Frequently Asked Questions
Havanese are members of the Bichon family, but are a distinct breed. Havanese come in all colors and combinations of colors.
There is a really nice video about the Havanese breed on Animal Planet's "Dogs 101"
Havanese range anywhere from 7 to 13 pounds. Height (at the shoulders) is between 8.5 - 11.5 inches. There is NO such thing as a "tea-cup", "mini", "micro" Havanese, they are a Toy breed and there is only ONE size. Anyone claiming otherwise is NOT reputable. The Havanese is small but sturdy, they should not be teeny tiny or appear fragile.
Yes. They are purebred dogs. They are a rare breed that many people may not be familiar with but they are a member of the Toy Group and were admitted to the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1996.
You may not find a Havanese at your local shelter, however, there are Havanese rescue groups where you can find some wonderful dogs in need of homes, here are some links for rescues...
You should NEVER buy any dog of any breed from pet stores!!! No reputable breeder would EVER sell their puppies to a pet store. Pet stores buy ALL of their puppies directly through puppy mills or from dog brokers that buy them from the puppy mills. Puppy mills are mass commercial breeders. They have hundreds of adult breeding dogs producing hundreds of puppies constantly. There is no concern for the dogs or puppies, they are considered as livestock and kept in horribly cruel conditions. The dogs are given bare minimal care, at best, and there is no concern for the health or socialization of the adults or the puppies. The puppies are often taken away from their mothers way too early, never socialized and often have various illnesses and genetic disease. Often times, people purchase these cute little puppies in the pet store window, not knowing where this puppy came from or lied to by the store employees and end up learning about puppy mills the hard way after spending thousands of dollars in vet bills and tons of heartache trying to save their sick puppy. Purchasing these puppies may give you more problems than you bargained for and only encourages these nasty places to continue to abuse and neglect these poor dogs. There are also puppy mills disguising themselves on the internet as good breeders with cutesy pictures of little puppies. Buyer beware!!! Never buy a puppy from a website that does not show the parent dogs, has many puppies/litters for sale at one time or has many different breeds. You should never be able to buy a puppy by clicking a "Buy Now" button! Any reputable breeder will want to know a lot about you before agreeing to sell you a puppy. You should be able to see "PROOF" of health testing done on the parent dogs (offa.org), just saying "my vet said they're healthy" isn't enough! They should also compete with their dogs in AKC conformation dog shows to prove that their dogs are a good example of the breed. This is important to you because, if your looking for a Havanese you probably would like it to actually look like a Havanese and have the wonderful temperament they're known for. A good breeder is also willing to let you visit their home, see where your puppy has been raised and meet the parents. Sometimes we use stud dogs that do not belong to us but you should always be able to meet the mother. If a breeder refuses to let you come to their home or tries to get you to meet them somewhere, run away, they are hiding something they do not want you to see. Most important...do your homework!!! Don't take the first puppy or the cheapest one you can find, as they usually turn into being the most expensive in the long run, as the saying goes..."pay the breeder once, or pay the vet for a lifetime". I'll give you just ONE example...Reputable breeders health test their parent dogs before breeding. ONE of the things we test for in Havanese is juvenile cataracts, which is genetically inherited. This test is done during an annual eye exam preformed by a certified veterinary ophthalmologist. We do this to prevent breeding dogs that could pass this along to their puppies. If breeders are not testing for this how do they know they are breeding dogs with good eyes and not producing puppies with genetic eye problems? Here's my point...should your dog get cataracts, they will need to have surgery or they will go blind...cataract surgery costs $1500-$3000 PER eye! Research breeders and know what red flags to look for.
Havs have been lovingly referred to many times as a "velcro dog". Whatever room you are in, that's where they'll want to be too. They do not do well being left alone for long periods of time. And housebreaking then becomes a huge issue, as no one is home to train them. A Havanese cannot be an outside animal and must be allowed to live inside the house with it's family. If there is no one home at your house all week during the day, think how unfair this would be to a new puppy and an adult dog that doesn't like being alone in the first place. If you have another dog in the home to keep your Havanese company when you are away for long periods, this can help reduce their stress a great deal. But keep in mind that Havanese are like little kids. They demand alot of time and attention.
