Visiting With the Tiger

Hey, this is Tiger Lily and I had visitors at my house today.

My canine mom Fiona came to visit and so did my half sister Saki and of course that human, Nathan. What a great idea.

I showed off my home and backyard and we ran like crazy all over every inch of it. I was able to catch my mom, Fiona, no problem and then she'd take off again. It was way fun but then Saki would come diving in on me from everywhere.

Nathan had to finally pick Saki up to give me a chance to jump on my doggy mom. Fiona wasted not a single second and jumped on her lots. Then I showed Nathan how I run back and forth between my human Mom and Dad and my Marlaina. I was exhausted long before they finally left. I think I'll take a nap now. Nathan took lots of pictures of me and my family so maybe he'll share them. It was way fun playing with Fiona and Saki and I hope to do it again soon.

Affectionately yours,

Tiger Lily

PS: Check out a few of the pictures here.

Correct Play?

Play, by definition, is fun. When play stops being fun it stops being play.

During play, Havanese behave without real seriousness - running, jumping, chasing, mouthing, chewing, wrestling, biting, hiding and even humping. In play, all behaviors are a game to the players and are performed for fun. There is no hidden agenda.

Sometimes it can even look menacing with bared teeth but there is a distinct difference between play for the fun of it and aggressive play.

Dawgs have a unique gesture, the play bow, that signals "play mode." The signal involves dawgs going down on their elbows with their rear end elevated, tail raised and wagging. During such posturing, they have on their "play face," with mouth open and ears pricked. They may bark to signal their wish to solicit another's involvement, and may approach or withdraw from a potential play partner while pouncing and leaping about. Some puppies will bark to an irritating degree but they are learning how to initiate play. They will hone their skills.

Social skills are honed by playful interactions between individuals. One pup may jump on another pup, pin him, and then mouth him around the head and neck. If the pressure of the pup's bite exceeds tolerable limits, the temporary submissive will roll over, yelp or run away. Both parties learn an important lesson. The biter learns to inhibit his bite if he wishes the fun to continue, and the pup that is bitten learns that deference or escape will cause the unpleasant experience to come to an end. Of course, sudden role reversal is also a feature of play, with provisional submissives suddenly becoming pursuers and "attackers."

Here you can see Fiona, Treasure and Saki in full out play. Treasure at times tries to dominate the play but as a puppy herself, she is learning that for the play to continue, it has to be fun for all parties. They learn so much from play.

There is nothing like more than 1 Havanese.

Who Me? Couldn't Be

Teaching your dog to 'come' when he is called is the most important lesson you will ever teach them.

When a dog is running loose, he faces many dangers. Cars are the most obvious. Drivers cannot always stop if they see your dog running across the street and a massive metal object coming at high speeds is not going to do well when it impacts with your puppy.

Even the most behaved dawg may see a bird flying by while you have the door open and off and running your dawg may go not thinking about traffic. It's all about the bird.

This is when a loud 'come' could work to distract him from his focus, interrupt his goal and come back to you and safety.

You will be amazed at how small a space a dawg can get through when motivated. We practice, it's better safe than sorry.

Treasure, even though she is the youngest around here has an excellent 'recall'. This photo was taken today after I yelled, Treasure, come! and as you can see, she did. What you can't see is she did it immediately and I have stopped treating her for such but I give her praise, hugs and get way excited when she does come. I want 'come' to always be a fun thing for her.

Here at Talemaker we actually have a gate about 3 feet from the door to offer a separation from the door and the dawgs. This way if that bird flies by when you are answering the door, we have something that gets in the way.

Of course Wasabi can clear any gate in a single bound but it makes them think and gives you time to react.

We often join in on 'Total Recall' seminars held at Whos Walking Who even on those that have been through it before. It is always smart to reinforce and simply spend one on one time having fun with your dawg.

If you can't teach your dawg anything else, consider the important command of 'come'.

It's Mine

Mia and Treasure were playing tug. Tug to some is seen as a sign of aggression but really it's all in how you play the game.

