Bad Hair Day & Camera

Okay, this day started with Mommy taking a photo of me with Daddy's junkie camera. Daddy has her camera.

Well, it's one of THOSE mornings. Mommy didn't get to my hair yet. Without Daddy around she does one here - one there till she finishes us all.

I like it better as I can leisurely read the newspaper and have my coffee - NOT! Okay, use Mommy's Blackberry to play a Doggie game? You don't buy that?

Okay, okay - Mommy had the pups running around and they thought they could feed from me so Mommy put me up on the chair. This way I can look down at them and I look MUCH bigger than them. heh

Our visitor Fred really knows how to chill out in style.

The human Mommy got the pups back in their x-pen and we all went out to watch her clean up and pull a few weeds.

It's hopeless but maybe after the pups are in their forever home she can finally pull those weeds.

Now she has to clean sheets and all that junk she didn't get to as Daddy may be coming home very late tonight vs. tomorrow.

Will he undo all that night time sleeping coming in during the witching hour? We hope not!

Specialty & Hanging Out in Rain

Well, both days Treasure made the cut but didn't get anywhere, heh But I heard she showed beautiful and considering it's the first time at a US specialty for her - they did well to do that. We are pleased that they went and had a good time.

We thank everyone who said they like our site. It means the world.

We try to have fun with it and give you a glimpse of what goes on for us.

We miss Nathan and the Treasured one immensely and hope to see them home Sunday.

I know the pups miss the Treasure too.

But we hear she may be in heat so that part won't be fun as Daddy will be sleeping with his Treasured one or I will till she is done 3 weeks later.

Yikes and Kat will be back to going CRAZY - sigh.

It's life in the Talemaker house - what can I say.

We had a big storm come through last night and another hit this morning. W had chairs in the pool - our pop up umbrellas. It was interesting and we also had dirt and leaves and lots of cleanup. See what Daddy missed doing - cleanup. hehehehe

With all this bad weather we have been playing retrieve in the house. Even the adult Havanese have been using the pads when it was raining really bad. It's times like these with a storm like that when you realize it is good to have them familiar with the pads and the outside.

Is it Friday already?

Visitors Leave, Visitors Remain

Well, Daddy is at the Nationals in Chicago. That means it's Mommy and the crew and our son Den that helps mom maneuver things and walks the dogs.

I am not sure how I would do it without him but I would - I gather. Just nice to have the extra hands to help. I get sleep that way.

Well, Lucy went home. She had a bath today - her 2nd one while here and it was a chore keeping her looking nice. She just is such a beautiful tomboy. I had to laugh after the umpteenth time of trying to fix that head hair. She sure plays up a storm.

The camera - Nathan's STINKS - well that's a statement - I know but it sure isn't my camera but our visitor Fred remains. He was a tad concerned with the crew but soon got into settling in as soon as he figured out the crew was fun to have around. He runs like the wind and plays retrieve amazingly beating out most everyone to get the toys.

He's not crazy about grooming but we are working on it with massages and treats while getting it done and extra snuggles too. Yes - he is allowing me to snuggle him big time - how nice.

It's been a busy day and this mom - human has a major headache and can't figure out why so may lay down with the crew and snuggle till it goes away. Pups are sleeping - so perfect time. Stay cool - folks!! We are lovin' the dawgs for sure!!

PS: Thank you for everyone at the nationals that said they like our site. We just have a huge passion for the dawgs..can you tell but we appreciate that others think so too. I am honestly not sure what we did without the Havanese in our lives. There's nothing like them!

Nationals & New Food

Daddy is off to the Nationals. Treasure had a bath last time and was raring to go, Kat's in a miff that he isn't going. Human mom too would have liked to but she has the pups and is finding out how much Daddy does. ROFL

We are going to try to get in pool time with Yvonne's crew.

Pups are sleeping now so where are they?

Check out Talemaker Puppy Life to see the pups adventures maneuvering down the stairs. You tell me who did it smoothest!

Oh well, we are missing Daddy - juggling work, cleanups and all that stuff. Had to get my play session in with the pups and adults - big and little and I did. I have my priorities.

