# Benjy: the first 8 months



## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

*Benjy* had another birthday! He was eight months old yesterday! I brought him to a groomer today to cut and grind his toe nails. He will get the works in a couple weeks. (So far we have just given him baths and trimmed his bangs ourselves.) He did real well with the nice young lady. She treated him well and gave him a bandana that says "I am handsome". _Well, we already knew that!_

Benjy got four new toys. We gave two of them to him before his birthday. He loves them both. (Whenever a delivery person brings a box, he thinks it is for him. How disappointed he was when we got a box with curtains in it.)

Nina Ottosson DogBrick Plastic Interactive Dog Toy

Nina Ottosson Dog Treat Maze Plastic Interactive Dog Toy​Nina has several great toys. They are well made and were recommended by our dog trainer. Their prices vary a lot from site to site. When he refuses to eat, we put his regular food in the maze and he eats the food from it. He eats anything with peanut butter on it (in a kong cone/ball or not) to distract him if we have to leave him alone. We buy the natural kind. We can gauge his level of separation anxiety by the food we left. If he didn't eat his treat we know he was really upset.

Nothing worked, or even helped, for housebreaking Benjy. So I decided rather than trying to follow suggestions, I would simply keep him outside as much as I could so probability would have it that he would go more out than in. (My wife and I are retired. Sorry, not everyone has the time to do this.) But I made a promise to never let him stay in the house for more than two hours at a time, except at night when sleeping. And I wait for him to tell me when he wants to come back in. (Thank goodness it is not in the middle of the winter.) Now I spend about two hours a day outside with him. We don't have a fence yet, but I will never let him out by himself anyway. Just by taking these steps, he is now 98% safe for not having accidents in the house. He will get his leash if he wants to go out before my next break. We didn't teach him that. He sleeps in our bed and gives us 6-8 hours before getting us up. No accidents in bed.

People considering getting a puppy or dog need to understand a dog is like having a baby. Don't buy one because you think they are cute! My wife never had a puppy. I recently asked her what surprised her most about being a parent. She said first she couldn't believe how expensive it would be. And second the responsibility. Just like a baby, if the puppy doesn't eat, you worry. If he doesn't poop, you worry. A baby stays put for several months. LOL

My wife was bringing him to obedience training classes. (He attached himself to her.) Talk to the trainer before signing up and ask what type of reinforcement they use for learning. If they talk about hitting the dog, using choke collars, yelling at him, or other harsh things, don't go there.

My wife had to drop out because she got shingles and is under quarantine. They will start a new class in a couple weeks or so. He can sit and lie down. And stay. That is all the farther they got. But she continues to work with him everyday. He is very smart and teaches us things to help us understand. If you stick your tongue out at him, he will stick his out at you. If he comes to you and you say, "I don't know what you want. Show me." He will lead you to what he wants. Like he will go to his baby buggy and put his paw on it if he wants a ride. If he brings his leash to my wife, she will say, "Wait by the door and Daddy will take you." And he brings his leash to the door and waits for me. Of course he knows if he hears car keys he knows he is going for a ride.

Benjy is an escape artist. No crate we bought could hold him. We found something that worked. BestPet Hammertone Finish Heavy Duty Pet Playpen Dog Exercise Pen Cat Fence S, 40-Inch. They come in several brands and are the same thing. Depending on where you read, it is 25-33 square feet. We keep it in the kitchen. He can't get out of this.

Some comments on where to buy a puppy. We bought our puppy at a reputable breeder. The breeder has been a great resource. The price we paid was right where it should be based on other posts made on this forum. Some people will say we wasted money buying from a breeder because they are so expensive. I didn't find that to be true. Some of the online coordinators for breeders are the biggest scam there is. They charge more than what I paid and I am sure my dog is much better than theirs. A local pet store finally got a Havanese in and they started it at $2,200. Then they kept dropping the price and now it is around $1,000. They will probably go lower. Their dog doesn't look like mine.

I have relatives that just bought a puppy (not a Havanese) in Amish country. A family had a sign in their yard that they had puppies from their family pet. Probably not true. Probably from a puppy mill. We live within easy driving distance of at least three of the puppy mills in the Horrible Hundred.

