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Our new adventure.....

19K views 232 replies 48 participants last post by  Laurief 
#1 ·
A very wise woman (from this forum) chatted with me yesterday and encouraged me to share in my new adventure, and the ups and downs it took to get here.....

I will start by saying that I have been owned by Havanese for more than 9 years now! Once Lily came into our home, there was no stopping the joy! And with each addition, we fell more and more in love with the breed As most of you know, I have been a member here on this forum for over 6 years now. I am an active member of Havanese Rescue and have posted over the years about our 11 wonderful fosters! I have two Havanese playdates a year (both of which are fundraisers), and this year, after many years of helping, am chairing the HRI Banquet/Auction at Nationals in Chicago. My Lexi and Logan are both certified therapy dogs and visit with nursing home residents, dementia patients, and are currently participating in a research project with Rutgers University to determine the benefits of therapy dogs with autistic children.

So.... you can see I love this breed!! The joy and love that these guys have given to us over the years, got me thinking years ago that I wanted to share that with others. Over 2 years ago I was blessed to have Laila come into our family. My intent was to start a breeding program. The UP was the excitement of this prospect - the DOWN was waiting till she was old enough and had all of her health testing. I swear that for the two years we health tested, I held my breath, as if my kids were taking a college entrance exam. This past October, Laila was given the green light. Baer, CERF, Patellas, Hips and CArdiac- all perfect!!!!

Her first heat came at the end of November and after much discussion and consultation with my breeder, and other breeders, her (health tested) stud was chosen. The "breeding" was not an easy one and I did not think it was a success. A big disappointment to me, but knew we would have other opportunities. 2 weeks after the breeding, Laila started acting different. Nothing overt, but slight changes. More lovey dovey - not wanting to eat breakfast till 3 hours after her normal time. Everyone, including my vets said "you cant tell that they are pregnant until at least 4-5 weeks" - well I knew different!!! At 4 weeks I had an ultrasound done and we found she WAS pregnant with 2 puppies (that they could see). I was overjoyed and excited!!! Then began the prenatal care!

Laila was due to have an Xray and final check up last Wednesday (30th) but appeared to be in labor that am. We rushed to the vet, they did an xray (confirming only two pups) and said, nope, her temp is up, she is NOT in labor. I went home - and during the rest of the day , her temp fell. Thursday morning, she went into full labor. She first delivered a tiny little girl (2.7oz), who struggled a bit. Laila went into hard labor so fast to deliver the second that I worked on the little girl, who was struggling to breath. Joey was born 1/2 later 4.45 oz. Sadly the little girl continued to struggle to we rushed to the vets where they worked on her for over 1/2 hour - but sadly she did not make it. Her placenta had broken away too early.
In one day to have such sadness and such joy! It was difficult!

So now we have the task of raising this gorgeous singleton boy!! Then the concern of how a first time Mommy will be kicks in. For the rest of that day, and the entire night, I woke up every 1 1/2 hours and put him on to nurse. AT 5am MATERNAL INSTINCT kicked in!!! Laila has been the perfect mother ever since!! I am so so proud of her.

So please welcome my sweet Joey (named after my grandfather) to our forum family !!

And Thank you dear friend for encouraging me to share our blessing!
 

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#27 ·
What an emotional roller coaster!You have a fabulous set up there.I think little pal Joey's prospective owns will have to go through some serious vetting,before you let that little bundle of joy go!The snow looks magical,but not so deep,we have been hearing all sorts of horror stories about all the snow,hope it is not too bad[I love snow!]
 
#28 ·
Thank you so much for sharing this. I have delivered several litters of puppies with different sizes of dogs and small dogs are by far the hardest. I'm so sorry you lost the girl. It's very sad. It's one of the hardest parts. The fun parts will be coming. That whelping pen is amazing! I can't wait to see how little Joey grows!

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#30 ·
This past October, Laila was given the green light. Baer, CERF, Patellas, Hips and CArdiac- all perfect!!!!
Congrats Laurie, he is a pretty little white boy. So did you ever start her in her show career?
I was on OFA's web site and looking up Laila's health testing. You said that she passed all her health test, but don't see it all on OFA http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1543672#animal
just wondered what happen to the other test?

good luck in your new adventure
 
#31 ·
Her original first tests were not posted on the site as the decision was not 100% that we were going to breed her.
I have her earlier passing grades which I am happy to share with anyone inquiring for him! :)
 
#32 ·
#35 ·
Laila's night time crate is now on a table, right next to my bed, eye level so I can keep an eye on her and Joey at night in case they need me.
Well.... I turn over this morning, and this is what greeted me....
Makes me fall farther in love with both of them!
 

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#39 ·
What a beautiful picture of mother and son. They both look so peaceful. It's really precious and so wonderful to wake up to. Being a singleton is not fun, I know because I'm one myself! Give him lots of love and attention. I got that and it was great. Good luck.
 
#47 ·
Laurie, Joey is so cute! I didn't know you were getting into breeding! I would like to eventually find a breeding partner for Cole, I think he would be an amazing stud. I would clone him if I could! He is the best! I would love your guidance on this. I know I need to start with the health testing... where do you go? I haven't found a vet here I love yet, we tried Hopewell and Belle Mead and didn't love either.
 
#53 ·
ME :) It is one of my snuggle times with him as I carry him upstairs. Although I have to say that Laila lets me snuggle on him whenever I want, as long as she can see him, she is ok..

Hey Suzi - how about YOU mention it to hubby - ok?? lol
 
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