If a human is playing tug with a dawg, you control when the game stops and when your dawg releases the toy. Sure, you can let them win at times, but you control the ending of the game and the release.

Mia will be going home shortly and we are going to miss her greatly. She is destined for warm sun for the rest of the winter and we hope she remembers all of us when she gets back.

Mia has an amazing bond with her mother. It's endearing!

Well, it will be me and the dawgs. Nathan is away starting tomorrow till Wednesday night. That's okay as I get them all sleeping with me. hehehe

People wonder how we can have so many dawgs sleeping with us without issue. The excitement isn't high when you go to sleep and high excitement is what feeds trouble when you have immature dawgs in the pack. Sleep is easy and enjoyable for me and the way they cuddle, it appears it is for them too!

Lucky us to have so many visitors and our own to create memories with.

What an Amazing Time Filled With Fun

I am a little under the weather so Nathan got to entertain and I got some needed sleep to try to get rid of whatever has a hold on me.

We had Chico who went home tonight, Mia who goes home tomorrow, Saki who goes home the end of the week, Chewy who came to visit and Holly and Missy who boards with us - all came for a visit today or was here boarding.

Check out some of the photos from today.

Until I got sick, I was having a blast but sweating and sleeping and all that fun has to go, I tell you so I opted to do the right thing and just enjoy the moments via photos like you.

I also put up a video of a Havanese being groomed by Pure Paws and offered why I don't like portions of it. Check it out and see what I mean. The video is excellent - just don't agree with certain things for good reason.

Lots of Visitors

I can't believe I posted this in the wrong area - but I just moved it and deleted it on Havanese Life. No, we didn't forget a day - I just ooopsed on where. Sorry about that!

Today we did a marathon with visitors. Some were potential boarders, others were puppy people.

Wasabi tolerated her son trying to play dominance games on her until she had enough and corrected him. Treasure tried it out with Risa and Risa being the queen of this establishment said, "I don't think so," All is quite normal when puppies are trying to climb to the boss seat.

But Risa is the boss around here and she has yet to relinquish her role. We are glad as Treasure has much to learn before she gets mature enough to be the 'right' role model/protector.

WE really enjoyed the company but we must admit after the last one went, we all climbed into bed, dawgs and all and had a snooze for a half hour and Treasure laid in my arms the entire time - a rarity. Saki laid up against my leg, Chico up against Saki, Wasabi at my feet and Nathan had a selection of dawgs all over him. Fiona decided to check out long before the last guest went home and crawled into a bed in Nathan's office to take a snooze.

Yes, the dawgs get tired from so much activity.

Then we woke up, (I never actually slept but rested watching and enjoying) and then food time came and now I am typing away at the computer telling you about our day.

I did manage to break up some ice today and got several messages from our friends in Florida telling us about the weather. Must be nice but hey we have the ice, the snow and the dawgs so life is good.

Tomorrow I will cover washing dawgs. Some are under the opinion I wash mine all the time but when you have so many, you do 2 or 3 here and there to get them all done.

Chico, Kat and Saki

Well, Chico is here overnight and then we have Mia staying overnight on Sunday. Are we going to have fun this weekend.

Kat has to have a bath and so does Fiona. I am playing a game of procrastination. Don't we all at various times? I tend to do a dog bath here and there till they all get done so I don't have to wash them in a blitz from morning till night.

Do you know what I have found? If you clean around the eyes and use corn starch - a dab where the eyes drain down, it absorbs the wetness and eventually gets rid of the staining. It's also very cheap vs. all the other products and bonus it helps with any fungal (yeast) conditions which is the usual with eyes drainage. (that's the smell) You have to dab it pretty thick - one good dab under each eye. It all goes away so don't worry about it looking silly but enough stays on to absorb. Those of you dealing with eye staining should give it a try. It takes time but I have found it helps this greatly. Daily use should give you a difference in a week or 2. You must do it daily though.

Jazzy Goes Home

Jazzy has been with us for 12 days and we truly enjoyed him.

This is a photo of him on my grooming table.

