You Can Teach Your Havanese to Dive

Many Havanese really like to swim but it matters how you introduce them to the sport. If you create a high level of enthusiasm and a great deal of praise, you can end up with a dog like Katsuro that has a passion for jumping in the pool. In this video, you will see how Nathan started him out by getting them all excited at the diving board then coaxing him to jump in. Then he praised him greatly in a really upbeat manner and it created a swimming monster - hahahaha - well not quite that but he adores the pool and can jump a far distance now. We believe it's important to find that passion for us - for our canines and when you do, you have a truly happy dog that makes you laugh and smile and they look forward to what the next day will bring.

Our Wasabi was just finding her passion for the pool but ended up pregnant and on another life journey so the practice jumps didn't last long. There's always next summer for her and for you.

Be sure to continue our Talemaker Havanese adventures at http://www.talemakerhavanese.com/ where there's always something new going on for our crew. It's pups right now and then we will move on to other things.

Havanese Hanging Out Tunnel Style

There is nothing better than this tunnel for the little ones. Even Wasabi manages to crawl in but these little guys - well they just play, sleep and hang out in it. This morning we put it back in their x-pen for further enjoyment.

We have already been outside, had a run out back, kitchen play session and hallway run and the day is just beginning.

Mommy is no longer feeding us at all and she is doing fine making the transition. We still think about it but she manages to correct us and we 'get' it.

more later...

Havanese Life Lessons

Today the crew was full of it when they got up. Oh, they quietly waited till the downstairs pen was ready but they really wanted to run so human mommy took them out back where they perfected their leaps off the stairs, ran their heads off and enjoyed the outside.

Then human daddy took them out back, In-between they had dry Fromms food with a tad bit of cooked chicken mixed in and they loved it. No need to soften the food any longer. It's interesting what happens in a matter of days.

The guys are doing a lot of troubleshooting from jumping onto mounds of snow to cushion the jump to finding creative ways to get what they want. The manner they run through the tunnels now and play games is amazing. Each week brings new ways of doing things and perfecting what works.

What was funny was although we had a low water dish, a few tried to drink from the high one as you can see in the photo. Chico just saunters over and drinks - forget about climbing.

Here's another day of the pups wanting to feed from mom but mom and us not allowing it and they are getting it. I figure by mid-week next week, it will be a fond memory. Chico is trying his darnedest to get under her but what you won't see, as I didn't manage to capture it was her low growl telling him - the milk shop is closed. She plays with them - but as a first time mom, she is also learning how to get it across to them that I just want to play but your food is over there. It's all coming together. They are 'getting' it - some faster than others.

We have a full day today and human mommy and daddy's oldest son is watching the guys tonight while they go visit the grand kids. We are all sleeping and now its time to fit a shower in - human mommy says - so more later...

Long Havanese Day

Lots of visitors today. We did the outside thing and are doing rather well bouncing and running around outside these days. We keep perfecting our skills of stairs with icy snow, and paths and snowbanks etc. We are doing great! It's a far cry from when we first went outside.

Most of us have names now, Chico, Remy, Coach and Sebastian. The show potential Tux - well we need to name him - ideas? Then we still have that spitfire gal and need to name her something that speaks volumes about her personality and if we don't watch out, human daddy would keep her but daddy we have enough doggies - hehehehe still she's a absolute keeper.

Tomorrow Katsuro's brother and mom is coming to visit. Then we have Louis parents stopping by. We rather miss having Louis around for his visits so this will be a good thing.

The crew really enjoyed the visitors and the exposure is getting them used to people - all a good thing but oh so tiring.

Human mommy is already saying best crew we ever did have...sigh..going to miss them - for sure!

It's all Mine

To end the night on a fun note, human mom thought you may laugh at this incident of one of the pups saying - even in my sleep, I am watching you - now leave my food alone. It's all mine - you hear - all mine!

Havanese Raring to Go

Now that the milk bar is almost closed (mommy Wasabi is weaning the pups off) she is now getting to play with them. It's nice as she loves playing with the pups.

Well, daddy took us outside today and we had a roaring good time perfecting our run then came back in and then wanted out again. We ran all over the security cover then wasn't sure how to get back off of it considering we would have to plow through snow to do it but we all found our chutzpah and found a way off while Tux and Remy stayed on the deck. We are starting to run faster each day. Now we are worn out and sleeping.

Daddy got mommy a new dryer so we are going to get a bath today. Gee, human daddy - thanks a lot - heh. Well, human mommy says if daddy didn't give us lamb - we could have gone a few days but lamb did not agree with our tummies - first thing that has given us upset tummies.

