This Bag Smells Good!

Hmm... This bag smells really good

"I think I will just get inside here"

If I don't come out for days, will anyone come and find me?

Oliver Takes a Dip in Lake Ontario

Look mom, I'm all wet!

And just who is going to groom you now?

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Decision has been made: We are going to North Carolina!

Durham, North Carolina is our destination next month, and Oliver and I will be heading there all by ourselves! Crazy or what?

Heading to the Havanese of America National Specialty.

I stopped by CAA to order a trip-tic which should point out all the construction zone and other useful information a modern GPS just can’t do for me yet.

I signed up and paid for all the extra activities like seminars, tours, meet and greets, and dinners – I am doing it all and I am going to be a social butterfly doing about it.

I hope to have a replacement camera by the time I get there, I promised Nathan, the editor of the Havanese Breed Magazine, I would capture some photos of the event. We’ll see how any of them turn out.

I should make up a check list so I don’t forget anything.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver was at the 2011 Purina/CKC National Charity Event

Handler: Jennifer McClintock
Photographer: Dean Dennis

Oliver (Hydabrek’s What the Dickens) was at the 2011 Purina Nationals held at the Toronto International Centre last weekend. He picked up another 3-point major towards his Canadian Championship.

Above are some candid photos take on the first day of the three-day dog show.

I understand from the advertisements this show is supposed to be the Canadian equivalent to England’s Crufts and the US’s Westminster. The impression I gathered from many of the exhibitors was this show wasn’t any more important than most other shows in Ontario.

Eukanuba’s Top 100, an unofficial CKC event, held at the Ontario Breeders Association Dog Show was a much bigger deal drawing dogs and their exhibitors from much great distances with both Canada and the United States.

The Purina show was all decked out with red carpet in all the rings with fabric hangings outlining each ring. They also had a P.A. system they used to provide exhibitors and spectators updates, and they also used it to play the national anthem each day which is not a normal dog show ‘thing’. I was really disappointed with the lack of vendors available at the show as I came there is money hoping to check out new or not regularly seen vendors. Unfortunately, there was the same old vendor there that I would normally see at every other show so I walked away with most of my money still in my pocket. The price for food was ridiculous but I guess I could honestly expect decent pricing at a location like the International Centre.

What I did like about the show was the carpet (colour doesn’t matter), the carpet really does help to keep the dogs clean, therefore I didn't need to bath Oliver between shows.  The venue was spacious so when I walked around with Oliver there was lot of space for both of us to walk side-by-side and I didn’t have to worry too much about people not noticing little Oliver-boy and stepping on him. There was even carpet pathways within the grooming area which made walking through, especially loaded with Oliver in Crate in one hand and tons of stuff in the other hand a whole lot easier - the path was clear and not crowded with people's things.

Because it is supposed to be a big show, I was hoping to go to a website somewhere and watch videos of breeds I would have like to have been there to watch. There is no website available to watch videos and no evidence of any camera crews other than local news reporters who only came on the Friday, the least busiest day of a three day dog show. I would like they would have enough money to consider do some video taping considering the outlandish prices to enter your dog for each event. Even “exhibit only” was the same amount as having entered your dog for one of the events. If the entry price for “exhibit only” was cheaper like in other shows, I would have like to have brought Caillee with me for the two days I knew I was able to attend the show to watch Oliver in the Ring. Caillee would have been nice company. I felt after entering Oliver for all three days of the Purina show and the catalog, Purina/CKC Nationals got enough money from me.

I hope they listen to the exhibitors and really take heart to what they say. I know Canadians would really love to have a true equivalent to England’s Crufts and the US’s Westminster, but I don’t think the Purina/CKC Nationals is it…. at least not yet.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Close-up Shot of Oliver (Sept 2010)

Here is a close-up, profile shot of Oliver

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Photo of Oliver with his Best Bred By and Best Puppy in Toy Group wins (2010)

Here is Oliver pictured here with his Judge and his Best Bred By Exhibitor in Toy Group rosette and his Best Puppy In Toy Group rosette. Doesn’t he look ever so happy and cute?

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver Running Through the Snow (December 2010)

Here is Oliver running through the snow.  Who knows what he was chasing but he sure looks like he was having a grand old time.

Photographer: Angelwalk Productions

December 2010

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Photo Of Oliver, Best Puppy in (Toy) Group, September 2010

September 2010

Here is a photo of Oliver with his Best Puppy in (Toy) Group rosette. Circa September 2010
Judge: Carole Beattie



http://www.hydabrek.com/?q=oliver20100912

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver at show-handling class, Day 1

Oliver and I were at a show-handling class last night.  He has already gone through one set of show-handling classes already and this will be his second set of show-handling classes.  Last night was day 1.