Jazzy fits in really well here playing mostly with Treasure but also with Abigail, Kat and Fiona. He was also very smitten with Wasabi.

But today he was playing up a storm with Saki. He also loves Kit Kat and thought she was quite fun.

Jazzy is a great boy and his human parents do an amazing job with him. He is quite lucky.

But when I washed Jazzy and had him perfect for his photo, he decided to mix his hair up, as you can see.

I just had to laugh and laugh. Anyone who hasn't had a Havanese, well you missed something as this is one of the moments of pure joy that you see a Havanese display.

They go from one thing to another rustling up their hair in grand Havanese style. I just LOVE it!!

Saki was really enjoying Jazzy and something about his smell after his bath got her playing and smelling and playing. It was a delight.

Tomorrow Chico comes for a weekend and the siblings get to play together. We can't wait to watch that!!

Silly Games

Saki was trying to get Jazzy and Treasure playing and they soon joined in and kept running in and out of all the paths, under the deck and anywhere she could gain an advantage but Jazzy would cut her off and Treasure would just play pounce. It was all so silly.

The games of Havanese are quite a fun thing to watch.

Jazzy is heading home tomorrow and will be getting a bath. He's no longer running the other way when Nathan uses his spray to keep his teeth clean. We have also been testing out this addition to the water to help tartar. It's still too early to figure out if it works. We know some of you find brushing not a fun thing to do so we are looking at ways to help you still keep those teeth clean in an easier and quicker manner. Of course Jazzy doesn't seem to mind the toothbrush but wasn't crazy about the spray till he finally got that it was quick, easy and no issues. It's called slow conditioning.

If you are a puppy owner and are getting your dog spayed or neutered, check out if any of their 1st teeth need removing and if they need some cleanup, this is the perfect time.

So - regarding teeth and what works - well we really like Leba III, that spray we are talking about. We will let you know about the rest.

We will post Jazzy pix tomorrow after his bath. We will miss him bigtime.

Saki-sized!

Saki joined us today in the afternoon and she had the snip/snip (spaying) last week.

Her owners ordered a 'no bite' collar but it came too late to use.

If interested, we are selling it for them for their cost. It's not available up here (Canada), only in the states. Let us know. We have it here and they got us one that we bought for Terra when her next leg is done. It will make the banging into the walls stuff non existent as those lovely cone heads you get at the vets.

Saki and Treasure have been playing up a storm. We just got a few photos today as it is simply too ^%$# cold outside though we did take a walk with the dogs. Saki walked with a purpose just like her dad side by side. It was a riot to watch them.

We found out that when Kit Kat came over, Jazzy really loves and I mean really loves puppies. It was wonderful to watch.

Wasabi and Abigail is over their heat and we are on - wait till ultrasound count down on Feb 8th.

I took our portable humidifier downstairs and will take it up each night. The dawgs are getting static in their hair and it's important for their skin, sinus' and yours too to have that extra moisture pumped in. Think about getting one.

Well, off to the couch to snuggle with the Havs and watch American Idol. Too bad Ellen isn't on yet. That reminds me, Jazzy loves to bark at all those animals on those nature programs the son likes to watch. hahahaha

Night Time Games

Last night Shoshi decided to nest in the bed. What does that mean? She crawled under the covers and moved all over while Treasure tried to pounce on her.

It was a riot!

Shoshi has come a long way with the pack. She's proactive for herself, playful and an important member of the pack.

But she's not the only one who has her part in the scheme of things at Talemaker Havanese.

Terra is one of our resident big dawgs that give our puppies exposure so they get 'slow conditioning' to bigger dawgs that aren't Havanese and Terra is amazing at this.

She gets right down at their level to play and is as gentle as anything. She is also one of the funniest dawgs teaching them snow angels.

When we have puppies, it's the pack and us that teaches life lessons along with canine mom.

Personally, we can't wait till we have puppies from birth till they are no longer ours but that love, well it is always there.

Tomorrow we get Saki-sized. What does that mean? Well the Saki is about to visit us (one of Wasabi/Kat's) pups from her last litter and we can't wait! I can't help but wonder will her next pups be like her last? They were such a joy.

