Jazzy and something about his smell after his bath got her playing and smelling and playing. It was a delight.

Tomorrow Chico comes for a weekend and the siblings get to play together. We can't wait to watch that!!

Night Time Games

Last night Shoshi decided to nest in the bed. What does that mean? She crawled under the covers and moved all over while Treasure tried to pounce on her.

It was a riot!

Shoshi has come a long way with the pack. She's proactive for herself, playful and an important member of the pack.

But she's not the only one who has her part in the scheme of things at Talemaker Havanese.

Terra is one of our resident big dawgs that give our puppies exposure so they get 'slow conditioning' to bigger dawgs that aren't Havanese and Terra is amazing at this.

She gets right down at their level to play and is as gentle as anything. She is also one of the funniest dawgs teaching them snow angels.

When we have puppies, it's the pack and us that teaches life lessons along with canine mom.

Personally, we can't wait till we have puppies from birth till they are no longer ours but that love, well it is always there.

Tomorrow we get Saki-sized. What does that mean? Well the Saki is about to visit us (one of Wasabi/Kat's) pups from her last litter and we can't wait! I can't help but wonder will her next pups be like her last? They were such a joy.

I also wonder what type of a mom will Abigail be? I was worried about Fiona and she was AMAZING. With Abigail, she is a loving soul so it will be a joy when she has her pups just to watch her first time.

You see what they say about pups...nothing like them..even as they get older...be still my heart!

PS: Jazzy is playing up a storm with that Treasured one. It's wonderful to watch!

Visitors are Going Home

This photo shows two of the dawgs that went home today, Remy and Bailey. Both played up a storm. As you can see, Remy is going in for the front and Fiona has Treasure's tail and Bailey is saying - are you crazy? But Bailey joined in. You will see in the slide show. You will have to go day by day to see all the photos.

Tomorrow we have Louis, Oreo and Benny going home and then we will be down to ours and 1 new one that came today and that play demon Cesar.

We have had a lot of visitors. We did walks, play sessions - I groomed all. I even moved my grooming table into my family room so I could watch TV and groom. Nails got clipped. There were a to of snuggles and lots of body warmth at bedtime.

We even had 2 gals in heat and a male brought in to mate with Wasabi. Kat mated with Abigail.

I do believe the dawgs know we love them immensely and it comes through. The play - the fun - the interactions and the snuggles - well what a holiday we had.

Looking forward to Saki coming near the end of the month. Lots of changes and fun around Talemaker Havanese. May the new year be filled with puppies that we can love and ooh and ahhh over.

Happy New Year 2010

If you were silly enough to stay out late and get a tad under the sheets or so they say with too much to drink - well you might look like Shoshi who I captured just before she had her daily grooming.

I rather enjoy the dawgs in their natural shape. It doesn't mean I want any knots on them but that disorganized look gives them character - don't you think?

Did you know that knots hurt them? I have long hair and my hair will mat underneath and it bloody hurts. My hair gets that way if I wash it and forget to brush it and let it air dry - tsk tsk. If I never did that, I suppose I wouldn't have the empathy that I do for knotted dawgs.

Today started early. We are often outside first thing when it is dark and then finish the night in dark. Usually Nathan is the big walker with our son but Nathan had a road trip to do today and a bad hip so it was our son and me that did the walks tonight. Everyone fared well except Fiona who kept lifting her paws. It told me she was cold - all 8 lbs of her. So, I kept checking her feet, picking her up to make sure she didn't have ice in between and warmed her up and placed her down again. Treasure, who was on the walk with her - we only do 2 at a time was oblivious to the windy cold but they do adore the walks. We believe in the walks for their mind and body.

Tomorrow we have Remy, Bailey and Joker going home. We also have one coming in and after the 3rd, we will be down to simply 2 boarders. Then on the 7th down to 1. After the 11th we will be down to our own pack.

The crew had a cold but brisk fun filled day. They love the powder snow and we got a light dusting. We were actually hoping for more. I kept forgetting to bring the camera outside as Nathan was away and I was doing cleanup but I did manage to get a few. Hope you enjoy.

PS: Till pups come, we wil be adding puppy/dawg tidbits to help you in getting your dawg to be all they can be on Havanese Life. We will be updating it tonight.

Fred Goes Home

Fred had a bath as he is going home tonight.

I at first put him on a ringside table but that was futile and just waited after he played a bit and he just decided to lay down. Sometimes if you want a photo with dawgs you simply have to wait and have the camera ready.

Fred is such a good boy. He will be missed greatly.

