# Introducing Mia



## JudyD (Feb 21, 2011)

Hello all, 
After searching through this site over the last couple days, I thought I would join, as it seems you all are incredibly helpful to one another, and certainly love your dogs. I've never owned a Havanese before, and I've never posted on a forum before, but this forum seems special, so I thought I would introduce myself and my Mia, as I suspect, I will be on this site a lot. 

I live in Pittsburgh, PA. I brought my Mia home when she was 8 wks old at 2 lbs 4 oz. She is now 11 wks and weighs 3 lbs 6 oz. The breeder thinks she will be about 9 lbs as an adult. She is so sweet and smart, and very active, but I can tell potty training is not going to be one of her strong points. LOL. 

So far, she has adapted exceptionally well to her new home, however, I have many questions. I'm real nervous about doing things right for this pup, so I suspect, as I said before, I'll be on this site a lot, and I'm looking forward to meeting some of you.


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## Pipersmom (Jul 27, 2009)

Welcome Judy & Mia! OMG what a face, that picture is absolutely adorable.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

welcome JudyB and welcome Mia.
(more pictures of your pup please).

Lots and lots of answers are answered on this forum.
Hope all is going well there and your're having lots of fun with your hav


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Welcome to you both!! I just joined last year when I brought my first havanese home.
It helps to have a reliable place to go when you have a specific question about this breed.
Mia looks like a sweetie...looking forward to more pictures too!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Your Mia looks so cute. Yes the house training takes a lot of time and consistency .


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

:welcome: to the forum! We're glad you joined!! This is a special place filled with lots of love for our pups and each other 
Mia is absolutely adorable, but you already know that 

Potty training, ehh..yes, that can be challenging for some of us, there are a TON of threads on the subject, if you are bored one night and feel like searching through them, there are lots of great tips and advice.

One of the biggest helps that I had in housebreaking was hanging the bells on the door (basically a ribbon with bells attached to it) and teaching her to ring it with her nose/body when she wanted to go outside because she didn't want to 'bark' to go outside like most other dogs do. That helped tons after the first week of them ringing the bell every 5 minutes because they think its the greatest trick in the world, ound: 

Kara


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new little girl, Mia! What a cute avatar photo with the head tilt! These characters are so much fun. You no doubt have already figured out that your life will never be the same!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

Welcome!! Mia is ADORABLE! Congratulations!!!
I am TOTALLY with Kara on the bells, after about 3 weeks of watching Tillie like a HAWK and being completely potty asorbed, I hook the bells up and showed her what to do... took her about 5 minutes to realize "I ring the bell, the door opens", honestly, she hasn't had an accident since!! ALTHOUGH, sometimes the bell ringing drives me BATTY! LOL But, it's worth it!!! It helps the pups to be able to comunicate to us and "tell" us that they need to go potty!
Glad to have you on the forum!!


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## JudyD (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm going to get some bells pronto. Thanks for the idea. At your request, I've attached a few more pictures of Mia, however, I'm not much of a photographer. The first one was taken by the breeder when she was 6 wks old.


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## mitrus (Apr 6, 2008)

All I can say is "OH MY WORD!!!"
She is adorable!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

TilliesMom said:


> Welcome!! Mia is ADORABLE! Congratulations!!!
> I am TOTALLY with Kara on the bells, after about 3 weeks of watching Tillie like a HAWK and being completely potty asorbed, I hook the bells up and showed her what to do... took her about 5 minutes to realize "I ring the bell, the door opens", honestly, she hasn't had an accident since!! ALTHOUGH, sometimes the bell ringing drives me BATTY! LOL But, it's worth it!!! It helps the pups to be able to comunicate to us and "tell" us that they need to go potty!
> Glad to have you on the forum!!


Just so you don't feel bad if the bells DON'T work, though, Kodi is a very smart little guy, and like Kara's Gucci, wouldn't bark to go out for the LONGEST time. We tried the bells for quite a while, and I consistently tapped the bells with his foot EVERY time we went out... He never did catch on, and I finally took them down because the only thing they did was scratch my door up!<g> That said, when he was about 1 1/2 he FINALLY started coming to me and giving a little bark when he needs to go out. Up until then, he was "potty trained", but I'm SURE the only reason we didn't have poop accidents was because I knew his schedule and took him out when I thought he would need to go AND he has a litter box that he could use if I mis-judged the timing.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

JudyD said:


> I'm going to get some bells pronto. Thanks for the idea. At your request, I've attached a few more pictures of Mia, however, I'm not much of a photographer. The first one was taken by the breeder when she was 6 wks old.