I also wonder what type of a mom will Abigail be? I was worried about Fiona and she was AMAZING. With Abigail, she is a loving soul so it will be a joy when she has her pups just to watch her first time.

You see what they say about pups...nothing like them..even as they get older...be still my heart!

PS: Jazzy is playing up a storm with that Treasured one. It's wonderful to watch!

Visitors and Fun

Today we had Kit Kat and Hannah and Val over for a visit. She is a genuine friend and helped me clean up the pads of the dawgs and clean up Jazzy's hairdo. You can check out Jazzy in today's photos.

It was a joy to have Hannah and Kit Kat here and Jazzy well he is a dream dawg that was playing up a storm with the crew as you can see in this photo and in the slide show.

Well, we hear Twiggy is now fondly called Jazzy and how cool is that to know of two Jazzys now.
Check out today's photos.

If you haven't cleaned up the pads of your dawgs, do so now. It's painful to have snowballs stuck in their pads or slip and slide due to excess hair.

If you are anywhere near the downtown area of Toronto, well check Val's Dawg Salon out called 'Simply the Best' and you will be glad you did. You can find the info in the right hand column. Plus you will get to see Kit Kat - another Havanese. How fun will that be?

Well Saki is coming this week and Chico will be visiting at the same time as his sister. Now that is exciting. Can't wait to laugh with these two.

Jazzy will be going home and we will miss him greatly. I think he is smitten with Treasure...hehe

Well Balanced

Jazzy is a well balanced boy and that's what you want to achieve. It comes with training, conditioning and trust.

His parents board him so he gains exposure to other dawgs and they have a fab clothing store called 'Eye on Fashion' in Richmond Hill where many a buyer of their merchandise comes in and says hello to Jazzy and sometimes they bring their own Havanese to say hello to him.

This is great socialization.

Jazzy has been hanging out at Talemaker and this will be the first day he won't be walking. The wind chill is sitting at -25 and we take the dawgs out for short stints and have to get them in right away after doing their business.

This winter we have had really cold weather so we have had to watch the dawgs closely. I put bag balm on the feet to make sure their pads do not crack and we watch them closely. Sometimes the dawgs think it's okay to hang out longer than it is safe.

It's called the crazy kid mentality - called having too much fun.

Many of you have probably experienced it if you have kids. They think they can stay out despite they are shivering cause it's fun mom and dad... Well some dawgs will do the same.

Treasure is one of those types of dawgs. She climbs all over Jazzy and he tries to climb back but she doesn't let him.

For her it is partly dominance games as she is a young thing trying everything but Jazzy just placates her as he knows she's a youngster and besides, he rather likes her. She likes him too.

That's what we mean about well balanced - an understanding of other dawgs allowing them to play in such a way to have patience and enjoyment all in one.

Today we are playing games inside. Dawgs are all groomed and snuggling and enjoying warmth.

The key is slow conditioning your dawgs always throughout their lives to get them to be all they are meant to be. Plus love them...as we do with our hearts and souls.

Emotion and the Havanese

So is a dawg's sense of smell so keen that it can detect emotions?

When you walk in your front door and your dawg is sniffing your hands, pants or shoes, he's greeting you and investigating the unique scents you brushed against that day.

Dawgs smell each other and their secretions to monitor physiological and emotional changes. It's like getting the morning paper or a hot-off-the-press tabloid.

Tips for Taming the Psychotic Smeller

If sniffing becomes excessive for your dog, you may want to try these tips to keep his snout in sync:

•Offer a distraction, like a chew toy or an awesome-smelling dog treat.

•Teach him to use the crate, especially if smelling visitors is of high entertainment value to him.

•Clap your hands and take charge with your leash when he sniffs other dogs inappropriately or excessively. Not all dawgs appreciate this sort of greeting to that degree.

•Give him plenty of exercise and positive attention.

Jazzy is visiting us and as you can see, he's blowing in the breeze - well his hair is.