Lucy goes home tomorrow at 10am so she will be getting a bath late tonight before bedtime.

Wish Nathan luck and 200+ dogs and a sea of dogs...just do your best and forget the rest!!

Older Dawg Time

Just because there are puppies in the house doesn't mean that the rest of the crew does without.

They go on walks daily - play games - play with the puppies - get pool time if they desire and play that run like hell game with each other.

The crew - all gets groomed daily. We spread baths out so it's not a marathon but depending on who is going home and who needs it - its who gets the bath but all get ears checked, nails checked, brush and a comb out and a clean up around the eyes. I even manage to give them a mini massage. Those that can't relax - well they get a tad more than a mini. I want them to enjoy the grooming.

Then at bedtime we do silly games in the bed and then go to sleep. Sounds rather counter productive playing the silly games in bed but really - it tuckers them out - they have a rip roaring time and then they sleep.

Human Daddy is off to Chicago tomorrow. He won't be back till late Sunday.

Lucy goes home on Thursday - gad will we miss her playfulness. Fred - well he is fitting in really well once he figured out this crazy crew was totally friendly.

Well - off to get things ready for Nathan to go travelling and get some work done. Pups are snookered after our play session in the kitchen. Looks like rain is coming.

If the weather cooperates, Yvonen and crew are coming for a visit and that ought to be a blast.

Puppies and the Pack

The puppies are really getting scrumptious to watch and love.

They are at the stage where you go - oh my gad - you did THAT?

This was one of those moments I captured - where he was on two back legs trying to get the attention of the rest of the crew.

It's amazing what you can capture from a good camera. My camera is heading to Chicago come Wednesday though so you'll have to put up with what I can get from Nathan's. :-) It's not THAT bad.

The puppies get along with everyone here including the visitors. I rather enjoy that.

This week we have Lucy - who goes home on Thursday morning and Fred who is here till the 26th and then Max comes to visit us on the 3rd and Jay Jay on the 4th. It's a crazy dawg house and we love it.

The human mom will be without the human dad till late Sunday night so we are having a party - not. :-)

Daddy Time & Socialization

Mommy always takes the photos - Mommy always updates the sites with an occasional collection of words from Daddy. It works. He looks good with the dawgs, mommy takes decent photos. hehehe

Well, today the heat is here. The dawgs even want to stay inside.

It can be a challenge keeping the puppies corralled as they tend to follow the larger dawgs and they don't always go where you want them to. When daddy is gone, human mommy will have an x-pen outside and she will take a couple out at the same time or throw everyone including herself in the pen allowing me to take photos.

Kat went to visit a pet store (Global) today. Even though your dog has had lots of socialization, you want to still get them out there seeing new places - old places and interacting with others.

It's soooooooooo important that they see something new at least once a month and if you continue with that intent, you will be amazed how comfie they are with most anything.

Too see more puppy news, visit us at Talemaker Puppy Life.

Looking Down at Pups

Treasure is going to Chicago to compete with hundreds of dawgs. So I greased her up - okay oiled her up and will have her ready by giving her another bath on Tuesday before she goes. This allows her hair to be in good shape before she goes to a show.

Right now she insists on playing like a banshee with visiting Lucy and Coco and Zack that we wonder if she will have any hair left but she can't help herself.

Tomorrow Zack and Coco go home and Fred comes to stay. We are really looking forward to the fun with another dawg in the mix.

Here Treasure is sitting looking down at the pups. She has such fun playing this game - you can't get me.

Gad they are sooooooooooooo sooooooooooooo silly!

Sense of Smell

The smelling receiver is made up of a mucous, a labyrinth of innumerable folds that could cover a surface of 130 m2 compared to the 3 m2 that humans have. The dog has 120 to 220 million cells next to man's 5 million cells. Its smell is so developed that it can detect the lightest environmental change.

As a matter of fact, the dog can detect the change of character of other dogs or humans that surround them, just by detecting the slight increase or decrease of their hormonal levels and their sweat. This has nothing to do with a sixth sense: the dog can just detect certain signals that go unnoticed by humans.

