Havanese Play With Interesting Toys

If a toy holds the Havanese interests long as this one does - well it has to be cheap. I tell you - they love empty bottles. Throw in some water into a bottle half way, throw it in the freezer then when it is good and cold and has ice in it, throw it on the floor and watch the fun. Just be sure to take it away if they happen to puncture it. It's a cheap fascination.

Here you can see Zack and Coco (Zack is one of Wasabi's that we used to call El Blanca Grande and (Coco who is Fiona's sister) and looks like her mom Maggie who is about to give birth to more little ones in a matter of days.

Well, here they are trying to bat this ball around. What is this toy? Well it's a cat toy and can be found at any Petsmart or any other pet store that carries cat toys. It usually has a wad of paper in the middle so the cats can scratch it. Your Havanese will bite it into a million pieces so if you don't want to sweep a million pieces of paper up - well throw that section out. The real fascination is the ball and why they can't get it out. Zack and Coco spent an entire 98 minutes playing with this thing. I timed it so I knew how long they kept at it. I think they hold the record of being fascinated the longest.

Today Kat and Abs is down on Queens Quay meeting and greeting people that want to know about Havanese and they will be there tomorrow. The rest of the Talemaker crew waves paws at those that are there!

There's NOTHING like the Havanese - I tell you - except 2 is better than one. ROFL!

Havanese Tips on Wet Feet

We have Coco and Zack over and as you can see in this photo, Coco is smiling about the play.

We have had a busy day today. We went on walks. Everyone was groomed and we had some crazy play sessions.

ALERT: Check out the latest puppy photos on Yvonne and Alex's site at Chicadoro. All the pups are getting colour other than the colours black and white with the exception of one. Oh - and Mags - well she's still eating so no pups yet!

Then tonight Nathan played the guitar and Tal sang under the gazebo while the dogs hung out - Coco kissed my ear and Fiona couldn't figure out why Tal was singing or Nathan was playing a guitar. It's been too long.

Tomorrow Kat, Abs, Nathan and Alex are hanging out somewhere downtown to talk about Havanese. Me - I am going to catch up on work seeing I couldn't after grooming and getting stuff ready for this thing they are doing tomorrow.

Maybe I will get a quick dip in and it won't rain like they say it is supposed to or maybe I will be doing extra grooming with the rain.

If yours hate wet feet like some of ours, pick them up, put them smack dab in the middle of the grass and tell them to go. More times than not - they will. Years later Shoshi still hates her feet wet - funny for a dog that loves to roll in the snow but she deals.

More tomorrow...

Say Cheese Havanese

Trying to get the Havanese cooperating - even saying cheese is I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E.

We have Coco and Zack for sleepovers and are having an amazing amount of fun.

Fiona, Coco and Abs is out walking with our son Jonathan and his girlfriend and Zack just came back with Nathan and Kat.

Ramona: Zack did great on the walk. He barked at one dog that barked at him once. He was corrected and didn't bark again.

Abs is really making Coco feel welcomed and it's all working ever so well.

Ah - Havanese heaven. Couldn't be better than this!

Are Two Better than One Havanese?

What you see here looks like a mass of hair and it is. In this photo is Shoshi, Abigail and Fiona.

We started this Havanese journey as our daughter has a Coton du Tulear and we loved to watch her Coton play with our Golden Retriever.

We are truly glad we made the plunge but there are days we check our sanity at the door.

When Shoshi came to us, she was too young, in my opinion and missing what the dam usually teaches those last critical weeks. Shoshi has been playing catch-up on how to be a Havanese since day one. She seems to have finally fully arrived.

Our Golden played with Shoshi wonderfully that first year placing her snout in the snow and throwing a spray of snow at Shoshi and soon Shoshi was doing the same in return. I have pictures of that memory that are truly precious. Terra and Shoshi fast became best pals.

Then we saw Shoshi playing with her sister with that run-like hell game and said - oh we need another. So our journey began to find a playmate that didn't fall on their face when Shoshi stopped on a dime - which often happened with Terra. Terra had longer legs but Shoshi could just outrun her by cutting corners and it was endearing.

Then Risa came into our lives and she just wouldn't play with Shoshi but she took a liking to me and would follow me around like we were connected at the hip. So, although she didn't play with Shoshi, well, she was ours. She is now Nathan's dog through and through since he sat and helped her through her last whelping.

After that, Paris and Wasabi came to visit and Wasabi alone played with Shoshi but with Paris - well Paris was her focus. I loved the antics of both Paris and Wasabi and when it came to picking between both to add another to our home, Wasabi won out due to her play with Shoshi. Paris only wanted Wasabi. But Paris was amazing - so difficult to choose. Paris could jump straight up on my hat box to an amazing height and curl up like a ball to sleep. But after we chose, Wasabi got in a funk without Paris and stopped playing with Shoshi.

Now if you are following this story - we got 2 dogs to play with Shoshi and neither would play with her. Now how did that happen? Then Kat was born in our home and well, he was Risa's and he was the one dog that climbed over everyone saying PICK ME - PICK ME and he took no backseat to his mom or to his grandsire, Mojo. He was one of the very select few that got away with challenging the Moj. Now Fiona also gets that designation, Risa's grand daughter, Mojo's great grand daughter. Something about that line and their personality. In their minds they definitely think they count the most.

Then we were lucky enough to get Abigail, to show and to bring some puppy life around this place. After 2 litters - we were really missing puppy-hood. Abs is an old soul before her time. She has this magic where she calms those around her and unites the pack. She has a delicious unbridled way about her in her play that all the dogs tend to gravitate to. They all want to play with the Abs - perhaps due to her being so accommodating.

