King Kong
12 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, dogs, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
We’ve been having some terrific July weather here over the past couple of days. It’s too hot to hang out in the sun during the day so my favorite time of the day is at night. The grass is cool and damp from the dew, the wind is calm and the air temperature is comfortable. I’ve also found that I’m not the only one that likes the warm summer nights.
The other night I was out going potty when I spotted something at the other end of the driveway. Dad had turned on the outside garage lights so that I could see where I was going, but tonight the lights cast an eerie shadow over this odd shape across the pavement.
I slowly approached the figure, being very careful not to scare it away. When I got within a foot of this mystery object, it suddenly leapt at me. Naturally, this scared me quite a bit. I jumped back, not knowing what to expect next. I approached the object again, but this time I circled the figure so that I could get another look. How fascinating, I thought. It seems that every living thing that I’ve come across has always been bigger than me. Normally, I have to look up, but this time I was the giant and could look down! It’s like I was King Kong and the frog was the person on the street trying to hide in his car from me. Dad was watching the whole thing and told me later that this mystery object was called a frog.
These balmy summer nights also seem to bring out a whole host interesting creatures. Lately I’ve been getting distracted when I go outside to go potty because I want to chase around all of the mosquitos, beetles, june bugs, spiders and moths. I’ll try to catch them in my mouth or pin them down with my paw. Sometimes, when I see a new creature for the first time, I’m a little more cautious when to try to catch it. Even though it’s a fraction of my size, it could still leap, crawl or fly at me…and I’m too young to die!
Puppy Power!
The Great Outdoors
02 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, dogs, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
We’ve had some awesome summer weather here, lately, and it’s given us some nice, soft grass at the house. I’ve decided that I much rather prefer to go to the bathroom outside on the lawn than in the kitchen. I’ve now trained my humans to bring me outside whenever I stand by the front door. It’s pretty easy. They’re still paranoid that I’m making a mess when they can’t see me, so as soon as they hear me by the front door, I immediately get their attention.
You see, I still don’t like to bark (except when they leave me during the day), so I’ve taught my parents to leave my collar on me, even when I’m in the house. Since I’m so low to the ground, my identification tag and rabies tag drag on the ceramic tile when I sniff around. When I walk over to the door, it lets them know that I’m waiting to go out. From there, I just have to look back at them without even opening my mouth. It feels go great to go outside.
My humans even bought me a present to celebrate my outside “outings.” They got me a super comfy bed that I can lay in. It’s a great place to chew on my pig ear and nap. Now if only my crate was that comfortable…
It’s 4th of July this weekend, so from what I hear, we’re off to meet more people and spend a lot of time outside. To all my puppy pals, stay safe, stay hydrated and happy housebreaking!
Me in my new bed! Doesn't that look comfy?
My First Haircut
30 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dogs, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
I had to go see Dr. Glenn again yesterday for another well-puppy check-up. Unfortunately, there was nothing “well” about it. Apparently I picked up a couple of parasites when I’ve been outside exploring everything, so I’m on a couple of meds now to get rid of them. I also had to get my rabies vaccine yesterday and it seems that I had a vaccine reaction to it. I spent the rest of the day yesterday throwing up and I felt miserable, but Phil and Karla were great. They tried to make me as comfortable as possible, so I was very grateful. First thing I did this morning was to devour my breakfast. I didn’t get to eat yesterday, so you can imagine how hungry I was.
This afternoon I went in to get my first haircut! We went to a groomer just down the street and they gave me a “puppy bath and trim.” I got all cleaned up, brushed out and got my face, feet and back-end trimmed. It’s terrific! I can actually see again. After five months, I was definitely due. The groomer says that after a couple of the puppy trims, they’ll be able to trim my body hair. My humans say that I look even cuter after my haircut. Phil did a little photo shoot to show off my new look. Check them out:
Love is in the Air!
