Wow Such Fun Indeed!

Who do we have here today...well Saki and Missy - but you will have to read all about them on Havanese Life.

We also have Bailey who came yesterday and Max who came today and Cesar who has been here for awhile.

The crew is really meshing and playing well.

Bailey was hesitant her first night but she slept next to me in her bed with her head nudging mine. It was so sweet. She also hung out on my lap and got the lay of the land but today - well she is playing up a storm. With whom? Max, Cesar, Fiona (she really likes Fiona), Abigail and Kat.

Cesar has become way comfie and eats in his shiny bowl daily. He is a regular play monster and has decided if you are not playing - well I will get you to.

Max is playing with Cesar and Bailey tonight or maybe refereeing. Missy is also getting into the fun. The night has just begun!

The crew has been on walks - outside and inside a million and a half times and yes we go out with them. How do you think we get these pictures and besides who would want to miss the moments - not I.

If you want to see a glimpse of today, check out these photos.

New Visitor & 2 Delayed until Tomorrow

Bailey came to visit and although it was a repeat visit, she was a tad hesitant - tail down for about 15 minutes then her tail went up.

She started cozying up to the others and finding her comfort.

The pack reacted warmly to Bailey. She's going to have a blast this holiday!

Daisy just got cleaned up to go home. Her Mom comes at 3:30.

We will miss the little round snuggle monster. She may be back soon while her floors are getting done and we look forward to it!

Cesar was one of the first to say hello to Bailey. It was nice to see a visitor welcoming a visitor. Cesar really has his comfort going on.

Last night we had another crate - a wired one and Cesar decided that and his own was just his and he went back and forth figuring out which was more comfie. He decided he liked the wire one - at least last night he did. We will see what tonight brings.

Today the dogs are enjoying outside a tad more. Yesterday it was too cold. Where's the snow? We still have a fair amount but we need a blanket of new.

I want 12 inches so we can all lay out there - dawgs alike and do dog/snow angels. ROFL

Plus Treasure and Cesar can play - find that duck in the snow that they so fondly do.

I have the video camera charging - just waiting for that snow.

For all those vacationing in warmer climates - I am jealous but hey - we got the snow!

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.

How To Have Fun in the Snow

Snow was melting and now it's flying again. Some Havanese love the snow - a few have to get accustomed to it. It really has more to do with how you tackle it. Most find it an intoxicating and delightful - invigorating.

Kat (our boy in this photo) is one of these dogs that loves the snow, the rain the pool - just bring it on. Shoshi loves the snow but rain - sniff sniff - got to coax her out the door and we do.

She's getting better as she has no choice.

So, how do you have fun in the snow with your little one? You have to find your inner child if you are an adult or get your kids/grand kids to enjoy and you click away and take photos.

This is some of the ideas we have:

1. Make snow balls and throw them. It's a riot when they jump up to catch them and they just fall apart. They seem to enjoy it so it's not a strange sense if humour thing I have going but rather something you can enjoy together. They can also smash their prize in their mouth till you create another.

2. Create snow angels. You of course get on the ground and they will think it's an invitation to play.

3. Create snow paths to run in.

4. If you have a bench, dig out the area under the bench to allow hiding spots. This can be done with many things. They adore hiding, jumping out and playing.

5. Create a snowman big and small so your dawgs are exposed to them and when they see them in the neighbourhood - it's no big thing. Try to get them to help you and be creative!

Can you think of anything else? Then fill us in. We personally run through our paths and have a grand time with ours playing retrieve and much more.

We just got back from walking the dogs and our visitors are a delight to walk but getting mucked up from the sand out there that the city puts on teh walkways. Both Daisy and Cesar really enjoy the daily walks and we manage to mix it up having them walk with a different dog each time. That too you can do in the snow - after the sidewalks are shovelled?

PS: Even our visitors now are coming to stand in line for their grooming. I groom them daily to make sure they don't have any knots but you can't tell always as my sessions are always in the morning and by the time the day rolls by - well they have mucked it up big time and that's quite okay too. That's what dawgs having fun are supposed to do.

More tomorrow.

Crazy Dawg Livin'

We have had exciting times at Talemaker Havanese. Cesar and Daisy are visiting. Daisy will be going home late this week. Her mom is dealing with the mega flu. We hope she is starting to feel better. Friday Bailey, Max and Missy come and on Saturday Saki comes for a morning visit.

Exciting times for sure!!

Cesar is becoming a play monster especially with Daisy and Treasure in the mix. Both are playing wonderfully - eating well - walking well and enjoying many games of - who can get the duck first.

The weather is cool but comfie enough that we have flakes and can still enjoy the outside.

The pool cover has become semi-slushy so grooming is a more than daily thing.

Our day starts with play outside at 6 to 630am then breakfast, then outside play and then retrieve and then grooming where they all stand in line waiting for their turn - honest they do. Why? I am gentle - they get extra hugs and snuggles and a treat at the end.

We had one of our puppy owners over the other day and she was surprised that they were standing in line waiting their turn. That sort of stuff comes with making the experience fun and that treat at the end.

Take a peek at the photos of our crew - visitors and our own. I should have taken the one last night of Nathan draped with dawgs from one end of him to the other while we watched TV or draped all over me and him in bed but who would take a photo of THAT?

Cesar's First Morning

Cesar arrived last night at 7:30Pm and with our dawgs we do a one on one to get the new visitor to feel comfortable. Sometimes they feel comfortable from the onset and other times it takes a bit of time - a connection in the pack to make it all work. We do our part to make it happen.

Last night was a get acquainted and check the house, humans out and gain one's comfort level. We watched TV and he laid on Nathan's lap and he slept in a crate in our room (requested by owners) surrounded by Golden's that sleep on the floor and us humans and Havanese on the bed.

Well, today, he is playing retrieve and dragging Treasure all over the floor holding on to the toy and playing up a storm. Check out some of the photos from this morning.

We are working on his shiny bowl - I don't like quirk so you will see a ceramic and shiny bowl. Slow conditioning and he's eating up a storm. No worries.

Mia is coming this afternoon - a Fiona pup so we should have even more fun.

Check out the photos below. I will add to them as the day goes on and time allows, posting a "New Photos" in the title when I do.

Nathan's School of Thought

For five weeks, Terra, the younger of our two Golden Retriever’s, has been recovering from cruciate surgery.

For five weeks she has been in rehab. That means we have been diligently massaging her foot, leg, knee, thigh and hip, doing repetitive motion exercises to her knee, initially doing ice packs to reduce the swelling and then hot packs prior to exercise.

Once a week she goes to a rehab center over an hour drive from here for underwater treadmill therapy which is excellent for building muscle tone and helping her knee to strengthen and repair itself. Back at home she walks a few times a day around the block, goes up hill and down on gradual inclines, practices standing and sitting to work the muscles, and goes up and down the stairs outside.

Two days ago we finally allowed her to go up and down the stairs inside from the first to the second floor again.

For the past five weeks I’ve been carrying her up and down that flight so I’m glad we’ve reached this point. In approximately three weeks she goes back in for surgery on the right knee providing that the left knee has healed properly, hence the diligence. How much effort we put into her rehab will affect the quality of the rest of her life especially now that we’ve learned she has grade 4 hip dysplasia.

Terra will be seven years old next month. It is this kind of avoidable genetic health issue that really upsets me as it should upset anyone.

In truth, Terra’s sire and dam, in my opinion, should never have been used for breeding but it may have been a fluke and flukes unfortunately happen. Why in a sea of kidney issues on both sides of my family am I the only one without an issue?

Thankfully we do not have this issue with any of our Havanese and hopefully never will. It is certain that we’d never leave a dog in our breeding program that could produce a pup that would blow both knees and have such bad hips.

In comparison, our male Havanese, Kat, has hips tested and rated “excellent” by OFA, the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Kat’s littermate, Kemi, also has hips rated excellent. So this is not something that we worry about in our lines of Havanese but clearly this is something that the Breeder from whom we got the Golden should take into consideration.

When you are interested in owning a new puppy and you call around to various Breeders, something we do recommend, you will find different prices. Please understand the age old axiom, you get what you pay for. If something seems too cheap, it probably is. Ask what health testing has been done to the sire and damn and any other members of the same breeding line. Don’t be shy. This is important. The few dollars you think you are saving today can come back and smack you in the head down the road.

I’m off to show Kat in Orangeville. As always Darlah has done a wonderful job bathing and grooming him. Now I need to do my end and show him or allow him to show himself. If you are in the area come to Orangeville this afternoon and watch Kat strut his stuff.

Nathan


PS: Be careful out there. It's icy rain in these parts. Your Havanese can also damage their legs by slipping and sliding. It's not only genetics that can play a part.