Mighty Quiet Around Here!

Well, all but one puppy have left for their forever homes. I have to say they are all very fortunate to have found such happy, healthy and loving families!

Here are some photos and a note from one of them who adopted a puppy from Lily's litter.....

...Now Pippa, she is little girl #3 with the pink collar. 

Love abounds!

Hi Jacqui,

Pippa had a great visit with our vet today. She was very healthy and was a hit at the office.

Attached are a few photos of Pippa that we thought you would enjoy!

Pippa has already brought so much joy into our home, and we are excited to have her meet our neighbors and the rest of our family.

-Dave, Patsy, Kaitlin & Margaret

Here is another from the family who adopted one of Marli's pups.
Puppy #3 is now Tiller!

Hi Jacqui,

Tiller is fantastic!  What a doll.  He did great at the airports, seemed excited by the adventure.  Got to fly First Class on his first flight. (Spoiled already.)  Put him underneath the seat, he didn’t make a peep the whole time.  Kinda like he shrugged his little shoulders, said “Yeah, ok” curled up and went to sleep.  Natural flier!

Slept well last night, too, in his airline carrier on my bed.  Just one potty break at about 5am.

Tiller’s adapting well to his puppy playroom.  He occasionally voices his displeasure at being trapped by a baby gate, but seems to understand “quiet” and “shush.”  He settles down so quickly, I’m amazed.  He’s also a great self-soother.  He seems pretty content to play with his toys and scan for baby gate weaknesses to exploit.  (He is obviously intelligent and already responds to his name:) I swapped his litterbox and crate positions today.  A little while later, caught him dragging his placemat/water bowl across the room.  Guess he wanted in on the renovation!  When he’s quiet, I take him out every hour to snuggle/play.  He’s so snuggly, soft, sweet, and tiny!  We are bonding well. 

He’s using his litterbox (yay!).  Peed once on a towel last night (easy mistake) and once on floor today (excited maybe?).  Got a little poo on floor today, but only because his stool is soft- he did use his box.  I’ll mention it to vet tomorrow, but presume it’s the food change.  Not concerned at all. 

Went to a few stores today. Socialization opportunities abound with a puppy this cute. Everyone wants to meet Tiller!  He did great.

My seating is such that I can see Tiller in his puppy room and vice versa.  He was sleeping for awhile.  A few minutes ago, I looked over and he was just sitting quietly looking at me, patiently awaiting my attention.  Seriously impressed with this puppy!  So now he’s smothering me with kisses!!  Good time to sign off.

Thank you, Jacqui, for a wonderful pup!  Keep in touch.

Kimber

Maxi and her 5 week old pups--video #2

And Now We Can See!

They look like jelly bean cows! So fun now. Their eyes are just beginning to open (you can see Puppy girl #1's eyes) and they are beginning to move around quite a bit. Later I'll try to get a video so you can see for yourselves. For today I have individual shots, sexes and weights.

The numbers represent their birth order.

This is boy puppy #4. He is the one I'm still bottle feeding. He weighs 15.7 ounces and is a sable parti.

Puppy 4

This is Puppy girl #1. She is a black parti which means she is more black than white. She weighs 14.9 ounces

Puppy girl 1

This is Puppy girl #2. She weighs 1# 2.8 ounces! She is a black parti and I know her by the "heart' on her back.

Puppy 2

This is Puppy girl #3. At 13.5 ounces she is the lightweight of the litter and is a black parti.

Puppy 3

This is puppy boy 5. He is a chocolate parti. Both Maxi and Dino carry the recessive gene for chocolate so, while they are both black and white, they can produce chocolate and white babies! He weighs 1 # 4.4 ounces

Puppy 5

This is puppy girl #6. She weighs 14.7 ounces. I know her by the two "specs" on her back. She is a sable parti. Sables will often fade quite a bit so both my sable pups will likely resemble our Marli when they grow up.

Puppy 6

This is puppy boy #8. He is a black part and I know him by the three dots that run across his back end. He has a sweet blaze and a smidgeon of white around his nose. He weighs 14.5 ounces.

Puppy 8

This is Puppy girl #7. She weighs 14.4 ounces and is a black parti. I love her full blaze and white muzzle.

Puppy 7

Plump Little Puppies

Maxi's puppies are getting so plump! Still do not do much besides eat and sleep. But, their eyes should open soon. They are twelve days old and at this stage are still in the neonatal stage. They are born with a keen sense of smell so they can find their mother's nipples. Their eyes and ears are tightly closed so they do not hear their own little squeaks, nor do they see each other! They sleep 90% of the time!

I spend several minutes a day holding and caressing each of the puppies so they get used to me. I want them to have a comforting and warm experience with their first human. I stroke their heads, caress their tiny paws and gently tickle their tummies.