Both males and females make wonderful companions and family members. There is not much difference between the two. What I have noticed is that the boys seem love everyone equally and the girls tend to pick a favorite member of the family, they will go to the other members in the family, but if they have a choice they gravitate toward their favorite person. For this reason, I always recommend boys for families with children, the girls tend to be more of Momma's dog. But, these are very slight differences and both males and females are great, loving, family pets! There is also an old wives tale that most people still believe, that boys will "mark their territory", and this scares a lot of people away from boys. The truth is, BOTH males and females will do this! Only difference is boys lift their leg and girls squat! This behavior is like "calling" something..."don't touch it, it's mine!" and this behavior usually starts with sexual maturity. If boys are neutered and girls are spayed at the appropriate age before this instinct kicks in, this behavior is less likely to occur.
All reputable breeders will only sell their pet puppies on a spay/neuter agreement. This is to protect the puppy and the breed itself. There is much to learn before embarking on breeding dogs. It's so much more than just putting two dogs together to make puppies. It's important to know your pedigrees and lines, to health test (which is very expensive). Most importantly, there are some serious health issues to learn and know about which the average owner and back yard breeder may not take seriously before breeding, or even understand. You will not make lots of money breeding dogs, contrary to popular belief, if you do it 'right' by showing the dogs conformation events, health testing parent dogs and providing a good guarantee to new owners. Once you bring a litter of puppies into the world, you, the breeder are responsible for them for their entire lifetime in many ways.
Reputable breeders will only sell their pet puppies with Limited Registration. This is done with the best interest of the puppy and the breed at heart. Full Registration gives the owner breeding/showing rights to the dog. "Limited" means that the dog may never be bred or shown in conformation events. If the dog is ever bred, those puppies produced will not be eligible for registration. This is the only difference between the two, and both registrations are proof of the dogs purebred lineage. Limited DOES NOT mean "Less"... it means "Protected". By offering pet puppies with Limited Registration only, the breeder can better ensure that their puppies do not end up in a terrible situation.
At night, the best thing to do is keep your young puppy in his baby crate next to your bed so he/she can see you at all times. If he fusses at night, you can slip your fingers into the crate to reassure him you're still there. If he continues to fuss, he probably needs to go potty. You cannot expect a young puppy to 'hold it' all night long, so expect to get up with him for outside potty breaks once or twice a night for the first few weeks. Once he can hold it all night for several weeks, he can remain in his crate for bedtime, or he can then join you in your bed at night. During the day, when your puppy cannot be supervised, it's beneficial to invest in a puppy x-pen. Put his open crate in the pen along with his toys, potty pads or litter tray and his water. This gives him enough room to move around but to also go into his crate if he wants to, for a nap. Never let your puppy roam the house unattended. Young puppies can and will chew phone cords, or electrical cords not to mention the furniture! While Havanese are not destructive dogs and generally don't chew alot of things up, they do seem to like cords! So please keep your puppy safe at all times.
Havanese are extremely sociable and seem to like almost every one. They are exceptionally good with children even when not raised with children in the house. However, Havanese are not a great fit for very young toddlers or children under 5. Very young children could accidentally hurt a small puppy and the clumsy nature of toddlers make many small breed dogs nervous and untrusting of toddlers. So it's best to wait until kids are over 5 to bring a puppy into the home.
Havanese were bred as companion animals. They love to be a part of the family. As well as conformation showing, several Havanese owners compete with their dogs in obedience and agility trials. Havanese are quick to learn tricks and love showing off to friends and family.
No. Although most people prefer to have their pet Havanese groomed professionally and keep the coat in a shorter "puppy cut" rather than the long coat. You can learn how to do it yourself or take them to a professional, but either way, this coat DOES require regular maintenance and work to keep them clean and healthy!
