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June/July new owners

20K views 181 replies 19 participants last post by  swaye 
#1 ·
There are several of us that got our Hav's in June & July. All are about 10 - 14 weeks old now. I'm sure we're all going thru the same experiences, so let's share.

Kallie is 13 weeks. She's 5 lb 6 oz now. Has had her 2nd set of shots. She's quite a lively little girl. And I can tell when she hasn't gotten enough sleep throughout the day, she gets crazy & starts getting into things, testing us. I put her to bed & she goes right to sleep. Just like a toddler that needs a nap, gets cranky. Potty training is going pretty well. But I can tell she has more accidents on the weekends. I guess we're not quite as structured on weekends. Plus we had out-of-town company this weekend & she was completely off her schedule. Our company loved her, and she loved them. Greeted them with tail wagging every morning. Loved doing her RLH with them. She's on Wellness dry food (1/4 cup - 3 meals), with just a tad of canned (less than 1/2 tsp) mixed in. Sleeps from 9:00 PM til 4:30 AM when DH gets up. Today, Sunday, she actually slept til 6:15 AM. I was soooooooo happy! She's doing great with Sit and Down. She loves to play "Find It" where I hide a small piece of treat in the room & she has to find it. She searches til she finds the treat. Our biggest issue to date is the potty training. And I know she's still very young, but I take her outside so often I KNOW I have to be losing weight!

So what are you updates?
 
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#2 ·
I'm sure you have seen what Ted is up to, from all my posts but your post sounds just like mine. Weekdays are very structured but weekends are a hit and miss. We have had company coming in and out every weekend and all have enjoyed meeting Ted. Unfortunately they throw his schedule right off. He's usually in his pen sleeping when the doorbell rings, then that puts an abrupt end to sleep. My college age daughter comes in at later hours from her retail job during the week which sometimes disturbs him but I think he is used to it now. Ted goes for his 12 week shots on Wednesday and I'll get him properly weighed then. On my scale he is still in the 3 1/2 pound range although its not exact at all.
Ted is on Actr1um Holistic Puppy food (grain and corn free). He eats about 1/4 cup 3 times a day also. His puppy classes start on July 31st and I can't wait. He also has accidents here and there in the house but 90 % is all done outside and treats and partying follows each time! Ted sleeps from anywhere from 9-10 pm til about 5:45-6:00am in his pen in the kitchen. He never uses the pee pad in the pen except to lie on and holds it til we quickly get him out on the lawn.
After his RLH in the evening he likes to get up and snuggle with my husband and I then one more outdoor break and off to bed we all go!
I did pick up bitter apple spray today and it sure works. I sprayed the bottom of my couch, the bottom of my curtains and my feet and legs. Worked like a charm:)
I won't lie, I will be happier when Ted gets through the worst of his teething but overall love the little guy to pieces:whoo:
 
#3 ·
Yes, I forgot to mention the teething! Kallie has several more teeth than she did this time last week. She wants to chew on anything/everything she can get her mouth on. I keep saying I'm not your chewtoy, here use this instead!. I have the bitter apple spray too & am using it. It does work well. A loud ouch when she bites too hard gets me kisses right away. Right now she's sound asleep snuggled up to DH in his recliner. Was hoping to keep her awake a little longer, but she's just exhausted. It sounds like Ted & Kallie are right at the same stage.

How about you other new owners? Are you right with us?
 
#4 ·
I'll chime in even though we don't fit the "criteria" exactly ...

My second Hav Kai joined the household in June shortly before Father's Day. But he was already 15 weeks old. I've experienced zero chewing issues with him or with my other Hav Kiki who was ~12 weeks old when she came home last year. Due to the age I suspect I bypassed a lot of those chewing issues but I also allowed them to chew on bully sticks or flossies.

