Hi Everyone,
I am not a Havanese owner yet but I have been looking at this breed (and coming back to it) for about 2 years. My daughter has been asking "Santa" for a puppy since she was 5. I finally feel that I am ready to take on that responsibility now that my kids are a bit older (10 & 12). In my research, I have ruled out a number of breeds that I love the look of and personality - but do not ultimately fit what I could live with in a long-term doggy relationship. I want a small dog that is fun, playful, good with kids, does not bark constantly or nip at people, loves to snuggle and has the potential to be a certified therapy dog. A HUGELY important thing for me is that the dog does not stink. At times my kids will pet a neighbors dog and come home with a wet dog smell just from briefly petting the dog. I know I can't deal with a dog living in my house that has a continual "stinky dog" smell. From what I understand, this is not true of the Havanese. Has this been your experience?
Also, I just visited a breeder near me that has AKC registered Havanese puppies. The dam of the puppy I was interested in looked like she has severe eye staining issues. This gave me concern as how prevalent this is in this breed. Do most havanese have eye staining or just some?
We live in Marietta, GA (near Atlanta) can any of you recommend a great breeder in this area. Thanks in advance for your input.
I am not a Havanese owner yet but I have been looking at this breed (and coming back to it) for about 2 years. My daughter has been asking "Santa" for a puppy since she was 5. I finally feel that I am ready to take on that responsibility now that my kids are a bit older (10 & 12). In my research, I have ruled out a number of breeds that I love the look of and personality - but do not ultimately fit what I could live with in a long-term doggy relationship. I want a small dog that is fun, playful, good with kids, does not bark constantly or nip at people, loves to snuggle and has the potential to be a certified therapy dog. A HUGELY important thing for me is that the dog does not stink. At times my kids will pet a neighbors dog and come home with a wet dog smell just from briefly petting the dog. I know I can't deal with a dog living in my house that has a continual "stinky dog" smell. From what I understand, this is not true of the Havanese. Has this been your experience?
Also, I just visited a breeder near me that has AKC registered Havanese puppies. The dam of the puppy I was interested in looked like she has severe eye staining issues. This gave me concern as how prevalent this is in this breed. Do most havanese have eye staining or just some?
We live in Marietta, GA (near Atlanta) can any of you recommend a great breeder in this area. Thanks in advance for your input.