# What words CAN'T you say around your havie??



## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

We all know how smart our Havies are. They readily recognize words associated with their daily activities like "outside" or "potty" and commands words like "sit, stay, come, down, leave it, etc" when we're addressing them. But we are constantly amazed at how much they understand of our conversation when we are NOT directing our comments toward them - and they are basically laying there sleeping on the couch while we watch TV or work in the office! 

There are certain words and phrases we have to avoid at our house unless we are prepared for Daisy and Beau's responses:

The words "walk" or "leashes" cues them up for a neighborhood stroll...

"Go" or "ride" heads them toward the garage door....

"Treat" or "snack" gets them headed toward the kitchen...although we haven't moved from the couch. It's just DH asking about his snack options!

The word "time" will pop their heads up to see what we're going to do next.

"Bath" usually sends them scurrying out of the room and under a desk to hide LOL!!

The phrase "coming to see" or "coming over" gets them headed for the front door (usually barking!). They are SURE a family member is at the other side - although I may have been simply telling DH that one of our kids is "coming over" later this afternoon....

They also respond to things they see us doing. If I pick up my purse, those little tails droop because they KNOW I'm headed out the door! Then they roll over for a tummy-rub before I leave. Boy do they know how to work the situation!!

How about your genius Havanese??


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

Car and ride sends Tucker into a tizzy with much whimpering.

Treat, off he goes to the pantry.

Ball, he looks all over until he finds it.

Little girls (granddaughters), running back and forth between the front and back door looking for them.

Bird, running all over the back yard looking for them.

When he sees us getting ready to leave the house, he lays in front of the door leading to the garage. 

About 10 p.m. each night, he sits at the bottom of the stairs waiting for us to go up to bed. We don't have to say anything about bedtime. 

They're smart little dogs and really know their peep's.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Treat, of course they run to the kitchen and sit in front of the cupboard where their treats are kept

Wanna (blank), gets their heads up and tilted looking at me, even if I'm asking Tim "wanna have (blank) for dinner?" LOL

Park, Stella starts running in circles

If I open the drawer where their harnesses, collars, and leads are kept, Stella dances around excitedly and Roscoe lies by the front door and whines a little

Cheese, they're sitting in front the fridge

Let's Go (or if I make a clucking noise), they both start following me around the house - Let's Go is our command for heel

Daddy or "see you soon" they both wait by the front door, Stella whimpers

If I start setting up their ex-pen, they both try to run and hide bc they know I'm going out

Time for Bed, they both head off to the bedroom, and if we don't follow, then run between wherever we are and the bedroom as if to say "MOM! DAD! Time for bed!!"


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

"Grandma's" Pepper will cling to my feet and look for me to put on his car harness so we can drive to her house.

"bike ride" causes him to dance by his bike trailer, waiting to be put inside.

"ice" has him rushing to the freezer.

"cookie" perks his ears up and he will watch to see if I'm getting the treats out.

"shower" has him rushing to the master bedroom so he can chew on a bully stick while I shower.

"bath" or "bath time" suddenly he's no where to be found.

"Sean's here" has him and the rest of the dogs barking & dancing by the front door.

"Let's go" has them all following me - wherever. 

If I start changing into cycling clothes Pepper will get excited and start shadowing me, not wanting to be left behind.

If I put on my walking shoes he heads for his stroller.

When I pick up my purse he lays down in his favorite spot, unless I've put on his car harness. Then, picking up the purse gets him uber-excited because we're heading out NOW.

When I put on my garden gloves and sun hat he lays by the front screen to watch me mow the front lawn.

When I pull out the vacuum he finds a quiet spot either by the front door or on one of the dog beds, out of the way.

He doesn't have to hear the word 'bath' to hide, either. When I take bath towels and his shampoo & conditioner out to the grooming area, he hides. Mind you, I can take towels and the BIG dog shampoo and he doesn't care. It's only when he sees me take HIS shampoo & conditioner that he hides.

Clever little fellow.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Same with Rosie about the bath. I have to hide all supplies. She doesn't react to my shampoo or towels; but let me pick up her comb or start downstairs with a towel and she is gone.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Say "banana" in our house, and Kodi goes NUTS!!! It's the ONLY thing he actally drools over.:laugh:


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Dizzie understands the same sort of things you have all mentioned,and Nellie has cottoned on double quick to all the words,but she still enjoys the being groomed where as Dizzie has only to hear or see me heading into the little room where the grooming equipment is kept,for him to skulk off with his tail literally between his legs and try and keep a low profile whilst I brush 1 of the cats [who love it]or Nellie.


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## Me+Sydney (Mar 5, 2010)

The funniest one I noticed recently was "come on up". I live in an apartment building so people buzz so I can let them in the door downstairs (via my phone). Apparently I say the same thing every time, because the last time I said "come on up" Sydney ran in circles in front of the door frantically waiting for whoever was coming! Too funny.

She also responds to, "Are you hungry?" Apparently I repeat myself a lot...


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## boo2352 (Dec 18, 2006)

Today I was inside reading, and a mosquito buzzed me. I went and put on bug spray, and MacGyver ran to the door for a walk!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Many of you know that I adopted a kitten and named her Josie Wales the outlaw kitty. Well being a cat now, she only responds to what she wants to if it suits her. but I have noticed that she is quite knowledgeble about language. If I say to Rosie, "lets go outside", Josie will jump over Rosie on the stairs and beat up to the door. She nearly tripped me the last time. And she knows to go to the door and squall to be let out--not Rosie. And lately she has learned to get out of the fenced area and them comes around the house to whatever door to whatever room I am in and squally to be let in. That one has me worried through, I am afraid she will decided to cross the road and well we don't even want to think about it. I am having her spayed next week, so she will probably wait until after I spend the money and then try to cross the road. So wish I hadn't gotten attached to her.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

"Do you wanna.... ?" and you can fill in any word

and all we have to say is "Whaa" and jasper gets the look of anticipation and paws us until we say Whaaalk. 

they both know "tricks" as in "do you wanna do tricks?"