There have been anecdotal reports that 'man's best friend' can spot cancer in their owners, and this has been backed by scientific trials.

One study of 54 patients showed that dogs could pick up the scent of bladder cancer in a patient's urine.

Another showed that dogs could not only detect cancer, but they could tell the difference between people with breast and lung cancer, just from smelling their breath.

The latest findings were reported at a meeting of the American Physical Society in San Antonio, Texas.

Can you imagine the possibilities of your Havanese if you can tap into that sense of smell - learn how to use what they smell? I think about it all the time and would love to use it in some fashion.

I wonder if they could tell today was going to be a hot one.

Yvonne's Crew and Visitors

Yvonne's crew was hanging out at the pool today.

They came to swim and socialize the pups. They brought cookies and a pie - YUM!

Downsey even went swimming today and really did a wonderful job at going back and forth with Yvonne and Nathan.

She could learn to really enjoy this wet stuff. I can feel it in my bones. hehe

The crew thought it was a love fest with so many dogs. You do not want to know how many but really it was negotiable and fun.

Then we had guests over tonight that own Sebastian and they brought two of their neighbours over. So the pups got a lot of socializing with kids again.

This socializing is a good thing.

It was a crazy dawg house today and I have to get work done but I will be shocked if the pups do not sleep tonight. Keep them busy and they fall fast asleep.

Here's one of our guests loving up Missy - one of the gals.

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.

Run, Run, Run...

Did you know the pups are already learning to run after me. Somehow they think I can feed them too. ARE THEY CRAZY?

That's okay. I can run faster then them.

Tomorrow I am going to get cut down short and Mommy is going to let me grow out from there. I have never been really short so it will be a new look for me.

Why is Mommy doing it? Well, my ends got fried from all that play and I am done showing so it's time to try something new but I suspect - Mommy will hate it and it will have to grow all the way back in again. hehehehehe

Fiona doesn't play as much as me so she gets to keep her long hair. We are not all alike, you know. Treasure is still getting shown so Mommy has to say - no bite but we do it anyway when she's not looking. At least she believes that. She looks at our hair and shakes her head but she is glad we are having fun and being dawgs.

It's only a bloody haircut you know. ROFL!

Storms and All That Scare

Last night we had a rip roaring storm - well storms come through and our old lady golden - well she doesn't do well with storms. She kept me up all night. I do not do well with a TV on while trying to sleep but on went the TV.

None of the Havs react to the storm except to say - you crazy - you want me to go out in THAT!

Well, reality is I don't. Kat goes out and in seconds and gets drenched but not many others will. Who can blame them. That's when it is good to have them trained to a pad as well. It also helps when you are showing a dog as there are times that it is mucky and dirty and wet outside. There are some storms that boots and jackets won't protect them and that was what it was like last night.

Risa is also one of those dogs that could care less about the storms but she also has a bladder of steel. She's been known to hold it for 14 hours - which is a record around here but she is an adult and likes sleep more than emptying her bladder.

Needless to say, last night was ruff. Our son - we think had guests over when we were sleeping and the dogs kept waking up to that.

Getting pups from A to Z is not as easy as some think. If you are doing it right it's a lot of work. You spend time extending their time to sleep. You get them going on the pad. You expose them to all sorts of elements. You clean and clean and cuddle and love and it's work but each day they improve and each day you get closer to your goal of having a pup comfie with a crate - sleeping the night and socializing them. This process does not allow much consistent sleep til the later stages. Throw in a storm and well you can be yawning as you type - like me.

Visitors at Talemaker Havanese

Our visitor Lucy is way comfie. It didn't take her anytime settling in. She sleeps with her head on my stomach or shoulder when going to sleep at night. Life's so ruff for the Havanese. heh

Well, Shoshi and Risa had a bath and now we are getting a rip roaring storm. Poor Nathan is outside scrambling to take our canopy down. It's turning into some storm. Glad the dogs already had their outings including a swim. Lucy - she likes her feet wet but no swimming yet.

Abigail plays up a storm with Lucy. They seem to be two peas in a pod.

I just felt Risa and she feels like a dream. One wonders why I wash the dogs more frequently than most. I just love cuddling with softness.