Whereas Kiki rarely barks, Kai likes to bark for a variety of reasons. My least favorite is the 3 am bark. :)

Kai just had his second trip to the groomer. The first time was just to have the bangs/face trimmed so the hair wouldn't bother his eyes which are prone to tearing. The second time was for a puppy cut. He did great --- very thankful the breeder introduced him to brushing and combing at an early age.

If only the housebreaking phase was complete ...
 

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#5 ·
Anyone's welcome to chime in. We have very loose "criteria"!! Was just trying to give those of us that have babies all around the same age some idea if we're going thru things along or if they're all at the same stage.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Quincy will be 13 weeks old on Wed. and at his last vet appt he weighed 6.4 pounds. His next vet appt is tomorrow for his second set of shots. I put him on the scale with me the other day, and I think he's up to almost 7 pounds already!

Q definitely is going through the same thing with the teething and sometimes gets into what I call "puppy frenzy" where he seems to be overstimulated. Last night was the first time I had problems getting him to go into his crate for bed. He wanted to sleep with us. He does spend time on the bed with us in the evening when we watch television, but is usually sleeping/zonked out when I put him in his crate for the night. He went out later than usual last night for his potty break so maybe that had something to do with it?
For the most part he's doing great with going outside to potty. The past two days, though, he's had a couple of poo accidents in the house. I think his system is changing because, like someone else said in a different post, he used to reliably poo about a half hour after eating. Now sometimes it's two hours, sometimes longer. It's hard to tell and I'm not sure if he even knows when he has to go until he actually goes. I do have pee pads, but he always misses them.
I think he's only used the pee pad once to actually pee. He's gone outside the rest of the time. The accidents are always poo and invariably he's near the pad, but doesn't quite hit it. If I'm not quick enough, he'll try eating it...yuck! He usually goes out for the last time at about 10:30 p.m. and will wake me up at around 5:00 a.m. to go out.

He very smart just like all of the Havs I have read about here on the forum. He is doing great with learning sit, fetch, bring it back, drop it (kind of) and lay down :whoo:

I can get him to sit for some brushing/combing on the table pretty well, but he doesn't enjoy it one bit. I have to time it just right so that he's not in "play mode" and I keep a bag of kibble up there and treat him when he's for being good. I had planned on giving him a bath yesterday, but it was raining outside and he would have just gotten all muddy, so I'm shooting for today.

Hubby and I were like Laurel and Hardy yesterday trying to trim his nails (we have the pet nail grinder). Finally, hubby gave up and said, "just pay the extra $7.00 at the vet on Tuesday for them to do it." Poor Q! LOL It's hard to judge how far to go because some of his nails are white and some are black. I'm so afraid I'll do it too short and hurt him.

We are on the list for puppy kindergarten which is hopefully going to start in August. He should have all of his shots by then, so that will be good.

I am going to try and get his new car seat in my truck today and maybe take him for a ride and see if he's better in that than in his Sherpa carrier. He's kind of nosy and wants to see what's going on, so the carrier isn't working out so well.

As for eating, he is eating three times a day. I feed him the Acana Ranchlands dry food and Wellness Puppy canned food. In the morning and evening he gets 1/4 c dry plus 1 TBS canned. Midday he gets about 1/4 c of just dry food. I spread it around his expen and he likes eating it off the floor better than eating it in his bowl. I'll use that noonday food for his grooming treats too.

His socialization is going pretty well, I think. We've had people come to the house to meet him and play with him and he does well. He's a little tentative at first, but warms up within a couple of minutes. Again, the timing is the big thing. If he's just woken up from a nap, he's not as quick to warm up. He's kind of like me in the morning needing to wake up before I'm sociable LOL.
We haven't taken him out in public anywhere yet, but we're going to try and bring him someplace like Lowe's, etc. Without all of his shots, I've been a little hesitant to bring him out and about. I know there is a lot of different thoughts about the vaccination thing and with bringing puppy out and about, but I'm trying to err on the side of caution.

