Havanese Standard and History

Native Breed of Cuba - Known Today as the Havanese (formerly known as the Havana Silk Dog)

The Havanese are a part of the Bichon family and earliest references extend back to 23-79 BC in the Mediterranean, quite possibly from the Island of Malta, known then as Melita. Also known as the Havana Silk Dog, the Havanese came to the United States from Cuba at the beginning of the Cuban revolution. Popular among wealthy Cubans, the breed is thought to have had both Spain and Italy play an integral part in bringing the Havanese to the New World. Today, the Havanese is a happy, outgoing, sturdy, short-legged small dog. Combining the outgoing temperament with their trainability, the Havanese are excellent candidates for obedience training, agility and therapy.

Part of the above bit of Havanese history is an excerpt from The American Kennel Club Standard, approved June 1995, effective February 1, 1996. If you would like to read more about this subject, you can find an excellent write-up about the history of the Havanese breed on the Havanese Club of America website (http://www.havanese.org/hcaHistory.htm).

Did you know?

The Havanese is AKC's 142nd breed
The Havanese is the National Dog of Cuba and the country's only native breed (Havana = Havanese).
Despits its being a new breed to the AKC, the Havanese is an old breed, descending from breeds brought over from Europe to Cuba.
The Havanese was once called the Havana Silk Dog or the Spanish Silk Poodle.
The coat of the Havanese is deceptively warm looking. In reality, it is an insulation and barrier from the sun and overheating.
The Havanese descends from the same ancestors as the entire Bichon family, the Tenerife.
By the mid-eighteenth century, the Havanese was so popular that it was owned by such celebrities as Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens. It became known as the dog of the aristocratic class of sugar barons of Cuba.

Havanese Standard

The Havanese is a sturdy, short-legged small dog, ranging in size from 8.5 to 11.5 inches, with a soft profuse, untrimmed double coat. Neck of moderate length and the topline is straight with a very slight rise over the croup. Eyes are large, almond-shaped and very dark with a gentle expression. Skull is broad, somewhat rounded with a moderate stop, with the length of the muzzle equal to the distance to the stop to the back of the skull. Flanks are well raised and ribs are well rounded. His plumed tail is set high and carried curled over his back. Nose, lips and eye rims are black except for in the chocolate dog. He is an affectionate, happy dog with a lively, springy gait. You can read the full text of the standard on either the AKC or HCA website.

What is the Havana Silk Dog Association of America and do they have a new breed?

A new organization has recently surfaced. It is called The Havana Silk Dog Association of America (HSDAA). This group claims that dogs registered to the HSDAA are an "elite" registry of Havanese dogs who are appropriately health screened, free of chondrodysplasia (a condition that causes bowing of the legs and is sometimes associated with other serious health issues), and who display "true Cuban breed type." However, if you look at the pictures on the several websites of the Havanese breeders in Cuba, you will see that many of the dogs of the HSDAA actually do not look like the dogs in Cuba. The goal of this organization is to gain recognition for the "Havana Silk Dog" as a breed that is separate and distinct from the "American Havanese." The HSDAA continues to mislead the general public into thinking that one day they will become a distinct breed of their own.

I would like to help clear up any confusion that this new organization may have created for people new to the Havanese breed or those people who are considering buying their first Havanese puppy. Please understand that this organization's use of the name "Havana Silk Dog" to describe their "distinct breed" is very misleading. The term "Havana Silk Dog" is an historical name for the Havanese. The Havanese is the native dog of Cuba and today there are many reputable Havanese breeders here in the United States. We are talking about the same breed, with the same gene pool, not a new, distinct, or designer breed!

Unfortunately, the creation of the HSDAA is a political movement within our breed that has had a divisive impact on our long-established national breed organization, The Havanese Club of America (HCA). I am disappointed that some individuals have decided to segregate because I feel that it is in the best interests of the Havanese breed for reputable breeders to work together. A very large majority of good breeders are not members of the HSDAA. These good breeders do the recommended health testing, breed away from chondrodysplasia and the other prevalent health issues in our breed, and also select dogs for their breeding programs that are true to the AKC breed standard. The pedigree lines that are registered to the HSDAA are not exclusive to the HSDAA registry since there are many non-HSDAA members who have the same lines. Also, there are breeders of dogs that are registered to the HSDAA who are not in agreement with the creation of this new registry.

