# What is the best "New Hav Bible"?



## Napria (May 17, 2015)

I've been reading as much here as I can to prepare for my new guy in a few weeks, but I feel like I'm all over the place instead of taking things step-by-step. 

I'm not a new dog owner, but I haven't had a dog for over a year and it's been 14 years since I had a puppy. And I know owning a Havanese will be a somewhat different experience than owning the other breeds of dogs I've had in the past.

Can anyone recommend a book that is a good resource for raising a Havanese?

Also, is there a resource or glossary section on this forum? I'm not familiar with some terms, methods and products that I've seen mentioned (i.e. "ex-pen")

Thank you everyone for your patience with my questions!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Napria said:


> I've been reading as much here as I can to prepare for my new guy in a few weeks, but I feel like I'm all over the place instead of taking things step-by-step.
> 
> I'm not a new dog owner, but I haven't had a dog for over a year and it's been 14 years since I had a puppy. And I know owning a Havanese will be a somewhat different experience than owning the other breeds of dogs I've had in the past.
> 
> ...


Hi, and welcome! Unfortunately, IMO, there IS no good book specifically about raising and training a Havanese puppy.  There is a good book on grooming, though, called "From Nose to Tail": http://www.havanesefanciers.com/nosetotailbook/?q=purchasethebook

The best book, by far, IMO, on raising a puppy (of any breed!) is "The Focused Puppy": http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/product/2502/focused-puppy.htm

There is no glossary on the Havanese forum, but feel FREE to ask any questions you have about any terms youa re unfamiliar with. "Ex-pen" is an "exercise pen", and is considered an essential by most puppy owners these days, no matter what the breed. It gives you a safe, secure place to leave your puppy when you can't be CLOSELY supervising them, until they are fully potty trained and past the getting-in-trouble ages&#8230; so probably for at least the first year.  There are a number of different brands and types, but here is a common, fairly inexpensive one:
Amazon.com : Midwest Exercise Pen, 24-Inch, Black : Pet Playpens : Pet Supplies


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

Thank you so much, Karen!

I've purchased a Piddle Place. Should that go in the ex pen?

Also, can anyone give me insight, tips or personal experience on the best way to introduce a Havanese and kitten? The kitten is 9 months old, and very sweet.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Napria said:


> Thank you so much, Karen!
> 
> I've purchased a Piddle Place. Should that go in the ex pen?
> 
> Also, can anyone give me insight, tips or personal experience on the best way to introduce a Havanese and kitten? The kitten is 9 months old, and very sweet.


Personally, I believe in LOTS of indoor potties! We have one in the kitchen, one in my office, one in our bed room and one in her ex-pen. Of course, we use litter boxes, so those are less expensive than a Piddle Place, but I want her to ALWAYS have an appropriate potty option close by. She spends most of her time either in my office or the kitchen with me. At night she sleeps in a crate, but if she needs an early morning potty break, the litter box is there so that I can easily potty her and we both go back to sleep. And, of course, the one in her ex-pen so that she has an appropriate place to go there too.

Using this system and CLOSE (meaning EYES ON) supervision when she is in any other area of the house, she has been completely errorless since her first week home. (the couple of "accidents" the first week were when family members locked her away from her litter boxes!) She's 14 1/2 weeks old. Incidentally, we used this same system for our 6 year old Hav also.

As far as the kitten is concerned, I would have all early interactions with the puppy inside the ex-pen and the kitten outside, where it can retreat if it feels threatened. Kittens have very sharp claws, and if they feel threatened, no matter how sweet and friendly they are, they can seriously damage a puppies eyes if they swat.

We have an older cat, and she has never really gotten to the point that she LIKES the dogs, but she tolerates them as lower life forms.


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

*Using a Piddle Place with an ex pen*



Napria said:


> Thank you so much, Karen!
> I've purchased a Piddle Place. Should that go in the ex pen?


Hi Napria and welcome to the community. I have experience with the Piddle Place and ex-pens. Here is an image of my Hav Rory in her ex pen. It has an optional divider that separates that toilet area. I found this set up ideal, particularly in the early stages.










When you train your pup to use a Piddle Place in an ex pen, you have to remember to keep the door open when your Hav is out of the pen, so it can return to use the toilet. I use a little piece of wire to hold the door open.

If you click here you can see an animated gif of her returning to use the Piddle Place all by herself.

When Rory was allowed to sleep on my bed I put a second Piddle Place in the bedroom because I close the door. She always uses it during the night so it was a good investment. I tucked it in a corner out of the way.






I'm sure you have it well it hand, but for me it was very effective to positively reinforce Rory's use of the Piddle Place with a treat of 3-5 pieces of dry kibble. Rory is fed a raw diet so dry kibble makes a convenient treat.

One final thing I would add is to use a verbal instruction such as "Go potty" when your pup uses the Piddle Place. That way when you're taking them outside to go potty they make the connection and understand what you expect. Also, just like having kids use the bathroom before a car trip, you can do the same with your dog.

The Canadian club's grooming book Karen recommended is excellent. I also learned quite a bit from "The Havanese by Diane Klumb and Joanne Baldwin".


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

Thanks Gary (and Rory!). I watched the video and ordered the pen you've got, along with the divider and wire top. I've got that kitty to keep out 

You might want to know that your link to the pen on HavaneseWorld.org takes you to a listing where the product is no longer available. This actually worked out better for me because I did a little digging and found the pen in dark wood, which is what all the furniture in my house is.


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

So glad you found the information helpful. I fixed the link. Richell has discontinued the white model.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Deacon Blues said:


> So glad you found the information helpful. I fixed the link. Richell has discontinued the white model.