So I think I'm rambling now...here's a couple of pics of Q. It's hard to get a non blurry picture of him because he's constantly on the move. I know they are a little big, but I have them stored on Photobucket, so I'm not sure how to resize them. The last time I tried to upload an attachment, it didn't work for some reason.




 
#42 ·
<I am going to try and get his new car seat in my truck today and maybe take him for a ride and see if he's better in that than in his Sherpa carrier. He's kind of nosy and wants to see what's going on, so the carrier isn't working out so well. >

Hi Dory, wondering how the car seat went over? Which one did you get? Eloise is the same way in the car. Although she is getting better, I know she would be much happier in a car seat and harness than her soft sided carrier. I am taking her on a two hour car trip in a few weeks, and will occasionally take her to my hometown which is 3.5 hours away.

My computer is dead and I am currently using my ipad or else I would add a picture of Eloise.

Thanks!
 
#9 ·
Aw, Dory he is so cute. Nice that he has a choice of beds beside each other! I felt ok bringing Ted out yesterday because he is just so easy to pick up if there is anything that I dont like or see. The sidewalks are clean and I really need to make sure Ted gets out and sees and hears the sounds of real life since my house doesnt provide any of that. I know the fear though because it took me this long to get the nerve up to do it. The worst is cigarette butts. There aren't many in the town because they have disposal vessels on every corner but there are always people who I guess just find that not convienant enough!
I too tried but failed at the nails. I have clipped the hair on his pads and a few choice privacy areas and bathed him twice, but I have a real hard time seeing his nails. Once I get them to pop out, Ted is done with it! He is going to the vet this Wednesday so I'll get them to do his nails then.
Ted has never been on our bed and is no where near trustworthy to me potty wise to start. When the nights get cool and he's a few months older, maybe!
Somehow I think one thing for sure, we are all sleep deprived!!:biggrin1:
 
#11 ·
Very true about being sleep deprived LOL. I didn't mention it in my other post, but when he goes to bed in his crate, he is right beside my bed with the crate door open and pee pads just outside. He has chosen to not use the pee pads even during the night. I am impressed with him for sure.

We are very lucky here in that we have a fenced in yard and there is traffic on the street we live on. There is also all kinds of wildlife sounds for him to take in because our house is surrounded on three sides by apple orchard. Love having no neighbors! He was pretty curious about the chipmunk and stops to listen to the birds squawking. Last evening/this morning was his first time being out in the rain. It didn't really bother him much, but he's not too fond of his feet getting wet LOL.

I do want to take him out and about - I wish I was as brave as you, Lise LOL.
He should have his last set of shots by the second week in August, so we're going to take a trip to see my family for my grandson's third birthday. It will be a 2.5 hour trip, so I really need to get him comfortable with riding in the car.

Anyway, today he is testing me and being stubborn. But at the moment, he is sleeping in his crate and looks so darn cute that I can't be aggravated with him for too long :biggrin1:
 
#13 · (Edited)
Introducing Hercules

Hello all. We are first time Havenese owers, and so far, absolutely not dissapointed in our choice of new puppy.
Hercules was born April 25, he's currently 3lbs 2 oz, and we have had him since July 7. Alot has happened to us and him since he joined our family. Mostly good. :). Unfortunately, he became ill 36 hours after we brought him home, vomitting and such. He had to spend 2 days at the vet clinic. Unknown cause, and we know he didnt eat anything wrong as we watched him constantly. Anyways, iv and antibiotics and he is even more happyand energetic than day one.
Crate training got off to rough start, but we are back on track. He sleeps in his kennel at eye level beside the bed right through until my hubby wakes up.
Housetraing has had its challenges. We have a 4 yr old BlueHeeler x Lab that he likes to follow and mimic outside and that has helped. But for some reason, he prefers to pee on a rug in our bedroom. :p
Socializing has been great. The first day we brought him home, he trotted around quite confidently, not concerned about anything. Not even our 85lb Jorja, (this is where the name Hercules started). He quite likes car/ truck rides and meeting new people and dogs We have started leash training, which was more succesful when walking with Jorja as well, he follows her.
So far, everyone adores our new little guy. And he has proven to be very bright and brings a smile to everyone, (except when he gets hold of my hubby's shoes). And I just love him. No regrets.:peace:
 