23 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dogs, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
It’s been a little bit since I wrote last, but I’ve been awfully busy. I’ll try to recap my week as best as I can. My humans were beginning to think that they were in charge, so I had to make sure that I took back the reigns. They think that they can just tell me to “Come here!” or “Stay there!” and expect me to listen. I want to explore, push the boundaries and get into mischief. That’s what I do! That’s what all of us puppies are meant to do! So I’ve decided that when they tell me to “Come here!” that I’m going to stay right where I’m at. When I don’t listen, they get mad and then try to walk over and pick me up. As soon as they get close to me, I bolt. I get a good laugh out of it. One day, Phil had to chase me around the yard a couple of times before he caught me.
Thanks to Laura W.’s comment on last week’s post, I suggested to Phil and Karla that they give me some things to preoccupy myself when they’re away. They wouldn’t give me any more toys in my crate because they said that they didn’t want to clean off poop from the toys when they got home, but we were able to compromise. They set a picture of themselves next to the crate and turn on some music now when they leave. Phil must have taken some advice on separation anxiety, because now he growls at me before leaving me alone. Other humans probably think he’s crazy, but it’s kind of comforting to me. I prefer listening to a little lite rock because it puts me at ease and allows me to nap easier when they’re away.
Every once and a while I have to go potty when I’m in my crate, so when my humans come home they have to change out my crate towel, but overall, I have had only a couple of accidents on the floor over the past week, so I’m getting better at “holding it,” which makes Phil and Karla VERY happy.
On a romantic note, Tank (the German Shepherd next door) and I went on a date the other night. Well, kind of. Phil, Karla and I went next door for a bonfire with the neighbors the other night. Tank and I tried to sneak off together, but our humans busted us. And then, last night my humans and I were hanging out in the front yard and Tank came over to see me. Phil and Karla told him to go home, but I thought it was cute that he wanted to say “Hi.” It’s too early to tell, but I think there’s some real chemistry between us. I think it really is true that opposites attract! I’m smiling now just thinking about him.
Good night everyone and sweet dreams!
(photo courtesy: angiemckaig, Flickr)
Into a Routine
16 Jun 2010 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: dogs, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
I’ve been in my new home for 3 weeks now and I’m really starting to enjoy it. I’ve now got Phil and Karla into a routine. They take me out to go potty right away when they get up (usually around 5:30), feed me breakfast and then we play for a little bit. I really like to chase Phil around the island in the kitchen. I never catch him, but I’ll get him one of these days. After we play, they take me into the bathroom while they get ready for work. I wish they were bringing me in there because they want to spend as much time with me as possible, but I think that they’re worried I’ll leave a mess in the kitchen (which they do have a point…). Then they take me out again to go potty (I usually have to go #2 after I eat) right before they leave for work.
I still hate being left alone during the day. I’m okay with being in my crate as long as I can see my humans, but when they leave for the day I just can’t handle it. Those days are pretty much the worst. I can only hold my bladder for a few hours, so my crate is always a mess by the time they get home from work. The first couple of times this happened they got really mad at me, but I think they understand now that my bladder is still growing, so they are a little more patient.
When they get home from work, they take me outside right away and then it’s suppertime, playtime and finally pooptime.
On a training note, I’m still very small, so I’ve been working on getting used to going up and down stairs. Each step is taller than me, so it’s kind of scary. Today I jumped up all three steps each time I went outside. I made sure that both Phil and Karla watched me jump up the stairs so that they could see how strong I am getting.
Phil is still trying to get me to ring the bell on queue when I have to go to the bathroom. I don’t know how he expects me to ring the bell when I’m in my crate for 90% of the day. I mean, really, does he think I’m some type of super-puppy that can ring the bell from inside her crate? Come on! All they need to do is just give me some more out-of-the-crate time and I’ll get the hang of it. Wishful thinking, I know…
Until next time my puppy pals…
Dr. Glenn
11 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, havanese, housebreaking, puppy, veterinarian
Phil was working from home today and Karla had the day off, so it meant that I got a lot of TLC. I convinced them to bring my crate into the office so I spent most of the day taking naps in my crate while I watched Phil work.