She's absolutely ADORABLE!!! She's a little young for bells to work really well yet, though, even in the best of worlds. At this point, you need to TEACH her when to go out and WHERE you want her to go. Many of us find that our pups are much more comfortable (and therefore more successful) if they also have an indoor potty spot... either a litter box, pee pads or other potty like the Ugo Dog,


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Welcome!!!!! JudyD. Your little girl Mia is just adorable. What a cute, cute face. Can't wait to hear more.


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

Welcome Judy and Mia - she is absolutely adorable - what a sweet face!


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## dodrop82 (May 21, 2010)

Well then, apparently with the beautiful subject, you don't need to be a good photographer, cause all those pictures are gorgeous! Congradulations on that baby, and Welcome! I too, just got a new pup (my second Hav...Yogi, my first is almost 2 years old) and she is also 11 weeks old. Alot of times, she'll got sit by the door when she has to potty. If we don't catch her sitting there for a moment, she'll pee where ever. And she seems to be thinking the kitchen is the best place to poo! And she seems to enjoy chewing everything and anything...shoes, edges of rugs, the stair banister, the flaps around the bottom of the couch...whew! She's much more of a handful then Yogi was! She's napping right now. I'm gonna try to get a shower in quick! Wish me luck!!! HaHaHaHaHa!!!!


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## AKathy (Mar 15, 2008)

Oh she is SOOOOOOO cute!! I did the bells thing with Stella and she caught on very quickly. I lucked out and she was potty trained very quickly too. I bring her bells along wherever we travel. When we get there, I show her which door I'm hanging them on and she uses them when she has to go outside. 
Now when she thinks I'm not getting to the door soon enough, she bats them again only much harder 

Hopefully Mia will train as fast as Stella did. I love the sweet pictures, can't wait to see more.


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Well Mia is gorgeous, and your photos are great so no excuse not to keep them coming!!I love my Havs to bits, but I must say they were not the easiest to potty train!They have pee pads in the house for when the weather is really bad, or when I am out.But mainly they go outside, and Nellie bangs the cat flap when she wants out,or in!Dizzie just tags on behind her, she taught herself this trick,after watching the cats,sometimes it is really funny as you see her poking her head through the flap, if she thinks you have not heard her or answered the door as quickly as she would like!


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

Welcome Judy. I agree with everyone else, Mia, is a real beauty. Tucker never caught on to the bells. He stands up on the door or comes up to us and paws us to let us know he needs to go out. I'm one of the fortunate ones when it comes to potty training. At the age of 4 mos. Tucker never used the pee pads again. He hasn't had an accident in the house either. My DH and I are retired so one of us took him outside to potty every 30 to 45 min. when he was awake. I truly think this consistency was what worked. When they're little it's just like having a baby in the house again. Every thing revolves around them. Enjoy your precious little girl. Just like human babies, they grow up much too fast.


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## Ninja (Nov 1, 2010)

She is sooo cute. Congrats!!! I love the photos


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

What a cute little button face! Who cares about potty training when you can look at that adorable mug? Ha, ha!


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Be still my heart. Mia is gorgeous! Potty training is probably the toughest thing to get through, but with consistency and patience, you will survive. Shelby learned to ring the bells, and like Miss Gucci, all too well. Kodi would only ring them once in a while, but it does work.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

omg omg omg that nose! Where is Missy?? She will love that nose! Welcome!! Mia is gorgeous!


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## CarolZ (Aug 12, 2010)

Wow! She is really Cute and you took some wonderful pictures of her.
Enjoy this time ..seems like our puppies grow and change very quickly and too soon 
are adolescents..which is a different kind of challenge.


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## JCChaplin (Oct 2, 2007)

Welcome! What a cutie!! Be patient with regard to the bells. We started using them when Charlie came home at 3 mos. but it took about a month before he "got"it. We took his paw and rang the bell with it everytime we went out for a walk. Eventually he got it! Noe, he rings whenever he wants something...UGHHH! Good luck!


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## MaggieMay (Sep 8, 2010)

That dog is beautiful!!! Definitely get the bells!!! Everytime you take her out ring the bells and say go potty? I took Maggie's paw and made her ring the bells as I said go pottty, go potty. It really works if you are consistent. Keep posting pics.  She is chocolate right? My baby is too.