Together, we hadn't done these in a while and we both were a bit out of practice.  Oliver is the only table dog in the class and is surrounded by very large puppies and dogs.  One puppy, an Akita, was only 16 weeks old and is already three time the size of Oliver.  Needles to say, Oliver was feeling out-sized and out-numbered.  His poor tail was down for most of the class.  Now can you blame him?

Oliver was in front of a large Collie.  I noticed when Oliver was away from the Collie his tail would come back up and when the Colliee returned, his tail would go back down.  I could also tell he was stressed becasue he kept yawning and that is a sign dogs are feeling stressed in their current environment.

Later on, Oliver was infront of a Bull Mastif, and he seemed to be much more relaxed with him around instead of the Collie.  Can he not tell the size difference between the Bull Mastif and the Collie?  Maybe Oliver's fears were loosely based on size and based more on something else.

We will see what happens next class.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

A trip with Caillee and Oliver to the CERF Clinic

Caillee and Oliver took a little trip to the CERF clinic today after my full day work.  Caillee and Oliver stopped by my work and then we all went in my car the rest of the way.

First Caillee was looked at by the vet.  The vet turned off all the lights in his examination room.  He placed on his head gear and used some sort of magnifying lens to look very closely at her eyes.  He also use some other device.  It looked like he was looking at her eyes through this white contraption.   The vet turned on the lights and said that all way fine with Caillee.

Now it was Oliver's turn.  The sames things were done to him but the vet tech and I had to hold him in place a bit.  The vet said that Oliver was being well behaved for 7 months and for his first time.  He too passed.

The biggest deal about the whole things was the drive back through Toronto's rush hour traffic.

Before these results can be posted on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals(OFFA) website, I have to fill out  the back of the paperwork and send them in to Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) for processing.  That will have to be done on another day....

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver won Best Puppy In Toy Group and Best Bred By In Toy Group

Today at the Wine Country Kennel Club Oliver, Hydabrek's What the Dickens, won Best Puppy in Toy Group AND Best Bred by Exhibitor in Toy Group.

I am very pleased with the Best Bred by In Group Oliver won today.  Just as Best Puppy in Group wins do not count towards a dog's championship title, both the Best Puppy in Group and the Best Bred By Exhibitor in Group are worth bragging rights.

The photo of Oliver and I here is actually from Oliver's very first Best Puppy in Toy Group Rosette winning when he was at the Oakville & District Kennel Club. Sorry I didn't post about it earlier, live sometimes can be like that.

Oliver had a lot of fun in the ring.  I do try to make sure he does have a fun experience and so far he is making the most of things.

I one bit of advice for anyone starting out showing their own dog: do not kiss your dog on his or her forehead before having to go in the ring, especially if you are wearing red lipstick!  I did manage to get the red colour out of his hair and I am pretty sure you could barely notice it anymore.  Phew!

I did take a photo of Oliver's today's winnings but I didn't have time today between the end of the show of getting Oliver back home, picking up a friend, and heading back to the show for their Thanksgiving Dinner to look and possibly purchase today's photos.  You will just have to wait.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver will forever been known as "Puppy-Pants"

Oliver will forever been referred among a small groups of friends as Puppy-Pants. He has often been referred to as Puppy-boy so Puppy-Pants is a funny stretch from Puppy-boy. Oliver acted like such a clown. Always wanting to play with Cricket and Petey. Petey and Cricket are both much older Havanese, 4 and 9 years old, so they they were not as interested in playing with Oliver relentlessly. Oliver played with his favourite squeaky toy and then he stolen and played with Petey's favourity toy, a small cute ducky. Oh, how Oliver loved Petey's duck. On the last day of the trip, we all couldn't find Petey's duck and suspected Oliver trying to pack the duck in one of his suite cases. The duck was found under the bed. Oliver loved to jump, grab, and pull just about anything off the bed. We had to put away or hide just about everything. We caught Oliver running around the hotel room with mom's dog show comfy shoes. He was also caught running away with towels, panty hoses, Kleenexes, leashes, and paper. Oliver is 6 months after all. Oliver was being a little trouble-maker and being all cute about it. Oh, Puppy-Pants, I smell obedience ring in your future.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver travelled to the Canadian National Havanese Speciality in Halifax, Nova Scotia

On Thursday Oliver travelled to the Canadian National Havanese Speciality in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was packed and ready to go to Pearson Airport in Toronto Ontario very early because his mom wanted to get her nails done.

Hubby drove Oliver and mom to the airport.

Before Oliver checked-in at the airport check-in counter, we all stopped at a fast-food restaurant close by to the airport. The restaurant was so close by we were in the path of planes coming in for a landing. The first plane we saw and HEARD come in for a landing was so loud it scared Oliver. The second plane scared Oliver only a little bit, and by the fourth plane came in for a landing Oliver barely cared. That experience was so good for Oliver and offered him a chance to get use to the noise of planes and to get use really loud noises.

