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Older Hav's

4K views 43 replies 17 participants last post by  Laurief 
#1 ·
I was just thinking there are so many puppies here-- not a lot of talk about older Hav's. I was hoping some of you with pups over 4 or 5 could let us know what to expect. Any health issues? How do their looks change? Do you change what they eat? Tell us your special moments with your steadfast companions.

I don't have a story of my own-- but Cash's breeder told me a story of Cash's grandma-- The breeder said she was a very vocal dog and one day, the breeder was having a bad day and was pacing with her hands on her hips complaining a lot. And Cash's grandma started imitating her, whining and pacing and strutting as though she had her hands on her hips. My breeder stopped in her tracks and exclaimed to her daughter "she is mocking me." Way to go grandma.
 
#2 ·
My oldest is not 4 yet, so I dont have much input, although I can say that she has slowed down a bit & likes to sit and watch a little more than before. I too would be very interested in hearing from people with older Havs so know what to expect. Thanks for brining this up!!
Laurie
 
#4 · (Edited)
Dreamer is 6 years old. Though i have not had her very long i can only tell you the way she is now. She is a very loving sweet dog(arent they all?). She does sleep more than Tripp but gets this burst of energy & she goes wild. Its so cute. But most of the time she is a very well behaved, calm, serious dog. She is a total lap dog. Loves to be as close to me as possible.

She does not have a great appetite(except for treats) & can hold her pee for HOURS! She LOVES to chase birds, squirrels etc...& loves to roll in wild animal poop:puke: . She is a great watchdog but only barks if necessary. She has also been (and still is) very healthy. Since she is black/white, her color, I dont think, has not really changed. She has truly been a wondeful blessing to us. She is my :angel:
Sorry if this doesnt answer your questions.
 
#5 ·
My oldest (Daisy) is 3 1/2, all 7 3/4 lbs of her! She is a true couch potato/lap dog.
Just last night we were outside enjoying the fire pit in the backyard. Daisy was on my lap enjoying it too! We call her our "old soul". She seems to worry about everyone. She still loves to play chase and wrestle with the other dogs. She still lets me know (very loudly) if someone is outside or knocking on the door. She is by far the laziest of them all. Sometimes when we wake up in the morning, she will come down the hall...pause....turn around and go right back in her crate for an hour or so.
I have had no health problems with her. I got her from Linda Wannamaker in South Dakota. She does get yucky gunk in her eyes that stinks, but thats it~ (I have meds I use for it sometimes). She is in full coat (all the way to the floor!) and has the easiest coat to care for of all my dogs (except Jesters puppy coat), although it was a kinky matty nightmare as a puppy. I kept her in a puppy cut for a couple of years and even tried cording her. It's a fairly easy to care for coat now, hardly ever mats.
And she is in LOVE with my parents. She just can't get enough of them!
She eats Innova adult (sometimes with Evo or Natures Variety raw kibble mixed in). She is a funny eater, one kibble at a time.
And yes, her look has really changed. She was a solid black and white puppy, and now her black has changed to a pewter silver color. But she is still beautiful to me!
 
#7 ·
McKenna turned 3 last April. She is a wonderful girl. Full of energy and ever curious. She is definitely a dog that uses all her five senses to explore her world. She has wonderful expressions and sometimes it's as if we can read her mind and put words in her mouth. She is not a lap dog unless she's sleepy. She cuddles right next to me in bed. She can run like the wind and on the beach there aren't many Havs who can catch her. She loves everyone and figures that everyone (human and dog) should naturally love her back (an enthusiasm we have to curb). For her first year, she had the most sensitive tummy. A couple bites of something odd and she'd be in trouble. No such issues now though. As for her coat, she's in a puppy cut because her nickname is or was Magical Matting McKenna. She's a cream color and hasn't changed. As for health, with the exception of a reaction to her rabies shot, she's been very healthy. We love her (and her half sister) to pieces and can't imagine our lives without them.

Susan
 
#8 ·
Susan,
Would McKenna still matt now at her age?:biggrin1:

I'm hoping they grow out of that!

Katie,
Your Daisy sounds like a true sweetie!I know just how she feels!There are many days I get up and just want to turn around and go back to bed!:laugh:
Do you have any photos of her to show?I'd love to see her coat!:biggrin1:
 
#9 ·
I had a Havanese that was 8 years old before Maddie. We had her as a pup. She was a sweetheart and a true velcro dog. She was also black and white, but her black silvered some as she got older. She was extremely intelligent with a huge vocabulary. We took to spelling in front of her, but eventually, she learned the spell words! Like a true Havanese, her favorite spot was on the back of the couch. I can say that she definitely became much calmer and lost the urge to play all day long as she aged. Some of that may have been from patellar luxation, but she could run like the wind. She had playing bouts 2 or 3 times a day, but the rest of the time, was content to stick by us and do whatever we were doing. I've had multiple breeds of dogs throughout the years, but without a doubt, the Havanese is the best!:first: When she passed way too early from liver disease, we knew that the only breed for us was another Hav!
 