It's warmed up a bit so the dawgs have been able to play up a storm outside. I have been washing/grooming so Nathan got to be out with the dawgs taking pictures and enjoying them.

Tomorrow we have 4 dogs going home and 1 coming to stay for a few days (Remy). Remy is a regular and we are looking forward to seeing him again.

We will add a link to the photos of today - when I find the time to resize them. We shoot raw very large so it's not so simple as just upload but this also allows us to have quality that we could print. Here they are.... Nathan was the photographer today while I did a number of bathings. It's a team effort.

The crew is busy having fun. Fred, I am sure is enjoying his humans and 4 more go home tomorrow...sniff sniff...

Cold Alert

We are under a cold winter alert and as we walked dawgs, we could feel it was coming on. Feet was starting to lift. It's way too cold to have your dawgs out for any length of time except a quick pee break. Please be careful when bringing your dawgs out in this cold - short visits only.

We had a real busy day today. All the dawgs have been playing well but I think they want the outside to more of a degree than they are getting so we are playing retrieve and all sorts of fun games inside just to expel some energy.

They are also playing with each other. Tomorrow Nathan has to take Terra in for her rehab then take 4 dogs in for eye tests - our usual that we do on all breeding dawgs.

Mia went home today so no puppy snuggle time with her. But Holly gives amazing snuggles so I rather like that!

Relationships are going strong. The dawgs are enjoying each other. Check out some photos from today, here.

Abigail and Wasabi are being bred. Hoping for puppies in late February, early March. Fiona we are hoping to come into heat in February and due to who we are mating her with, we will be doing so in February/March. This particular male we really want to use won't be available after that. So - puppies - puppies and puppies then a break. :-) If all works out - it's going to be a really fun filled puppy house around this place. Can you imagine?

PS: Remy is coming for New Years and we have several of our dawgs that are boarding going home before the New Year to celebrate at home. We are going to miss them - BIGTIME!

December 25th at Talemaker Havanese

Looks like a snowy day today and yep - the snow was there on the ground but the rain came late in the day. What we will end up with tomorrow - who knows. I am hoping it's not too icy.

We had a full day today that started at 545am.

We had a play session outside and then came in and ate. After eating, that human groomed us all and back outside we went and here are some of the photos from today. I have many more but I just grab a chunk and resize and put them in a slide show. I hope when I do, I get everyone and I do try. I just don't have the hours in the day to post them all due to needing to resize all the photos. Check them out here.

Well, the crew also got their presents today and they had yum chew bones. They loved them and we enjoy it when they enjoy.

The crew played hard and seemed like they were never going to stop until the rain came. Then we came inside, played with Tiger Lily who is about to go home any second and cuddled and hugged and enjoyed.

A crazy game of retrieve is always played and Zack, Fred, Cesar, Treasure and Abigail is the - I will always play and the rest join in when they desire.

Sorry to make this short but we are tuckered out and we have a few more visitors coming tomorrow. It will surely be a ton of fun. Catch you tomorrow.

Christmas Eve at Talemaker Havanese

Well the crew will get special bones to gnaw on come Christmas after breakfast.

But today, they were in such a wonderful playful mood. I tell you.

Everyone got groomed and I had to write everyone's name on a list and check it off. I didn't do a cursory job either. Brush then comb through to make sure no knots exist and then they went on walks and got sandy dirty. I can't win.

Tomorrow we have one of Fiona's pups coming for just the afternoon. Then we have a few more dawgs that are joining us for what will be a ton of fun on December 26th.

Not much else is getting done but dawgs, dawgs and more dawgs but we love it.

Looks like Abigail is in heat now too.

Today Bailey is after Cesar big time in play. Fred's playing with everyone. Coco started playing and Zack plays with all. Of course our gang joins in especially that Abigail and Treasure that thinks play is their first name.

It's wonderful watching this play. The sand though on the walks is not.

If you want to see some photos from today - I know all of you that are leaving your loves with us want to...and that's why we do it - well check it out here.

Christmas & New Year's Eve Safety

As you know by now, everything new, shiny, crinkly or with an interesting smell, will at some point or another attract the interest of your Havanese.

Try to imagine Christmas or New Year's Eve from a dawg's point of view. Furniture is moved around to make room for the tree or accommodate guests. Decorations are on display.

All sorts of people are coming and going and some are even sleeping over. There are sounds that are unfamiliar and you are busier than usual.

PS: We know this as our two sons have come and gone back to school.

How do you both cope?

Stay calm. You can get stressed out during the holidays, and your Havanese picks up on your stress. He looks to you as the alpha leader. If you are calm, he is calm.