#17 ·
I only had 1 pee pad (sorry, I think I wrote pads instead of pad). It was in her ex-pen where she is while I'm at work. That's the one I removed this morning. She's in the pen for 4 hrs, then I go home for lunch for 1 hr, then back into the pen for 4 more hrs. She's used the pee pad in the pen, but it's elsewhere in the house that she seems to think it's ok to go also.

Hercules is absolutely adorable!!!
 
#20 ·
Hercules is adorable and born on my daughters birthday! Hercules is tiny like my Ted. He is the same age (Apr 23) and a little over 3 pounds. He goes Wednesday for his second set of shots and I will get him properly weighed then! I look forward to seeing more pics as Hercules grows up!
 
#21 ·
This is my 1st post....but it seems appropriate to post with this question/topic :)
Hi all, my name is Dana and I got my 1st puppy EVER on June 14th (I'm 30....and had a cat for 20 years....so clueless about dogs, I am!). I've been checking out this site for about a week now and reading so much helpful info :)
Anyway, Bear is my 17 week old, male Havanese baby. (I'm figuring out how to get a pic up on here...). He's mainly black with a little white in him as well. Right now, he is BIG into chewing. I feel so bad because he is constantly chewing on things and I can only imagine how his gums/teeth feel with the teething. He has many many toys to chew and doesn't prefer anything cold or wet.
The house training is coming along. He definitely still has accidents in the house but I try to take him out almost every hour and a half. Thankfully though, no crate accidents. Speaking of, he's crated every night from about 10pm-6am...and he has a good sense of time....he consistently lets me know that it's time to get up :)
He follows me everywhere! I love him dearly but sometimes I shut the bathroom door to get a moment alone lol. I think that I am starting to get the hang of this.....but I'm sure it will take time.
I enrolled him in puppy classes but I'm not sure how helpful they will be. He definitely needs to learn "Leave it," -I hope they cover that soon!

Anyway, any tips anyone would like to throw out there is appreciated :)
He has stolen my heart in the past 4 weeks and is now part of the family.
 
#22 ·
3 words

This is my 1st post....but it seems appropriate to post with this question/topic :)
Hi all, my name is Dana and I got my 1st puppy EVER on June 14th (I'm 30....and had a cat for 20 years....so clueless about dogs, I am!). I've been checking out this site for about a week now and reading so much helpful info :)
Anyway, Bear is my 17 week old, male Havanese baby. (I'm figuring out how to get a pic up on here...). He's mainly black with a little white in him as well. Right now, he is BIG into chewing. I feel so bad because he is constantly chewing on things and I can only imagine how his gums/teeth feel with the teething. He has many many toys to chew and doesn't prefer anything cold or wet.
The house training is coming along. He definitely still has accidents in the house but I try to take him out almost every hour and a half. Thankfully though, no crate accidents. Speaking of, he's crated every night from about 10pm-6am...and he has a good sense of time....he consistently lets me know that it's time to get up :)
He follows me everywhere! I love him dearly but sometimes I shut the bathroom door to get a moment alone lol. I think that I am starting to get the hang of this.....but I'm sure it will take time.
I enrolled him in puppy classes but I'm not sure how helpful they will be. He definitely needs to learn "Leave it," -I hope they cover that soon!

Anyway, any tips anyone would like to throw out there is appreciated :)
He has stolen my heart in the past 4 weeks and is now part of the family.
Go out and buy Bitter apple spray.(its exactly for this purpose) Spray it on your feet and anything else that you dont want chewed. Works miracles!
 
