Time to Say GoodBye

We hope you have had fun watching our "Taken" litter grow up. Thanks for joining us.

Come again next year to celebrate our 2012 litter.

OSCAR (aka Splash)

"Mimosa's Take A Bow" an award winner for sure, Sable and White "Oscar" wows with his good looks and sunny, funny ways. The class clown, eager to please and always ready for loving.

BELLA (aka Panda)

"Mimosa's Taken Hold O My Heart", now known as "Bella". What a perfect name for a Black & White Irish Pied beauty. Cuddles, kisses and wags are the trademarks of our social butterfly; she is sure to charm everyone she meets.

RANGO (aka Bandit)

"Mimosa's Take a Chance on Me" call name "Rango". If you have not seen the movie yet you are just going to have to go watch it now. Another Black and White Irish Pied charmer, our biggest boy, outgoing and adventurous, leaving the big city to live down home on the farm; just one of many animals but always one-of-a-kind.

STORM (aka Blaze)

"Mimosa Rosevalley Taken By Storm". Our gorgeously marked Black & White Irish Pied boy. Playful and funloving. We are delighted that "Storm" will be living close by as we will get to watch him grow up and see him often when Cocoa goes to visit her friend River.

SOX (aka Socks)

"Mimosa's Taken by Surprise", better known as "Sox". Our littlest boy with the intriguing silver sable coat, snuggly, cuddly and super sweet. He is going to make a delightful companion for a lovely young girl. We hope they are best friends for many many years.

Nearing the end

Puppies are 3 months old and it's almost time to say goodbye. Just as 9 weeks of pregnancy flew by, 12 weeks of early puppyhood does the same. We hope you have enjoyed seeing our "Taken" litter grow up, marvelling at their tiny size at birth, watching them change from week to week and now knowing that each one has been adopted into a loving home where they will be beloved pets and companions.

Double Take

Socks was looking for a playmate since Splash went home. He found a mirror buddy that had potential but just not nearly as much fun as the real thing. He won't be too lonesome though as he has Jinx and big sister Cocoa to play with until it's his turn to go home as soon as his family returns from holidays.

Getting Ready

Splash is checking out his new crate to prepare for his big trip home tomorrow.

Spring fun

A warm sunny spring day means a perfect afternoon for playtime in the snow. Socks and Splash needed a long nap after playing tag around the yard.

Off on an adventure

Splash will be zipping off to the West coast in just a few days where his new owner eagerly awaits his arrival. His registered name is "Mimosa's Take a Bow" with a call name of "Oscar". A pair of Himalayan Persian cats makes his new owner well prepared for grooming a Havanese. Interestingly, 4 of our 5 puppies will have some feline brothers and sisters at their new homes.

Bedtime

Puppies have been going in and out of a large crate for several weeks already. During these past few weeks, that extended to sleeping in a smaller crate at night, sometimes with a sibling and other times alone. When taken out to potty right before bedtime, puppies are sleeping about 7 hours at night. Right now, Socks and Splash alternate, one night together, and the next night alone.

No problem

Stairs are no problem any more...going up anyway. Going down is alot tougher.

Ding Dong

The puppies are picking up many lessons from copying the older dogs. All our Havanese are bell trained to ring a bell at the door when they need/want to go out. From watching and following Momma Jinx, Auntie Cricket and big sister Cocoa, the puppies are learning this too. Tonight Splash rang the bell on his own for the very first time to ask to go out to potty. Clever boy.

Spring

The calendar says its spring but the backyard sure doesn't look that way.

Look what we learned today

Following Mom and our other Havanese, puppies are learning to go through our screen dog door.

Fetch

Puppies are learning from Momma Jinx and big sister Cocoa that fetch is a wonderful game to play.

With three playing, you never know who will get there first. Watch the video to see who won this round.

Another "taken"

Bandit will be off in just a few more days. He will not be lacking for company in his new home as there are many other animals, from house pets to barnyard friends. Should be lots of fun for an active puppy. Bandit's registered name will be "Mimosa's Take a Chance on Me" and his new name is "Rango"

One on One

Bandit enjoying some one-on-one play time with Jinx in the sunroom.

Socks Intrigue

The colour of Sable Havanese develops as they mature. Here are some pictures of Socks at bath time. He now has a more silver look than brown look that he had earlier. His undercoat is a soft blend of shades of silver and pewter and he has some gorgeous caramel shading through his ears. The number of colours in his coat gives him an intriguing frosted look.

Another goes home

Panda's new Mom came all the way from Edmonton to pick her up and take her home. Panda got ready for her first plane trip by checking out her pretty pink travel case with Momma Jinx. Her registered name will be "Mimosa's Taken Hold O my Heart" and her new name is "Bella".

First to leave the nest

The first of the puppies are going home this week. Seems very quiet with even one or two less but we could not be happier with the families who have adopted our precious puppies.