Make sure you spend quality time with your Havanese. A bored dawg can equal trouble. It's not that your dawg intends on creating trouble but if you are too busy, well there are things to do and places to be that maybe your Havanese shouldn't. Some of those can be toxic or deadly.

Play with your dog before your party. If you tire him out, he’ll be too tired to get into any mischief when your guests arrive. If that is not possible, hire a dog walker or take him to doggie daycare.

Try not to use toothpicks for hors d’oeurves because your Havanese can eat the toothpicks if they are dropped on the floor and they can get stuck in his throat or puncture his internal organs.

Be especially careful opening your front door when you are greeting guests and also with delivery people so your dog doesn’t dash out.

Block off your Xmas tree or place it on a table. Keeping the water, tinsel, lights and bulbs away from your Havanese is important. As an extra protection, Keep your dawg from drinking the water by covering the tree basin with a tree skirt.

Ask your guests not to feed your dog or let him drink any of their drinks.

To prevent your dog from knocking over your holiday tree, anchor it with cord or wire to the ceiling directly above the tree's trunk. Don't attach it with wire to a wall behind the tree because your dog could get caught in the wire if be darts behind the tree.

Hang your ornaments with ribbons rather than hooks to keep your dog from accidentally swallowing something that could get lodged in his throat.

Do not use tinsel or angel hair on your tree. Angel hair, made of glass fiber, and tinsel, made of metal, can cause internal damage if your dog swallows any.

There are so many other safety tips I could cover but use your common sense. Our Havanese are precious beings that deserve that extra attention to safety that you should give. They also deserve quality time.

We, at Talemaker Havanese hope you have a safe an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year.

Our celebrations will be entirely dawg related with family, friends and visitors alike but it's as usual in this house where the dawgs count!

We have had a full day with Bailey playing heavily with Cesar, Abigail, Fiona and Treasure and Cesar playing with everyone. Tomorrow we have many dawgie guests just for the day. Kit Kat is coming while Nathan and her owner goes to the vet, Yvonne and crew will be coming while she goes to the doctor. Full house indeed but then they will be gone by mid afternoon.

Watch for photos tomorrow after our busy day is done. I am truly adoring watching and playing with the dawgs. It's a slice of heaven - I tell you!

Slow Conditioning

Cesar's human parents told us that Cesar had an issue with shiny bowls. He simply didn't like them and wouldn't eat from them. Each dog tends to have quirks about different things but you can get them by it by slow conditioning.

Our golden saw a raccoon in our pool house up in the rafters one year and for eons had a moment of - looking up and worrying if it was going to come back. She's past it now but that was due to persistence.

I tend to believe we - all humans and dawgs have our own fears and we tend to be proactive about getting our dawgs past them. No one should be a prisoner of their own fears.

Cesar has no issues with anything else - a rather brave and happy soul but all dogs have something. That you haven't seen it only means you haven't been exposed to it yet. It can be as simple as that silly moving Christmas figurine that you see on your walks or the paper flying through the air or the garage door etc. But instead of avoiding, you should do slow conditioning. You do not saturate but you play a slow game of exposure till it's just part of their lives and that fear goes away.

We only fear what we do not know.

As you can see, Cesar is eating from a shiny bowl on day 5. He absolutely reacted that first day so out came a ceramic bowl and no issue. We didn't force the issue but just exposed. Each day Nathan surrounded him with the bowls and fed each dog closer and closer to him till today when he put his own shiny bowl down, Cesar ate without a single concern.

It is NORMAL for canines and humans to have fears. It's the use of slow conditioning that gets us by them.

Cesar and Daisy are wonderful dawgs. Although Daisy thinks she must play at the witching hour and pounces on my chest to play and lick my face, she's learning - it's not 6am yet.

Cesar uses a crate at night per a request from his owners and willingly goes into it to sleep. Daisy sleeps on the bed as that is what she does at home. All of our dawgs except the Golden's sleep on the bed including the visitors except when requested otherwise.

It was great to have a sea of dawgs keeping us warm. Even though we have the house much warmer than some of our friends with their open window - tsk tsk, it was way cold last night despite the furnace kicking in so the body hugs was nice!

Last night we had Missy and Holly's parents come to visit. Missy has boarded with us before and she is one of the most agile dawgs next to Gidget, Louis and Wasabi that we ever did see.

She hasn't been here for quite sometime so we did the one on one with her and her pack mate sister Holly. We do not believe in starting a visit with the dawgs being overwhelmed but feel a slow conditioning - 1 at a time introduction is a must even with dawgs that have come here before and aren't the partying types.