Well, more later....

Eight weeks old today - oh my...

This is How Havanese Play

Today Mommy Wasabi and Katsuro was playing inside and outside today while us youngsters watch them. This was mommy's 101 lesson on how your flirt with the boys and it was Katsuro's lesson on patience brings great things as he's been waiting a long time for Wasabi to get back into play mode.

She's also been having a roaring good time with the puppies. It's nice to watch. The pups tried the Merrick's lamb mixed in with the Fromm's kibble and only half is gone. It's not that they hated it but not so in love with it either.

More later. We have company and human mommy is not feeling all that well so nap time sometime before then.

Baer Test Passed & Much More

Well, the pups came home and Wasabi didn't go with us so she would start her conditioning of the pups leaving the nest, so to speak. They came home and she climbed up on the table to watch them and shook her hair tie out. Havanese love high spots.

All the pups passed their Baer. They have had a pretty busy 2 days and we are looking forward to getting them outside and unwinding.

Their respective weights:
1. The mostly white one is now 3lbs 13 oz
2. The gal is 2lbs 13.5 oz
3. Remy (black left ear 2 spots) 3lb even
4. Double black mask 2lbs 12.5 oz
5. Mostly black (tux) 2lb 11oz
6. Half mustache like his mom 3lbs 9 oz.

At birth they were:
1. 5 ounces
2. 5 ounces
3. 4 ounces
4. 4 ounces
5. 4 ounces
6. 4 ounces

They all grow differently and its not necessarily an indicator of their adult weights. Katsuro was the runt of the litter and is now a solid 12 lbs. He did most of his growing from 4 months on.

Our vet was impressed at how early they climbed and walked. I am finding the entire litter quick to catch on and patient as well. It's a winning combination, in my book. I have had wild thoughts of giving back deposits and keeping them all to myself. No worries - I wouldn't do such a thing but I just adore this crew and there's not a single one that doesn't amaze me in one way or another or make me laugh.

Well - more later....

Next Day After Vet & Before Baer Testing

The crew already ate and won't be eating till they get back from their hearing test. The lone gal is sore today and expressed it vocally this morning. No one else has. She is staying away from the others and this is highly unusual for her but we figure the soreness will go. No fever, no signs of anything else but soreness where the microchip is.

Mommy Wasabi is almost done weaning the pups (it means they are allowing her to play with them now - hooray) and she likes their food (Merrick's Wingaling) mixed in with softened Fromm's kibble that she ate it all so fast that we had to take her out of the room. This is the 2nd time she devoured this particular meal and the pups love it too. Wasabi - no fair - you are stopping feeding them so leave their food alone. :-)

Today, one by one I am going to work with each dog and see what they can do and how fast they comprehend. I tried tiny pieces of chicken as treats from my hand and they went CRAZY for it. So, now I know I can use chicken as a treat when training. Over the last few weeks, I will try other things.

We have found the dogs DO NOT like Fromm's salmon or duck but adore Fromm's chicken thigh, the Merrick's Wingaling, Puppy Plate, Grandma's Pot Pie, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Cowboy Cookout and we will try them on others. We do know they like the Fromm's dry food softened with our own chicken and steak cut up or shredded in the food processor and mixed in and these two things also do well as training treats as noted above. We will try a few others but really like the quality of the Merrick and Fromm's foods plus adding our own rice, veggies, chicken, steak depending on what you have on hand. We are also giving them goats milk by itself and they rather enjoy that. Do not worry but we put together a package with things they do well on to hold you over for a bit with all the instructions on how much.

We are not finding they have any issues with bowels that some dogs experience with a variety of foods. Even the duck, and salmon that they did not like didn't create a problem but they simply smelled and ate very little.

After the Baer, I will post all weights and results. If anyone else is looking for a puppy, please let us know. We *may* have one available and our good friends had puppies from our Risa's daughter. We saw them yesterday - well I saw them and dogs stayed in the heated car and Nathan snoozed and then Nathan saw them. I am hoping Yvonne posts some photos. In all my excitement, I got some great photos and some not so great - figures. Well, we were tired after the vets. This vet takes a long time checking, ears, eyes, lungs, knees, weight, doing nails, teeth, bone structure, shots and microchips etc. that a couple of hours later we were out the door after 6 pups. We are hoping the hearing test goes much quicker. Pups were amazingly good and the vet staff loved their crate and toys and bumper pads I created just from blankets etc. Toys R Us has some great baby toys that hang on crates or go on mobiles etc. and we are finding they rather enjoy the comfie environment. They initially fussed when they got into the car (they are not used to being in such close quarters with all 6 together) but they soon played and travelled well. I even brought an extra crate pad just in case we had an accident but it wasn't needed. Still, I will bring one today as it's that Murphy's law - if you do not bring it, you will need it.

