Havanese FAQ

Don't let being a member of the Toy Group fool you. The Havanese is a sturdy, athletic little dog. With beautiful dark eyes and sweet personality, this breed will steal your heart. They range in height from 8 1/2 to 11 1/2 inches at the withers and weigh between 8 and 15 pounds. Havanese come in all colors - white, cream, black, sable, chocolate; with markings that are parti- or tri-colored. The nose, lips and eyerims should be solid black except for chocolates. Chocolates have brown pigment and green eyes. Their tails curl across their back and can be particularly expressive when playing and chasing through the yard.

The Havanese is part of the Bichon family. Earliest references to the ancestors of the breed go back to Plinius (23 to 79 B.C.) in the Mediterranean region, and the breed may have originated on the island of Malta. Dogs in both Spain and Italy played an integral part in bringing the Havanese to the New World. Also known as the Havana Silk Dog, today's Havanese descended from the dogs that found a permanent home in Cuba, where they were popular among the wealthy Cubans. After the revolution in 1959, many of the dogs ended up in the United States.

They are the quintessential family pet. Our main desire is to pair our precious puppies with the family that is right for them. Some things we may ask you include:

1. Who will this puppy belong to? Is it truly a pet for the entire family or for a specific family member? If you are having difficulty deciding between a male and a female - this information can help us guide you.
2. What is your daily schedule? Havanese are a person-oriented breed. They want to be with their human family.
3. Do you have the proper environment for an indoor dog? The Havanese is not an outside dog, though they do love to play outside with you and other animals.
4. Do you enjoy brushing a dog out 3-4 times a week? If you want to keep the Havanese in full coat, you need to enjoy brushing. Conversley, if you want to keep her in a puppy cut, you need to be prepared to get her groomed about every 10-12 weeks.

We obviously get a lot of questions about Havanese health, training and grooming. The questions below are the most common. We post them here as a guide but if you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

1. Health testing. We CERF our Havanese annually for eye problems. We keep the CERF certificates on file for anyone to see. Our Havanese go to the vet annually for check-ups; they also go when they are pregnant to make sure all is well. We do not currently test for OFFA, BAER or Cardiac problems. We have no record of these issues in our pedigrees. Should we see any indication of these problems, we would go to the vet immediately. Our Havanese are members of our family, we give them the same care we receive ourselves - annual check-ups and doctor visits when the situation calls for it.
2. Housebreaking. We begin the housebreaking process early. The Havanese is no more difficult to train than any small dog. To potty-train a pup requires patience and consistency. Mostly consistency. As soon as you get up in the morning and just before bed at night - let the pup go potty. Before you leave the house and as soon as you come back - let the pup go potty. They learn quickly that they have regular times to go and will "hold it" when in their kennel. The other thing is to separate "potty time" and "play time" outside. When you let them out to potty - don't play with them or let them play around. If they don't go in a reasonable amount of time, bring them inside. One ingenious new owner realized that her new puppy wouldn't be able to make it down the deck stairs to the yard for a few months. So she built a large litter box for the deck and filled it with the mulch they use in the yard. When Sydney can get down the stairs to the yard, she'll know exactly where to go!
3. Barking. Havanese have a full-throated "dog" bark. They will bark at things outside and will let you know someone is at the door. But they are NOT yappy.
4. Boy or Girl? All Havanese are excellent companions. They want to be wherever you are. Heffner wants to be right at my feet if I'm working on the computer or in my lap when I'm on the sofa watching television. Delilah and Bailey are satisfied to be in the same room with me. The boys also tend to be anybody's dog - they're happy with whatever human is around. They also have a knack for gravitating to the person that needs them the most. The girls definitely belong to a person. Delilah is my dog. She obeys Michael when I'm not around but if he tells her to do something and I'm in the room - she looks at me to make sure she has to do it. ;-)
5. Limited registration. All of our litters are registered with the AKC. We provide the individual registration papers so that you can register your puppy with her own name. Limited registration means that the puppy is intended to be a pet - it cannot be bred or shown. We intend our Havanese pups to be life-long companions. For this reason, we require that you spay or neuter your puppy at the appropriate age.
6. Sleeping arrangements. The safest place for a puppy to sleep is in her crate. At first, she may need to sleep in her crate beside your bed so that she can see and smell you. If she whines, putting your fingers in the crate will usually quieten her down. If she still whines, she may need to go potty. This is normal for the first few weeks. Remember, dogs are denning animals; having a close dark space to sleep will make them feel more comfortable.
7. Crating during the day. Please don't let your puppy have the run of the house when you're not at home. Puppies (and older dogs) will chew on anything. Electrical cords are obviously dangerous and your coming home to holes in your furniture or drywall is no fun either! Also, the puppy will feel safer if they're in their "den".
8. Exercise. All puppies are high energy - the best way to get them to sleep through the night is to tire them out. Bad weather outside? Try making an indoor agility trial like Kaitlin's mom!