December 17, 2007 - The theme for this litter is fictional detectives.
After all, lookiing at these guys there is no mystery to breed type!
So, their registered names will be:
Tehas Phillip Marlow (was Tinker)
Tehas Sherlock Holmes (was Evers)
Tehas Nick Charles (was Chance)
Tehas Miss Jane Marple (was Royo)

December 15, 2007 - Evers is now in his new home and his call name is Maximo Gomez
Bob Weiner and his family are just the kind of home all breeders hope our puppies
find; that little guy is going to be loved and spoiled! I hope to get some
pictures of "Max" with his new family.

December 1, 2007 - Well, finally catching up and reposting the updates
on these puppies. We loaded up the car with four puppies and four adults and went
to Fourny TX, up near Dallas, for BAER Tests. They travelled like veterans, and
everyone passed, as we expected. The problem is that no on in Houston does BAER
testing. Well, there is one vet that does but they sedate the dogs, and we just
don't like to sedate when it isn't necessary. I've been trying to talk our vet
into getting a BEARCOM for testing; they could pay for it fairly quickly.
I'm still not sure who i like best in this litter; they all look really nice
at this point. One puppy is heading up to his new home with a family in New
York City next week. Another is going to be going to a show home in Oklahoma;
We want to keep the girl, and one of the boys is just so nice we may decide to
run him on for a time unless he finds a show home in Houston.
These puppies may be nicer than Nika's first litter, and they are just
so much fun. Their favorite game is for me to lay down on the floor, and
they crawl all over me like the Lilliputians in Gulliver's Travels.

November 4, 2007 - We apologize for not getting more pictures of the puppies
posted. We've been taking them, I promise, and early next week I'll have them here! Its just
so hard to pull away from watching them, and playing with them, and then there is all that "w word"
(you know... work) that we both have to do. Today everyone got their second bath and second
time for nails to be trimmed; other than just being squirmy puppies with an attention span of
7 seconds, they don't seem to object. We will probably keep Royo, and I may want to "run on"
on of the guys; if the are as good as Bobby and Nika's first litter - so far they seem to be -
these will be really nice Havana Silk Dogs.

October 30, 2007 - Its amazing how the puppies change so quickly
At 7 weeks, neurological development is complete. Their personalities are developing. They are
more active playing together. When we go outside, the pups love to play chase with Diva and mom.
Of course, the adult males just sit up on a chair and watch. The pups explore all over they yard
and mom keeps a very watchful eye; if they wander off where she can't see one, she's off to
round them up even if she has to tug on a tail or ear to do it.
The pups have been wormed and will get their first puppy shots tomorrow. We'll give
these at home so they won't be exposed, and then they'll get the second shots when
we take them in for well-puppy exams. They are eating lots now, though when mom lets them
the pups still like a taste of milk. With teeth arriving mom isn't willing to nurse for long.

October 24, 2007 - I'm leaving today for Virginia, first to spend
a couple of days with Bill and Diane and then off to Virginia Beach to the very first
Havana Silk Dog Specialty. Our first plan was to drive and take all the dogs, but its really
too much to ask for the 6 week old puppies. Pat decided she would stay with the puppies and Steve
is flying to the show with Diva. Not sure show gets the better of this deal: Steve gets to visit
with the other Havana Silk people and be showing, but Pat gets to have puppy fun!

October 21, 2007 - We have some new pictures that I hope to get posted
soon. Its a nice warm day and we took them outside. Mostly they wanted to stay
close to mom, but after a bit they did a little exploring, trying out the feel of
grass or the deck under their feet, checking out interesting new scents.
They all
seem eager to meet the world!
They've started eating solid food, but they just skipped right over our "mush" preparation.
Nika kept eating that; we'll have to remember how much she likes that puppy food if we ever
need to put more weight on her. I kept trying to get the puppies to eat it, and then Thursday
we discovered they were eating out of mom's bowl. They went straight to kibble, even without
teeth. Tinker and Evers are beginning to show teeth.
We bring them from their puppy condo into the bedroom for a while every night, to give them a
chance to play with the other adult dogs and to spend a little special socialization time with us.

October 10, 2007 - AS they get more sure of themselves the puppies
are beginning to explore. For now their world is usually a 4' x 8' puppy condo.
They have a piddle pad, and a box with Purina Second Nature puppy litter. Even puppies
know they want a place to potty, and they toddle over to the pad and the box - well, most
of the time. We've put down a mush for them but so far they aren't really interested in
in anything to eat except mom's milk.
There are some hints of personality. Tinker and Royo seem to explore a little more, and
Evers and Chance are the ones that like to be held the most.