I am not a member of the Havana Silk Dog Association of America and I view their objectives as being destructive to the common good of our breed. I am a member of, and will continue my association with, The Havanese Club of America and I will continue to follow my current practices of health testing for healthy eyes, hearing, hips, patellas, elbows, thyroid, liver and heart. I only breed dogs with straight legs, therefore, breeding away from chondrodysplasia. I work with other breeders who health test their dogs and have the same goals that I have for breeding healthy puppies that exemplify the Havanese breed standard.

My caution to you is to not assume that you will be getting a healthier puppy, a better socialized puppy, or a puppy truer to the breed standard if you adopt a HSDAA puppy. The truth is that a puppy, whether called a Havanese or a Havana Silk dog, is produced from the same available gene pool. There are health issues in the Havanese breed just as there are in every breed. The conformation and health of a puppy is in part due to the skill of the breeder, but is also dependent on the way genes come together when two dogs with a different set of genes are bred. It is not an exact science and genes do not line up according to membership in one club or another club. It is a fact that two straight-legged, non-CD dogs, bred together can produce a puppy with CD. This is due to the influence of hidden, recessive genes that are not expressed in the parents of the puppy. If you adopt a puppy and it develops a health issue, then you should expect the breeder to stand behind their health guarantee to you, regardless of their club affiliation. DO NOT assume that membership in a club guarantees the integrity of a breeder or their skill in the art of breeding. What it comes down to is that YOU must take responsibility for asking the right questions when selecting a breeder.

Finding a reputable Havanese breeder

My best advice to you, a person who may be seeking to adopt a new Havanese puppy, is to do your homework! Read about the breed and the health issues. Interview prospective breeders and ask to see proof of current health tests on their foundation dogs and the parents of the puppies. Ask about how their puppies are socialized, about their health warranty, and go visit the breeder to see the environment where the puppies are raised. Beware of a breeer who has many unkempt, poorly socialized dogs. Under no circumstances should you consider buying a Havanese puppy (or any other breed of puppy for that matter) from a pet store or a puppy broker. By the way, most brokers will say things to make you think they are the breeder. Ask to come visit their home to meet them and the mother and the littermates (or say you have a friend that lives locally that can come visit). Chances are, that broker will give you every excuse in the book why they will meet you somewhere (or your friend) so you can see the puppy. They do not want you to come to their house because it is their warehouse of puppies from puppy mills that they have bought in order to turn around and make a profit of selling the puppies.

Your best source for healthy puppies is the hobby breeder who shows their dogs in conformation events, health tests their foundation stock, belongs to breed organizations, and works with other reputable breeders towards the goal of breeding healthy Havanese puppies bred to the AKC Havanese standard. Additionally, a reputable breeder will have a health warranty on their puppies that will tell you, the buyer, what they will do if your puppy develops a serious health issue. Good breeders do not want their puppies to end up in shelters and they require you to give them first option for taking the puppy back if you can no longer care for it. A good breeder's commitment to you to take a puppy back should be for the life of the dog! Good breeders also do not want their puppies to end up in puppy mills as breeding stock, so a good breeder will first get to know you as a potential puppy buyer and then either sell the puppy with a limited registration or will remain on the AKC papers as a co-owner with you until you either spay or neuter your puppy or have finished that puppy to its championship to help prove its worth as breeding stock.

By the way, a "designer breed" is nothing more than a cross between two purebred dogs and will NEVER be recognized by the AKC as a new breed. Buying one of these so-called "designer breeds" does nothing more than support puppy mills across the nation. Please, if you buy any puppy, DO NOT BUY IT FROM A PET STORE and only buy it from a reputable breeder that will let you come to their home to examine the puppies and their upbringing. Each one of us must do everything we can to STOP PUPPY MILLS in their pawprints.