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Introducing Scarlett

3K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  Jackie from Concrete, WA 
#1 ·
Hello everyone!

My name is Vicki, my husband and I reside in Michigan. After much research on small breeds, we are first-time Havanese parents as of July when we got our Starborn puppy. I joined the forum in May to get more acquainted with the breed as this is our first small breed dog. Prior to Scarlett, we had 5 Keeshonden over 37 years. We were looking for an airplane dog as our children both live out of state. So far Scarlett is an A+ traveler. She has been on 5 flights and done wonderfully.

Scarlett certainly draws attention everywhere we go. Everyone just has to see her and know what breed she is...so much fun!

Looking forward to learning more from everyone on the forum.
 

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#17 ·
Keeshond vs Havanese

Gelbergirl inquired as to my thoughts on the difference between owning a Havanese vs a Keeshond. We have owned 5 Keeshonden over the decades before getting our Havanese back in July.

It was a very tough decision to move on to a different breed as the Keeshond is such a wonderful breed. We wanted to downsize to an airplane dog so we could travel to see our sons. After a couple of years researching the small breeds, checking them out at local shows and visiting numerous breeders, we decided the Havanese was the one for us. We had always said if we ever went small, we would get a Wolf Sable Pomeranian as they look very similar to the Keeshond. Although when we started going to shows and researching small breeds, we discovered that Poms today are just so tiny and frail and just don't have as nice of personality as the Havanese. We love hairy dogs with a lot of character and a happy-go-lucky personality. The Havanese fit that bill.

We LOVE the fact that we can pop our Havanese (Scarlett) in her soft-sided airline carrier (and she's so content in it) and take her where ever without lugging a bulky crate.

Now our Havanese is just 6 months old, so time will tell, but she is going to require a more intensive grooming regimen (which we did assume) than the Keeshond. The Kee could get away with one good grooming session per week and always look fresh. Scarlett requires more frequent baths as well (a couple of times a month as opposed to every 2 - 3 months), but I enjoy the bathing and grooming and she is doing very well with it as well. Fall has proven to me that Scarlett is a little dust mop as she is always bringing in leaves or twigs attached to her coat. The price of being so close to the ground I guess!

Scarlett has been a little trickier to potty train (outdoor). At 6 months she's still a little hit or miss, but we are definitely getting there. Up until now, she wasn't signaling at all, but in the last couple of weeks, she has come a long way.....something clicked! We have a litter box in the garage for the wet rainy days, which she is happy to use. For whatever reason, she did not take to the litter box in the house in her pen. In hindsight, it may be that we gave her too large of a pen (4'x4' with a crate in it). All is good though, as, in the end, we want an outdoor trained dog with the perks of being accustomed to a litter box.

Both breeds are smart, fun-loving, charismatic charmers. The Kees always drew attention when we had them out, as they stunning dogs and are not very commonplace. Scarlett, on the other hand, attracts people like you would not believe. People just love her color. We get more comments that she looks like a little stuffed animal or that she is the cutest dog they've ever seen.

Looking forward to sharing our lives with this little bundle of fun!
 

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#19 ·
When I wa a kid we adopted a stray that turned out to be a keeshond. I loved that dog! I remember that she was very energetic and playful. However, she shed like crazy. My dad was a member of the Masonic Lodge which required him to wear a tux at times and he said he had to shave it every time he put it on. We named her Keesha and she was just wonderful. However, she was a handful for my parents and they found her a home with in the country with a family with kids. I was just a kid, but I hated to see her go.
 
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