Mochi at 12 weeks taken by friend with a much better camera.

December 29, 2015

Here's a photo taken by our friend with a much better camera.

Mochi is now 12 weeks old.

December 26, 2015

Mochi received many toys!  Thanks to everyone for making Mochi's first Christmas so wonderful.

Here's just some of her toys.

Mochi is doing well, she can now sleep for at least 6 hours straight during the night.  That means I can also sleep past 6:00am!  We are glad she is lazy.

Check out Mochi's video's here:
Mochi's Youtube Channel

Mochi is now 11 weeks old and 3.6 lbs.

December 20, 2015

Mochi is now 11 weeks old.  She's doing well and able to sleep for over 4 hours at night before I take her outside.  I am faster than her, so maybe she can hold it even longer.

We found more food she loves:

• Goat's milk
• Turkey balls from a doggie bakery

Our next task is to socialize her to the nail grinder and clippers.  She's okay with the sound except when it touches her :(

We found something she's scared of, Tickle me Elmo when it's turned on.  She barks at it.

Her next vaccination is scheduled for tomorrow and she's registered for a puppy class in January.

She's pretty lazy now

She's okay with Elmo when it's not on :)

Mochi is now 10 weeks old.

I can't believe it has only been a week since my last update.  We got Mochi at 9 weeks, and Mochi is now 10 weeks and 2 days old.  She now weighs about 3.2 lbs.  She's not a big eater and eating less than what the breeder has suggested.  She doesn't seem too thin, so we'll see what happens in a few weeks.

We had a hard time finding treats that she likes, but we finally found a few things she loves.  

• Cheese strings (this I can cut into small pieces for training)
• Cottage cheese (we gave her too much!)
• Frozen blueberries (only at 2 so far, and they are so messy)
• Organic Himalayan Yak Milk Dog Chews (Chew Churpi) (gift from goo goo) 
• Kong Easy Treat spray easy treat
• Peanut butter
• Coconut oil

Kong toys don't keep her attention for very long, but those Chew Churpi chews are amazing.  She just loves chewing those.

No luck finding a dog toothpaste flavour that she likes, but we found what she doesn't like, poultry and beef :(  

We've had some success poop training.  At least she's doing it outside without as much fuss.

Mochi's next vaccine appointment is next week and a puppy socialization class is scheduled for early January.  We've taken her to Rona and grocery shopping.  She loves meeting people and gets overly excited.

Mochi's first bark was at 10 weeks.  She was barking at me cleaning with a paper towel.  She can bark loud, I'm glad she rarely barks so far.

Oh... and me, I'm getting used to 3am and 6am pee duty.  I think Mochi is starting to sleep more than 3 hours without peeing :)  Now you know why there haven't been more updates.

Here are few pics:

Mochi does remarkably well in her crate

Mochi is at home!

Dec. 7, 2015

A major success to report!  Mochi's first poop outside. Link to her pic if you dare. Poop 

We also visited the vet today.  Mochi is healthy and enjoyed meeting everyone at the South Burnaby Veterinary Hospital.   

at the vet, no fear

Mochi's crate training improved significantly today, for some reason, she cries a lot less today.  I still have to let her out to pee at around 2am and stuck on the sofa till 5am to let her out again.  


 Dec. 6, 2015

Tonight is Mochi's 2nd night at home.  She pooped a few times inside :(  We got most of the pee outside.  I'm working on getting a successful poop from Mochi outside!  Harder than it should be.

She can sure scream when crated or in the pen.  She does not like to be confined alone even when we are just steps away.  We are ignoring her as best we can and it should only take a few days, right?

She is so good otherwise, no fear of people, rain, blow dryers and the clicker.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow.

Here's a pic.  It's hard to take a good pic since her face is black, need the flash of a real camera.

used coconut oil to tidy the hair around her eyes

Picking up our pup December 5, 2015.

We are going to meet the breeder in Merritt, BC.  His drive is about 1.25 hours and our drive is about 3 hrs.  There may be snow along the way too.  We've selected the girl, Ursela. 

I'll update soon.

Pups born on October 3, 2015, 4 girls, 2 boys. Pics at 4 weeks old are now up!

Wendy and Beatle's litter born October 3, 2015
Go home date is Dec 5, 2015.

Nov. 20, 2015

New pics up.  Now 7 weeks old.  A little mix up, Lotus is a boy and Hugo is a girl :)

Nov. 1, 2015

Pics are up!  They are about 4 weeks old.

We have a preference for a lighter coloured pup so probably one of the girls (Lotus, Ursela or Sussie).  Sable will most likely change colour as they get older.

