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.