Then we added Fiona, who has that 'pick me' attitude that makes you laugh. She also has that pouting thing going on much like Kat - no patience for taking too long and sees nothing wrong with walking up your body to get you to pay attention to her vs. anyone else.

The pups adore each other. To answer the question - are two better than one - absolutely. More work in training but once you get past that - and even while you are in the midst of it - the memories they create are priceless. But you have to invest time in spending one on one time with each so they bond to you not just the other puppy and that has happened here.

As you can see in the photo, due to Abs, Shoshi finally has a play partner that we were looking for when we started this journey. The introduction of the pups has helped Shoshi become the dog she was meant to be.

Shoshi and Abs are now playing wonderfully together. We started this journey for her to get her a playmate. She came to us at 7 weeks – way too early and it has taken her years to learn how to act like a Havanese from the pack. It’s hard to explain but she mounted Abs and I celebrated – not for Abs but that Shoshi finally has some perceived backbone in her mind. It’s a wonderful relationship Abs and Shoshi are developing and I have Abs to thank for that. Shoshi has made the entire circle to acceptance and becoming a critical part of the pack that has a job. No one should let dogs go at 7 weeks – as they miss so much learning from the dam.

That Abs…she is a heart dog – a calming force that reels them in and gets others to feel relaxed, loved and wanted. That’s a special quality she has.

So, are two dogs better than one... heh - do you now have the answer?

Wild Child Fiona's Play Method

Every Havanese has similar and unique styles of play. I call Fiona's method 'wild' and thus our nickname calling her the 'wild child.'

I can comb Fiona's hair and 2 seconds later, it looks like it was never combed at all. part of that is it has a wild abandonment thing going on with her waves. Yes, there goes that wild word again. Another issue is she sticks her head and scrunches it up immediately and another is she just has this real joy about playing with her packmate Anigail - her most fave Havanese.

Fiona pounces and hops and scats and has this way funny way of showing excitement and 'attitude' that we adore.

each Havanese has their very own personality. Abigail is an old soul in a young body. Oh, she plays her heart out but she has this real calming thing going on where Fiona's personality is a bit more frenetic. if she doesn't get her treat after performing fast enough, she scats her back legs as if she is kicking dirt to tell you that you are too slow or you are not paying attention or she is excited. It's funny as some dogs do this after doing their business but she has incorporated it into her communications to you. You can't help but laugh.

Fiona and Abigail balance each other out and although having 2 pups is walking two, taking two out to train etc - well what you get in return is non stop craziness. I am not sure how we ever did it without 2 pups at once in our lives.

Fiona is now off by herself with her human daddy doing handling class so she can do her first show. Abs is home with me taking a break but getting almost daily training.

but the human around here has been working too hard and the human dad is taking up the slack. With no air - crankiness was setting in. I think we went 5 days without air - yeouch. Don't believe air guys when they say they will come. they may not.

The dogs are happy with the coolness. They may get back into bed with us instead of laying on the bathroom tile. Will we be able to swim this week? Time will tell.

Visiting Dogs in Heat

What do you mean? What's this heat business about? What you don't see is the gang is all at Rita's house and the girls - not mine - hers are all inside just coming out of heat. Our intact male is at the door peering in and Mojo - who thinks he still has it - well he's doing the same.

You never know what you are going to get when you have 2 males and girls in heat. It could be an explosive situation but it wasn't here.

Kat and Moj seemed to have an okay relationship of mutual respect and as long as Kat didn't go inside and sniff up the girls - well life was good. Perhaps a week earlier it may have been an entirely different story.

Well, it has cooled down a tad. We still don't have air and we are making the best of it.

Fiona is off to handling class tomorrow and daddy is going to work on her scat? What's a scat? Well, the funniest thing you ever did see but we won't tell till it's perfected and we can get it on video.

More tomorrow...

Heat, Visits and Rain

Darlah has kindly allowed me to post today. Toronto continues to experience a heat wave. It's hot, humid and raining. And our air conditioner, naturally, broke down.

After the excitement yesterday, seeing Lola and Kat's puppies, now 10 days old, Maggie who is huge and very pregnant, Flora, Downsey and Britney at Alex and Yvonne's place and then Ali, Opal, Mini and Mojo at Rita and Willard's place today was a huge contrast. Both Yvonne and Rita have huge fenced-in backyards perfect for Havanese running games. Today it is raining non stop so our visits outside are more like dashes to do our business and quickly back in again.

However, we did have two visitors as Kat's litter mate Bailey and Abigail's half brother Dickens came by to visit and brought Duncan and Monica with them. They have recently returned from an awesome trip overseas and it was a pleasure to see them again. But, Bailey and Dickens are boys and boys will be boys. No, not that! They marked, everywhere, and every chance they got. And of course Kat marked over them because after all, it is his place. We still enjoyed the visit in the heat and humidity but we sure did wish it had been nice outside.

Whitney hasn't been feeling well today and I suspect it has something to do with us leaving her and Terra behind yesterday and only taking the Havanese. The stress of being left behind has upset her stomach, another added bonus when it is raining outside. If you'll recall, Whitney doesn't do well in rain and thunder so that's not helping. Yesterday we just didn't want to take the chance of the Golden Retrievers upsetting Lola. I do recall the time Whitney and Terra came cautiously and politely close to the room in which Risa had her pups and Risa growled at them in such a way that both Retrievers hit the ground instantly, on their backs, in complete submission. I know that Risa assured them both in dog talk, which we know is straight and to the point, that she would rip their lungs out and feed it to them if they came any closer to her pups and they believed her.
Nathan