Later in the day Karla took me to go see Dr. Glenn for the first time. He was a pretty nice guy, except for when he wanted to look at my teeth. I don’t know about all of you other doggies, but I don’t like humans messing around with my face. Humans don’t like it when we lick their face, so why should we be okay with humans doing stuff to our face. He was kind of a strong guy so he got a pretty good grip on my mouth. I wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do so I got a little scared. I decided that the easiest way to get him to let go was to pee on him. He didn’t like that at all, but I got a pretty good rise out of it.
This evening I went #1 AND #2 in the same trip outside. This was a first and it made Phil and Karla VERY happy. Before I was always too excited to get my treat after I went pee that I would run back to Phil, and then I’d have to go out again later to go poop.
I ended my day sprawled out the couch next to my humans. I’ve spent a lot of time teaching them how to properly scratch my ears and belly. They’re starting to get the hang of it, but I’m definitely going to need to spend a lot of time making sure that they learn how to do it JUST right. It seems that no matter how many messes I make during the day that my humans can’t help but snuggle up with me on the couch at night. I know that they get mad at me sometimes, but I’m figuring out that they love me no matter what. Good night!
(photo credit: Cabinet Veterinaire Divonne Ferney)
Ring Bell for Service
06 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
I’m just coming off a tough weekend. I’ve been trying to train my humans to leave me alone as little as possible. They think that they can just send me to my “room” whenever they leave and expect me to behave. In an act of retaliation, I’ve decided to poop on the kitchen floor five feet from where they sit. Today alone I did it three separate times and, boy, they didn’t like that. Now they watch me like a hawk every time I walk around the kitchen. I just pace around the kitchen sniffing the ground and they freak out. Little do they know that I’m just messing with them most of the time. I try to keep things interesting by giving them a gift every once and a while, just to make sure that I still have their attention. I’ve found, however, that this just leads to more crate time and less time for me to play.
My favorite thing to do is to gnaw on a tasty pig ear. Because of the wood floors in the kitchen, the ear squirts through my little paws and slides across the floor when I jump on it. When I finally catch the ear, I’ll take it over to a little corner of the living room and chomp away on that thing. When my humans put me in the crate when they leave, I’ve trained them to at least give me the pig ear to chew on when I’m in there.
In an attempt to try to get me to go potty outside, Phil brought home a bell the other day. It’s one of these bells that you’d put on a store counter next to a sign that reads “Ring Bell for Service.” So now I’ve trained him to pick me up and carry me over to the bell. Then he rings the bell and says “Go outside and go potty?” and carries me outside. It’s great. It’s my own personal chauffeur that carries me inside and outside…and I don’t even have to tip. Phil vigorously defends the use of the bell and insists that I’ll ring it on my own someday. He keeps talking about some guy named Pavlov and saying that it worked for him and his dog. Whatever…I just think he looks like a total goofball.
I think I could get used to this whole bell-thing, where all that I have to do is “Ring Bell for Service.” Until next time my doggie friends…
(photo credit: Saad K.)
Why Can’t I Pee Inside?!
03 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
Well, my humans seem to be getting very angry with me. Apparently I’ve pooped on too many of their nice towels, and now they’ve resorted to lining my crate with anything from paper towels to cardboard. They’ve also taken the food and water out of my crate because they couldn’t tell if I spilled the food and water of if it was pee and poop. Sometimes they were all four, so it did kind of create for a mess.
Now that a lot of the boxes are put away, they’ve given me a little more freedom. They’ve shown me that I can hang out in the kitchen and I know that I’m not allowed to go into the living room. I hope that they’ll let me go into the living room soon though because I tested the carpet out the other day and it seems really soft!