Oliver was so quite and well behaved on the flight to Halifax. The flight took just under two hours and if you add the drive to the airport, the check-in time, security, and luggage drop-off and pick up, Oliver was in his Sherpa bag for over three hours.

Oliver meet up with Petey and Cricket, two fury Havanese friends he spent his long weekend with.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Slide Show of Oliver's Second Day at his Very First Dog Show

Living the life of a male show dog vicariously through Oliver...
 
Here is Oliver, Hydrek's What the Dickens!, on his second day of his very first dog show at the Markham Kennel Club this past weekend.  All photos in slide show taken by Darlah Potechin of Talemaker Havanese.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

What a great weekend Oliver had!

Living the life of a male show dog vicariously through Oliver.....

What a great weekend Oliver had! In his opinion, it didn’t start out that great as his weekend started out with a bath and blow dry: the whole nine yards!


Oliver and I showed up early for his first event at the Markham Kennel Club all breed dog show. It took a little longer than an hour to arrive at the show because we picked up some gas and then picked up some tea at Timmy’s on the way there.

When we arrived, the first priority was to find somewhere to set up the groomer table and chair. After that, Oliver and I walked around. We then picked up his arm band and walked around some more. We checked out the vendor booths and walked around some more. We sat together and watched some of the other breeds being judged and then, you guessed it, we walked around some more.

I really wanted to get Oliver comfortable with all the new noises at a large dog show. And also I wanted him to get use to all the different breeds, especially all the large breeds. Remember, his is only a small cute puppy-boy – he’s still growing.

Well, socializing portion for the day was done and it was down to business. I groomed Oliver as best as I could and he was being such a good boy on the grooming table.

While in the ring being judge, I thought he was wonderful. He walked smartly and in my opinion was behaving as best as could ever be expected from a six month old puppy at his first show. Everyone thought he did amazing well and no one could hardly believe this was Oliver very first show. Oliver did that well!

It was a good and full day already. Well, you would think that would be the end of day one. Hardly! I was invited to stay over at a long-time friend’s house who owns a few Bolognese and Havanese. She happened to be taking care of a fifteen month old puppy girl, Daisy, for a friend of hers while her friend was away. Oliver got to play with her and all of Linda’s dogs. They all played nicely. I was a bit worried of Oliver getting dirty or getting his hair pulled by one of the other dogs before day number two of his very first dog show. All was well.

Day number two: we had to arrive early in the morning for an all-breed puppy sweepstakes. Again, I thought he showed very well.

We had hours before the next event so Oliver and I took a mini-trip to get some brunch.

Again today we walked around and spent some time with some other Havanese. Havanese people are such great people, some I knew already through Havanese circles and others Oliver and I meet for the first time. Oliver and I felt right at home.

Oliver again showed very well for a six month old puppy. He was happy and seemed to be enjoying himself and I couldn’t ask for anything more this weekend.

Each event, he received Best of Opposite sex. For the sweepstakes event, he got second in sweepstakes for the toy breed, I think that’s how you say it.

Well, after a long day at the show, starting from very early morning to mid-afternoon, Oliver and I were saying our good-byes.

That’s should be the end, right? I didn’t take the Express Highway 407 back home so the trip was longer which made for good travel experience for Oliver. Oliver and I are attending the Canadian Havanese Specialty in Halifax Nova Scotia next weekend. Plus we made a few stops along the way making an already long trip much longer.

Oliver would have to agree the best stop over during day two was stopping by Jack’s house (his brother) to drop off something we borrowed. The two boys played and played until it was super time.

Both Oliver and I should sleep well tonight!
Photos taken by Darlah Potechin.

More photos:
second day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/potechinshavanese/sets/72157624842207468/
First day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/potechinshavanese/sets/72157624829100858/

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver in Conformation Class

Oliver and I started a new 6 week conformation classes.  He was doing very well for a young puppy-boy.  There is so much we need to work on and he is getting there each day.

I am so glad I had a GPS with me, especially when trying to home through dark country roads.  I think I might have gotten lost without it.

The instructor suggested I get a different lead for him and gave me reasons to use a chain kind.  I think it is rather funny I have my current style of leads in three different colours: black, brown, and light pink.  Pink... why of course I would have such a colour.  I wonder if I might find this new style of show lead in pink?  A dark, more masculine pink, of course.

Even though we worked really hard tonight, I think Oliver had fun and he should sleep really well.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

A male puppy in an all-pink-world, what is a little puppy to do?

I have been looking for the perfect collar and leash for Oliver. He’s our newest puppy and he is a boy-puppy. A male puppy in an all-pink-world, what is a little puppy to do?


I have tons of available collars and leashes I have picked up over the years in various shades of pink: bright neon pinks to light pastel pinks.