Puppies at this stage do not even have control over their bowels so mom has to lick them to stimulate elimination.

Here are a couple photos I took yesterday.

                      This is the little boy I am still bottle feeding. However, today he actually gained a few grams in                      between feeding so I think he is finally figuring out the nursing routine!

Is this not the sweetest face ever?!

A puppy yawn

Yin and Yang

Maxis Havanese Puppies at 2 days old

The first few days are always nail biters. Puppies that appear healthy suddenly take a turn. Puppies that you are worried about either fail to improve or surprise you with spurts of energy. I am happy to report today that all is well. Everyone has gained at least 2 grams from yesterday when their weights were basically in a holding pattern or dropped slightly.

Since it is difficult to get individual shots just now, I thought you'd enjoy a video. Listen carefully for their little squeaks and grunts!

Catching up With Hermoine

We are back in Florida now and I had the lovely opportunity to catch up with Hermoine, who is now Meisha, and her parents Linda and Steve. I am happy to report they are one very happy family. We had a nice chat that covered everything from grooming tips to food to socializing and "obedience" training. Nothing serious, mind you!

Anyway here are some pix from our visit.

This is one of my favorite parts of breeding. Nothing better than seeing the little ones you were responsible for bringing into this world and knowing they have found the very best family!

Moving On

Maxi's puppies are moving on to their new families. I am so delighted with all the loving and nurturing homes that these kids are going to. And, all over the country! Florida, New York, California, Virginia and Michigan.

Seamus is the only one left and, in the meantime, he is getting very spoiled by his older playmates.

Emily and Seamus having a moment.

Seamus with Lily and Emily. Seamus fits right in!

The furkids.

Harry and Mary Ann

Harry's new digs. I think he's quite comfortable! By the way, his forever name is Handsome Harry!

A parting shot of my little Hermione...but we plan to have regular reunions in Florida!

Hermione's new family. What a spoiled girl she will be. Her new name is Meisha (gift from god) Lucia (born at daylight...a family nickname I'm told!)

Lily loves Emily. Seamus just hanging! By the way, his family is keeping his name.

Seamus with Marli and Willow

A Havanese Huddle!

Roll Out the Red Carpet!

Here are Maxi's pups front and center! Aren't they gorgeous?

Maxi is such a good mom. Puppies are all gaining nicely.

When I weigh them, I take a few minutes to stroke their tummies and nuzzle their little faces so they can get accustomed to people smells and touches.

At this stage they are both blind and deaf. But their senses of smell and touch are extremely keen. That is how they find their way to the milk station!

 Enjoy this morning's video on YouTube. If you double click on the video it will enlarge to your entire computer screen. The background whining is from my puppy boy Potter who is so done with all the attention being diverted from him!

The Results Are In!

My friend Linda assisted me in assessing the temperaments/ personalities of Marli's puppies and they are closer in most respects than I thought. All three have socialized nicely. It helps to have them exposed to lots of dogs at various ages as well as lots of different people and children.

Dillon went first. Over the past several weeks she has gone from being the "leader of the pack" to one that kind of held back and now to a wonderfully adjusted, yet lower keyed, than the other two.

She scored three 2's, three 3's and a 4 on the sound sensitivity. In other words, she is a confident and outgoing puppy that will respond well to human companionship but might require a more consistent hand in training.

Delilah was next. She scored four 3's and three 4's, making her slightly more social but not enough to make much of a difference. She also has displayed a more outgoing character than Dillon, but again, not anything close to what I would call wild.

Daffodil was kind of all over the map, scoring two 3's, two 4's, a 2 for Following, a 6 for Dominance, and a 1 for Sight Sensitivity. Of the three she is definitely the most energetic and outgoing. So, while she will make a fine pet she might not be the snuggle bug some are looking for.

So, none of the pups display overly excited behaviors. They play well and seem to take turns being "boss."

If you'd like to read more about the Volhard Test, go to the February 19, 2014 posts.

Playing with the adult Havanese and Alex...So Much fun

I had my family here all last week which is my excuse for not posting! LOL
Anyway, it certainly did not mean the pups were being ignored. Alex and Michael played with them every day. Here are some shots of Alex, Marli's pups and all the other dogs playing in the yard. Enjoy!

 Also, please forgive me for adding a few of our newest boy...Potter. Isn't he special!

Havanese Puppies One Week Old

Marli's three little girls are one week old today. She has been a great mom. Very relaxed and attentive. She has no issues with the other dogs being in the bedroom where she and the puppies are. Maxi and Phoebe had fits when the other dogs came around! Hard to get good photos of these little guys because they are so dark. But I do see some tan coming through on their feet, chests and cheeks. They are going to be gorgeous!