Havanese

Fun in the Sun

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It certainly is entertaining to watch the puppies entertaining themselves! They love being outside.
From left to right…Breeze, Storm and Thunder.

Breeze getting up the courage to climb the tall fence.

Blaze exploring a twig

Franklin taking a nap.

Dew has a squeaky toy.

Sunray with a very determined walk.

Georgie and Jefferson

Sunray

Franklin thinks a lot!

Lightening

Rain

Thunder

What a little charmer!

Storm deciding where to play next.

Maxi engaging with her pups. She loves to play!

Blaze with a squeaky toy.

More play with mom.

Maxi got a real kick out of jumping over the pups. She went back and forth at least a dozen times.
Hancock and Breeze tough it out.

Tools of the Trade

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Since many of you will be getting your puppies soon, these are some of the things I use to keep my babies nicely groomed. You certainly don’t need every one. Just wanted to show you what’s out there that works for a Havanese coat. In a day or so I will post some photos of puppy cuts on Havanese that I like. Some groomers haven’t a clue and your Havanese may wind up looking like a drowned rat!

 

 
For my puppies I use “Fresh ‘n’ Clean Tearless formula. For shampoo on my adult dogs I have, at the advice of my Florida handler Ginger Raber, been using Tresemme’ Naturals…shampoo and conditioner. As a spray on detangler after rinsing out the conditioner  I use Ice on Ice (that I do not rinse out). I buy it online in the concentrate that I mix into a spray bottle. Then, if your puppy tends to get tear stains you can use Four Paws Crystal Eye or Petco’s Tear Stain Remover. I put a small amount on a cotton ball to rub into the stain then rinse with water.

 

Steel combs. Don’t spare the cost here. If they are not steel they will corrode and catch on your Havanese’s coat. The fine one in the middle is a flea comb…not so much for fleas on our babies but great for their faces. Carefully, you can use it to brush out the eye goop that tends to gather from their tear ducts. The other two combs are for the coats. Good for getting out mats…you pull the mat apart with one finger and use the comb to edge out the tangles.
Nail trimmers. An infant’s nail scissors on the left which is perfect for little puppies. Then I graduate to the adult human trimmer on the bottom because I can see what I’m trimming. Finally, when their nails get full-size you’ll want a dog nail-trimmer. There are some nice ergonomic ones out there now.

 

Pin brushes are great for stimulating the skin and brushing out the top coat.

 

Slicker brushes will get out the fine undercoat. It is easier if you can part the coat and brush from the skin out. These are great because they don’t pull out much of the wonderful top coat.

BUT you have to be very careful you don’t scratch your pups skin with these brushes.

 

These are people bands…find them in the children’s hair departments of CVS, Target, Meijer, etc. They don’t pull out a lot of hair when you take them out. Actually, the ones in the middle I just cut out.

 

This is a new slicker brush I bought because of the curved head. Should make it easier on the dogs.
I posted this because these are on sale this week at Meijers. Two for one. Perfect size for our Havanese with a squeaker tail which they love.

 

Oh The People You’ll Meet…

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Took 3 of the “kids” to the Farmer’s Market yesterday. They learned how to walk with a harness and leash. They will also benefit hugely from this exposure. It is a real confidence booster because everyone LOVES them! We will be doing this exercise with all the puppies. Of course, we never made it to any produce stands! The puppies were real show stoppers.
One of the first persons we encountered could not get enough of Jefferson.

“I want to take him home!”

And then she met Georgie.

Puppy kisses.

Jefferson climbing into her purse!

Jefferson and Sparky were a hit with this woman as well.

Jefferson meeting another dog.

Georgie is not so sure about this Golden

But he got his bravery on.

Then there were more dogs.

And even more.

Someone taking Sparky’s picture. Note the two dogs in the foreground.

Sparky learning to negotiate a curb. That’s my daughter Jenny encouraging him.

And…he made it!

Here he is getting lots of praise for his bravery.

Jefferson chilling out in the grass. Below is a video of the day.

A Sunday Play Date

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We had so much fun Sunday with the puppies. Jenny, Jen, Michael and Alex all helped me play with them. Such a terrible job!!! Then yesterday Maxi’s eight pups went to the vet for their first shots, de-worming and general exams. They did great…no complaints on the half-hour trip there and just a few on the way back. They were hungry and exhausted! I fully intended to take photos but got a little bit distracted. Maybe next time.

Tomorrow my friend and dog-sitter will come by to help me assess the personalities of Maxi’s pups. I’ll get those up on my website, https://www.carneyshaven.com,
 hopefully tomorrow evening.

                                                                      Rain with her determined look. >>>>>>>>

Franklin seeming to ponder which toy to choose.

Franklin with a fleece. I make these from the fleece fabric. Just three strips braided. They are just about indestructible.

Contemplative Franklin

I love this!!! Lightening giving me the high-five!

Lightening with a beef shin bone. My big dogs get them first, then the pups. Always a hit and good for their teeth.

Lightening bossing Franklin
Lightening and Dew are very sweet girls. They are a bit on the quiet side but do like to play

Blaze and Storm. Blaze is Maxi’s littlest one but is bigger than Boomer now and just about the same size as Storm.

Breeze with a fleece toy.

This is Lightening

Jefferson pulling on my shoelace…next to Sunray.

Jefferson’s play smile!

Now Lightening has the fleece toy.

Lightening’s play smile.

Two hands full! Lightening, Franklin, Sunray and Breeze

Daughter Jenny with Lightening.

Rain and Breeze playing tug of war.

Rain in a quiet moment. Love her eyes!

Storm and Sunray.

Sunray with a dinosaur.

Sunray with her smiley mustache.

Dew and Franklin

My How Time Flies!

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Boomer–one of our little guys–is doing just great!

Don’t you just love Thunder’s markings!

Maxi’s puppies are growing by leaps and bounds, especially since starting them on the puppy kibble and goat’s milk mush. They love it. A few days ago I started both litters on a very discreet potty training, building on their natural instincts to potty in a different place than where they sleep. We now have a soft terry cloth towel to encourage their nesting at one end of their box and a piddle pad at the other. It is so important to build into this natural instinct that dogs have to keep themselves clean. Here is a shot (slightly graphic–my apologies) of the puppies in their “latrine” after lunch.

Puppies using the piddle pad after lunch.

Breezy and Sunray

What else is new? Well, Phoebe’s pups have their eyes fully opened. Georgie loves to climb over the whelping box barrier and sleep with his cousins. Funny, this morning when I brought out the puppy’s mush Georgie was all protests from Phoebe’s side of the box. He didn’t want to miss out on breakfast! Never mind he got himself over to Phoebe’s side in the first place. 
Georgie and Hancock playing
Thunder (on his back) playing with Breezy and Stormy

Dew and Flash

Marli also has a preference for Phoebe’s puppies and I often find her snuggled up inside taking her nap with them.

Maxi is still nursing and will for a couple more weeks, just not as often. It is nice to see her filling back out again. Even with four meals a day she had trouble keeping up with the demand!

Dew and Lightening sharing kisses

Georgie waiting for Phoebe and Maxi to come out and play. I crate them during their meals so I am sure they are both getting the right amount of food.

Georgie over at “Flash’s House” trying to get him to play. These guys are getting so strong. Soon they’ll all be sharing the same box. Then the fun really starts!

Phoebe’s pups will get their first pedicure today and will start on their “stress-reducing” exercises in a few days. Meanwhile, enjoy the pix!