No. They'll alert you when someone is at your door and to strange noises outside your home. Otherwise, they are quiet. Although, some Havanese are more "vocal" than others.
No. Actually, Havanese are a very good breed for families with children. They are a small but sturdy dog, a Havanese may be a much better choice than some of the more fragile small breeds.
However, Havanese are not a great fit for very young toddlers or children under 5. Very young children could accidentally hurt a small puppy and the clumsy nature of toddlers make many small breed dogs nervous and untrusting of toddlers. So it's best to wait until kids are over 5 to bring a puppy into the home.
If you are keeping your Havanese in a puppy cut, it will need to be trimmed about every two or three months. However, it is essential to brush their coats two to four times a week, and bathe them about every 2-3 weeks. Also, regular eye, ear, and teeth care is required. Nails need to be trimmed every couple of weeks.
No, Havanese are considered Hypoallergenic and non-shedding dogs. However, this is a little misleading and not 100% true. NO dog is truly hypoallergenic or non-shedding...I prefer to consider it "drastically less" than other breeds of dogs. The Havanese has "hair" not "fur" like most dogs. They will shed some hairs, about the same amount a human would, but you will NOT see pounds of hair blowing around your house or all over you clothes and furniture. They are usually a very good breed for people with allergies but can irritate some people with bad allergies, but for most people it is very minimal and tolerable compared to other breeds. If you have allergies, I recommend meeting with some Havanese and playing with them closely to see how you react to them before making a commitment.
The article below was written by Bill Burns of The Kennel At Burns Gardens, Golden Retrievers and Havanese. This article originally appeared in The HAVANESE magazine. Because his experience mirrors our own, Brylee's Angels Havanese has obtained permission to reprint the article here to help the general public understand the TRUE cost of breeding the highest quality dogs.
HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW AS OF 1/1/2012?
When I first wrote this article in early 2010, I was looking at over $2,000 in Vet bills for successful bladder stone surgery and wondered whether the dog buying public understood how expensive it is to operate and maintain even a small dog kennel. (I also was a bit concerned about whether I actually understood.)
I don’t have an unlimited supply of money. For me to continue long term in the business of breeding, training and handling dogs I have to cover my expenses. If I don’t then I will run out of money and be forced out of business.
Some business expenses can be controlled more easily than others. Some, like showing dogs in conformation, can be eliminated without destroying the business. In the beginning, I think it is necessary for someone new to dogs to show their dog(s). There are many reasons to do so, but for me the three most important for a new person to show their dogs in Conformation are these:
(1) It provides a structured venue for the new person to learn what constitutes a “good” dog.
(2) It provides an excellent way for the new person to show what he or she is currently producing in their kennel.
(3) It is an excellent way for other breeders and prospective puppy buyers to meet the new person and evaluate them and their dogs.
Fortunately, like many breeders with a bit of experience, I no longer “have” to show dogs to be successful in my business. My decision to continue to show my dogs is therefore a personal choice, so I don’t allocate any of my expenses incurred showing dogs to the “cost” of producing puppies when I calculate the price I must charge for my puppies.
The unavoidable expenses incurred producing puppies are the costs my puppy prices have to cover. This is critical: The reason why the price of my puppies must be at least as high as the overhead expenses is because the expenses are unavoidable. If the unavoidable are not covered by the money coming in from puppy sales I will run out of money and have to quit breeding dogs. In addition I need to make some profit, if for no other reason than to provide a cushion against future unanticipated medical costs – like the cost of cancer treatment or a surgery.
In the first article, I took a three year time frame that started during the year 2006 and ended in 2009. For this study, for convenience, I used calendar years. I also wanted to have some overlap between the studies so that any remarkable changes (like the cost of dog food) would be tempered. So I used the three year calendar period from 2009 to 2012.
The number of Havanese puppies produced here during that first three year period was 38. In the most recent three year period the number of puppies produced was 28.