He's rather smitten with Wasabi but we are keeping them away from each other till her heat is done. jazzy is neutered but no reason to get his heart a pitter patter with excitement, is there?

Treasure also loves Jazzy and is found jumping on him and playing up a storm. He's not quite sure what to make of her at times but he's growing to be charmed. :-) The first time she jumped on him he sort of looked at her as if to say - what are you up to but now I swear he is smiling.

The dawgs all went on their walks today as usual. Nathan has been doing the daily walks with all 2 at a time. They go on a fair walk so its a marathon for Nathan but the dawgs love it and I think Nathan does too.

It's actually quiet around here with only one boarder. Quiet you say...actually yes. :-)

Planning and Visits

Yvonne came to our house with her dogs including Twiggy and met a potential buyer here. So, all of you that was vying for that Twiggy gal - well she's now taken - sorry about that!

Treasure had a grand time with Twiggy as you can see here. I think when it is her turn, she is going to have wonderful pups.

Well, Yvonne is off to the land of the frozen oranges next week - yep Florida. They say they are in a deep freeze there - lucky them but it will warm up by the time they go. They are off to holidays for 6 weeks I think with the dawgs. So, as a good friend, she brought me some supplies in case we have 2 litters before she gets back - like an extra whelping box, lamp, hemostats that we share back and forth, towels etc. even a soldering gun so our son can fix the TV - well attempt to - oh oh

Yvonne is a great friend. I am going to have to buy a web cam just so I can talk to her online and she can make faces at me telling me how beautiful it is away from the land of the snow. I can then show her beautiful Abigail or Wasabi pups as they happen - yea right - who am I kidding. A web cam is the furthest thing from your mind when you are delivering pups but maybe after cleanup. hehehe

Poor Kat was surrounded by gals and one of Yvonnes was in heat too. But we are seeing an end. Abigail is starting to tell Kat off and he's calmer then he has been for days. Wasabi should be almost finished too.

No one understands this heat business or the issue with it unless you have gals and boys unneutered. Boys lose their minds - stop eating and all they can think of is the gal. As soon as it is over, you get your boy back. hehehehe We make sure Kat eats but it is trying.

Puppies are worth it though and to have spring pups - maybe we can condition them to rain. hehehehe

Ultrasound booked and now the long wait. 63 days from conception to birth - wow!

A Little Slice of Cesar

Cesar goes home tomorrow morning after a long visit with us and I bathed him tonight. Why tonight vs. tomorrow? He was out for a walk and got rather grungy and well - he needed it. If I have to touch him up tomorrow - well that's the chances we take. heh

He's now snuggly soft and we will miss this guy.

Cesar knows how to party hearty and his attitude has been infectious for our guys and visitors alike.

We will be down to our guys and Jazzy and then when Jazzy is about to go, the Saki comes to visit.

We just heard that Saki got the snip snip (spaying) yesterday. We hope for a fast recovery and can't wait to see her.

Wasabi is getting to the last week of her heat. She has approximately 5 days to go and Abigail has 7. Then we go back to normal - whatever normal is.

Wasabi gets rather tired during this phase but Abigail doesn't seem to be affected thus far.

Jazzy, we have known forever since he was a little guy and we adore him. He is hanging out and was caught playing hard with Treasure on their walk.

Tomorrow Yvonne and her crew comes in for a visit and it will surely be fun. More tomorrow...stay tuned!

Countdown to puppies - booking an ultrasound tomorrow for an appointment for Feb 8th.

Sensing Your Emotions

Almost every Havanese owner has found out that when they are really sad, their dog acts differently toward them.

A Havanese may approach its disturbed owner with a concerned look and, quite out of character, hunker down next to them as if to provide some emotional support. It is as if they are saying, I know there's something wrong, I don't know what it is but I'm here for you, anyway.

Are there other explanations? Of course, there are, but none make as much sense. You could argue that your Havanese observes your posture and appearance as submissive and, almost reflexively, approaches to investigate or respond to the new situation. Perhaps, seeing you in a submissive posture, the dog feels it has to grovel to remain below you in rank. YEAH - RIGHT!

