# Bramble is here!



## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Hey guys! Bramble is now here 🙂 we collected him on Friday. He’s very tiny, and very fluffy! So much character... he loves playing, he’s already learnt to fetch. And so far no accidents in the house; his breeders have done a great job. 

The only ‘challenge’ so far is crying when he’s left alone, or thinks he’s been left alone. It’s early days, but it’s heart breaking to hear him. It’s already not as bad as Friday night, so I hope he’ll get accustomed to his new life without his siblings! Would welcome some encouragement on this!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Congratulations on your cute new addition! I remember asking myself on several occasions “What did I do? or was I crazy to get a puppy?”.
Of course this was after a night with poor sleep or a potty accident or going outside every 20 minutes because the puppy would not pee or poop. My Molly used to stand up in her crate, stick her nose through the bars, and scream! Just remember that this is a temporary learning phase for your puppy. There are so many new things they have to learn about living in your home and adjusting to your routine. Be firm in your commitment to confine while you are house training them and before long the protesting will stop. Eventually they will earn their freedom in your home and look at their crate or pen as their den or safe space and seek it out on their own.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

:welcome:


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## Ditto's Mom (Apr 29, 2007)

Hello and Welcome!:smile2:


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Thanks all for your replies. Very encouraging so far... the crying is vastly reduced, and he slept all night. No accidents in the house yet. He also seems to be more ‘independent’ than the first two days; he’s a little more content to chew his toys on the other side of the room.


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## Jeanniek (Mar 20, 2018)

Congratulations! He’s a cutie. I did follow advice I read somewhere that you leave the puppy, to start with, for a few minutes, as you go into another room, close by. Then come back and pet/play with the puppy. Once he’s comfortable with that, you go out a little farther, and also start extending the time you are gone. Your puppy will learn that you leaving doesn’t mean you aren’t coming back. Having toys and chewing sticks to play with while you are not there help a lot and are highly recommended.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Welcome Bramble & family! He's surely very busy playing, learning, and napping.

When you depart, don't make a big deal, put him in his crate, and go.
When you get back, same thing, no big deal.
They are a needy breed. I know they can get quit "loud" when left alone.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Welcome!


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## Vartina Ancrum (Oct 10, 2019)

Congratulations on your new cutie! Puppies are a lot of work and a lifetime commitment but they are so worth it.


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## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

Congratulations!! He is adorable . 

Everyone here has fantastic advice, so enjoy your puppy


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Congratulations! Bramble is precious!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

ONly give attention when he's quiet. DOn't reward the barking by responding to it, and that includes feeling anxiety over it. They know when they are getting to you.

Today, I taught a whole litter to be quiet before they could come out of their pen. They were barking to get out after waking up from a nap. I waited just out of sight until they were quiet, and then walked back towards the door to the pen. The instant one barked, I just turned around, and walked back out of sight. It took about 20 minutes, and I don't know how many repetitions, but they finally were all sitting by the gate quietly, and I opened the door for them.

When I have one by itself, and in a pen, I walk by a lot of times, completely ignoring them, go out of sight in different directions in the house, and that whether they are asking for attention, or not.

Everything you do, and don't do, is training. It's not just giving treats for performance.


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Great advice here, thanks everyone. I’m really keen to have a very well trained dog so I’m being as consistent as possible. Every day is better, no crying at all now. When he whines I am ignoring him until he’s quiet. 
I’m very glad to see him happily entertaining himself now too when I can’t be playing with him.
All good signs 🙂


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## BingLee (Oct 23, 2019)

Bramble, what a joy!! I agree with the group, having a puppy is a commitment of sheer joy. Brought my little guy home on 8/1/19, time has gone by so fast. Soon to be six months. The folks on this Forum are wise and have used their advice, products suggested, grooming tips all the time. Keep us posted and we love pictures. All the best, Bing Lee 🐶 and his Mom, Sherry

Bing 8.5 pounds


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## Geezer (Dec 2, 2018)

Hang it there, Tina is almost two and she still whines when she misses my wife or guest staying in our guest house.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Welcome to you and Bramble! Love the name!


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

A little update! We’ve had Bramble for two months or so now, he’s doing great! Very friendly and happy dog. He does not really cry at all now, a bit of whimpering when he knows we are ignoring him. He follows closely to heel and loves being in the local forests. 
He gets crusty hair under his eyes though, that’s quite hard to get out. He hates me touching anywhere near his eyes. Any tips there? 
Here is a photo of him... growing fast!


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

And another 🙂


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

BramblesPop said:


> A little update! We've had Bramble for two months or so now, he's doing great! Very friendly and happy dog. He does not really cry at all now, a bit of whimpering when he knows we are ignoring him. He follows closely to heel and loves being in the local forests.
> He gets crusty hair under his eyes though, that's quite hard to get out. He hates me touching anywhere near his eyes. Any tips there?
> Here is a photo of him... growing fast!


I use a cotton ball soaked with warm water or an unscented baby wipe to soften the eye gunk. Then I use my finger to get it off the hair if I can, or at least push it down from the eye area. Otherwise I use my face comb or a flea comb to get it off.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

What a cutie. I clean Willow's eyes every day. I use a damp cosmetic pad. Sometimes I'll use a drop or two of eye drops that are made for dogs to help clean them out if I can see hair or something on the eye.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

It looks like it's GREAT FUN to be Bramble.


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## HavFancier (Jan 25, 2020)

Hi, BramblesPop! Enjoy your adorable new addition. This is a really welcoming and helpful place.


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Hello all, 
it's been a while since I posted. 

It has been really awesome with Bramble so far. He's very much become part of the family. 
Hilarious, mischievous, cute, snuggly, annoying, amusing... you name it! 