Check this gallery to see sable colour development.  Sable colour changes



It's Oct. 19, and just received a call from the breeder, there's 3 sable pups and a lighter boy.  They will do temperament testing around Nov. 21, 2015, and then we will know which ones are the most suitable for us.


 

We created our dog ID tag using the in-store machine.

Here's the machine at Petsmart.

Here's the tag with the name of our puppy.  Name works for both girl or boy :)

First puppy purchases.

Deposit paid!

We have just paid our deposit on a puppy from Wendy and Beatle's litter.  Take home is in December 2015.  Stay tuned for updates!  Some family history:

Beatle's dad, Coby x Kensie 
Wendy's dad, Peter x Julie

Info on Beatle.

Beatle and Wendy's previous litter.  2014 litter

Visiting our potential breeder

Great link on choosing a breeder:
http://havaneseworld.org/how-to-choose-havanese-breeder/


After confirming our visit with a potential breeder in Kamloops, we were ready for our roadtrip.  Weather was going to a hot 30 degrees C.  The drive was about 3.5 hours and traffic was pretty light.  We travelled through Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley, Hope, Merritt to Kamloops.  There wasn't much to see on Highway 5 (Coquihalla).  We did encounter some road construction/paving, but it was fine. 

We did see signs saying snow tires are required between October 1st and March.  This would be a potential concern for the timing of the pick-up our our puppy that we didn't expect.  Our GPS didn't get us to the right location, but after a phone call, we made it to the farm a few minutes away.  It is almost in the middle of nowhere :)  Google maps was also wrong!

Lots of dogs outside, so excited to see us.

I picked up one :)

A few of the latest litter at 5 weeks old.

They will have a litter ready for going home December 10, 2015, from Wendy and Beatle.  That may be the one we go for.  What should we do?  They did say that they could drop off the puppy in town if there were others also adopting. 

We stayed the night at the Riverland Inn & Suites.  I was surprised that it was fully booked.

Nice dinner at Mittz Kitchen.  We found Kamloops very quiet, probably since it's now fall.
 

Grilled Vegetable

Spaghetti

Sablefish

Lemon Tiramisu

I'm not Ready, so before I begin my journey, I need to READ!

Before we make our commitment, we need to decide if we are ready to adopt.  Here are the books I've read so far.  If you've taken the time to read what I have read, you will know what a daunting task owning a puppy or dog will be. 



Before & After Getting Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar
Free PDF downloads

How to Behave so Your Dog Behaves by Sophia Yin
Dr. Sophia Yin 
Puppy Socialization Checklist 

Clicking with your Dog: Step by Step in Pictures by Peggy Tillman

The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete (1st Ed.)

Train Your Dog the Lazy Way by Andrea Arden

The Focused Puppy by Deborah Jones

The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey

The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller 
Peaceable Paws 

Dog Owner's Manual by Dr. Bruce Fogle

Puppy School by Maggie Holt & Stella Sweeting

From Nose to Tail - A Grooming Handbook
http://nosetotailbook.havanesefanciers.com/?q=thebook 

The Perfect Dog by Dr. Roger Mugford (inventor of the Halti collar)

Divine Canine by the Monks of New Skete


Decoding Your Dog by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists



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Reddit has been a great resource as well.  May new owners post their desperate appeals for help for their new dog or puppy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining
https://www.reddit.com/r/Puppy101


YouTube videos

kikopup's videos are awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Zak George
https://www.youtube.com/user/zakgeorge21 

I think I'll need a security cam to monitor our little one.

This is pretty cool, but too expensive.
https://getpiper.com/

Here's what I got instead:
Foscam Pan/Tilt Camera with 2-way sound

Do we need pet insurance?

March 2, 2016

We made our first claim with Trupanion.  We'll see how long it takes to get our money.  Trupanion does not cover the exam fees, so we are going to re-evaluate and compare this with other insurance companies.  Petplan seems to cover exam fees.


December 30, 2015

We received a one month trial to Trupanion pet insurance from our vet and have decided to continue with the coverage.  Mochi is so full of energy and loves jumping from heights and mouthing everything.  I think we better stick with some insurance for now.

Where to take a puppy class to socialize?

We attended DogSmart's Puppy Smartstart.  It's a good place to start, but not enough time for Mochi to get friendly enough with other puppies. 

We are going to need a Vet.

Nov. 6, 2015

We visited about 3 veterinary clinics near our home.  We shortlisted one clinic we felt the most comfortable with, the South Burnaby Animal Hospital.  They are also voted best in Burnaby.  They are not the least expensive.  They provide a laser surgery option for $100 extra when we do spaying/neutering.  Should we go laser?


Tip:  be sure to check the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia website to make sure they are in good standing.