#23 ·
Dana, you sure picked a good breed for a 1st dog! Aren't they just the cutest, funniest little things ever?? I'm often saying "I have a little shadow that goes in & out with me...." Kallie follows me everywhere. This forum is the most informative place I've found about Havanese. And the people here are so quick to offer suggestions/support/advise.

Tonight we went thru what I would compare to the "terrible twos". About 8:00 pm (hr before bedtime) Kallie turns into a little terror. Into everything, chewing on anything she can get her little needle teeth on. It's so much like a 2 yr old child that's too tired, needs to go to bed, but is fighting sleep & wound tighter than a drum. 30 minutes later & she's laying beside me almost asleep. And lovey as can be. But this time right before bedtime is her terror time. Just another stage that she'll grow out of. I just don't want to confine her right before putting her in her crate for the night. So I just patiently keep distracting her & giving her appropriate things to chew on. But it does try the patience sometimes! LOL
 
#24 ·
I've enjoyed hearing about all your puppies. For now, here's just a quick update. Benjamin's doing great! Funny thing, now that I have him and am back to work full time, I have very little time to post anything on Havanese Forums! He comes to work with me every day M-F, and is just an angel puppy. I have the same pen/crate setup at work as at home (except at home the pen is 30 inches high, more on that later). Anyway, I have the pens set up to be just 2 feet by 4 feet, with just enough room for him to lie down on one end and go potty on the other. He also potties outside now, but at first did not because I wasn't walking him in the grass yet. He will sit in his crate at work quietly chewing on a toy or napping while I am working, joyfully greet visitors when they come in, and run like crazy when we go out for walks. Walking around with him on urban sidewalks is like I imagine it would be to travel with a rock star. We can't go half a block without people stopping us, saying "oh he's so cute, what is he, how old is he, how big will he get?" Over and over and over. I don't really mind, and he certainly doesn't, he wags his tail and happily greets every person and dog we meet. He also loves bugs, pine cones, pretty much everything. Well, I'll write more later, just wanted to check in since I have been AWOL. :) Benjamin is now 13 weeks old, and it's hard to believe he's only been with me for 4 weeks. I love him so much I can hardly stand it.

Oh, also, we've been going to Puppy Playtime at a local training center at least twice a week, and we started the beginning training classes yesterday.

-- Eileen
 
#26 ·
Great to hear from the 2 of you. Benjamin sounds like he is doing amazingly! How big is Benjamin now?
Its hard to imagine that they were not in our life just a short while ago. Our whole lives have been completely turned upside down and I dont think anyone of us minds:)
 
#27 ·
Help! I'm sure you guys are going through the same thing as me..what are you doing about the chewing frenzy? Q has plenty of chew toys, so that's not a problem and he hasn't been chewing the furniture or anything. But he has this thing about grabbing clothing, ankles, hands, etc. I try to redirect him to his chew toys, but sometimes it seems like he just is out of his mind. I'm sure his poor mouth is sore from the new teeth coming in, but holy crap! He's also started lunging at my hubby's face and has actually caught him in the nose a couple of times. How do we prevent him from doing this? I have actually gotten up and left the room several times and that seems to help once in a while, but not always. He's also started to not want to go into his crate at night. He wants to sleep in the bed with us. Granted, he has been good about not having accidents during the night, but I still don't trust him a hundred percent. He is a puppy after all.
So how do I calm this crazy dog down when he starts in with the frenzied biting/trying to pull and chew on us humans? When he gets into that mode, it's like a two year old having a tantrum without the crying. :frusty:
 
