#girlhorse

[saturninemysticthreads]

What do you think about this piece? Let us know!

[snrland]

He's a horsegirl

[darkaac]

cool now dmm refuses to open

[release-the-hound]

as a havanese owner, what would you say their energy levels are like? trainability? grooming needs? looking into getting small dogs in the future and havanese are on the list of possibilities

I think part of the reason Havanese are so wonderful for so many people is that their energy levels are extremely variable. A well bred Havanese should match its energy levels to its owners for the most part. There are days where I have only taken Whim outside to potty, and spent the rest of my time sick in bed, and she has happily cuddled up next to me and slept by my side. But she has also happily galloped alongside me for a 5km run, and been eager for more. Ultimately what Havanese want more than a specific amount of activity, is to be doing activity with their person.

Of course, I always celebrate doing more with your dog. I try to give Whim at least a 20 minute walk daily. Along with minimum 5 minutes dedicated training session and a food puzzle for enrichment. Often I am able to do more than that.

(One if my favorite off-leash adventures with Whim. A 3 hour walk through unusually deep snow. So many sniffs and lots of excellent recalls!)

When my sister died, I was frequently doing less, for weeks. And she didn't devolve into a frustrated barking mess, didn't chew up my apartment, she was a little bored, but she was never miserable. She just lay in my bed, by my side, day after day, until I was ready to face the world again.

(I cannot overstate how good Whim is at cuddling. If there was an international competition for it, she'd win it every year.)

I really think for disabled people, Havanese have the ideal energy level. You can meet their base needs fairly easily, but if you are up for adventure they're always ready to come along for a ride.

(Whim travels frequently on airplanes with me, and is always complimented on her good behavior.)

Grooming needs are the sticking point for many people, unfortunately. While Havanese are genrtically capable of producing a short coat, it's against the breed standard, and so I don't know of anyone intentionally breeding for that.

For me, a non-shedding dog is worth extra grooming, but I know that's not the case for a lot of people. I have Whim shaved about every 4 to 6 months. This means that I go over her coat to comb out any mats about once a week, and I trim the fur out of her eyes on occassion. But other than that, I dont worry about grooming. I bathe her when she's stinky and trim her nails when they get long, which you need to do with every dog. I know @girlhorse keeps Enzo in a much fuller coat. If you want to keep a fuller coat, she might be willing to talk about the grooming experience.

It's also worth noting that due to their small size, combing Whim's fur is like, a 20 minute process.

(I often miss Whim's coat from when I kept her long. She was so unbelievably adorable.)

Havanese are my FAVOURITE dogs to train bar none. I'm not a professional trainer in any sense of the word, but between group classes and my job I have seen how a lot of dogs learn. @thelittlespanielthatcould and I often compare Havs to a CKCS with a little more spunk. They are very clever and very eager to work with you, but when they have an opinion they make it clear.

Whim can be entirely focused on me for an hour long lesson. But she won't do work she's not fairly compensated for. Personally, I like a dog that won't let me push them around. If it's a hot day and I haven't given Whim enough water breaks, she'll march herself over to her bowl whenever she damn well pleases. If I'm not using a high enough value treat, she will take it from my hand and spit it on the ground. I like these things because I like dogs that set their own boundaries. I want my dog to tell me when she is tired or thirsty, when I'm not rewarding enough, when she's frightened. Because I get clear feedback from her on what I'm doing wrong, I can alter my methods very quickly to keep us in sync. I like that my dog can tell me something so clearly and I can say back to her "ok, I'm listening."

Whim does very well in Rally when I can afford the classes. She loved agility. Havanese also make great trick dogs. They have amazing handler focus (once they mature). They love spending time with you, so they love training. You just have to be fair to them. I guess I'd describe them as eager to engage, but not eager to please. She wants to spend time with me, she wants to play my games, but she isn't afraid to stand her ground if she's not having fun. Training her brings me so much fucking joy. Even writing about it now has put a smile on my face.

(Whim and I had so much fun in agility. She loved the tunnels so much she used to go off course just to run them a second or third time. Until I started bringing out the big guns (cheese) and suddenly she was an angel again lol.)

Realistically, no breed is ever going to be ideal for every person on the planet. But 2 words come to mind when I think of Havanese. Fexible: they thrive in many different living situations, energy levels, and activities. And Communicative, about their needs, their desires, their fears, their pain. They make it easy for dog owners to figure out what to do. For these reasons, I think Havanese match well with a lot more people than the average dog breed.

Whim has been my best friend for more than a decade. I have never second-guessed my decision to bring her into my life. I wake up every day knowing that I am profoundly loved. In my brightest moments I picture a future of adventure unfurling before us. In my darkest, her joy reminds me how to find my own.

TL,DR: Get a Havanese.

[doberbutts]

girlhorse

what would the difference be between personal protection dogs and other kinds of protection dogs? is that at all related to livestock guardians? I have very little knowledge in this area but I'm curious if you are willing to answer!

Personal protection dogs are dogs that are trained to sort of act as a bodyguard to a human. They are to act on command to bite whoever their owner sends them to bite, and also to react quickly if an attack from another human comes before their owner is able to process it (such as someone sweeping up on you from behind).

Other forms of “protection” are things such as:

livestock guardians, which stay with a herd of livestock and defend them mostly against predators (though the occasional dog may also scuffle with thieves);

estate guardians and junkyard dogs, which are confined to a specific property or section of property as deterrent for thieves;

police (apprehension) and military (combat) dogs, which are used in the capture/take-down of suspects and to protect their handlers from enemy combatants;

security dogs, which are usually civilians or private contractors operating as property security and as mercenaries who use dogs similarly to the above police and military;

often called “watchdogs” or “alarm dogs”, which bark but do not bite when an intruder enters or when the owner/property is approached by a stranger;

sport dogs, which are trained in a highly ritualized combat scenario as a contact sport for fun and sometimes for money. Often, but not always, these dogs struggle to cross over into real protection like the police, military, or security dogs or like personal protection dogs.

