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blep-pup · 2 days

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Did you end up doing an April Fool's groom with Milou? Can we see it? 🥺💙

- @release-the-hound

AH YES I DID! sorry life's been so crazy!

I cut him short everywhere except for back legs so that it looked like he had pants!

it made his rump quite volumous XD

#havanese #puppy #april fools groom #I had a lot of fun giving him this funny groom #thank you for reminding me!

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blep-pup · 1 month

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I'm so sorry for disappearing everyone, Milou having an anaphylactic reaction to an unknown allergen last summer really triggered my trauma response and basically, I've been crawling back up from the depths of shitty mental health since then. I had entire posts planned to talk about his birthday (July 9th) and his gotcha day ( September 23rd) and I did do fun events with him like doggy ice cream and special one time treats! And I kept putting off posting in here cuz I didn't want to do just random posts until I did those, but at this point I'm just... huuu life is a lot rn so please just take these photos of him!

freshly groomed

next to the biggest poodle mix that comes to the shop, she weighs more than me

ready for the holidays

when he wants food or attention, he will grab his bowl and stare at us until we do something

currently he is super super fluffy because I want to do a funny groom for him on april fools and I want as max contrast as I can get! I promise I'll post the prank when I groom him!

#havanese #puppy #okay actually #he's over a year and half now #and he's really starting to chill #he's still a puppy #but soon I won't be able to use the puppy tag anymore!#D:

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blep-pup · 8 months

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As a havanese owner, what would you say their energy levels are like, along with how long it takes to groom them? are they trainable? I'm thinking about getting one in the future

hey there! great questions! this is a long post cuz I love info-dumping about animals, ESPECIALLY my little boy so I'm putting a cut

Energy: dogs energy levels is something I was quite concerned with too since I'm a fairly low energy person and I cannot reliably keep a high energy dog satisfied. If you sniff around the internet you'll find multiple sources saying that a healthy, standard havanese only really needs about 40 minutes of exercise per day. If this isn't met, they'll likely get mischievous around your house inviting you to play with them because they're (not consciously) trying to get that energy out. Now they're also a pretty sturdy breed in that if you have an active lifestyle they can adapt to that pretty well, just don't expect them to be husky levels of par on par with you

Puppies are of course a little different. All young dogs will have higher energy needs than adults do, and depending on the age, will also have different tolerances to amounts and sometimes will crash and just sleep.

They should chill out, comparatively speaking, as they age, but havaneses are known for remaining playful and mischievous throughout their lives. I've met multiple havanese and havanese mix owners who tell me about their dogs' "teasing"

I got Milou when he was 11 weeks old and he was pretty bouncing off the walls energetic, but he'd reliably crash for 1-2 hours of sleep with just 30-60 minutes of play. I couldn't really walk him for more than 30 minutes at a time though, with our average walks at that age being about 20-30 minutes and he'd walk twice a day. When he reached the 4-6 month mark, he could play for like 60-90 minutes before getting tired and even then he'd still try milking a little more out of me. Now he's over a year and he asks to play less and play sessions last less, but he's still a spunky little boy who will steal shoes to provoke me into chasing him. Milou is a good walker though, so 80% of my energy sink with him is walking him. If you're down to play with your pup that works too

Grooming: I'm going to answer this question from a groomer's perspective because that's what I do professionally. Havaneses are what you call a hypo-allergenic breed (at the very least, their fur should not cause allergies, or not strong allergic reactions, but technically there is no such thing as a truly hypo-allergenic dog) so they have the type of fur that just grows and never stops. They don't shed which is very nice, but they are constantly growing, and havanese fur grows fast. They are 100% a breed that requires frequent grooming

how long does it take to groom them? well, this depends on the dog, on average a small breed like the havanese takes me 1-2 hours, but there are a lot of factors in this including how well trained to tolerate grooming your pup is. There are some breeds that on average are amazing at being groomed, for some reason (90% of the schnauzers I do are the best doggos) and there are some breeds that on average are terrible at being groomed (90% of the wheaten terriers I do HATE being groomed). Havaneses don't lean one way or another, it boils down to personality and training. One of my best clients is a havanese. One of my worst clients is also a havanese. Milou is pretty good, but I still need to work with him on his front paws. If you get a havanese puppy, you have to get them used to being handled and moved around for grooming if you want them to be cooperative, which leads to a faster groom. You can do this by offering treats when doing handling training sessions with your pup. Milou went from HATING his face being touched, to letting me grab his nose, move it around and even lets me scrap tarter off of his teeth, but this took work.

The other factor is whether or not you keep your havanese fur long or short or inbetween. I personally like to keep Milou's comfort in mind. In the winter, I keep his coat at 16mm, all the pictures of him fluffy are during that time. In the summer I gave him a summercut, aka 1/4 inch. If you keep your havanese fur long, you WILL HAVE TO BRUSH IT. Havanese fur is very thin and matts easily, especially if they are active. Milou's legs matt a lot in the winter because he loves playing in the snow. If you can brush every day, that's ideal. If you can just brush multiple times a week, that's okay too. If you only brush when you're doing a full groom, your dog is going to be matted and it is not only going to take longer but will even make the grooming painful for them which will make them hate grooming.

Trainability: This is going to be a little confusing so bear with me alright?