During each of these periods we paid for Vet fees, medicines, wormers, vaccines, progesterone testing, flea prevention, health testing (Baer Hearing, Bile acid, Cerf for eyes, OFA Patella, OFA Cardiac, OFA Thyroid, OFA Hips, LCP and Elbows), stud fee, semen storage, AKC and CKC registrations and pedigrees, DNA kits, Microchips, vaccines and progesterone testing. We paid a total of $45,326.64 for those kinds of things during the earlier time period. During this past three years, we paid a total of $34,924.92.
The breakdown during this most recent period was $24,113.97 for Veterinarian fees; $5,363.01 for medicines, $3,057.44 for health testing, $2,390.50 for AKC and CKC registrations, fees and supplies like Microchips.
Divided equally among the 38 puppies produced in the earlier period the average cost for those things was $1,192.81 per puppy. For the latest period, the average cost for Veterinarian fees and related items was $1,247.32 per puppy.
During the first three year period the dog food for the Havanese, including the puppies (kibble, meat, chicken, Nupro, goats milk, coat supplements, fish oil, treats and bones) cost $10,579.32 or $278.41 per puppy. During the most recent period, the cost of these things was $12,498.99. The cost increased remarkably to an average of $446.39 per puppy. (The number of dogs in the kennel stayed constant at 8 adult Havanese for each study period.)
Dog supplies, including toys, leads, collars, bedding, disinfectants, brushes, grooming products, dryers, kennel repairs, piddle pads, puppy buyer packets - including copies of “The Joyous Havanese” and the HFC’s “From Nose To Tail” grooming book - pedigree software, crates, x-pens, shears, combs, photos, and the like cost $26,300.20 or $692.11 per puppy during the initial period. In the latest three year period I was able to reduce this expense to $15,612.59 or $557.59 per puppy.
The County Kennel License for the initial period was $287 or $7.55 per puppy. In the past three years it has increased to $303 or $10.82 per puppy.
During the first three years, dog training, including books, seminars and dog classes cost $1,328.42 or $34.95 per puppy. This expense the last three years was $1,025.88 or $36.64 per puppy.
Counting these expenses only, my “overhead” or cost of producing puppies during the first three year period was $2,220.96 PER PUPPY! During this last three year study period it was $2,287.94 per puppy. It has taken a lot of work and discipline to keep my costs at this level in this economy. I hear the economists tell us that inflation is “tame” or under control. My books show something entirely different. The increase in Dog Food expenses in particular has been a real killer these last three years.
As noted in the original article, there are many, many other expenses that I have not included as costs my puppy buyers should be expected to cover. I decided not to include these, because while “necessary,” they are costs that can vary greatly depending on the predilections of each breeder. Those cost categories are as follows:
- The cost of foundation dogs, i.e., those dogs that are the beginning of your breeding program. If you are lucky, they are VERY expensive.
- The cost of utilities, taxes, fencing, camera, computer, ISP internet provider, advertising or other marketing expenses, postage, telephone calls, general office expense, motor home and truck expenses.
- The very substantial cost of creating the facilities where you feed, groom, bathe, hospitalize, exercise, train, whelp and nurse your dogs. Nor the cost of repair to the house and equipment damaged by the dogs as it is “used” by them. (If this were a Golden Retriever magazine, I could write a story about how my new Golden “Buddy” literally ate our utility room when he was a puppy!)
- Finally, as noted above, for those of us whose purpose in breeding is to try to improve the breed, most of us at one time or another test our progress by having our dogs evaluated by others (Breeders and Judges) in Conformation Shows. This, by itself, is incredibly expensive. Costs include entry fees, transportation expense, parking fees, lodging and meal expense.
When I decide to keep a dog in order to grow it out to evaluate whether I might want to keep it for our breeding program, I have to consider how much that puppy will actually cost us. Our actual cost can be substantially more than the average cost assigned to the price of the puppy.
