Michigan Havanese

Time to Start Taking Temperatures

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Taking Maxi’s temperature will help me know within 24 hours when she is actually going to whelp her little Havanese puppies.  She is due Saturday so I began Monday. I take her temps in the morning and the evening when she has rested a while…which is pretty much all the time right now!

If she gets any bigger she’ll be dragging on the floor!

Her temps are hovering between 100.0 and 100.8 degrees Fahrenheit. A dog’s normal temp is 101.5 but the hormones prevalent in a pregnant bitch will lower her temp to closer to 100.0 during her last trimester.

Maxi chilling this morning while the others play around her!
You can’t really tell from this photo but Maxi is as big as a doghouse!

With a little luck we will catch the dramatic surge to over 101.0 F which happens 12 hours before the drop to the 98.0 F area. When her temp drops I will know the puppies should arrive in the next 24 hours!!

So, we actually have about a 36 hour heads up on when the pups are likely to be born, which is very helpful.

This is Maxi’s private apartment! I think she likes it. The box on the left is where she’ll whelp her pups.

Puppies Are On Their Way!

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We had a successful breeding between Maxi and Dino this past weekend. This will be their second litter together and the first litter was wonderful. All black and white parti and as sweet as can be. You can see photos of their puppies in my January postings.

If you are curious, here is Maxi’s health certification: http://www.offa.org/results.html?all=carneys+maximum+return

And Dino’s is here: http://www.offa.org/results.html?all=+%09TR98721403

Puppies are due July 12. Most are spoken for but we may have one or two extras!

Dino as a puppy

Handsome Dino

Dino’s big win…now he’s a grand champion!

Maxi loves the snow

Big win for Maxi

Maxi (in front) with her fellow fur-kids

First Vet Visit

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Marli’s puppies had their vet exams today and all got and A+!

All of them are very close in size with Delilah weighing 2.4 pounds and both Daffy and Dillon weighing 2.2 pounds. Since they are almost 8 weeks old we can kind of predict their adult weights to within about a 15% degree of accuracy. The norm is to double and then double again their 8 week old weights. So that would make Delilah about 9-10 pounds; and, Daffy and Dillon about 8-9 pounds as adults. I will be curious to know how this pans out. Marli weighs 8 pounds and Ruger (the sire) weighs about 10 pounds. Most males are larger than the females. Basically, no real

surprises here.

I am posting photos of the puppies as of today. They are turning out to be a very handsome group. Because there is a slight chance Dillon is a satin-coated Havanese, I have sent blood work into a DNA lab verify whether she is or whether she just has a very flat, silky coat that is slow to develop.

Potter, our 4 month old, with Dillon

Daffy, short for Daffodil, has a sweet smile.

Dillon, with Potter, searching the bushes for lizards.
Delilah on a mission
Here’s Dillon again

Little Dillon has wonderful coloring.

Mother Marli on the hunt for the wild and mysterious anoles (lizards)

Potter, Zola (now Oreo), and Daffy not quite ready to share the toy!

This is Zola (now Oreo) who is going to her forever hom

Delilay (left), Dillon (middle) and Oreo

The Results Are In!

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My friend Linda assisted me in assessing the temperaments/ personalities of Marli’s puppies and they are closer in most respects than I thought. All three have socialized nicely. It helps to have them exposed to lots of dogs at various ages as well as lots of different people and children.

Dillon went first. Over the past several weeks she has gone from being the “leader of the pack” to one that kind of held back and now to a wonderfully adjusted, yet lower keyed, than the other two.

She scored three 2’s, three 3’s and a 4 on the sound sensitivity. In other words, she is a confident and outgoing puppy that will respond well to human companionship but might require a more consistent hand in training.

Delilah was next. She scored four 3’s and three 4’s, making her slightly more social but not enough to make much of a difference. She also has displayed a more outgoing character than Dillon, but again, not anything close to what I would call wild.

Daffodil was kind of all over the map, scoring two 3’s, two 4’s, a 2 for Following, a 6 for Dominance, and a 1 for Sight Sensitivity. Of the three she is definitely the most energetic and outgoing. So, while she will make a fine pet she might not be the snuggle bug some are looking for.

So, none of the pups display overly excited behaviors. They play well and seem to take turns being “boss.”

If you’d like to read more about the Volhard Test, go to the February 19, 2014 posts.

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Playing with the adult Havanese and Alex…So Much fun

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I had my family here all last week which is my excuse for not posting! LOL
Anyway, it certainly did not mean the pups were being ignored. Alex and Michael played with them every day. Here are some shots of Alex, Marli’s pups and all the other dogs playing in the yard. Enjoy!

 Also, please forgive me for adding a few of our newest boy…Potter. Isn’t he special!