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Simon and Frezzie - Our Havanese
We've had our Havanese boys, Simon Says ("Simon", also known as "Kissy Boy") for almost five years now,
and Frezzie ("Frezzie Wezzie", also known as the "Love Piggy") for just over three years.
Simon
Simon has been the greatest dog, especially for a first dog. He came to us in April 2003
from Heartland Havanese in Iowa, at the age of 4 months and
weighing a whopping 9 pounds. The breeder told us that Simon was a chow hound, and I guess he was right! He was picked up
at the airport, and flew in the cabin back to Ft. Lauderdale in a Sherpa bag. The breeders sent one or two emails afterwards but
really do not remember us nor Simon. We also were not able to obtain earlier puppy photos. That was my mistake, as I should have asked for more photos upfront
(not months later) but we were too excited to have even found our first puppy. They specialize in several breeds, not just
Havanese - which is something you should consider when choosing a breeder. Heartland Havanese does have several champions, including Simon's
parents. Simon carries himself quite regally and if it weren't for his size at almost 20 pounds he would have been a great show dog.
We would not trade him for the world, he is the best!
From the moment Simon walked in the door he captured our hearts. He is a happy, calm, yet
playful dog. When you want to watch TV, he parks near you (or on you). When you want to play, he is extremely energetic.
Several times a day we observe Crazy Dog Hour, which is when the Havanese dogs run around like crazy - playful pouncing,
barking like crazy, and chasing their tails! It's really hysterical to watch, and from what I read is a Havanese trait.
Simon loves to go for walks (be prepared for oohs and ahhs and to answer a lot of questions about Havanese!), and insists
on leading. He doesn't like to get his paws wet, so taking him outside in the morning after a rain you practically have to drag him out
there. Then he'll lift one paw and look at you to say it's wet - I really don't want to go right now!
Simon has a daily routine with Carmen, my 12-year old Carmen.
He sleeps on the corner of the comforter in the master bedroom, but in the morning when he wakes up he goes straight to Carmen's room.
He gives her kisses and then plops on her bed to be guard dog until she wakes up. They have breakfast together,
watch cartoons, and then HE walks US to the bus stop. He takes his job very seriously, and enjoys every minute. He
especially likes it when the kids at the bus stop to talk to him and pet him.
Simon eats when we eat, as I put the bowl on the floor next to Carmen's feet. This alleviates the begging at the table, and he feels like he is included at meal time.
I've heard from some people (including my vet early on) not to feed Havanese "people" food, but we do include human food in his diet - particularly oatmeal which really
helps his allergies. Simon goes crazy over watermelon, oatmeal, sardines/tuna, and LETTUCE - go figure. Simon has allergies which have greatly improved now, he is totally off
steroids and other expensive medicines
(see Pet Food Nation , our recommended Amazon book).
Simon loves Nana's cooking (doesn't everyone?) and wolfed down a
stuffed cabbage in one bite when I wasn't looking one day. He didn't look guilty at all, so it must have been really good! Never leave delicious people food
within easy reach, we learned that lesson very quickly!
Simon thinks he's human! I'll never forget the morning I woke up, laying on my side, and opened my eyes only to see puppy eyes looking
back at me. Simon had his head on the pillow and his entire body was under the sheets and comforter! He was mirroring me!
I was so flabbergasted, and extremely amused. Curious to see how he did this, one night I layed down the same way and pretended
to go to sleep. Simon used his paws to pull down the comforter, then pull down the sheet. He then moved up to the open area
and proceeded to use his teeth to pull the sheet up over him, followed by the comforter. Then he laid his head down on the pillow and
looked at me with big happy puppy eyes. It was so funny to see Simon do this! I only wish I had video taped it, as it was
so funny!
Frezzie
Frezzie was our first real puppy at just over 2 lbs. Simon by contrast was 9 lbs when he arrived, so while he was a puppy he was BIG and felt more like a grown dog.
Freizzie came to us from Lisa at Dar A Luz Havanese. Frezzie is
Syracuse, New York. I highly recommend this breeder for the love and attention that she and her family bring to the breeding process. Lisa also has her dogs CERFed annually at Cornell University.