Blaze has gone to live with Cocoa's friend River. His registered name will be "Mimosa Rosevalley Taken By Storm". His new name is "Storm".

Growing up so fast

10 week weights

Socks 1406g
Splash 1500g
Blaze 1625g
Panda 1658g
Bandit 2120g

Let's play

I'm a Big Boy Now

Never mind the puppy scale. I want to get weighed on this one! It's just my size.

Awwww...Mom..

... not another bath !!!!

More family protraits

Now Bandit, Splash and Blaze

Family portraits

Socks and Panda sitting pretty with Mom

Socks and Bunny

When it comes to nap time, Socks is partial to cuddling up with the biggest stuffed toy he can find. Toys in the puppy pen change every few days. Todays cuddle buddy is a stuffed bunny as big as Socks is. This one does not squeak or rattle, it makes a grunting sound.

Whooopeee!!!

Another brand new and FUN game to play. Tonight we took out our play tunnel for the puppies. They all loved it and had a great time. The videos are not so great but you can see what fun they were having nonetheless.

9 week weights

Socks 1274g
Splash 1428g
Blaze 1480g
Panda 1498g
Bandit 1902g

Clever puppies

Puppies are stimulated in many different ways, not only physically but also with mental challenges. This toy is an interactive challenge game. Each of the small bones is a cup with a hole in it. When a treat is placed under a cup, the puppy can smell it through the hole and then has to try to figure how to get it out for their reward. Right now, only half of the containers are there and there is a treat under each one to make it easier. Later on, this can be made more challenging by having all the cups in place but only a few with treats under them. Panda and Bandit are the most interested in this toy. Panda is the very best at flipping the cups off but Bandit is very best at sneaking in and stealing the treat.

Puppy Condo

Puppies living space is changing yet again to accomodate their growing need for space to run and play as well as developping skills. They now have a two level puppy condo with an upper "bedroom" level and a lower play and activity level. The one single step is good practice for learning to go up and down steps.

Temperament testing

Temperament tests are a series of simple tests that help get impressions of a puppy's individual aptitudes and general temperament. Scores are graded from 1 to 6. The middle scoring puppies, (3s and 4s) make the best family pets. Dogs scoring mostly 3s are a little more energetic and dogs scoring mostly 4s may be a little quieter. All our puppies scored in this general range. All are lively, playful and loving but each one also is a little more distinct in certain areas.

Socks scored mostly 4's (gentle and quiet)
Panda is an even mix of 3's and 4's (sweet and cuddly)
Blaze is a mix with mostly 3's (curious and slightly independent)
Splash is also a mix with mostly 3's (interactive and playful)
Bandit is mostly 3's but also has a few 2's (energetic and outgoing)

Socks

Here is a very special picture for a very special young girl. Although puppies are not old enough to go home yet, some of them are already "taken".

Socks is "Mimosa's Taken by Surprise". He is keeping his name but spelled a little differently. His new name is "Sox"

8 week pictures

8 week weights

Socks 1144g
Splash 1266g
Panda 1284g
Blaze 1298g
Bandit 1654g

Havanese puppies at 8 weeks old are approximatley 1/4 of their adult size. This is not a perfect estimate but just a rough ballpark with about 15% margin of error either way.

Remember when

Here is a glimpse to see how much everyone has grown. Remember the photo of Jinx in her bed where the puppies were born, where you could see 5 tiny white tail tips peeking out from under her fur. This is the same bed today.

The weights of the newborn puppies all added up together was quite a bit less than our smallest puppy is today. Now everyone added up is quite a bit more than Mom! Not too much room left in this bed.

Look what we can do!

We knew it was just a matter of time. All the puppies are now able to climb the few steps from the deck to the sunroom.

Sitting Pretty

It's a bit of a challenge to get 5 active puppies to pose together for a group photo.
Can you tell who's who? You'll have to look carefully; two puppies traded places from one photo to the next.

More play time

Puppies just can't get enough of play time with big sister Cocoa. The feeling is mutual. Cocoa can't stay away from the little ones and spends a lot of time with them. They have so much fun together.

Snow day

Puppies are having lots of adventures playing outside on warmer, sunnier days. They cannot stay outside too long, but will play for a few minutes. Everyone is checking out the deck steps and trying to climb them but cannot quite do it yet. It won't be long, maybe another day or two.

I'm a big dog now

If they stretch and put some effort into it, puppies can now reach Mom's raised water dish. The puppies are so proud of themsevles when they eat out of the "big" dog bowl and drink out of the "big" dog water dish.

7 week weights

Socks 1000g
Splash 1070g
Panda 1130g
Blaze 1170g
Bandit 1444g

Collars

There are still so many things for puppies to learn. One of the things they are just learning is to wear a collar. Their first collars are soft narrow ribbons. Right now, they wear them for an hour or so at a time a few times a day to start getting them accustomed to having something around their necks. Spash's collar is red and Blaze's is purple.