I WISH I could justify the cost of the Richell pens&#8230; they are gorgeous!!!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

What size is this one? Can it be used for a new puppy?


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

krandall said:


> I WISH I could justify the cost of the Richell pens&#8230; they are gorgeous!!!


My justification is to be able to keep our new little one in the center of everything in our home. We have carpeting in our living room and I knew I wouldn't put a typical (from what I could see) ex pen on carpeting, but this pen has a base/tray. Plus, the style and dark wood will coordinate nicely with my traditional living room. But, yes, they are expensive.

I hope I don't confuse the puppy because I have a traditional crate that will be his bed. It will be upstairs in my bedroom, next to my bed. I want to be responsive to pottying needs.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Napria said:


> My justification is to be able to keep our new little one in the center of everything in our home. We have carpeting in our living room and I knew I wouldn't put a typical (from what I could see) ex pen on carpeting, but this pen has a base/tray. Plus, the style and dark wood will coordinate nicely with my traditional living room. But, yes, they are expensive.
> 
> I hope I don't confuse the puppy because I have a traditional crate that will be his bed. It will be upstairs in my bedroom, next to my bed. I want to be responsive to pottying needs.


That won't confuse him at all!!! Pixel sleeps in a crate in our bedroom too, and has since her first night home! (in fact, our breeder started the pups in crates, side by side, so they could smell their siblings, a few days before they went home.


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

Napria said:


> My justification is to be able to keep our new little one in the center of everything in our home. We have carpeting in our living room and I knew I wouldn't put a typical (from what I could see) ex pen on carpeting, but this pen has a base/tray. Plus, the style and dark wood will coordinate nicely with my traditional living room. But, yes, they are expensive.
> 
> I hope I don't confuse the puppy because I have a traditional crate that will be his bed. It will be upstairs in my bedroom, next to my bed. I want to be responsive to pottying needs.


Rory has a second wire crate and it hasn't confused her. They figure things out pretty quickly.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

"What is the best "New Hav Bible"? " This forum is it , 9 plus years from thousands of people and experiences. Use the search feature ,there's nothing we haven't talked about. Enjoy


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## prettysmartchic (Jul 21, 2012)

Deacon Blues said:


> Hi Napria and welcome to the community. I have experience with the Piddle Place and ex-pens. Here is an image of my Hav Rory in her ex pen. It has an optional divider that separates that toilet area. I found this set up ideal, particularly in the early stages.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Deacon! Question... Getting my second Hav and wondering about the amount of time to transition to outdoor potty only?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

prettysmartchic said:


> Hi Deacon! Question... Getting my second Hav and wondering about the amount of time to transition to outdoor potty only?


My question is, "why would you want to?"  I've never met a dog yet who didn't learn pretty quickly to potty outdoors. By maintaining their interest in an indoor potty, you have a solution for them when you need to (occasionally) be away forlonger than they could comfortably hold it, and also for those times when the weather isn't good. Even in SoCal, there are occasional heavy rains, and those dogs, in particular, aren't used to pottying in the rain. it can cause a lot of stress for both dog and owner, which could be avoided if the dog was also trained to an indoor potty.

My Kodi is 6 years old. He MUCH prefers pottying outdoors. Last winter, with "Snowmagedon" here in the Northeast, I as VERY thankful that he had an indoor potty to turn to on those mornings when we woke up faced with another 2' of snow piled against the doors!


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

I have a question about the Richell ex pen divider. It looks like it's there, in Rory's pen. I did purchase one, but wouldn't I want my little guy to be able to access his Piddle Place? Why/when to use the divider?


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

prettysmartchic said:


> Hi Deacon! Question... Getting my second Hav and wondering about the amount of time to transition to outdoor potty only?


I agree with Karen, why would you want to? To answer your question though, I think the transition time would depend more on you than on your dog. If you're home all day and hyper-attentive it could be relatively quick; if you're out of the house for extended periods it might be difficult.

If I were going to do it (and I personally would not), then I would use a motion detector to tell me when the dog has gone to the area the indoor toilet used to be, so I could quickly redirect outside.

You can read about using a motion detector here: http://havaneseworld.org/potty-trained-puppy-iphone-webcam-motion-detector/


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

Napria said:


> I have a question about the Richell ex pen divider. It looks like it's there, in Rory's pen. I did purchase one, but wouldn't I want my little guy to be able to access his Piddle Place? Why/when to use the divider?


Hi Anne, I'm glad you asked this. It appears Richell has made some design changes and at the beginning of June began to offer a "new" expandable pet pen and a "new divider".

Both dividers have a door so your pup can go through. The divider is used to formally separate the puppy's living area from it's latrine area because as you know they don't like to soil their living area.

I've been looking closely at the "new divider" and it appears the changed from a sliding door, and now you take one side of the panel out as shown in this picture:










The net effect is the same, separating the two areas. I have not had occasion to close the door once, so whether it slides or pulls out is not a big deal for me.


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

Thanks Gary! That makes sense.

I hope I purchased the right divider when I bought the Richell ex pen. The divider, top, bed, Piddle Place all came in. The ex pen shipped, but isn't expected to arrive for a week.


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## Deacon Blues (Nov 22, 2013)

Napria said:


> Thanks Gary! That makes sense.
> 
> I hope I purchased the right divider when I bought the Richell ex pen. The divider, top, bed, Piddle Place all came in. The ex pen shipped, but isn't expected to arrive for a week.


We're all looking forward to seeing plenty of pictures!


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