Michigan Havanese

At The Vet

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Phoebe’s puppies went for their 1st shots on August 24. Then, yesterday they all were microchipped. It is a wonderful litter of playful, well-adjusted pups. As of today it looks like we are down to three pups. Won’t be long before it is a lot quieter around here. I have very mixed emotions. Gonna miss the little buggers.

Eight good puppies!That’s Flash, Lightening and Thunder in the front row.

The doctor checking out Lightening’s belly.

Getting her shot, Lightening was so good. Never made a peep.

Now for a check of the bite.

Looking into Sundew’s ears.

Checking her neck and front.

We have such a gentle vet. No one cried.

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.