Buddy

In April my mother moved out and when she left she took her dog (a 6 year old Golden Retriever) and our dog.  Yes, my mom took Killer, a 14 year old miniature pincher that we have had since he was 3 months old.  He is actually doing well for being so old, he just doesn't do much and unfortunately the girls and I rarely paid him any attention.  I loved him to pieces until I had my own children and then he was easily replaced and forgotten.  How sad huh?  

For the past few months Summer has asked for a puppy.  She wants a dog that actually plays.  One that actually can see well and has energy.  Knowing that dogs are a lot of work and last forever, I guess unless you have a mom nice enough to take them, we knew this was going to be a long term thing.  We told Summer we would think about it.  I have really never gone long without having a dog.

One day we were discussing a new dog when I told Kris the next dog had to be really soft.  I want the dog to be able to sleep with us and not stay in a kennel because of the hair.  I want a good family dog that everyone will enjoy.  I am not saying Killer wasn't a good younger family dog because he was, but he was very barky and territorial, I know of at least 5 people he bit (nipped) in our home.  This time I wanted a dog that was more of a lap dog if possible, it had to be little, shed minimally and have a good demeanor.  Kris googled "softest dog" and found the Havanese breed.  I have never heard of this breed before but when he read the description it sounded perfect.

The Havanese is trainable and intelligent and possesses a naturally affectionate temperament, which making the breed an ideal family pet. Although a toy dog, they remain energetic and require some form of daily exercise. The breed's non-shedding coat makes it suitable for allergy sufferers, but regular grooming is necessary to keep the coat in top condition.

We googled pictures and thought they were a really cute breed.  We searched around and realized there were no Havanese dogs for sale.  Over the next two months we looked and nothing ever came up.  We did see a breeding page that would ship you a dog for around $2500 but that was a bit more then we were willing to pay.  Then one day I happened to see a 7 month old little boy for sale.  Kris and I talked about it and hesitated and finally I sent the person a text.  The rest is history, now Buddy is the newest member of our family!

The girls love him.  He is energetic, happy, friendly, playful.  He is almost (hopefully) potty trained.  He goes in the crate when we leave without any issues.  He rides to school in the car with us in the morning.  He walks on a leash.  He will not get any bigger than he is now. So far everything seems good, and he seems to fit in with our family logistics.  

I trained Killer how to sit, shake, lay, so I know how to train Buddy, I need to start soon ... as soon as I am sure he is potty trained!  I also need to take some better photos but he doesn't like to sit still, when I get on the floor with the camera he immediately wanted to come sit in my lap, so that is still coming.  In the meantime we are enjoying him and he is enjoying us.  I am so glad we finally found him.