I had a beagle before I had Milou. Beagles are food motivated. They are a stubborn breed who will follow their nose, but if you have food ohhohho they will do whatever you want whenever you want. Lili was an extremely well trained beagle because of this

Havanese are... not known for being food motivated. you might find some individuals who are, but on average, remember that they're a toy breed, toy breeds are annoying about eating food. And here's the other kinda weird thing alright. Havanese are first and foremost a companion breed. They just want to make you happy. But they also have a stubborn streak in them. If they don't feel like doing something, they're not going to do it

Milou (keep in mind this isn't just abysmally rare for dogs in general but especially for a toy breed who are notoriously difficult to potty train) nailed his potty training day 1 of bringing him home. He bent down to pee, I picked him up, put him on the pee pad, and threw him a praise and petting party when he finished. Ever since that day he would make an effort to exclusively pee on the potty pad. Nowadays, he prefers to pee outside whenever possible but we still have accidents on rugs and carpets here and there if we haven't taken him out to potty enough. So you'd think he'd be easy to train right?

there were so many days where he would do the trick for me like three times, and then just decide he was done with training and would rather do something else. You really have to get to know your dog and what motivates them. Milou will do tricks all day if there's good enough praise and the treats are high value (aka lunchmeats like ham and turkey, gourmet little stinker). But all in all, with enough patience, consistency, communication and kindness, you can have a well trained and well behaved havanese. Milou is a good little boy who is very well trained

As will all dogs, havaneses respond well to positive feedback, and honestly, there is no easy or quick way to train a dog. It takes time and work. There are things you will work on, that you won't feel the benefits of until MONTHS later. Also, keep in mind that a dog who feels safe and secure with their owner (barring personality) should grow up to feel confident about the world around them. I put a lot of work into Milou and making sure he was exposed to new things as a puppy and having those experiences be good ones so that now that he's over a year, he's not scared of trying new things or meeting new dogs

In conclusion: Havaneses are like any other dog, they take time and work, they need to be exercised and groomed, but they are amazing companions. They just love you and they want to be with you! Multiple people I've met who've owned havaneses tend to report "best dog I've ever had". Milou is only my second, but honestly, I'm inclined to agree. He's fantastic. Always keep in mind your pup's breed and breed needs when getting one such as needing grooming, and also put in training to make sure your pup doesn't develop separation anxiety as is common in toy breeds and especially havaneses who are bred to love you to the moon and back. I wish you luck with your future best friend!

OH ALMOST FORGOT for a toy breed there's actually a lot of size variation in havaneses, so either go for a breeder who has parents with the sizes you're looking for, or... don't be picky. The smallest havanese at my work is 7lbs, Milou is average size at 13lbs and I've seen a havanese that's 25lbs, bigger than my beagle. While I personally love tiny dogs, it was purely a coincidence that the breeder I got Milou from had tiny parents and even then Milou turned out a little under twice their size XD point is, be aware that there's a lot of different sizes they come in, and there's not really a standard color for them either. They literally come in all colors except brindle. I personally think this is fun

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blep-pup · 8 months

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here is the boy fresh from the vet and on the carride home

he had an anaphylactic reaction to something that we don’t know. His reaction was mild considering it could be way worse but it was still very scary and very uncomfortable for him. He’s going to be okay though, he’s just on some strict NO OUTSIDE EXCEPT FOR POTTY for three days and a bland diet

but he’s gonna be okay! The vets loved him

smol life update:

hey everyone, Milou mom here, I know I don't really post super often but felt the need to inform whoever follows this blog that Milou was suddenly really sick this morning and I took him to the emergency (protip, if your dog's gums are pale or any color other than the pink it's supposed to be, take them to the vet ASAP. Milou's gums were white)

he's just having an allergic reaction to something, he's going to be fine. They are keeping him there overnight to make sure he bounces back okay but yeah... I just felt the need to let you all know and spread the word that if you're ever in doubt of when you should take your pup to the vet vs waiting it out: Milou was panting vigorously, clearly uncomfortable, would sulk in a corner and lay down on his side and refuse to do anything else and of course his gums were white (also he threw up and drooling a lot), the vet on the phone told me to bring him there immediately these are all signs that something is wrong

I am a groomer, not a vet so plz don't come ask me a bunch of pet health related questions (NOW IF YOU HAVE GROOMING QUESTIONS that's a different story). If there is ever any doubt, always call the vet emergency front desk and they can help you evaluate at least whether or not you're having an emergency. they cannot give you a diagnosis without seeing your baby, but it helps immensely to have someone on the phone with you and help you check important signs that could determine whether or not your pet needs an emergency vet visit

I promise I'll share a pic of him tomorrow once he comes home

#thank you for whoever was following along

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blep-pup · 8 months

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smol life update:

hey everyone, Milou mom here, I know I don't really post super often but felt the need to inform whoever follows this blog that Milou was suddenly really sick this morning and I took him to the emergency (protip, if your dog's gums are pale or any color other than the pink it's supposed to be, take them to the vet ASAP. Milou's gums were white)

he's just having an allergic reaction to something, he's going to be fine. They are keeping him there overnight to make sure he bounces back okay but yeah... I just felt the need to let you all know and spread the word that if you're ever in doubt of when you should take your pup to the vet vs waiting it out: Milou was panting vigorously, clearly uncomfortable, would sulk in a corner and lay down on his side and refuse to do anything else and of course his gums were white (also he threw up and drooling a lot), the vet on the phone told me to bring him there immediately these are all signs that something is wrong

I am a groomer, not a vet so plz don't come ask me a bunch of pet health related questions (NOW IF YOU HAVE GROOMING QUESTIONS that's a different story). If there is ever any doubt, always call the vet emergency front desk and they can help you evaluate at least whether or not you're having an emergency. they cannot give you a diagnosis without seeing your baby, but it helps immensely to have someone on the phone with you and help you check important signs that could determine whether or not your pet needs an emergency vet visit

I promise I'll share a pic of him tomorrow once he comes home