There is some overlap between these terms and they are not mutually exclusive. Swissies, for instance, were used as livestock and estate guardians to serve mostly a watchdog purpose- barking, even chasing, but not biting. Dobermans were created to be personal protection dogs but due to the timing of their creation were quickly adopted by the German government for use in their wars and policing. German Shepherds were created to be all of the above and more, and now are largely sport dogs as the Belgian Malinois is really much more popular in police and military work nowadays, though there are still some lines being utilized in those arenas.

I am... mostly ambivalent towards most of these uses, though not all. Even personal protection as a breed goal I can understand due to the era they were created. However, again, as said most people who want a PPD would be better served buying an inanimate weapon and learning how to defend themselves with it, because they’re probably going to have to do that anyway when their PPD gets shot in the head before it manages to take three steps towards an assailant. Each of these have their flaws and I won’t act like any of them are perfect. But I do think there is leagues of difference between “keeps people from jumping my fence to steal my property” and “almost exclusively used to terrorize marginalized populations” and “not the smartest of choices in today’s world and a huge liability besides”.

[imalayla]

Got this little squeaking rat toy at @girlhorse 's recommendation and Stoli seems to like it a lot! He's been carrying it around and nibbling it

[girlhorse]

boss severely fucked me over (working on fixing this) and cut my hours so im hurting pretty bad for cash. if anyone can spare a few bucks so i can get some groceries n menstrual supplies this week id appreciate it https://ko-fi.com/girlhorse

[myrfing]

love you girlhorse i wish your e2 armor reflected the swag ass dress you made

[release-the-hound]

my friend wants to get a havapoo x havanese mix from a random sketchy website, what can I show her to turn her onto a well bred havanese instead of supporting a possible puppy mill? I saw the club has a lot of breeders in FL (GA and SC are doable too) but I'm not sure which I should point my friend to.. any help appreciated ❤️❤️

People outside of show and sport circles aren't usually knowledgeable enough to care about good breeding, so tackling the issue from the perspective of welfare is probably your best route.

Does your friend know how many litters this breeder is producing at a time? Is your friend able to see where the dogs are living before purchasing a puppy? Can she trust that this breeder is keeping mothers in good condition? Is the breeder being thoughtful about where the puppies are going or are they selling them to the first person who asks?

These kind of questions might prompt your friend to be more thoughtful about where she wants a dog from.

People on Tumblr were really impressed by @intriga-hounds 's set up for their Silken Windhound puppies. Feel good content like that is a great conversation starter around how the quality of breeders can vary, and why it's worth investing in a good one.

The goal isn't to shame her for being excited about purchasing a puppy from a mill. It's to get her to be *more* enthusiastic about purchasing from a breeder.

Start investigating breeders in the area for her. If you find some that have thoughtful breeding practices like proper health testing and ENS show her puppies and dogs that those breeders have produced. Talk about breeders who have produced therapy dogs, show pictures and videos of havanese doing agility or tricks. Give her a picture of what life is like with a well bred dog.

PS @girlhorse got Enzo from Gilwood Havanese in Florida. Enzo is a lovely ambassador dog for a purebred havanese. He's so handsome and sweet.

[killerslowpoke]

@girlhorse​

I hate Gandalf big naturals because he deserves wrinkly, saggy, old person boobs.

[girlhorse]

The donation post you reblogged from greatshiptersz is fraudulent. (https://www.tumblr.com/girlhorse/721469796477288449?source=share). They're a scammer and stole the text of a fundraiser from Facebook and replaced the OG fundraiser paypal with their own.

WTF I CAN NEVER WIN

[azakaria14]

Therapeutic riding brown 🐎🐎🐎 Visit link in Bio to shop and you can find more products there that you will definitely love ♥️ #horse #therapeutic #brownhorse #horsebackriding #horseback #horseriding #horseridinggirl #horselover #horses #horseowner #horserider #horsesplanet #pethorse #myhorse #ilovehorses #ridinghorse #girlhorse #horseboy #babyhorse (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKW0CAeFId8/?igshid=1rxgw1qj9set5

[morikorii]

Mentor vs a literal child

[proheromidoriyashouto]

oh no not geralt consistenly saving women and girls from evil men and monsters and thinking he doesn't scream girldad out into the universe like an idiot who just talks to his girlhorse like the horsegirl at heart he really is

[release-the-hound]

if you're ok with sharing, what breeder is whim from? I'm struggling to find a reputable Havanese breeder

(if anyone else knows good ones pls add)

Tbh I bought Whim over a decade ago, and I likely won't go back to her breeder for my next dog. I don't know any breeders well enough to feel confident recommending them to another person.

My main tips when looking for a new dog is knowing what OFA tests are recommended for the breed, seeing how frequently and how young their bitches are having litters, and Facebook stalking.

Maybe talk to at @girlhorse ? I know she has good things to say about Gilwood Havanese

[zelda-ffitzgerald]

Ali was just in Montreal with her horses. #horsegirl or #girlhorse whatever. What made people think she was going back again so soon although she has a lot to be grateful for this thanksgiving? She’s a busy person you know. She’s working her ass off doing photoshoots in exotic locations. Prom dresses have never looked so good. And she’s doing a lot of work modeling the before looks for shampoo and hair styling products. Plus, she’s unpacking all the merchandise she’s being sent just because she’s a profesh model. Big things coming. Just wait. 🧚🏻‍♂️

This is perfect.