Miscellaneous: Benjy has never been on stairs, except two to leave the house. We have a ranch so the only stairs we have is to the basement. He knows not to go down there when we do the laundry. I suppose he is big enough to do it. He likes to look out the window and watch birds. He likes to sit on the front porch and watch the cars go buy. When he is in the yard, he is Dora the Explorer. Every blade of grass must be examined. We never give him people food. But we do use things like green beans for reward treats because treats can be fattening. You don't want a Havanese to grow too fast because it has something to do with his growth plates. These should be in place before neutering. He loves the beans but hates carrots. We are going to experiment with other food that can be cut in the right size for training rewards. He eats ants. He jumps and snaps at lightning bugs. I don't know if he has caught any.

If he can find a loose thread in the carpeting, he will unravel it. He loves to shred kleenex and paper. It is a big thrill to him.

He is a thief. He will get your dirty clothes or towels and run through the house with them. We had company from out of state. We told them not to leave things laying around. There were four of us sitting at the kitchen table. Benjy came running down the hall from the bedrooms, through the kitchen and into the family room -- with a pink bra hanging from his mouth. I said to my wife, you don't have a pink bra do you? She said no. Then one of our guests came out from a bedroom and I held up the bra and asked her if it was hers. She was quite embarrassed. No, maybe mad. LOL

Biting has been a big problem. That is our current issue. He is not being aggressive. Some say it is the teething puppy stage. He is improving though.

Here is a picture of Benjy with his bandana. He is such a delight!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Happy Belated Birthday, Benjy! I enjoyed reading all about you! You are very smart!


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

Love the story, especially that he sticks his tongue out when you do!

Also, thanks for the ex-pen rec. I've had my puppy two weeks and she's already worked her way out of two.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

SPLAbby you and I are in the same situation as far as life progression. We are on the same page about how we treat and feel about our dogs. When people get to our age, a close relationship with a dog can mean everything in life. Keep up the good work with your Benjy. I love my Ricky as much as you love your Benjy. We are both very lucky men!

Ricky's Popi


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## Ollie"s Mom (May 23, 2014)

Great post, I can relate to so much of what you said as we too are empty nesters and I am retired although my husband is not. Our Oliver is a little over a year old now and this past year has been so much fun for us and we have laughed more times than I can count because of this little character we brought into our family. Enjoy what is to come with your baby Benji.


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

what a fun post! nice to hear how well Benjy is doing.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Hi all! I keep forgetting my name doesn't show as the user name, like it does at Facebook. I am Jeff. I am a member here and I am the one writing the posts. My wife is Sue. And Benjy is our baby. Benjy doesn't recognize the names Jeff & Sue. He only knows Momma & Daddy. The name SPLABBY was derived from my last dog's name, who was a Cairn Terrier. I called her Sweet, Precious, Little Abby.

Speaking of Facebook, a lot of people just use it to post pictures and stories about their children and grandchildren. You can be sure when someone posts a picture of a baby, it will get lots of comments. We have found that when we post pictures of Benjy on Facebook, everyone goes wild over him and has lots of things to say. And what a great way to draw people in that might not otherwise take the time to remember you. *Benjy ranks! * Facebook lets you make picture albums. So it is another place to get pictures off your phone or camera to save them. Always keep a current picture with you, or have some on your phone. Everyone asks to see them.

Benjy uses his nose as an extra hand. He rolls things on the floor with it. And he uses both his nose and his paw when playing with educational interactive toys. I don't know if that is just the way Benjy is, or if it is a Havanese tendency. Whatever it is, it is so cute!

Benjy knows how to pout. Best just to ignore him. On rare occasions, Sue has shook her finger at Benjy and said, "Now you know you aren't supposed to do that." This hurts Benjy's feelings. He will either lay flat on the floor on his belly with his snout pressed tightly between his front paws. Or he will sit in front of you with his back turned to you. I don't know if he is just showing how he feels, or if this is a deliberate snuff he does to get even.

Benjy is really attached to my wife Sue. Sometimes when I ask him if he wants to go out, he turns his head toward Sue and waits for her to give him permission to go. Stinker.

When we got Benjy from the breeder, they gave us a toy with his mother's scent on it to make him feel more comfortable at his new home. He really likes it. He likes his Kong toys. He even plays with the ball and small cone when there is no food in them. His favorite toy might be little balls that look like tennis balls. He prefers the ones that are smaller than an actual tennis ball because they fit his mouth better. He has a rope with a ball built into the middle of it. You can play a gentle game of tug and war with it. He like the long slinky material toys because you can hold one end and he the other. He does NOT like any toys that squeak. Still, his favorite toy is a piece of paper or kleenex to shred.  If the stuffing starts coming out of a toy, or he is tearing chunks off, we throw it away to avoid him swallowing it.