October 3, 2007 - It's just amazing what difference a week makes.
Saturday and Sunday we watched their eyes open. They are responding to sound.
To help socialize them we occasionally play CD with various sounds on it; this
helps desensitize puppies to normal sounds like a telephone, a train whistle in
the distance, the dishwasher or vacuum cleaner
And they are up and walking. Not really sure of themselves, and not always going
where they intend to; little wobbly helpless puppies are just adorable at this age.

September 26, 2007 - Two weeks old and everyone is
growing and doing great. They are pushing up on their legs and wobbling a little.
When we pick them up for a little they cry for mom; when we take mom for a walk
they cry for mom; when mom goes to eat or get a drink, they cry for mom. Oh, yeah,
they want more milk. The other dogs have all checked out the puppies. Diva likes
to lay close by and watch them, but she doesn't get to close. Laptop is curious,
stretching his head to sniff. And Bobby takes a look and then gives us a look
that seems to say, I'll pay attention to them when they grow up.
There are more pictures.

September 19, 2007 - Nika is such a good mom! Thanks, Bill and Diane
of Bydand for her. She only gained a little over 2 pounds with these puppies.
She seems to have a little more milk with this litter; they are growing faster
than her first litter. Its fun to just sit and watch them even though all they
do is nurse and sleep. Every day we pick up each one, getting them familiar
with human touch and vibrations. The first pictures are up.

September 12, 2007 - Hello World! from Tinker, Evers, Chance, and Royo.
Good moms come from good moms, and Nika certainly got her mom's genes.
No signs the last couple of days that she was nesting or getting close, but
because the testing we did for ovulation timing, we were sure today would
be the day. At 4:30, she finally started nesting, so we moved her to the
whelping pen. At 5:55 am, she had the first pup, a boy. By 6:51, she was done!
Three boys and a girl; their puppy names are Tinker, Evers, Chance, and Royo.
Tinker was the largest at 5.9 oz, and each was slightly smaller, ending with
Royo at 5.2 oz. Mom never needed any help, she looked at us a few times like she
was saying "Go get coffee, I'm doing just fine." And she was! Tinker is black with
has a little white on his chest and feet; Evers is ALL black; Chance has tiny white
tips on his back feet, and Royo has a little more white than Tinker, but not much.
Watch for pictures soon!

September 10, 2007 - She's gained a little over 2 pounds.
Now she's spending more time sleeping, laying in the whelping pen,
and generally resting up! I guess we are more nervous than she is.
She's started nesting in the closet, so it should be getting close now.
We couldn't find the heating pad so I went shopping. All those things
now seem to come with "auto-off" features. Now that's a great addition
if you fall asleep, but its not what you want for keeping puppies warm!
I went to 5 stores before I finally found one that would allow continuous
heating.

September 4, 2007 - She has 4 puppies, according to the x-ray.
They are due on the 11th or 12th. When we go for a walk, she's eager to
go, and she moves right along but she's not as interested in exploring
as she goes. And she doesn't want to go as far. She still jumps on chairs
and the bed in the guest room, but our bed is higher, and she waits for
us to pick her up. She looks up at me with an expression that says
"i'm a Princess." and waits.

August 18, 2007 - Nika is eating lots! And seems to be
filling out a little faster than with her previous pregnancy.
She spends a little more time resting in protected spaces; her
favorites are the dark closet or burrowing down into pillows or
bedding. She's quiet, unless one of the other dogs looks at her toys.
Then she reminds them that even if she's the smallest dog in the
house, she's still the Alpha bitch.

August 10, 2007 - Ultrasound and Palpation confirms that Nika is going
to be a mom again. We were sure from her behavior that she is pregnant,
but its always good to confirm it. We are giving her extra time outside
for the vitamin D. She loves it; Nike is a "follow the sun" girl. As the
sun moves and shade covers her, she gets up and moves back into the sun.
It's time to start checking the whelping supplies and scheduling time off.
The puppies should arrive around September 11 or 12.

July 12, 2007 - We took Nika to the Vet for pre-breeding checkup
and testing for ovulation timing. Bobby has been telling us "It's time!",
and the testing confirmed that he's right. We plan to breed them three
times over the next four days, so sometime around the second week of
September, there will be newborn Havana Silk Dogs at Tehas.

Steve Harris & Patricia Stein Havana Silk Dogs Exhibitors and Breeders Houston, Texas | ©2005 - 2008 Tehas Havana Silk Dogs You are Visitor #