Most likely your Havanese is in tune to your emotions. The old line that your emotions follow down your lead appears to be correct. Anyone who is stressed out and shows their dawg will tell you that when they aren't together - neither is their dawg.

Pay attention to your mood when attempting training.

Well, here at Talemaker Havanese we have had a number of breedings with our Wasabi and Abigail. We are hoping to have fun with 2 litters at the same time. Seeing Abigail is my dawg, I guess Nathan gets Wasabi and I get Abigail. Let's see if I get away with that...nah - selfish me.

We are exciting counting the days in hopes of having pups come 2 months time. Nothing like puppies.

What a Laid Back Day

We had a long breeding between Kat and Abigail. Wasabi's boy has already gone home. We may try for one more breeding tomorrow and then we do the 63 day countdown.

Today we had walks - short play sessions outside and lots of play sessions inside.

Our TV died. I keep hoping it comes back. Ah well - who needs TV.

Check out today's fun.

Let the Fun Never Stop

When it snows, the dawgs really find their sense of true play. It's fun to watch.

Today I took some of the dawgs for a walk and our son took the rest. While I was walking Shoshi and Risa, I watched them do snow dives - yes snow dives where they jump head first into the snow then they roll back and forth with great glee.

I remember when our kids was young I was caught in a blizzard with them at a hotel. I had the sense to get off the PA turnpike with all the kids in tow. Nathan was at home. I was being my more adventurous self visiting our daughter in Leesburg, Va. (She now lives in Toronto) where they never have blizzards...yeah right. We were stuck at the hotel for days and people were sleeping in the hallways. Well, we went out that first day and we did snow dives - yes even me. I taught the kids to do it and they laughed and laughed and so did I.

I didn't teach the Havanese. They do it naturally. It's that fun that we seem to lose as we get older but the Havanese allow us to relish their own sense of play and somehow remember when we played with our own abandonment. We either live through our Havanese and their sense of play or they allow us to capture it again. Who knows - I may do snow dives yet this year. Will you?

Jazzy is visiting us. He's an absolute delight and is enjoying a quieter house. We still had a number of dawgs yesterday and 3 more are supposed to go home today. Oreo went this morning. Benny's owners plane is delayed and so was Louis. We just heard Louis will be picked up tonight and the verdict is out with Benny. After Benny and Louis leave, we will have Cesar (nickname party guy) till the 7th and Jazzy till the 11th.

It's been a way busy holiday season but I have to say we absolutely loved having the dawgs even with all the walks and grooming. The snuggles and the cuddles made it a delight. Just imagine a sea of dawgs keeping you warm.

During this time Wasabi and Abigail was bred in hopes for pups to go home in spring pups. It's been a really exciting holiday and it starts again during March Break but usually not as busy as March break really is different for everyone - expanding from March to April. But people are booking already. If you need a fun time for your dawg while you laze away somewhere cold or warm, let us know. Your dawg deserves a holiday too. :-)

We really miss the activity and all the dawgs. It's almost quiet - well quieter.

Check out today's photos.

Visitors are Going Home

This photo shows two of the dawgs that went home today, Remy and Bailey. Both played up a storm. As you can see, Remy is going in for the front and Fiona has Treasure's tail and Bailey is saying - are you crazy? But Bailey joined in. You will see in the slide show. You will have to go day by day to see all the photos.

Tomorrow we have Louis, Oreo and Benny going home and then we will be down to ours and 1 new one that came today and that play demon Cesar.

We have had a lot of visitors. We did walks, play sessions - I groomed all. I even moved my grooming table into my family room so I could watch TV and groom. Nails got clipped. There were a to of snuggles and lots of body warmth at bedtime.

We even had 2 gals in heat and a male brought in to mate with Wasabi. Kat mated with Abigail.

I do believe the dawgs know we love them immensely and it comes through. The play - the fun - the interactions and the snuggles - well what a holiday we had.

Looking forward to Saki coming near the end of the month. Lots of changes and fun around Talemaker Havanese. May the new year be filled with puppies that we can love and ooh and ahhh over.