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## rdanielle (Sep 2, 2008)

Say the word "hungry" and they're all dancing and barking and running around


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## jcarol (Mar 20, 2010)

Rikky goes crazy when you say squirrel or bird. He immediately runs to the back door and rings his bell to get outside. 

He comes running when he hears the words "ice" or "treat" and immediately goes to the front door when he hears "ride" or "leash". 

When I say I'm going up stairs he beats me to my room and when I say I've got to go bye bye, he runs and gets in his kennel/crate and waits for me to come shut the door. 
He also does this when I say "bedtime."

Rikky can't stand it when I pick up my iphone. He will bark for my attention or go get the ball...anything to draw my attention to him. It's amusing to see what he'll do next.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie is like the grandchildren, when I get on the phone, she tortures me. She knows that I am not paying attention to her so she tugs and growls, etc. I send to the GC to the other room; but Rosie won't go.


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## Wildflower (Dec 6, 2009)

Holly is 8 months old and already responds to a lot of things! 

If we say "ride" she gets so excited and runs into her travel kennel. "Boat ride" and she races to the back door in anticipation of getting on the boat. If we say our daughter's name she starts running around the house looking for her. A few others, too...

What cracks me up is this: whenever I give her a bath, the only way she'll stay calm is if I sing to her. She HATES her bath! So I sing "I Feel Pretty" (West Side Story) and she's quite happy. However, if someone sings "I feel pretty" now -- she runs and hides!


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

Carolyn - LMAO!! I can just picture you singing to Holly while bathing her!!!


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

"Pop corn", "bacon", "ball" 

For Benji "saying TV with words doggie, birdie, squirrel etc".


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

If DH and I are talking about a movie, or something I want to shop for, and I say, "I want to go see that." - Daisy and Beau go running to the front window to "go see".


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

Ollie is trained on about 20 commands, but he doesn't get excited by specific words like, 'walk' or 'treat'. But if he sees a pint of ice cream, or an ice cream bar, he'll follow me where ever I go!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

You can't win. From words, we went to spelling some things like b-a-l-l. Soon after some or ours learned how to spell, they became able to know what we are thinking.


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## dbeech (Jun 16, 2009)

Last night, I told my son to put something in the CAR. A few minutes later, I was looking for Riley. He was laying by the garage door waiting for us to get in the car.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Tom King said:


> You can't win. From words, we went to spelling some things like b-a-l-l. Soon after some or ours learned how to spell, they became able to know what we are thinking.


ound:

Out
Wanna
Uh-oh
treat, cookie
squirrel, bird, cat
walk
We do have to spell these words too to avoid the Hav crazies. Shelby will do her dance and Kodi will do his run around the living room.

Heaven forbid if they see their leash. They go bonkers.

PS - for everyone who knows knows Julian, he is 18 mos and we have to spell when we are talking because he is just too smart for his own good.


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

"Daddy's home" causes an absolute coup d'etat, "cookie", "go bye byes"-Pixie lives for this, MiG hides under the couch, "chicken" must be referred to as poultry or a riot will ensue, and MiG's new weird thing-"cup"(he runs to the water cooler and waits for you to fill a measuring cup with water). For some reason he thinks this is an incredible thing.


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

Beth - we call stuffed chipmunks "chip-chips". They love to have us throw them! 

As far as balls go, my havs aren't all that interested in tennis balls - but they LOVE to chase golf balls out on the golf course. (This is in the evening when the golfers are done for the day.) Golf balls roll like crazy on the greens and they don't get lost. For once, my DH can keep them out of the rough!! LOL


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

Do you mean the squirrels in the log (really chipmunks)? Mine go crazy over those too!! We have them in two sizes. The log got chewed up long ago, but the squirrels are still wildly popular.


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

Out or spelling out O-U-T. Both know what it means.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

Treat


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## whitBmom (Nov 27, 2006)

We can't say:

Treat
Food
Bath
Outside
Walk

I love how they tilt their head when they recognize what you are saying..


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

whitBmom said:


> We can't say:
> 
> Treat
> Food
> ...


Beau will turn his head from side to side whenever you're talking directly to him and he DOESN'T understand what you're saying. He is trying sooo hard to figure out what you want. Funny - this very trait was identified on the personality testing and I was told he would do well in agility etc because he was so tuned into what people were saying and what they wanted of him!


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Treat - of course!!

But WALK is the bad word here. Hubby goes out and walks or runs every morning -so for a while we renamed walk - cumquat - he was going for his cumquat! 
Now he just says - I am going for my "ya know"

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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Tom King said:


> You can't win. From words, we went to spelling some things like b-a-l-l. Soon after some or ours learned how to spell, they became able to know what we are thinking.


That is so funny, Tom! I really believe Abby reads my mind when I'm thinking about brushing her because she will take off and hide under the table!!!


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## klomanchiodo (Jul 5, 2010)

I don't know if they are responding to the door opening, or my husband saying, "Mommy's home!", but I get dogs barking dashing at me, and putting their paws up for hugs. What a greeting party - I love to come home from work!


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## CinnCinn (Mar 30, 2007)

Who's here? (They get excited for Company)
Car ride
Walk
Treat
Squirrel (it's their favorite stuffed toy...not the real thing)
Carlos (Grammie's Hav)
Saddle Up (car ride)
Dinner Time! (Actually, just the clanking of their plates and they come running)


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

Go
Ride in the Truck
Daddy's Home
Pizza- (tells you what we eat alot of)
walk
bath
go to work with me


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