There are few that are the life of the party and relishes the crowd from the onset like Teddy.

Oh, they all get to be as the visit goes on but each has their own comfort zone and timetable. I don't like being immersed in a sea of strangers at a party though Nathan would have no issue with it. Each of us are different and that's a good thing.

We also gain our comfort levels being exposed to other people's (dawgs) strengths.

It doesn't make us better or worse - just unique. Think if we were all the same how B-O-R-I-N-G that would be.

Here's a photo of Holly who seems to be quite okay with the activity at Talemaker. She's in for a treat when she comes visit us. She's a tiny thing so we will be using our sweaters on her - watching her carefully to make sure it's not too cold for her and doing the same with the older set.

This morning it was too cold for the older crew to be out beyond 5 minutes at a time so we go out with them many times throughout the day and hopefully it will be warm enough today around noon to get a walk in. There are those rare moments where it is simply too cold to do just that and safety is more of a concern so we instead play games in the house - all sorts of silly games and the dawgs get tuckered out despite the lack of a chunk of outside play at a time.

People tell us all the time that their dawgs go home and almost sleep for 2 days. Why? They have such a jam packed vacation with us filled with fun that they need to regroup from the holiday. I am sure you humans know what that means. Unless your holiday takes you to a beach where you do nothing but lay around - if you are sight seeing etc. and doing biking, trekking etc - you come home - and then say - ah - it's good to be home - even though that holiday was AMAZING, I need to relax and enjoy home. Your canines do the same thing.

So, just because your dawgs are having the time of their life, they are so thrilled to see you and need that down time till the next time.

Stay warm folks - it's very cold out today. Pay attention to your dawgs feet - their bodies and bring them in when they are cold even if it's after 5 minutes.

Nathan Uses the Camera

I don't take all of the photos. Nathan dabbles too. More and more he is trying out his own fantastic artistic flair just like you can with your own camera. Check out his photos below of what he took today.

It's rather cold outside and you should be taking that extra hair out of their paws. It took me till 8pm last night to get the dawgs all combed out perfectly.

Tomorrow Nathan is at a show. I am staying home and I get a visit from KitKat for the weekend. We are off to visit Yvonne on Saturday. She's crazy as she said bring them all but I am not sure about that. We shall see. This week Chanukah begins and we want to make sure all those that celebrate enjoy the moments.

Nathan took all the dawgs for a walk and it's truly icy. Consider being extra careful or playing inside games for the most part. You should play outside daily but there are days...

I need to get Kat washed up and Treasure washed up. Treasure is starting to mat - which is a clear sign she needs a washing. Kat needs to get ready tonight for the show tomorrow as he leaves real early.

Take your camera out and take photos of your Havanese. Do send them to us. We may be able to use them in next year's calendar. Plus - we love seeing what you are up to as it gives us ideas what to do with ours. Together we can be more.

Today's Fun

We had Jean and Patt over with Kooba, Quito, Jazmyn and Marlee. They came over to visit and pick up their Havanese calendars. We still have a few available.

Here's just a highlight of today. Plus tomorrow stay tuned for a visiting puppy and her antics.

Sopping Wet

Don't ya wish it would snow then rain, rain and more rain? We do. We would love it if we had the experience of a first snow with the last puppy but I doubt we will.

Treasure tends to get wet even if there is one puddle in the yard. She can't help herself but that is her personality. Some Havanese love the water and others do not.

Shoshi pokes her head out the door and decides she doesn't do rain. We don't let her get away with it and we take her out anyways. We drop her in the middle of the grass - she does her business and runs as fast as she can to the door.

Do you think Treasure does that? Nah - she embraces it like its her best friend and rolls and jumps and mucks it up.

One breed - all different personalities and we rather like it that way!

WET Stuff

What is someone to do if it's raining outside? Keep their dawgs in and use a pad or get them outside and worry about all that dirty muck?

Here at Talemaker we prefer to make sure the dawgs are not concerned about the elements by taking them outside and enjoying all sorts of weather. It's called slow conditioning or in this case, sopping condition.

As we tend to go out with the dawgs or otherwise how could we get great moments to remember, we too get wet but we dress for it. Unfortunately, the dawgs aren't but even with the mud and guck, they dry, you brush it out and they don't look dirty.

You can also rinse their feet and under carriage and if they get in a condition that they need to, I do. In this photo, Treasure's not there yet and the dirt just fell off of her - bonus!

