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Books for Havanese Owners

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While the puppies continue to grow and explore their ever expanding worlds I thought I’d offer up some suggested reading material.

My list of books is always expanding.

1. My latest purchase was “From Nose to Tail” by Noel Hynds and Suzanne McKay, written in collaboration with the Havanese Fanciers of Canada. If you are going to keep your puppy in a full coat this book is a must! If you are going to keep him in a puppy cut this is a great book to show your groomer and to help you maintain your puppy’s coat. Here is the link to order the book online: http://www.havanesefanciers.com/nosetotailbook/

 2. Another helpful book is “The Joyous Havanese” by Kitty Braund. Kitty is considered one of the foremost authorities on the Havanese breed. She was kind enough to allow me to be Phoebe’s human! Phoebe is from Kitty’s last litter before she retired from breeding at the young age of almost 90! “Joyous Havanese” is available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

 3. “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats” is a long title for a book that has been one of my bibles as a dog owner. When I don’t have 16 puppies running around I cook several recipes from this book for my dogs. Generally I will feed them a mix of 1/2 top quality kibble and 1/2 Dr. Pitcairn’s recipes. He also covers a number of health-related issues, all from a holistic perspective.

4. If you are interested in natural nutrition for your dogs another reference is “Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats” by Kymythy R. Schultze. It just offers another perspective on the subject.

And then, if you enjoy reading you might pick up one of Elizabeth Marshal Thomas’s books. She has written several about animals but her two dog titles are wonderful. “The Social Life of Dogs” and “The Hidden Life of Dogs” both helped me understand my canine friends much better.

So Many Puppies–So Little Time

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My days are filled with changing towels, changing newsprint (I use the clean newsprint that U-Haul sells as packing paper), feeding and bathing the grown-ups. I LOVE IT!

Daughter Jenny nursing one of our preemies

All the puppies are growing by leaps and bounds. I am still bottle feeding Maxi’s two little ones and Phoebe’s two smallest ones though they are not nearly the size of Maxi’s preemies. It just gives them an edge since they often lose out to the bigger pups at the teats.

Don’t you wonder what is going through his little mind?

Two of Maxi’s pups eyes have opened partially. They are the largest pup with the full white blaze and the littlest pup with the forked blaze. The rest should be open in the next day or so. Generally their ears open about the same time so the sensory input for these little guys is huge this week.

Maxi has pretty much got the hang of this part now.

Today was manicure day for Maxi’s pups. They are two weeks old now (can you believe it?) and by gently handling their paws and getting them used to the clip-clip-clip…this process will be much less traumatic for them as adults. I use a human baby nail scissors at this stage. Their nails are tiny and they are also very sharp so I know Maxi will be very grateful!

Just think. Next week I get to trim 64 paws! I better keep the whole morning open.

Phoebe’s pups at five days old…so much stronger than Maxi’s thanks to their later arrival.

How sweet are these babies?

Phoebe has Babies!

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I have been a bit remiss and I apologize but we have been very busy. Wednesday morning I took Phoebe to my vet where they would keep a watchful eye on her while I participated in an event that took me out of the house for two days. Because we thought she was so late in her pregnancy I had actually decided Thursday morning to leave her at my vet until she had her puppies. But my dear daughter had a free afternoon and decided it would be in Phoebe’s best interest to bring her back to my house where she could deliver in the comfort of familiar surroundings. I called my vet to get her take on this and she said Phoebe was showing many signs of getting ready to whelp and would likely have her pups that afternoon or by Friday morning for sure but she saw no reason why we couldn’t bring her home. So, Jenny did and about twenty minutes after I got back to my house Phoebe delivered a beautiful black parti girl! 

After that, Phoebe proceeded to give us five more girls and two boys. Eight pups, healthy and hearty!

She is a mess in this photo but look at the smile on her face. We have a wonderful rainbow of colors…two brown and white, four black and white and two of the girls are pure white! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. We have never had a solid puppy so this will be something different.

Meanwhile, we are still bottle feeding the two preemies from Maxi’s litter but they are gaining very nicely. Aren’t they darling?

And, finally, a shot of Maxi’s wonderful litter…getting so big already.

Day 6

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I am beginning to relax about the tiny ones and can now focus on Phoebe who is due today. Her puppies have “dropped” and her tummy is firm. I’ve taken her temp a few times…supposedly if it drops below 100 degrees F the bitch will deliver within 24 hours. However, Phoebe’s has been under 100 for several days now…just like it was for her last healthy litter…so I am not too concerned.

See how the nose color is changing

A post breakfast nap

Very proud Mama!

A different kind of sleepover

Happy Bellies!

It has been hotter than Hades here in Michigan. A record summer I’m sure. Today we are grateful for temps in the high eighties. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Happy Havanese Brothers

Maxi’s pups noses are beginning to darken. I love the pink noses and toes. Losing the pinkiness is just part of the process. I’m just going to post a few pictures so you can see how strong they are all getting. Full tummies, sleeping in a bundle and their little whimperings all make for a happy breeder.