More later....

First Car Ride to Vets

All 6 of us are in this crate and we all did really well going back and forth on a long trip to the vets. Everyone is really healthy - all have descended testicles - except the gal and you will be surprised at the weight - we were - some passed others by and we noticed it more as its been a bit since last weigh in from our usual daily ones that is no longer feasible in our type of scale as they are too wriggly now to get anything real accurate.

Tomorrow we are off for hearing. We will post the weights then and the results. Human mom is too tired but human daddy had them running all over outside tonight so pups are feeling A-OK after shots and microchips even with the 2 that didn't work and had to be done again.

More tomorrow!

Vet Visit Today - Shots, Microchip & Wellness

Human mommy got us ready for our vet visit in this fab crate filled with some of our fave things and the pups enjoy the activities. It will be their first time in the car and its a long trip out to Colborne and then out to Brighton to take a couple of photos of our friends pups that were just born and then home. We may be a tad cranky and sore after a microchip and shots but human daddy and mommy will take extra care, watch us close and tomorrow we get another car ride to get our hearing checked. But that is a closer appointment.

Today, mommy Wasabi will be going, the pups and human mommy and daddy. We will fill you in after we return. We just updated the photos (we got a tad behind) so take a look.

After Bath Snoozing

Somehow, getting a bath usually does us in and we nap and nap for a longer time than usual. Human mommy just covered us with blankets and towels and we settled in for a long winter's nap.

Soon, it will be fiesta time (we already have the coloured background thang going on) as human daddy may get home tonight albeit late but still home...ahhhh and one wonders if he will wake us all up and drive human mommy crazy as she will have yet another night of less sleep than usual.

Check out our video of snow days below...

More later..mommy may take a nap for her lunch.

Havanese Toronto Puppies Snow Days

It was just the pups and I yesterday, soooo the camera work is a bit jerky, do forgive me. But, the pups and older crew had a roaring good time outside before the icy rain hit. It was interesting as they did climb right out of the basket I was transporting them in and that made life oh so interesting and then we got inside and they plopped right out again and that video will come next - when I have time to edit.

We are all missing human daddy who is stuck out in Powell River on business due to the weather. But..as the song goes....oooh heaven is a place on earth - and it is with Wasabi's Toronto pups. I am going to miss this crew madly. Enjoy their snow day...

Havanese Pups Playing Recovery

Well, we had a really full day yesterday. Many human adults came to visit, a few Havanese as well and wow a full day. We were actually quite characters last night as we were overtired but this fine morning after human daddy left and human mommy fed us, well we mostly all crashed. Not that we didn't sleep last night - but we did. We just took longer to calm down. We find an active play session before bedtime helps the deep sleep and this crew has been easy.

Human mommy says the best part of this crew is even when they are in an overtired state, not a whiner in the crew. They find things to amuse themselves (it helps to rotate toys and give them things to do) but also they can see us walk past their room and they are a patient crew but once you step in, they know its time to come downstairs and they rather like that and are WAY excited.

We are going to miss the human daddy these next few days but mommy has a lot of fun things planned for us. We are going to test each on the receptiveness of commands. It's a tad early but it's good to expose them. We will see how they do. Then if the weather cooperates, we will be taking them outside for a romp each day, into the kitchen and into the hallway and family room to give them a different environment.

Then who knows, we will watch some TV and get snuggles and brushes and everything will be right in the world. Ah - to be a Havanese puppy...human mommy wishes!

Long Havanese Day

We had a long day today but a fun one. The dogs are starting to eat Fromm's canned food with Fromm's Dry food softened and they LOVE it. The Chicken Thighs Entrée had them smacking their lips. They adore it. They are starting to eat more and less from mom.

Human mommy is tired so she will fill you in more tomorrow and human daddy is out of town till Sunday.

More tomorrow...when we get our rest...

Havanese Planning

Well, another day down and we were snoozing but mommy and daddy took us upstairs so they can clean out the pen. This is something they do daily completely and partially throughout the day. It gives them a chance to mix it up and give us new toys - fun. Best toy they love so far is that play center, the cat toy with the ball and the tunnels - grand fun indeed!

We listened to dog sounds today - all sorts. the only one that reacted was the retrievers. We go for our baer test next week and our shots, microchip and wellness. it will be a busy 2 days then.