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## SnickersDad (Apr 9, 2010)

Mia is a stunner! Welcome to the forum and ask away! Lots of knowledge here and a great group of folks to help.

Snickers never did catch on to the bell thing, and has been 100% good for the last 3 months - she just turned a 13 months old. Snoopy is 8 months and thankfully is taking the lead from Snickers...


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## West End Girl (Feb 18, 2011)

What a beautiful puppy. Such a sweet face. 

Congratulations.


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## O'Bluff (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi Judy. Mia is beautiful! The photographs are great too. Seems anyone can photograph a beautiful puppy.

This my first Havanese too, but I have belonged to a forum before (no giggling) a Harley Davidson one! Surprisingly, the folks are much the same - kind, thoughtful and very helpful! The people on this forum gave me sound advise before I got Picasso and it sure helped.


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## PakiLegacy (Feb 19, 2011)

JudyD said:


> Hello all,
> After searching through this site over the last couple days, I thought I would join, as it seems you all are incredibly helpful to one another, and certainly love your dogs. I've never owned a Havanese before, and I've never posted on a forum before, but this forum seems special, so I thought I would introduce myself and my Mia, as I suspect, I will be on this site a lot.
> 
> I live in Pittsburgh, PA. I brought my Mia home when she was 8 wks old at 2 lbs 4 oz. She is now 11 wks and weighs 3 lbs 6 oz. The breeder thinks she will be about 9 lbs as an adult. She is so sweet and smart, and very active, but I can tell potty training is not going to be one of her strong points. LOL.
> ...


Judy...Welcome. Mia is such a cutie. She is almost Gizmo's age. Wish you guys were in DFW area so we would setup a playdate


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

Awws...too much cuetness.


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## hottubecake (Jul 28, 2010)

I agree...DEFINITELY get the bells. We started with Will at 9 weeks by using his paw to ring the bell every time we took him out and litterally within a week ,we were having dinner and heard the bell ring and his was sitting by the door waiting to go out. He's been doing it ever since. He's now 7 mo. old and accident free. Btw...beautiful puppy!


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## oohbetty (Mar 2, 2009)

Welcome! We live in Pittsburgh too.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Did you say you're not a good photographer???? Couldn't begin to guess that with those incredible photos of your model perfect little girl. I wish I were there to give her a kiss and a cuddle. She's gorgeous!

A word of warning. Watch out for symptoms of MHS. These little babies are a lot like potato chips, you can't have just one.

Welcome to the group and the obsession.


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Welcome, she is a cutie!!! Loved the potty bells, although now Lizzie has not been ringing them :suspicious: just standing by the door.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

:welcome: to the forum Judy. :wave:

Your little Mia is absolutely adorable and you are a very good photographer. 
Potty training can be a challenge with these little ones, but persistence and consistency over time will give you the desired results. )

I've tried to potty train Bugsy indoor and outdoor, but he hated the idea. He wouldn't go near a litter box and only succeeded in shredding the wee-wee pads, so outside was our only option. It was probably because he followed my poodles' lead and wanted to be just like his older siblings.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Welcome to the forum! Your pup and pictures are amazing. What a doll face!!


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## holt24 (Jan 21, 2011)

adorable Welcome to you and Mia!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Welcome, Judy & Mia! She has the sweetest little face!

We also use the potty bells although didn't start out with them. When we did start, Abby caught on in no time! She will nearly ring them off the door if we don't move fast enough for her! She expects instant service!


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## imamurph (Apr 15, 2008)

JudyD said:


> I'm going to get some bells pronto. Thanks for the idea. At your request, I've attached a few more pictures of Mia, however, I'm not much of a photographer. The first one was taken by the breeder when she was 6 wks old.


OH MY! What an adorable furbaby!!


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## JudyD (Feb 21, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Mia and I Loved all of the comments. I bought bells, and put one of those 3m hooks up right beside the door to keep the bells from scratching it everytime the door opened. I'll keep you posted. 

She met the Vet for the first time yesterday. She kissed her all over. The Vet took her from office to office to show her off. Mia was having a good time until they gave her the 12 week vacinnation. It went down hill from that point. Poor baby.


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Oh poor Mia,our Nellie had a similar experience,the first time to the vet.All was going well and everyone was Ooohing and Aaahring over her,and then the horrid shot,it put her off men for a few days! All the men in the family had to work very hard to win her trust back again.


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