#11 ·
Thanks Missy. She was a sweetheart. The only symptom she had was drinking alot of water. I took her to the vet right away for a blood test. It came back with elevated liver enzymes. We immediately had a biopsy done, and her liver was fibrotic (hardened) so there was no definitive answer. She died 3 1/2 months later, after seeing specialists, trying different meds, etc. I suspect she had CD (chondrodysplasia). They only tested her litter for eye problems (CERF), as I assume they didn't know as much back then. She had patellar luxation (both knees) and her legs were bowed in the back (I don't remember the front looking as bad). Whether she was born with a liver defect also, I don't know. But we had over 8 years with the little love and I'll always cherish them.
 
#12 ·
Oh My!! Jeanne you are breaking my heart!!! Lily is almost 4 and I cant even imagine only having 4 more years. How sad for you that you only got a few years with her. Although I am glad to know that she had a wonderful family to be with and take care of her till it was her time!!!:(
Laurie
 
#13 ·
Barney is 2 and...

we got him, as a rescue, at age 18 months....he is healthy, eats well most of the time, runs like the wind almost daily and is quite a charmer once he feels safe with you!

One strange problem has been with us since day one though...about every other week or so, he pees in the house! Now, he has been getting down from our bed at night and going in the house...so it's back to the crate for him at night and we were loving having him in bed with us! Any suggestions as to why this might be happening? Or, what we can do about it? He goes out about every 2 hours during the day and evening...so it isn't because he "needs" to go...we go to bed at 10:30 and get up at 6...he can do this!

He is an eater, as long as he likes what he is eating! He loves carrots, green beans, snap peas, cucumbers and bully sticks! He also loves the freeze dried liver treats. He is very shy around strangers, but we think this is because he was in a rescue situation - the rescuer said he was "soft"...but whatever he is - he is ours and we love him.

Marge and Barney
 
#14 ·
My first havanese never had an accident in the house past age 5 months. But during one period of time, she wanted to go out alot during the day and she whined until we got up during the night to take her out. I knew it was unusual for her to get us up, so I took her to the vet. She had a UTI (bladder infection). Barney could just be doing it for some psychological reason, but you might want to drop a urine sample off at the vet to rule out UTI.

Laurie- I'm sure your Lily will live to a ripe old age. Just because I had a bad first experience, I don't doubt the overall hardiness of the breed. That's why I didn't hesitate to get another! :biggrin1:
 
#15 ·
How many times outside?

Hey Jeanne,

Thanks for your thoughts about an UTI...I will get that done early next week.

Just for my own sanity...how many times do your dogs "need" to go out each day? I am a'thinkin that I probably take Barney out more than I need to!

He did stay in his crate last night...all night with no whimpers!

Marge
 
#16 ·
My dogs are 7 and 9 years old. Isak (7) has a problem with his hips or behind leg, but the vets can't figure out what it is. But he can still run and play and he goes for walks for up to an hour. Theo (9) seems to be very healty. He doesn't run as much as he used to, but he still does the occasional "runlikehell". He can go for long walks and he never gets tired of searching for leftover duck food along the river (not that he's allowed to eat it). Theo has become a little more stubborn than he used to be. Isak has become less stubborn.

They are not young anymore, but I wouldn't call them old either. Isak's great-great-grandfather died this winter, and he lived to be 18 years old!
 
#21 ·
Yes, she still mats a bit, if she scratches or something. But they are usually pretty easy to comb out. Nothing like the blowing coat stage...
Her puppy coat was a nightmare, tiny ringlets that matted like crazy!
I had her in a puppy cut starting when she was about 9 months old, and in 2005/beginning of 2006 I had her corded. The cords started to get stinky so I cut them off and she had the shortest worst puppy cut ever! So I vowed to not touch it for a year...and...now you see what can happened in that time!
 
#22 ·
Wow that coat really grew fast!I never would of thought it could grow that quickly.Quincy's seems to have stopped or at least slowed down?Not sure.I bet she looked cute in cords!That is something I have thought alot about...but I read they are difficult to dry and keep dry...otherwise they mold.True?
 
#23 · (Edited)
Here is the Daisy timeline~
Starting with her baby pic...do you see the "black and white" puppy I thought I was getting? She has changed colors so many times is crazy~ Silly Havanese!
Next is her around 9 months old....see the kink to her coat? And she matted like crazy and HATED to be brushed..
Then you will see the puppy cut that I did on her for about a year...
Finally her cords. I wasn't super pleased with them because her whole body didn't cord, only some of the hair. But I think I would try cording again...just maybe with a different dog~ I love Daisy's long hair now!
*hummm...the pics didn't show up in the order I entered them, sorry!***
 
#24 ·
How cute, very interesting to see the cording! Logan starting his blowing coat so he was groomed (almost buzzed) yesterday. The cut is ok, except for the places that she had cut to the skin, but I asked her not to touch his ears or tail. Now he looks like this tiny pup with a huge head!! I am tryng to decide if I should cut his face back myself, or does anyone know, does the body hair grow faster than face hair?????
 
#25 ·
Katie...

pics are so cute. Love to see how they change. That puppy cut is VERY cute. I know that I'll be doing a puppy cut. Do you have a description of it anywhere? Or could you post one? Thanks.

The cording looks cool but doesn't feel so nice. Kim Simcox is cording one of her's and it looks cool but didn't want to pet her too much.

Trish
 
#26 ·
Boy,Miss Daisy has changed alot,hasn't she?With a havanese I guess you never know!All the black as a puppy,light and now dark again!Awesome!:biggrin1:
She looked really cute in every picture to me!
The cords are cute!

Thanks for taking the time to post these so we could all look:eyebrows:
 
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