Depending on your resources and your personal preferences, the cost of the four items listed above can double or even triple the actual cost of producing your puppies. In other words, the actual amount of money spent to produce my 38 puppies was not “just” $2,220.96 during the initial three year period or “only” $2,287.94 during this latest study period, but as far as money actually spent is as high as three times those amounts.
If you will, please note that none of the expenses or costs listed and discussed herein include money for the hours I spend seven days a week working with and in my dog business. I am content with that as long as I can cover my essential overhead and make a small profit to set aside money for emergencies. I think this is what is meant by the term “labor of love!”
For you puppy buyers: please understand that when you buy a puppy from a breeder, it is fairly clear that you are not paying what it actually cost to produce your puppy. Your purchase is being subsidized by the breeder.
The amount of your subsidy is the difference between what you paid for your puppy and the true cost to your breeder to produce the puppy.
When I first wrote this article, it gave me valuable information that allowed me to refocus my efforts to reduce expenses. Since then, I have made some progress.
I have not been able to stem the affects of inflation on dog foods or supplements. My food costs in the first study were 85% of what they have been this past three years and inflation continues unabated.
I am really glad I decided to re-examine the original study and rewrite the article. When I began, I thought this revised article would end up as a public explanation for why I was going raise my prices. After studying the matter again, I now think that with careful attention to expenditures and a little more inventiveness I can keep my prices the same as they have been for the past 8 years. At least for now.
So, now you know the facts behind our story. Perhaps you puppy buyers now have a better appreciation of the true cost of your new puppy. Hopefully, this will prompt a few of you breeders to examine your actual expenses. I’d like all of you breeders to be able to cover your costs so you can stay in business over the long run as well.
For any of you who do not have to cover your actual expenses, then I have a request: Would you like to share some that unlimited supply of money you apparently enjoy? PLEASE!
Bill Burns
The Kennel At Burns Gardens
Golden Retrievers and Havanese
www.burnsgardens.com
AKC Breeder of Merit is a title a breeder must EARN from AKC. They must prove that they complete all health testing on all parent dogs, they belong to an AKC club and they produce dogs that are up to the standard by breeding Champion dogs. There are also different levels based on the number of Champions produced. We are proud to be a SILVER level Breeder of Merit!
AKC Bred with HEART is another title that a breeder can earn by AKC. Health, Education, Accountability, Responsibility, Tradition.
Havanese are a pretty healthy breed, but they do have some genetic issues, as does every breed. Reputable breeders test their parent dogs for these problems before breeding in an attempt to breed away from these problems and produce genetically sound puppies. They never breed a dog without passing their health testing.
Genetic problems which should be tested for in Havanese parents include:
-Juvenile Cataracts and Progressive Retina Atrophy (PRA) - annual eye exam (the OFA is now certifying eyes, so it is now "OFA eyes" instead of "CERF")
-Congenital Deafness - BAER exam (Brain Audio Evoked Response)
-Congenital Cardiac Disease
-Patella Luxation
-Hip Dysplasia - X-ray evaluation
-Elbow Dysplasia - X-ray evaluation
-Legg Calve Perthes Disease (LCP)-disease of the hip joint - X-ray evaluation
Once these tests are performed, they may be sent to the OFA and the results will be publicly displayed in their online database. You can type in a dogs name and any health testing on file will be displayed. The dog is issued an OFA # for every passing test and a paper certificate is sent to the owner. The Havanese Club of America recommends that the "minimal" health testing for Havanese is: CERF (now known as "OFA eyes"), BAER, Patella Luxation and Hip Dysplasia...if these minimal tests are completed, the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) will issue the dog a "CHIC #" along with a paper certificate.
We don't stop at the "minimum", we believe the more testing the better and test all of our dogs for ALL of these problems before they are considered for breeding. We are proud to say that our dogs have completed and passed ALL of their testing!
For more information on health testing you can visit these websites:
CHIC - http://caninehealthinfo.org/
OFA - http://www.offa.org/