What I also love about Lisa is that she sent many photos after Frezzie was born, including those of his brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, etc. She also keeps in touch
and remembers us and our Frezzie. This level of personal contact and caring was crucial for us in our choose of breeders. We call Frezzie our "Love Piggy" because he is always
fighting for attention when we try to spend some time with Simon. While he often wants love, he doesn't often give
kisses so we all get excited when we get some. He's very particular that way. Although he has become more of a lap dog in the last six months, mostly because we often snack
on the coach so both dogs like to park on our laps and stare at us during meal time hoping for a bite.
Playing
Simon and Frezzie love to play, run and fetch, go for walks, eat treats (like apples) and chew on toys.
Buy several bones, as it will save your furniture! While the boys barks when he hears people outside, Havanese are not barkers in general. Simon is quite mischevious
though, and will destroy the Barbies and their clothes/accessories if you aren't looking. He also loves to steal
slippers, socks, and other articles of clothing if he can get ahold of them. They love it when their friend Mimi, from two doors down, comes to visit.
Multiple Havanese
At first we only had Simon, and we thought one dog was enough. It was, because we were new to having pets and my daughter needed to learn how to take care of a dog.
Once Simon became an adult, he became "lazy dog" and just laid around looking depressed all the time. So we thought it would be good to find him a friend and playmate,
which is how we ended up with Frezzie. At first, Simon's attitude was "What is this thing and when is it leaving?" and frankly didn't want much to do with him. After
a day or two, Simon adopted little Frezzie and became his Mommy and his Daddy. To this day, Simon regularly cleans Frezzie and rough houses with him to teach him skills.
Frezzie is actually the dominant alpha dog in general, but sits still and tolerates Simon cleaning him. We are really glad to have both, it has made a huge difference.
Simon is a very happy and playful boy and loves Frezzie. As I trained Simon, he is attached to me. When Frezzie came home we had Carmen train him, so Frezzie is attached
to her in that special way. This is very important with children, as they want their dog to love them most. So I highly recommed that children train them as much as possible,
even if they are younger.
Puppies for Dummies
is an easy and fun book for both children and adults to read, and has some great tips.
I've also received a lot of emails regarding two boys versus a boy and girl. Frankly we love having two boys, and I think it helped that Simon
was an adult when we brought in Frezzie. I've never had two boy puppies at the same time, so you may want to ask others how that worked out for them.
Grooming
The only problem that we've had with Havanese the first year or so is matting. I've had to shave Simon twice and Frezzie once! Entirely my fault, I didn't know how
to groom a long-haired dog. Simon has very fine cottony hair. I finally learned from Shary, his groomer, that the key to
keeping out mats is to COMB him regularly with a metal dog hair comb. First brush through the entire coat. Then take the comb, using
the end with the larger teeth, and comb through the entire coat gently. Last, comb through the coat again - but this time with fine tooth
end. The key here is that combing through the entire coat, from the skin to the tips, prevent the tangles that turn into knots, that turn into
nasty mats. I just wish I'd learned this sooner - I nearly had a heart attack and fainted the first time Simon was shaved!!! To prevent this, they now see their
groomer once a month and Carmen is in charge of brushing. We also keep them in a mid to long puppy cut to keep the matting under control. Frezzie likes to roll around
in the grass and anywhere else so he tends to matt up underneath and under his front armpits, so those need special attention. Havanese skin is also more sensitive,
so bathing with oatmeal shampoo or even better freshly made plain Quaker Oats for breakfast really helps keep that under control. We also use a fish oil capsule (human grade,
as the specialty pills in the pet stores are expensive and primarily just plain old fish oil).
Feeding
We feed both our Havanese the same foods. Primarily a venison and sweet potato kibble, specifically selected for Simon's allergies, as he is sensitive to chicken, beef,
peanut butter, and a few other things. I'm happy to report that this brand was NOT part of the recent 2007 pet foods recall. Initially our vet was very much against giving
the boys any human food, especially because their small pure bred dogs, but he has now changed his mind due to our success with getting Simon off allergy medicines primarily
with oatmeal.