So for a while I was thinking of finding Oliver a nice simple dark purple collar and leash. It’s not pink, no so girly, but still within the worthiness of being Pretty in Pink.

I wanted a quick release collar instead of buckle-style and I wanted the leash to be 6 foot long. You would think it would be easy enough to find purple collar and leash but I did have a lot of trouble.

After months and months of searching I never did find Oliver a purple collar and leash. While shopping with a friend, my friend convinced me that this black collar and leash with bright pink paw prints would be perfect for Oliver. The pink paw representing being ‘Pretty in Pink’ and the black brings a more masculine side to the collar and leash.

So, now even Oliver get to be as stylish and endearing as Josie and his mommy, Caillee.
 

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

My Puppy Still has His Top Puppy Fangs

Poor Oliver is teething; he is losing teeth here and there.  Right now, I see he has not lost his top baby fangs yet and the adults one are coming in already.  This is very normal for Havanese but it is something to keep a close eye on.  It is important they lose those ‘hard to loose’ puppy fangs because if kept in too long. the puppy teeth may ruin the alignment of the adult teeth.

One way to remove them is to the baby fangs removed by your veterinarian when your Havanese is spayed or neutered.  Another way to remove them is to give your dog raw chicken bones often during their teeth period.  I normally give raw chicken wings at meal times and for snakes.  The bones are yummy, they enjoy them, and they we work at these bones breaking them apart which helps to loosen those ‘hard to loose’ puppy fangs.

A friend of mine gave me some individually frozen chicken bones.  What a great idea.  The coldness soothes their gums and the chicken is so yummy they will still work hard at eating them.

I also give beef marrow bones, also known as soap bones, and these bones work too at loosening those baby fangs but not as well as the raw chicken.  The great things about beef marrow bones are dogs enjoy them and the dogs work away at digging out the marrow for hours.  The dogs are entertained so you can work at something else without your four-paw shadow and the bones help to keep their teeth clean.  You still have to brush their teeth but the bones help reduce tartar build-up.

Talk to your veterinarian about this and before changing your dog’s diet.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

The pressure is on to practice...

 Oliver had a really good handling class session yesterday evening. There was only one Havanese, Oliver, and a Papillon in class; so, Oliver got at lot of one-on-one attention.

Oliver ‘was on’ and was doing so well. He was walking on his show leash so smartly in class. Gee, the pressure is on for a repeat performance at next class. I guess we are going to have to practice.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Oliver takes the Go Train

What a weekend Oliver has had. His weekend started off on Friday night when Hubby and I took him to Niagara Falls for a long walk. My goal for Oliver on Friday was to get him used to crowds.

We walked up and down Clifton Hill and proceeded to the Falls. After a while he was walking smartly on a leash beside me while we walked through crowds literally. Oliver wasn't stepped on and he was doing very well. He was sure tired when he got home.

On Sunday, I really wanted him to get some more travel experience so we took a trip to Rens' Depot in Oakville to see about picking up a few show related items. We also came back with three toys I had not planned on bringing home but who can resist?!

That could have been good enough but I thought we had some extra time that day and why not take the Go Train and see how Oliver does traveling on a train.

From Burlington, we jumped on the Go Train to Union Station in Toronto. We walked around for a bit and checked out some possible airport run type of services.

According to the Go Train website, I should be able to get to the Toronto airport using their service right from Grimsby. Their website isn't very clear on the matter and when I asked around, no one seemed to be clear about it either and looked as though they too were having just as much trouble figuring all the connecting services to get to the airport. It would seem getting to Pearson airport using the Go Train service may be risky business.   MetroLinks (Go Transit) recently announced improvements to their airport service but unfortunately they won't be ready for upcoming trip to Halifax.

While in Toronto I did find another service with Toronto Airport Express which could take Oliver and I to the Toronto airport as long as I could get to Toronto. Taking the Go Transit service plus this other independent service may be my cheaper route to go versus using Niagara Airbus service which is a door to door airport shuttle service.

After some time in Toronto, it was time to go home via the Go Train of course. Both there and back Oliver did very well. No one heard a peek from him and I don't think too many people realized there was a dog on board with them.

We walked about the grass for a while before heading back into the car. I was please to see Oliver didn't seem phased by all this traveling he had just done and still seemed himself.

I realize a commuter train is not the same as an airplane but it was the closest Oliver is going to get to the real thing for a while. I find the airplane can do funny things to dogs, even with dogs who travel a lot. Take Caillee for instance. After her first airplane ride, she was really out of it for the whole next day. Even then I would have described her as a seasoned traveler going from one dog show to the next, and some as far away as Edmonton, Alberta back when we were living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

When Oliver and I travel to Halifax to this years' Canadian Havanese Nationals, I am totally planning on Oliver needing a day to collect himself and if he ends up not needing that day well then he too can enjoy an extra day in Halifax with me.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs