Breed History

The National Dog of Cuba, the Havanese is believed to be of the Bichon bloodlines that trace back to one of the seven Canary Islands and originated in the late 1800s. This breed was bred only for companionship of the Spanish colonists and still remains used for companionship today. It is important to note that this breed has struggled hardship in gaining population over the years and in the 1900s almost became extinct.

Breed Appearance

Both male and female Havanese typically measure 8-12 inches in height and weigh in approximately 7-13 pounds in weight. Please note that males and females may be smaller or larger than show standard and still be purebred. The Havanese has a double layer coat that measures 6 to 8 inches in length and should be soft to the touch and demonstrate a natural shine. It is important to note that if the male and female Havanese that are being bred together carry the recessive gene, that some of the offspring of the liter may result in smooth coat puppies, which may not be acceptable to show. This breed comes in all colors, including but not limited to, parti color, cream, white, black and white, blue, silver, red, fawn, and all shade variations of these colors. The Havanese also comes in chocolate, however the chocolate Havanese puppies always have green or amber eyes. In all other colors an patterns, this breed carries black eyes and a perfectly small, black button nose. Their tail should be carried up and over their back, and have hair accentuating it along with their pendant shaped ears that frame their face. Their body build is short, semi long and stocky to the ground. This breed is built hardy from its body to its health. This breed is available in curly coat, smooth coat, short coat and corded coat. Corded coat is only an option that an owner is able to make, a professional groomer can chord the Havanese’s coat per request.

Breed Temperament

The Havanese is a perfect family addition to any family with children of all ages, elderly, non canine pets and other dogs. This breed gets along with everyone and just wants to be included as part of the family. Generally always happy and joyful, this breed is very easy to train and will always be in company with the family. It is extremely important to note that the Havanese breed is very sensitive when it comes to getting corrected, yelled at or other harsh human behavior, so please only use positive reinforcement training methods while working with the breed. Though this breed is very friendly, they do make good watchdogs, as the Havanese will alert the family when someone has arrived. This breed is suited well for both apartment and country living situations, and requires a daily walk as well as play time indoors with its family.

Breed Grooming

For smooth, short and curly coated Havanese puppies, required daily brushing is needed. Regular trips to a professional groomer is also highly recommended. For corded coat, special attention and care is needed and will be provided to you by your groomer. For all other coat selections, bathe when needed and pay special attention to their tail, ears and stomach as these are spots that typically knot and mat faster than others.

Special Notes

It is important to note that the Havanese breed is prone to eye issues, deafness, seizures and dry skin. Please fully educate yourself about this breed prior to adding one to your family to ensure this is the correct breed for you and you are able to make a life long commitment. Make sure your new dog has a proper fitting leash and harness on at all times outside unless within a properly fenced in area where he or she is able to roam freely and safely. Do not add this dog to your family unless you are able to provide life long physical and financial care. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.

Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2024. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.