In addition to good quality kibble, here are some example human foods that we use to supplement their diet:
- Quaker Oats Oatmeal (plain) - you can get this in bulk at Costco and we sometimes add a can of sardines or tuna
- Apples - cut up into smaller chunks; they like to chew these
- Lettuce - the white parts primarily of the lettuce used in Caesar salads, no dressing
- Watermelon - Simon's favorite
- Sardines - in water, NOT soybean oil
- Tuna fish - in water, the white albacore kind (just because that's what we eat, so I'm not buying two kinds)
- Fish oil capsules - human grade, cheaper than the specialty coat pills from the pet store
- Yogurt - plain, added to oatmeal or to kibble occasionally for their digestion
Crate Training and Lounging
Simon was four months when he arrived and absolutely despised the crate. We could never crate train him, so we gave up. Frezzie cried for several days when we brought him
home, so we had some frustrating sleepless nights. So off to the bookstore I went and bought the book
Puppies for Dummies.
It's an easy read and has some great tips. We used their recommendation to crate train
using treats, which was highly effective. After that day, Frezzie LOVED the crate. We no longer use one, now he hides under beds, chairs, and the chaise lounge (his favorite den)
and also likes to be on the top cushions of our sofas. Simon doesn't use a den, he prefers the sofas. Our sofas have indented cushions and
one Ethan Allen sofa needs to be redone totally, or replaced, due to the oils on their tummies/skin - which doesn't come out with cleaning. If I had known I would be getting dogs,
I would not have invested in Natuzzi leather sectional with down feathers nor an expense Ethan Allen sofa. Having said that though, the love we receive is no comparison to
the cost of replacement or reupolstery.
Potty Training
There are a couple of things to mention here. First, when you have a very young puppy it is helpful to work from home the first month or two as they need to go out VERY FREQUENTLY.
As in every 1-2 hours. If you cannot be home, have the breeder keep and train the puppy if at all possible. It also helps if you have tile floors instead of carpeting, as carpeting
absorbs the mess deep down.
There are a couple of products that we have found useful:
- Natures Miracle - for spraying on any surface after cleaning to remove the urine/poo enzymes, which also prevents them from reusing that spot
- Puppy Trainer Housebreaking Spray - spray on the area of grass that you would like your dog to use, especially when you first get your puppy
- Bitter Yuck or equivalent - spray on furniture that is being chewed on or legs/paws if your dog has allergies
- Dog Training Pads - for hurricanes, apartment buildings, etc - be sure to spray with Puppy Trainer Housebreaking Spray
- Get Busy - your favorite command that instructions your dog to pee/poo, when initially training them use the command as they pee/poo so they associate it
- Bags - you MUST pick up after your dogs, your neighbors do not like poo on their yard! I use diaper bags (100 for $1 at the local dollar store) and/or newspaper bags
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR HURRICANES - If you live in a hurricane prone area, like we do in South Florida, I would also recommend teaching your puppies how to use the puppy training pad (blue little plastic blankets
with soft fabric) instead of having to run out in the MIDDLE OF A HURRICANE EYE as I did with Simon because he just looked at me with a confused look on his face.
Yes, I know it was stupid but I wasn't the only one out there during Hurricane Wilma with my dogs, and I did pick up and move to the side some major palm tree branches that would
have been nasty projectiles. Not that I would repeat that experience, as you never know when the back wall of the hurricane eye will hit you. We were just lucky to have 10 minutes.
Boarding - IMPORTANT
I cannot stress this enough. If your dog requires special food for his/her allergies PLEASE be sure they know this when you board your dogs
and that you supply enough food for the duration. If you need to, repeat this multiple times, make large notes attached to bags, add this to their boarding
paperwork and highlight in yellow highlighter, remind them when you call to follow-up next day after boarding. We once boarded Simon and they fed him regular food they had on hand, forgetting the bag of food/toys that we had brought
for him and he had a very severe reaction with massive hives after I picked him up. It took him almost a month to recover. Obviously they felt awful and took care of the
bills to treat him. Although mistakes to happen, try to avoid this one if at all possible. We now board Simon and Frezzie at Tail End Resort and Spa in South Florida, which I highly recommend.
They have a pool with waterfall that our boys love to swim in and they also enjoy playing with the owner's dogs (these are both extra but well worth it).
Final Thoughts
As a new dog owner (my first was as an adult), and Havanese owner, I have to say that it has been a journey. I learned as much as I could about
Havanese (and puppies in general) before Simon and Frezzie came home to us - and I'm still learning! Having a dog is a serious
decision, as he or she will be a true member of the family. Schedules, vacations, and every aspect of daily activity
must take into account as part of pet ownership responsibilities. But there is also a great deal of joy in having
such a wonderful new member in the family, and we've come to love Simon and Frezzie dearly!
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