Happy Halloween!

Mom, when do we go back to the eating of the pumpkin?


Can I bite your throat and get the hat off at the same time?

The pillow says it all...

Isabelle wants everyone to know her resting spot...

Belle & Dora's day in Claremont!

We have a great friend, Leslie from the Havanese Forum with a new havanese puppy (as you will see Tori is adorable) and we joined them for a day at the art festival in Claremont, CA. We had yummy food, a few trinkets, and a fun doggy filled day. Tori was learning to walk on leash so we got some good breaks, and even took the stroller (BTW-here 4 wheels would be better in such a tight space!) The girls were even able to join Tori in a RLH session, which Tori was even wanting to run around after awhile! We had a great time and it made me think Dora would be a great big sister (Belle is still her same self!)

Do dogs recognize their own breed?

Some people question if dogs can really do this. If you saw Isabelle around another maltese, you would probably say yes. Isabelle gets crazy around other maltese and last night there were quite a few. Belle was even smaller than some of hte puppies and she puts on this tough bossy attitude with them! Thank goodness she is so cute and little!

PetSmart Halloween Party

The stroller is hardcore tested!

We hiked up Runyon Canyon which is an awesome off leash dog park. We decided to take the stroller since it is 3.5 miles and straight up. This way we could take the camera, the dogs, the water, the treats, etc. We had a great time. We did have a huge scare with a pit bull... well I think the owner was in the wrong for bringing an unsocialized dog to a offleash dog park and yanking him around on leash. Thank goodness Belle has so much hair to protect her and when the dog grabbed her, she went flying about 15 feet. This all happened, while the owner was yanking him by his prong collar!!! Belle took about 10 mins to recover but pretty shaken up and we decided to leave the park. By the time we got down to the bottom, she was social and didn't want back in the stroller-come on hiking is too much fun! I think the next time we go, we make sure it isn't a weekend and we really watch any dogs coming up. Belle wasn't visiting with this dog but the owner gave it too much leash. I am not sure Belle understood what happened. She was even scared when people walked by her afterwards- so she went into the stroller for a bit.

Now that we are safe! The stroller was wonderful, it has a braking system which is great for going down hill. It is able to go up and down rocky areas, it has good traction, good maneuvering and we had TONS of compliments! (Okay Jeep-send Belle and Dora another one and some cards to hand out!) I also love that it has a smaller mesh area for Belle to see out- she is only 7 3/4 inches tall so this is perfect or she would probably destroy it while waiting for me to drink water and keep moving! What I would say would improve it- I would like to be able to have the dogs secured with a collar hook up so the mesh netting could be left down. Folding up easier would be nicer and even more so- when you fold it up, it would be nice to have a handle to carry it. I have about 30 stairs to go down from my house to my car... not an easy thing when you are also carrying two dogs!

A new family vehicle!

I made the decision to get the girls a stroller. We often find ourselves going on long hikes and the girls really are limited on how far they should walk and what ground. So far it is a big hit!

Not so girly!

Dora on the other hand, prefers to indulge in toys! A friend on the Havanese Forum highly recommended a new toy and Dora completely agrees! Dora loved it so much, she decided to donate one for the Havanese Rescue and their auction (we will post it as soon as it is available!)

Why stop shopping?

There are 2 girls in the family who needed a new bag!

Shop Till You Drop Maltese!

One of my favorite things about Belle is they way she truly endulges her mother in shopping. Isabelle LOVES new things. It doesn't matter what it is, she gets so excited... clothes, bags, toys, and food! We went to the Pasadena Humane Society Waggle Wiggle Walk and we were able to indulge the Maltese!

Dora gives her sexy smile!

Who needs a dog bed?

I admit my dog is a lot like me-Dora is a lazy butt. She doesn't like to get out of bed especially on the weekends! She uses what she can as her escape to not have to touch her princess feet on the damp grass!!!

More Color!

What is more colorful than a pink poodle, how about a tied dyed one?




Lilly is an amazing puppy who has quite a future in agility. Her mommy heard about a cute trick contest and decided to show what her little fairy can do!

Life with color!

What happens when you are a cute adorable black poodle with a Mom with amazing grooming skills yet too much time on her hands... you end up a pink poodle for a little kid birthday party!

Okay the only thing cuter than a pink poodle is a pink maltese or a purple havanese... I might need one of those for my birthday!

Daddy begins his new job and someone misses him!

pocahantas havanese

Making my Havanese not look like a Maltese! Since Dora almost always has a top knot to match Belle's we are going to try the braids after seeing some at a havanese club meeting and on havanese forum, I am motivated to really give it a try! I need to do tighter braids and Dora needs a bit more hair but she already likes it better than a top knot!

It is about darn time we got some patio furniture!

Someone was very appreciative of the new purchase and the cushions!

A changed girl...

The most interesting things since our move, has been the change in Isabelle. I don't know if it is the warm weather or what but Belle is a new girl. She is nice at the dog park, she isn't barking at the strangers walking by, she is playing at home, and she is listening to us when we call her, etc. She wants to play all the time and love us when she stops.

We did have the biggest scare last week and maybe it made Belle realize she loves her home. I left to go to the grocery store and Isabelle decided to sneak out of both gates, down the stairs and look for me. Jim called my cell phone to yell at me for not telling him that I took Belle with me. I paniced and ran out the grocery store to rush home. Jim called me right before I got there saying he found Belle. She was up the mountain and when he called her, she came running. She didn't leave our side the rest of the day. I think she was as scared as we are. Thank goodness it was only minutes and Belle was fine.

Sexiest thing on the beach!

We took the girls to Malibu and Dora was in love! Just as I expected, she ran up and down the beach! Dora ran into the ocean and was so thrilled, she was knocked off all 4 feet. As soon as the ocean hit Isabelle she ran as fast as she could and that was it for beach pictures. She went up to the safety of the dry beach there after! I think we love California at this point!

A familar relative!

Yesterday, the girls stayed home while we went to San Diego Zoo. I was able to meet a relative of the girls though! They had this wolf clicker trained to target things, howl, and show some other behaviors. It was interesting to note that they had the wolf live with a dog. Same with the Cheetah. They lived with a Golden Retriever so the dog would come out near the audience too showing the wolf that everything was okay. When you are able to get close to them... it is hard to see them for something other than big puppies! I bet Belle could keep him in her pack!

It was also interesting to see the variety of animals they brought out and the fact they used clicker to train them for simple behaviors!