Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 6:47PM 
We had a long day today but a fun one. The dogs are starting to eat Fromm's canned food with Fromm's Dry food softened and they LOVE it. The Chicken Thighs Entrรฉe had them smacking their lips. They adore it. They are starting to eat more and less from mom.
Human mommy is tired so she will fill you in more tomorrow and human daddy is out of town till Sunday.
More tomorrow...when we get our rest...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 10:07PM 
Well, another day down and we were snoozing but mommy and daddy took us upstairs so they can clean out the pen. This is something they do daily completely and partially throughout the day. It gives them a chance to mix it up and give us new toys - fun. Best toy they love so far is that play center, the cat toy with the ball and the tunnels - grand fun indeed!
We listened to dog sounds today - all sorts. the only one that reacted was the retrievers. We go for our baer test next week and our shots, microchip and wellness. it will be a busy 2 days then.
Tomorrow we have our Havanese daddy's human mom coming Beth Obrecht from Rockhurst Kennels to visit and Sonrisa's Havanese Rita Thomas so we are resting up so we can really show them what we are made of.
Human daddy had mommy hold us today while he did nails. The gal was the absolutely squirmiest and most vocal about such an act. Still, it was done and we moved on to playing and snuggling.
The crew went out again today and only the double mask is shivering but no one lasts as long as the guy we call Tux. He just adores the outside and gad he just snuggled and snuggled tonight.
Well, human mommy had a very busy day with work so she's calling it a night too. Have-a-neese night! Yeah the rest of them except for the pups sleep with us. Great fun!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 4:36PM Wasabi's pups are loving playing games with their psuedo auntie, Shoshi, uncle Katsuro, auntie Terra - all of the canine persuasion. They have such a zest for life. It's amazing to watch!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 8:05AM 
This morning we are doing traffic noise conditioning. We started out awake and look at how we ended up listening to all this bloody noise. Human mommy is going crazy listening to it but us - we said fu-get-about-it! Every now a loud horn blares, a dog barks etc and one or the other lifts their head to look but traffic and all the noises in the background including people, horns, crashes etc seem to give us a yawn! heh
We had more of a reaction to storms yesterday but even that was just a - what was that look especially on the loud sounds of thunder or wind.
Maybe we will do wildlife soon.
Today, the double mask and Tux played with Terra and she played back. Where's your camera when you see these moments - argh...we will be doing one on one with the others. We also watch TV cuddling one or another, looking in ears, between toes, rubbing bellies and just loving being the one selected and oh they do...look where I am but all get a turn so they are also learning patience. :-)
More later...
Monday, November 26, 2007 at 9:11PM We condition our dogs by playing realistic sound bytes that simulate anything from a roaring thunderstorm, to rain to street noise, to traffic and much more.
Tonight we are concentrating on the sounds of storms. We will change the sounds and vary the level of the sound throughout this process. This way when your puppy hears his first real noisy traffic or a roaring storm, they will be less apt to react to noise as it will be familiar.
Each day, from now until they go to their new homes, they will experience sound conditioning in a place - their xpen next to my desk where they feel secure. At times Wasabi (Havanese mom) may be feeding them, others we will be playing with them and at times they will just be sleeping or playing with the guys. By associating sounds with various 'good memories' we attempt to minimize the startling effect that we all have from a loud sound.
Our oldest golden retreiver was a rescue and a prisoner of her fear till we did slow conditioning with her. No one and nothing should be a prisoner of their fears.
By practicing positive slow conditioning, we hope to eliminate these common fears that occur with loud noises in 'some' dogs.
We fear what we don't know.
Monday, November 26, 2007 at 1:45PM 
We do everything possible to get your little one to start the journey of housebreaking by starting them in a secure small area and increasing their awareness by introducing them to a larger area - our kitchen and the outside. This way they become aware of the smell and where you want them to eliminate.
In our x-pen, they are getting really accurate but in our kitchen area, they still have some accidents as the area is large and we are now finding that if we bring a pad already used into the kitchen area, they find the pad easier. It's one of the tricks that you learn by trying and seeing what works. They seem to be rather good at going outside as cold often gets their bladders to empty (bonus the wintertime) but you must go out with them at first.
Check out our housebreaking tips file. You'll be able to find it by a menu on the left hand part of the screen under food for thought or linked here.
More About Today
Our pups had a rather busy weekend and was very tuckered out. They slept in till 7amish after going to bed a tad after 10pm. That tells me that with a lot of activity, they are already able to sleep for a chunk of time. That's great news but we will continue to strive to get them sleeping through the night every night. A change in environment may throw them off at first but they will be on their way to getting to be all they can be.
Today they had a visitor (Audrey) our groomer who loves the pups. She was here to do our goldens. We usually bath all of ours but every now and then we have her visit us to trim nails, clean up the pads, and just give human mom a break from cleaning so many. The adult Havanese have been having such a roaring good time with frozen bones human mommy put out back that they gave managed to look a tad wet and droopy from all the wet snow. Still, a good brush will take care of that. We are working on a grooming file so look for it soon.
Then we had a grand play session in the kitchen where they munched on Terra's (goldens) legs - all 6 at once - oh my but that was fine. When Terra had enough she went outside after saying enough with a correction growl. Shoshi played great with them, Kat played some and now they are all fast asleep.
They are now starting to eat more solid food. Ah - to be Havanese...nothing better. Catch you tomorrow!
Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 10:09AM Havanese are highly sociable and love people but they can also amuse themselves. Watch this little guy play with this toy while his siblings are snoozing this fine early morning.
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 7:23AM Ah Mommy Wasabi - you are eating OUR food...no fair..well it doesn't look so hot anyway. No wonder why we are not eating it.
Kitty Braund, publisher of 'Our Havanese' a must have subscription to a magazine of our breed gave us a recipe to get the pups to enjoy the mush more but they won't even touch it. Oh my....It's old fashion - cook slow oatmeal, some egg and goats milk all soft and mushy and they sniffed and went no way. At least the soft kibble they ate somewhat. Now back to the drawing board - so to speak. Hmmm why does mommy like it?
Had an exciting day today. We all went outside and tux and the one with the moustache like me (Wasabi) just couldn't get enough. Wow is that a change since the 1st try.
Human mom and dad was taking 2 of us out at a time to play with the guys. The little one behind was running as fast as possible as if to say - what about me then played its heart out.
All are sleeping now after a full day. We have many visitors tomorrow so we have to snooze in between or we won't do anything but catch some zzzzzs.. So, long day but fun one in store. We all can't wait!
Friday, November 23, 2007 at 5:43PM 
Here's one of my dawgs saying - what does a Havanese have to do to get some sleep around this place. Human mommy and daddy want to cuddle, Havanese mommy wants to check us out, clean us up and coddle us and 5 siblings - well it's rough to get some sleep around here. Oh, but I try.
This was one of my pups after playing its heart out with Katsuro yet again. We all did and what you don't see is we are spread out and crashed but I was the only one with that eye open - just watching.
Well, my pups had their 2nd outing into that great vast yard with snow - hmm think that's what they call that white brr cold stuff. Three of them sniffed around and did their duty, 1 said - are you kidding - its FREEZING and the other 2 well it wasn't our time - you know but human mommy and daddy will be timing these outside adventures after we eat. This way we will 'get' what this outside break is about other than chillin' and getting conditioned to this cold.
Human daddy stuffed us in his jacket when we were done and took us out 1 at a time with the rest of the adult pack.
Well more later.
Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 2:55PM 
We have been busy. Now that the pups are older, we do a lot of things with them throughout the day and evening before bed to get them to be all they can be. Today was their first exposure to the snow.
Here you can see human daddy, the pups, Wasabi, Katsuro and Risa helping them get the lay of the land. They were only out 5 minutes. We will do slow conditioning to the cold.
Last night we also did some socialization with the adult Havanese and our Katsuro had a blast with them. The video that I am uploading is under 5 minutes but he played with them like that for over 30 minutes - wow! Check it out below.
We also did some big dog socialization. What was funny was our youngest retriever wasn't sure what to think but our oldest just hung out, watched and let one gnaw on her leg and watched in awe. It was rather nice. We will continue to do this throughout to get them used to larger dogs.
All I can say is the dogs are tuckered out, eating mush these days for at least a couple of meals and are doing rather well. I just love their sense of play.
More later....
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 4:50PM 
Some people think that a crate is not a fun place for us but if done and used correctly - as a time to relax, veg, play, enjoy - then it is a *good* thang! You see, sometimes we may need to be transported in one and a slow conditioning to one is a positive thing. Plus my gang rather likes sleeping in one with a cushy, soft pad. But...they are not spoiled.
Ha -human mommy says!
Positive experiences are a must! We use a crate inside the x-pen so they can climb in and out.
Never use a crate as a punishment and it will remain a comfort to them. Everything we get exposed to and find enjoyment in, makes us better dawgs. Daddy says our goals are always to make our pups balanced and happy and as you can see in our videos and photos, we are that for sure.
Well, today we are expecting snow but we are still too young to go outside so human mommy says if it really snows like they say it will, then she's going to bring some into the house so we can get familiar with it. Now that ought to be interesting!
Looking at this photo, mommy is noticing our looks are changing. The mostly white one is thinning out - still teddy bearish but way handsome and he's such a character - well they all are Wasabi says but each are clearly different these days and as the week goes on and we hit week 6 and 7, well personalities will continue to unfold but not a skittish one in the bunch. Some are quieter than others but none are off the wall spaz cases or human mommy may be working to change that. They all seem to have mommy's calming demeanor but some more playful than others. The job - well it's easy this time around as they are all so equal - but as we say unique and that's quite nice!
Well, it's playtime so off the keyboard I go and we get to tucker the little ones out. They play and drop dead asleep and are now eating at least a full meal instead of me - Wasabi so I get a break! As time goes on we will make that 2 meals then three etc...
I couldn't be in yesterday's video as they wouldn't leave me alone. Sometimes they just think I am the milk factory - sigh!
Well....more tomorrow!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 11:18PM
We hope you enjoy it! Now the furry crew is off to bed and human mom too!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 8:11PM 
My pups had nonstop fun and thanks to a Havanese friend of human mom's - Maureen who gave her the idea they got a new cat toy in the mail today and here it is. Here they are trying to catch that ball and boy did they have fun. Even the adult Havanese had a roaring good time with it.
We had a really full day today. We are increasing our eating from our dish, drinking or is that playing in water. Well, hey human mom you were the one that introduced them to that bath and water - tsk tsk!
We also had a play session out in the kitchen that was a roaring good time. We are going to try to get a new video up tonight or tomorrow.
All my pups are now 2lbs even or over but all under 3lbs. They are 5 weeks and 4 days tonight. We have our vet visit for shots, microchip and wellness set up for December 4th. Human daddy has to make a baer appointment to make sure we can all hear well but there's no doubt with that the way they react now. They hear everything and seem very curious about all sorts of noises including the vacuum cleaner, the door bell that rings and they even reacted to the crew barking when someone rang the door bell today. It wasn't a bad reaction but a cock of the head and a run to the edge of the xpen to see what was going on. My crew wants to see everything that is going on.
Well, they are all sleeping after the kitchen play. We will try to get a video up soon. Look for it.
Snuggles and nail clipping and tomorrow we are going to try combing hair with a baby comb to get them used to being brushed and combed. We will see how we do about that. Human mommy is looking forward to that as it gives her one on one time. She rather likes that!
Monday, November 19, 2007 at 10:28AM 
How many pups can you count enjoying their play?
A wise person said - "He never bit anyone, which is more than you can say for most of us." The dogs are getting teeth and I - Wasabi are starting to correct them and so are the humans by saying yeoch in a louder voice and they are catching on FAST.
Another wise person said... "People love their dogs." "People have the relationship with their dog that they expected to have with their spouses or their kids. Dogs never stab you in the back, probably because they don't have opposable thumbs. And they lick your face when you cry. You can't say that of anyone else. Nor would you want to."
Wasabi says: My pups are now at the age where they are licking your face, running to you when you near the x-pen, playing joyfully even with the other Havanese but when they try to feed off the other Havanese, well they are correcting them . We must do a video as soon as time allows.
We had a rather full weekend and are trying to wind down from that. Life is amazing with the little ones, human daddy says but they now need an x-pen upstairs vs. a whelping box. Although some of us a a tad under 2lb and some a tad over 2 lbs - we feel the need to spread out unlike Risa's crew. No one stays out of the play these days and all are highly curious. We change the environment to slowly condition them to feel comfort in change. This makes it easier when they go to their new homes. We are also walking them around the house, getting them used to water running on them if they need a bit of cleanup and praising them when they hit the pee pad.
More later...and look for a video soon!
Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 2:47PM 
Well, we had a full weekend so far. We had many visitors, grandpa and his wife, Tracy and the girls, Tal, Jonathan and Dennis - a number of folks to look at the pups and now we are waiting for Yvonne and mommy may lay on the couch with all of us and take a nap as the pups are now snoozing too. Here's one of my cuties just hanging out in dreamland.
We were all out back playing retrieve - without the pups, of course. They are still too young but soon for them too. I have a ton to teach them and wow that will be fun! They had a wonderful play session in the kitchen and many snuggles today and now they are having Havanese dreams. Nice..it's my turn too - so human mommy get off the computer will you?
Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 1:33PM 
It's visiting day for our puppies at our house and mommy tried to tell me this is socialization time but I know what she's doing - she's doing it for HER SAKE - oh my pups love it as you can see. They climb right over her and kiss and snuggle with her. She just loves it.
The one with the half mustache is one of the best climbers and the funniest one when it comes to play. He also seems to be the best runner - yes - they are running. He's way interesting. He just adores checking out the house, people, tunnels and so does the lone gal. Shhh but daddy adores that gal.
I tell you, my pups are becoming so interesting - each with things that make you laugh and wish they were never leaving. Even one seems to sit and snuggle and watch TV with mom - the one with one black ear and 2 black spots - a class act of calmness but fun.
Oh puppy heaven...my mom and dad have that addiction but these pups...mom says - well they are something else - early climbers, not afraid of anything thus far...ah...puppy breath - nothing like it daddy say.
Now if that wasn't enough, daddy also got into playing with my little ones. They climb up and kiss him, run through his legs and can't seem to get enough of that silly guy.
When do *I* get time with them? Well, I am playing with them more now that they seem to be getting older - 5 weeks - wow, snuggling and kissing them and even correcting them. Mommy says I am turning into a really great mom and I just adore the kisses and snuggles. I just lay there and snuggle and enjoy even after I am done eating.
Today mommy and daddy's grandkids are coming over, their daughter, hubby and of course grandpa and his wife and Tal is making the trek in from London to see my babies so expect more photos. My babies are going to have a full day of playing, socialization and lots of fun. Throw in a few people that are coming to look at pups we don't know and wow - visiting city but we love it and I am calming down now about people oohing and ahhing over my pups. I can't figure out why they don't about me - silly people - ha but I know - puppies - how can you resist.
Well - look for my photos and an update later. Exciting times...
Friday, November 16, 2007 at 8:34PM 
Sorry we are so late in filling you in today. We have had lots of visitors and they are still here. So, today will be a tad short. My puppies are crawling all over me and get so excited to see me but they are now really entertaining themselves.
My littlest masked dog can often be seen on top of one dog or another playing his heart out wrestling and the white one - who happens to be a major snuggler crawls into my neck and settles in. He's been doing that since he was born. Nice....
More on the crew tomorrow...
Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 8:16AM 
Here's human daddy hanging out with the one that has a half mustache like me. He's getting way cute as his hair comes in and he is one of the litter that hits that pee pad consistently. His play is creative where you can often find him under a blanket with the blanket going up and down and he loves tunnels, carrying cases and independent play but he also likes to play with the rest of the crew. He just seems to enjoy his own play thoroughly as well. What that means is he can find ways to entertain himself. We are really pleased with this ones personality. Each are different and unique in their own ways. Each have their own unique personalities.
My daddy was having fun trying to get my crew to eat from our round dish. Boy I (Wasabi) likes to clean up after that mess. Lick, lick - yum, yum. Goats milk - oh boy!
Another character (we only have a couple that are quiet but still playful so far) is the one we call Tux. He just has no fear about anything so far and just runs through the tunnels. When he isn't doing that, he is hanging out on his back swatting a fish - yeah a fish. We will put a video of it up as soon as human mommy gets her act together. We would love to count on her but she tells me work and sleep somehow count too - hahahaha!
Hey, we played in the tub today with mommy and had our first bath. We loved playing in the water, wasn't crazy over the shampoo but loved the blow drying and massages she gave us. So, we got to follow human mommy's rule of thumb - always end on a good note to make the memories a good one.
Here's a video of Tuxedo playing...
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 2:09PM 
There goes that mommy again, crawling in and laying down in the x-pen to play with my pups. She can't help herself.
'Would you be able to?'
From one, to another till she is at the last one - they all get their snuggles and me time around here and if that's not enough, then daddy, and Jonathan and Dennis have to climb in.
One great thing is mommy really takes care of me when I feed the little ones. She often puts a soft blanket under my head so I am comfortable and strokes my head and back. She really takes care of me but everyone loves the doggies around this place and hey - how could they not. We make them laugh, feel good and we tend to complete the house they say!
Then this weekend we have more visitors and a bonus, grandpa is also coming to visit and he LOVES doggies. Good thing around this place.
Also, the grand kids are coming and they just ADORE us. It's going to be a fun socialization weekend for us. Socialization in small doses is important as it helps us to be all we can be.
Okay, mommy - it's my time. They do have to eat, you know - and sleep too. Oh, you haven't finished?
Now if that wasn't enough, mommy decided to put on a mini jacket that she had for Shoshi when she first got here and place it on our mostly white pup.
You can't see it in this photo but it's way too big. He's going to have to grow into it but we think this will be his coat as it's an easy on/easy off and Shoshi never wore it cause after all, she's a girl doggie. This will fit him for a bit till he has to get the next size.
When we have our back yard play sessions - maybe in the snow - am hoping - this will help us stay warm till we get our full coat (our undercoat) in. This is a perfect coat as it's fast to put on, gives freedom of movement and it's toasty warm. We be stylin it and mommy is doing a file that tells about what type of clothes you should look for and why. Look for it soon on our Havanese Stylin' & Toys section. Be sure to send your Havanese in stylish clothing and tell us why you like it. If the photo is a good quality (meaning not hard to visualize), we will add it to our Stylin' section.
Wasabi - yeah me - well I just adore sharing - I honestly do!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 10:54AM 
It's 4 and a half weeks now and I finally went out back and had some roaring good fun with Katsuro. He's been bugging me for weeks to play so, I finally gave in.
Thing is, now mommy is getting that comb and I had to tell her - NOT NOW! It's time to let me in to see my precious babies. I mean - haven't they totally missed the scent of me from leaving their presence? What - they didn't notice, you say? Please...no white fibs around here, mommy. I am the sun and the moon to them now till they leave the nest and by that time, I will have done a stupendous job.
Oh - you think you are a part of that equation too? Just because they wag their tails and come running....oh okay they run faster for daddy cause he's a totally silly guy but I suppose they get excited to see you too. Heck, some of them just hang out, snooze, dream of fun things to come and not worry about Havanese mommy cavorting all over the yard with that big boy dog.
So, let me in and put that comb away. Oh, and don't forget my massage when you pick it back up. Sometimes you have to deal as I am an adventurous gal and I like the just rolled and shook hair look.