Hope you are inside enjoying the cool air wherever you are and giving some love to the havs. They deserve it - don't ya know?

Run, Run Havanese

I think the crew is missing Teddy but they are getting walked as I type and they have been playing with the pups and each other nonstop.

We figure we better get in as much as possible before the thunderstorms come.

Oh, oh - the rain started. Nathan has 2 dogs out for a walk - our son has 2 others - the last two. Nathan even took Whitney as she wanted to go but it's obvious she's not making it even around the block these days. Pool exercises for her in hopes it will help her. It's hell getting old.

What do you do if you have a Havanese that dislikes the rain? Take them out ANYWAYS. Many enjoy snow more than the rain by far.

Neck Deep in Puppies

This is the first born - son of Wasabi and our Kat. He's a true character and each one of these pups just cease to amaze me.

I know we have a puppy page at Talemaker Puppy Life but we just got in from running around outside and get this - the crew was already chasing Nathan. I had to laugh.

Not quite 6 weeks and already in a full run after him. I just love it!

Treasure wasn't sure what to make of the pups at first. She was highly curious but when they started trying to feed - she went oh oh. But now she is out there playing like a banshee. It all evolves. It's truly fun to watch!

How they go from drunken sailor to this so fast - well it's amazing!

The pups has added a grand amount of fun for our visitors and resident dawgs alike.

But Teddy will be going home tomorrow and we will miss his fun.

Play Time With the Little Ones

The adults are now playing with the pups as a usual thing at least once or twice a day. It tuckers the little ones out. They eat more - they sleep more and they are happy - happy - happy.

Abigail just finds the pups so delightful.

To check out their antics, be sure to check out Talemaker Puppy Life.

The crew has been hanging outside seeing the weather is good but brace yourself - rain is
slated AGAIN for the Toronto area for the weekend. Don't ya just LOVE this summer - NOT! I will tell you my weeds love it!

Well our old lady golden loves the pups too. She doesn't play with them like Terra but she sniffs and comes to life when they are around. It's nice.

Socialization is Very Important

The littlest pup was socializing with all the rest of the dogs.

Well all of them were.

Terra was not quite sure what she should do but old habits kicked in and she started watching her feet and enjoying the little ones.

Some of the pups hung out and watched.

Some guarded to make sure they were okay (Risa did the guarding).

Some just had a grand time with them. I am working on a video of the days events right now. I am hoping to post it to Talemaker Puppy Life tonight. They loved being out with the other dogs and grandkids.

The Martians Arrived

I swear that is what Treasure looked like in this photo but she relaxed fast - not as fast as Abigail but check out Talemaker Puppy Life to see their 5 week video.

The pups are growing up fast!

We had them in the kitchen today as we had a down pour and they will be acquainted with the entire house and outside by the time they go home.

The pups are hitting the pad quite a bit now. It sure makes cleanup easier. We tend to drape pads etc on the x-pen so we have quick cleanups. Don't ask us how much laundry we are doing now but times 5 and learning - well it happens.

They really enjoy the cuddles now and the puppies here are really enjoying getting to know the pack. We do this slowly - one on one - two on two. This is how they get conditioned and find the fun.

The pack is down to just them plus 1 - Teddy who has been here before. He is having a roaring grand time with Treasure. He also wants to know what these gremlins are.

Lucy comes this week. We can't wait!!

Piling Out

My favourite photos are dogs in action and I keep trying to get the right photo of them piling out the back door.

It's like taking a family photo and someone always is not smiling or is making a face or? But it's fun trying.

The crew is missing Marlee and Jazmyn who just went home. I will miss part of my doggie blanket (they surround me in bed).

No swiming today but walks and baths and Fiona is greased up and I am making up a gallon batch for the next time. Don't worry folks. This is just show stuff.

We are looking forward to Lucy coming this Friday.

The answer to blow drying a dog that doesn't want to be? Have treats on hand. Snuggle - kiss and talk baby talk to them. Hold firmly but gentle and stay in a good mindset. It works - really!

Well - my dryer has died. So I am back to 1 and drying the slow way. sigh...