#28 ·
Hey Dory, please refer to my crazy episodes thread. My complaint was basically the same. Ted I must say has calmed done by about 1/3 since I started using the bitter apple spray. I think he remembers the times I have put it on us and ignores our feet and calves and thighs for the most part. I to try to redirect Ted by asking him to come and sit or by dropping his leash and walking away. This morning I sent him out of my room and closed the door for a few minutes. That helped too. Do you have Q's crate in a pen. Teds is and he loves his pen if he knows I am around. Maybe that is another place to put him when he is unmanageable. One of the things that was mentioned that helped in my thread was, hand feeding. I start off every one of Teds meals by hand feeding him.I let him eat the rest but it sort of showed him that I was in charge and he also doesn't bite my hands at all while feeding him. Guess its the old saying "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" I have had my hubby hand feed him too! Ted is an angel in the boat for some reason. All he wants to do is cuddle or lay across my legs during the whole ride. Maybe its time to take up boating:pound:
Take solice in knowing that at least you and I are going through the same thing, so it must be a stage! PM me anytime on FB if you want to talk:)
PS. Ted has chewed the underneath of our couch too!
 
#29 ·
Dory, I'm right there with you! I read your post to DH & he started laughing & said "Tell her when she figures it out to let us know!" Like you, I've put chewtoys in her mouth, got up & walked away. Yelled OUCH! Sometimes something works, sometimes it doesn't. Neighbor trainer suggested something that does work. When the biting gets too hard, I grab Kallie under her front legs, say NO BITE, turn her away from me & hold her straight out til she stops wiggling (about 2 seconds for her!). Then set her down. She becomes very lovey instantly. I then love on her & tell her Good Kallie! I started that Fri evening & will say that her biting/nipping is no where near as hard as it was previously. I know there will probably be some that don't agree with this method, but it's working for us so far. Trainer said they don't like being held away from you in mid-air, so they learn this consequence quickly. Personally, I see no cruelty or abusiveness in this. No spanking/hitting/yelling involved. Just a firm No Bite! She still mouths us, but it's a much softer mouth.
 
#30 ·
Thanks for the posts Lise and Pat! Lise, I remember your post from before and the bitter apple. I guess I don't want to spray that on myself unless it's a last resort. I worry that he'll not want to come near me at all once he tastes it LOL.

Pat, quite by accident I tried what you described in your post. Not quite holding him in the air, but holding him under his front legs with his back legs on the floor and it seemed to work for a minute LOL. I've also tried just wrapping him up in my arms and hugging him to me and that seems to work for a minute too. I know that he's probably just as frustrated as I am so I'm trying really hard to be empathetic!
If I find something that works especially well I'll let you guys know :) I have a feeling, though, that it's just a matter of waiting it out.
 
#31 ·
Put it on yourself. It never stops Ted from coming back with me. He is at my feet constantly. He even stays in the bathroom when I shower and I have to keep the curtain somewhat open so he can see me. Ted has figured out that I dont always have the spray on, so he checks me out each and every time. He also recognizes the bottle, so sometimes just picking up the bottle does it. Spraying your feet for a bit and your company that comes in makes everyone happy including Q who will have a happier owner!
It wont change your relationaship one bit, except you will be happier:)
 
#32 ·
New Member- New Havanese Owner

Hi! I am new to the board and new to the breed. I got my little girl Sammi Jo on June 23 at 10 weeks. She is such a cutie and loved by all. She is currently around 5 lbs at 14weeks. I start puppy classes this week (first week is humans only). She will probably be a lot easier to train than I am!

I was glad to read that others are experiencing what I am experiencing. She is a VERY picky eater and chewing up a storm! I have never had a dog that was a picky eater so of course I try everything to get her to eat (I know it is bad to hand feed but..)

I did have a question for those that are familiar with the Havanese. My little girl scratches at her ear all the time and I have tried cleaning it which seems to help for a bit. It does have an odor. I am scheduled to take her in for 3rd round of shots next week but wasn't sure if I should wait that long to get it looked at. My last little girl was a Yorkie so I didn't have ear issues (they stood up). I don't like taking her in to the vet any more than I have to since she hasn't completed her shots.

Any advice would be great!!!

Rhonda
 
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