Phil took some extra time off of work this week to “finish the last of the unpacking.” He really just wanted to spend more time with me though. He’s been spending a lot of time trying to teach me how to go to the bathroom like a lady. He says that only boy doggies are allowed to make messes on the floors inside. Lady doggies should learn to be clean and polite when they go potty. He’s been showing me some really soft patches of grass in the yard where I can go potty. I’m still getting used to where and when I can go the bathroom and it seems that the extra freedom that they’ve given me in the kitchen is allowing me to find some great corners to take care of my business. Phil and Karla get really mad at me when I make a “bad potty” and I feel kind of bad. However, I have learned that when Phil takes me outside and says “Go potty!” that it’s the right time to go to the bathroom. I’ve even trained Phil to give me a treat and a belly rub when I’ve made a “good potty.”
Overall, I’ve definitely gotten used to my new home. I’m learning to nap during the day and stay quiet at night. My humans don’t seem to like it when I howl at night, so I’ve decided that it’s best to stay quiet. They’ve made my crate really small now, so there’s not much room for me to move. I’ve decided that I don’t want to make a mess where I need to sleep, so I’m learning to hold my potty until Phil takes me outside…or until I get into the kitchen. In return for my good behavior in my crate, I’ve negotiated with Phil and Karla to put the nice towels back in the crate.
We’re learning to work together, but I’m making small steps everyday to housebreak my humans. Before long, I’ll have free reign over the house and they won’t be able to say “No!” to this cute little face. Ta-ta for now!
Hello Puppyverse!
01 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: dog, havanese, housebreaking, puppy
Hi, I’m Bella. I’m a 15-week-old Havanese puppy. Right now I weigh two pounds, but when I’m full-grown, I’ll be eight pounds. I’m the proud owner of Phil and Karla Wocken. I’ve owned them for about a week now and they are absolutely adorable. I met them when they were looking for a Cockapoo, but when I ran up and sat at their feet, I quickly convinced them to take me home instead.
I’d like to thank you for stopping by to read about how I’m “Housebreaking My Humans.” I’ll try to write about my adventures every couple of days, so please check back often. My first update comes to you from Phil’s laptop. It’s taken me a couple of days to figure out how to type with my paws, but I wanted to bring you up to speed on my life since bringing the Wockens home.
The first couple of days were kind of rough. Phil and Karla were in the process of unpacking at their new house, so they forgot that I need a lot of attention. They’ve kept me in my crate a lot and I hate it in there. Even though they were nice enough to give me really comfy towels to lie down on, I’ve made sure to let them know that I hate the crate. I’ve found that the easiest way to get their attention is by making a “boo-boo” and rolling around in it. What they just don’t seem to understand is that I don’t like to be left alone.
To make things worse, they feel that they need to give me baths after being in the crate. I don’t care if my white coat is tinted brown, that hair dryer scares me. No puppy should ever have to face the bathtub three times in 24 hours…that’s just cruel! I will say though that after I’m all cleaned up that I get a lot of attention from Phil and Karla.
Over Memorial Day weekend I had a chance to meet a couple of other doggies and a lot of people. Everyone wanted me to hang out on their laps, which was fine with me cause it meant that I got a lot of attention. This one girl in particular really likes me. She told me that her name is Taylar. She just turned five years old and played with me all weekend. I like her too. She’s really nice and is very gentle with me.
This is me and my new pal Zoomer
All of the other doggies that I met were pretty friendly, too. However, I kind of got sick of them all sniffing my behind. I mean, I just met these doggies…what kind of a lady do they think that I am?! Especially the dog next door. His name is Tank and he’s a really big German Shepherd. Phil and Karla told me to be careful when I’m outside because Tank might eat me for a snack. I’m not too worried though. Based on how much he sniffed my backside, I know that I’ve got him wrapped around my little paw. I think I saw him drool! It must be because of all of the baths!
It’s been a busy couple of days adjusting to the new surroundings, but I think I’m going to be okay. Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for visiting!