When we first got Benjy, he would dig into his bed with his paws, tear then open, and pull the stuffy out. We found a bed he can't paw into at Tractor Supply Company. MidWest Homes for Pets Quiet Time Ombré Tufted Crate Bed I think the secret is in the tufted fabric.

We have a KONG Easy Freeze Kit Frozen Dog Treats. It is like a freezer tray you put water in. But we put yogurt or dog food and yogurt in the tray and freeze it. The frozen pieces can go in a Kong Kone or just put some in a bowl. (They will melt after awhile.)

Don't ever give an animal as a surprise gift. A pet makes a wonderful present, but the recipient must be involved in every step of the way. For example, if they don't want a dog, it may be abused or end up at the pound and put to sleep. Or you might buy the wrong breed. My sister's American Eskimo died so her fiance bought her an American Eskimo puppy. This was a very sweet gesture, but she didn't want another AE. She was thinking about maybe a Beagle. Don't ever mention anything that is still just in the planning stages to a child. TALK TO THE PARENTS. If you tell a child you are getting him a dog, he will bug his parents to death to let you. Find out what the adults want to happen.

We NEVER leave Benjy unattended in a car, even if it is just for two minutes to get a gallon of milk. You don't know if you might get detained and be longer than you thought and the car will overheat. And he is like a little Lexus, just inviting someone to steal him while you are gone.

We don't give Benjy people food because supposedly it is not good for their digestive system. And they may beg unmercifully if they know what you have on the table is good stuff! But I have had dogs before that I gave food off the table. But they never begged. They just laid there patiently. I would save my last bite(s) for my dog. He/she knew it would do them no good to beg because he wasn't getting anything until I was done.

*Jeff & Sue*


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

I am an animal lover. I grew up with family pets and as an adult I have had dog(s) when not in an apartment. My Dad grew up on a farm and was a vet. If I see a burning house in the news, I say, "Oh, no! I sure hope the animals got out, if there were any!" (I guess the people can take care of themselves.) It used to be when a movie came on and there was a dog, we were afraid to watch it in case the dog got killed.

A friend once told me, "Getting married is the hardest thing I have ever done. But it is also the most rewarding thing I have ever done." Having a dog can have similar effects on some people. 

While I am on my soapbox, I feel compelled to designate the rest of this post to something. I am not trying to paint a picture of gloom and doom. I am not telling anyone not to get a pet. But please read on...

*Relationship alert!* A pet can be a great companion and playmate for yourself, you and your spouse, or your family. However, a pet can also put serious stress on relationships. You have to ask yourself if everyone is tough enough to deal with conflict. There will be hardship, disappointment, and the blame game.

We try to live the American dream. Is that dream shattered if a dog uses your pristine carpet as its own personal toilet? Or it chews holes in the carpet, or even rips it from the floor in one piece? Or scratches your elegant tile floors? Or jumps on kitchen cupboards, doors etc and scratches or gouges them? Eats woodwork? Or eats your furniture and your clothing? Or pulls down curtains? Or tears your car seats? Or makes neighbors mad with his barking or their fear of him? A rambunctious pet can injure a child, even if only playing. Or a pet can become aggressive and intentionally inflict harm.

You spend a ton of money on repairs. And keep wasting money on solutions that don't work. They dig holes in your lush grass and tear through gardens. If it is a male, he can kill all your shrubs. All that money you spent on a fence for him and he chews holes in it, goes under or over it.

One spouse may say, "Oh my poor baby. He has separation anxiety and must be terrified when he is being destructive." The other spouse may say, "No pet is worth this." Do you go with your heart or your pocketbook? Money problems is listed as the number one factor of things that lead to divorce. 

Many people have told me all this can be avoided by keeping your dog outside. I say, then it isn't a pet or companion. You have yourself another piece of livestock.

Families need to have an agreement before getting a pet how much they can tolerate. As much as I love animals, I have to say people are more important than a pet. You have to have a plan, a mediator, or some kind of tie breaker in place to find a gracious way to handle disputes.

We love our Benjy and wouldn't trade him for anything in the world!

*Jeff & Sue*


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