Here's a thought to ponder...and do give me feedback when you think it through.

Many dog owners say that they grieve more over the loss of a favorite dog than they do over the loss of a parent, a close friend, or a spouse. These owners say that losing their dog is like losing a part of themselves. That may be because parents, spouses, and friends have ego boundaries. Dogs don't. As a result it becomes easier for us to see our dogs as indivisible from our own thoughts, making us susceptible to the belief that they think more like we do.

What do you think?

Pure Play: Socialization & Doggy Camp

We are blessed with the pleasure of watching other people's Havanese when their owners go away on holidays. We offer a fun filled crazy dawg house for the visitors.

We only take in small breeds as its a way for us to socialize our crew, enjoy others of like mind and besides - we prefer it like that.

Most of the dogs are our pups that were born with us and some are from referrals. All are indulged. We even moved in an extra bed next to our king sized one so all the dogs could fit.

We placate the owners and take crates and we even leave them open but we find they enjoy the bed and when they return home, they know the rules. But if you INSIST - we will leave them sleeping in a crate. We do care what your needs are. The Havanese are really intelligent dogs. So - it's vacation for them too!

Well, this week we have Coco and Zack. Soon we will have Mary's crew and Jazzy and we think Remy. Then Coach and Sassy. What an exiting summer this is going to be.

Now where am I going with this? Whenever you leave your dog anywhere, there is always a transition the first time. The next visit the transition is fast and they know what they are in for.

What are the transitions? Where do I fit in the pack? Where do I sleep - top of the bed, bottom, next to that human or that one? Who will play with me?

But we are blessed. We have a really great crew. The Abs is who I call my fishing rod. The dog that sits on the outside looking in - well she just reels them in. Here she is with all that funny stuff in her hair.

She's now finished being a show dog and we will be breeding her soon. Here we are trying to protect her head from chewing by other puppies by wrapping it with paper and conditioner but does it help? Nah - just makes you laugh at how she looks. The things we do for the show ring. Abigail is glad her show career is over. She has too much playing spirit to be held back and we like it that way!

But the emotional aspect of the dogs are the most important to us above and beyond anything else. She has a 'calming' spirit. Some say she doesn't act like a puppy in the ring as she is more laid back but if you ran in front of her and you were another dog - well then her love of life spills out and you - the human that watches will laugh and laugh. She knows how to play.

Zack and Coco are fitting in real well. They are even enjoying the massages I give to all the dogs when they get brushed daily. I wait for their baths even if they get dirty till just before they go home and spruce them up in between with waterless bath unless they are here extra long and they will get the baths like our resident crew does.

I call it 'grooming conditioning.' Each morning their ears are checked, eyes cleaned and they soon get it that I sit here and let this crazy human do this and I get a treat for it. Then depending on how the day goes, at various times throughout the day, they either find themselves up on the grooming table or on my lap getting brushed. Nathan does the after pool brushes most times. I get kisses - sometimes complaints but always patience and consistency wins out and that massage and treat business tends to get them excited too.

We are lucky as we have a son here that walk dogs as does Nathan and I. The dogs adore their walks. We only take 2 at a time and we usually split pairs up rotating who they go with. If a dog is timid, they get the alpha more assertive type on the walks. There is truth to the fact that the emotion of the companion (dog and human) on the walk gives you a positive or negative experience. I have seen a dog that is jumping all over the place, pulling its heart out with one dog and calmly walking next to another. It's also the humans attitude and the bottom line is - who is in charge? It's not a 'grrr' I am in charge but an attitude that I expect you to walk and no - I won't allow this or we will go home. Even the most 'step over the line' dogs soon learn. This is the time frame that most learning occurs and we take advantage of it for our visitors and for our resident crew where the learning never stops - even for us, heh!

This human here is an avid picture taker. My camera may be lousy (update - I have a better camera but still not the one I truly want) but I love taking the photos. I am bucking for a better camera as I want to capture the action photos so my memories will always be with me. I want a wide angle lens too - hahaha. Such wants...

You can catch us in the pool or Nathan running with the dogs or any of us playing retrieve or the many other fun things we think up to keep them entertained and us too.

If we see happy faces like we did today in these photos - well success and we haven't had a day where it hasn't been like that. The dogs - well I wish I was one of them at times and as I said - our lives - well they have certainly gone to the dogs and what memories we will have and treasure.

Obviously, we can only take care of small dogs in the Toronto area but I post what we do so when you are leaving your little one while you go on holidays - well now you know what to ask and what they should do while you are away. Your dogs deserve the best holiday too.