Tomorrow we have our Havanese daddy's human mom coming Beth Obrecht from Rockhurst Kennels to visit and Sonrisa's Havanese Rita Thomas so we are resting up so we can really show them what we are made of.

Human daddy had mommy hold us today while he did nails. The gal was the absolutely squirmiest and most vocal about such an act. Still, it was done and we moved on to playing and snuggling.

The crew went out again today and only the double mask is shivering but no one lasts as long as the guy we call Tux. He just adores the outside and gad he just snuggled and snuggled tonight.

Well, human mommy had a very busy day with work so she's calling it a night too. Have-a-neese night! Yeah the rest of them except for the pups sleep with us. Great fun!

The Start:Housebreaking Your Havanese Puppy

We do everything possible to get your little one to start the journey of housebreaking by starting them in a secure small area and increasing their awareness by introducing them to a larger area - our kitchen and the outside. This way they become aware of the smell and where you want them to eliminate.

In our x-pen, they are getting really accurate but in our kitchen area, they still have some accidents as the area is large and we are now finding that if we bring a pad already used into the kitchen area, they find the pad easier. It's one of the tricks that you learn by trying and seeing what works. They seem to be rather good at going outside as cold often gets their bladders to empty (bonus the wintertime) but you must go out with them at first.

Check out our housebreaking tips file. You'll be able to find it by a menu on the left hand part of the screen under food for thought or linked here.

More About Today
Our pups had a rather busy weekend and was very tuckered out. They slept in till 7amish after going to bed a tad after 10pm. That tells me that with a lot of activity, they are already able to sleep for a chunk of time. That's great news but we will continue to strive to get them sleeping through the night every night. A change in environment may throw them off at first but they will be on their way to getting to be all they can be.

Today they had a visitor (Audrey) our groomer who loves the pups. She was here to do our goldens. We usually bath all of ours but every now and then we have her visit us to trim nails, clean up the pads, and just give human mom a break from cleaning so many. The adult Havanese have been having such a roaring good time with frozen bones human mommy put out back that they gave managed to look a tad wet and droopy from all the wet snow. Still, a good brush will take care of that. We are working on a grooming file so look for it soon.

Then we had a grand play session in the kitchen where they munched on Terra's (goldens) legs - all 6 at once - oh my but that was fine. When Terra had enough she went outside after saying enough with a correction growl. Shoshi played great with them, Kat played some and now they are all fast asleep.

They are now starting to eat more solid food. Ah - to be Havanese...nothing better. Catch you tomorrow!

Solitary Havanese Play

Havanese are highly sociable and love people but they can also amuse themselves. Watch this little guy play with this toy while his siblings are snoozing this fine early morning.

Havanese Food Challenges & Play

Ah Mommy Wasabi - you are eating OUR food...no fair..well it doesn't look so hot anyway. No wonder why we are not eating it.

Kitty Braund, publisher of 'Our Havanese' a must have subscription to a magazine of our breed gave us a recipe to get the pups to enjoy the mush more but they won't even touch it. Oh my....It's old fashion - cook slow oatmeal, some egg and goats milk all soft and mushy and they sniffed and went no way. At least the soft kibble they ate somewhat. Now back to the drawing board - so to speak. Hmmm why does mommy like it?

Had an exciting day today. We all went outside and tux and the one with the moustache like me (Wasabi) just couldn't get enough. Wow is that a change since the 1st try.

Human mom and dad was taking 2 of us out at a time to play with the guys. The little one behind was running as fast as possible as if to say - what about me then played its heart out.

All are sleeping now after a full day. We have many visitors tomorrow so we have to snooze in between or we won't do anything but catch some zzzzzs.. So, long day but fun one in store. We all can't wait!

The Havanese: Do You Really Have To?

Here's one of my dawgs saying - what does a Havanese have to do to get some sleep around this place. Human mommy and daddy want to cuddle, Havanese mommy wants to check us out, clean us up and coddle us and 5 siblings - well it's rough to get some sleep around here. Oh, but I try.

This was one of my pups after playing its heart out with Katsuro yet again. We all did and what you don't see is we are spread out and crashed but I was the only one with that eye open - just watching.

Well, my pups had their 2nd outing into that great vast yard with snow - hmm think that's what they call that white brr cold stuff. Three of them sniffed around and did their duty, 1 said - are you kidding - its FREEZING and the other 2 well it wasn't our time - you know but human mommy and daddy will be timing these outside adventures after we eat. This way we will 'get' what this outside break is about other than chillin' and getting conditioned to this cold.

Human daddy stuffed us in his jacket when we were done and took us out 1 at a time with the rest of the adult pack.

Well more later.