He's grown a lot, he's around 5kg now but still looks tiny. 
Recently he lost his baby teeth, and I guess he's beginning adolescence now. 

I've noticed he seems to sleep A LOT now. Is that normal? 
He sleeps basically the whole day, and it's not until the evenings that he wakes up properly. 
He's incredibly high energy when he is awake, and all his behaviour seems great. 
I'm now working from home of course (like everyone) so maybe it's just I can observe him much closer than before! 

Is this just normal puppy behaviour at 6 months? 

And here are some recent photos... I trimmed his hair myself.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I can’t say what’s “normal,” but during adolescence I would say mine slept a lot but also had a lot more energy and intensity when he was awake. 

Cute pictures!


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

BramblesPop said:


> He's very much become part of the family.
> Hilarious, mischievous, cute, snuggly, annoying, amusing... you name it!


Yes, all of the above is typical Havanese behavior, including annoying. My Ricky can be annoying at times but in an enduring sort of way. I have to turn my back and giggle at times so he can't see me react to his "unacceptable" behavior, like selective hearing.



> He's grown a lot, he's around 5kg now but still looks tiny.


Sounds like within the parameters. i think he is going to be a big boy.



> Recently he lost his baby teeth, and I guess he's beginning adolescence now.


Adolescence evolves between 6 and 18 months generally.



> I've noticed he seems to sleep A LOT now. Is that normal?


Probably normal. Go to this thread to see what the range is, it may surprise you!
how-many-hours-does-your-havanese-typically-sleep-during-daytime


> He sleeps basically the whole day, and it's not until the evenings that he wakes up properly.


I bet if you took him for a couple of short walks during the day, he would wake up pronto!


> He's incredibly high energy when he is awake, and all his behaviour seems great.


VERY normal



> Is this just normal puppy behaviour at 6 months?


He sounds very typical and normal, and it only gets more fun as he matures



> I trimmed his hair myself.


You're a braver man than I am! :wink2:

Ricky's Popi


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Thanks for the update!

Shama sleeps a lot. I think that's normal for a Havanese. If you want Bramble to be slightly less wired in the evening, maybe you could take him for a walk or engage him in a play session in the middle of the day. 

Where does he sleep? Shama has access to her ex pen during the day when we're home (and she's locked in it when we're not home), but in the early evening, we don't allow her access. She has to stay out with us (where she does have about 10 other beds!) and only go back into her ex pen for her overnight.

Please keep the updates and the photos coming!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Bramble sure is cute! What a perfect name for him. Scout and Truffles both slept a lot and still do. 😊 You did a perfect puppy trim!


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## topuall (Jan 28, 2020)

Hello Bramble,
Im Milo
Here is my Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/milobearhavanese/?igshid=597mpisfnq02


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

I had to edit that photo to get a better look at those paws. Adorable!


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## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

oh my gosh...black pads in the white... that is freaking adorable!!


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Thanks guys! We love him! A lot! He’s loving the fact that I’m home all the time at the moment m, and he’s enjoying his first ever sunny weather! 

One new behavior I would love advice on... he’s starting growling and barking at unexpected things. E.g neighbours in their garden... somebody walking past the house... somebody knocking on the door. A pigeon! It’s like he’s become a little watchdog overnight! The thing is, I don’t need him to be a watchdog. 

So far whenever he does it me or my wife give him soothing attention and let him know how normal whatever is happening is. 

Is this just a phase? Or have I got a permanent little watchdog on my hands? He’s now 7 months old. 
Thanks!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Since he’s entering adolescence, I’d be really careful about it. It’s easy to manage the symptoms, for lack of a better word, which was my mistake. I had to backtrack a little. For instance, barking in the window is pretty normal, and I worked on removing him from the window, which worked to manage that behavior. But I didn’t recognize some other subtle guarding behaviors because I wasn’t really looking for them. Once I made the connection, I could see how those small behaviors were connected, and it was much more effective. 

Dave has posted some really good articles on guarding. One of them was actually more about adding a new dog to the home and it mentioned how guarding can play into that, but the more subtle behaviors it mentioned were helpful to me. (At least, I think I read that article here and Dave posted it!) 

I wouldn’t stress out about it, just stay on top of it. There’s a lot of emphasis on the importance of the early socialization window, but adolescence is another window in which new behaviors can develop so just don’t let down your guard quite yet  It helped me to do a lot of reading about it from different sources because most of the information out there describes more extreme guarding behavior, and that’s not at all where we were at.


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## BramblesPop (Sep 28, 2019)

Thank you so much for your response! Very interesting information 🙂
I’m sure we’ll manage to keep on top of the guarding behavior. We’ll try to nip it in the bud. Thanks again!


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## MamaLovesTchotchke (5 mo ago)

BramblesPop said:


> Hey guys! Bramble is now here 🙂 we collected him on Friday. He’s very tiny, and very fluffy! So much character... he loves playing, he’s already learnt to fetch. And so far no accidents in the house; his breeders have done a great job.
> 
> The only ‘challenge’ so far is crying when he’s left alone, or thinks he’s been left alone. It’s early days, but it’s heart breaking to hear him. It’s already not as bad as Friday night, so I hope he’ll get accustomed to his new life without his siblings! Would welcome some encouragement on this!


Bramble is ADORABLE! Cherish him! Have you tried a Snuggle Puppy and your tee shirt? That worked for Tchotchke.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

MamaLovesTchotchke said:


> Bramble is ADORABLE! Cherish him! Have you tried a Snuggle Puppy and your tee shirt? That worked for Tchotchke.


This thread is over 2 years old


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