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My first Havanese

2K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Macy2016 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,
I have been searching for a Havanese to add to our family and I have been reading through some of the information on here to get ready for our new bundle of joy and fun. If any of you got your baby from a rescue, what was your experience? How old was he/she and did you have any particular challenges due to their past experiences....ie owner surrender, puppy mill, etc... Just trying to get all the info I can. We currently have a very sweet and active yellow lab as well. Thanks so much for your help!
Lynn
 
#5 ·
Mine are all from good breeders.

Rescue is laudable, but not for everyone. I am allergic to most breeds, so it was REALLY important that the dogs be purebred Havanese, not something that "sort of looked like Havanese". I also wanted to use my dogs for sports, so it was important that I start off with Good bloodlines, both in terms of physical health and the right mental aptitude for sports. There are certainly many rescues who do end up doing well in sports, but you never know what kind of background and "emotional baggage" a rescue dog comes with.

I DON'T think it's a great way to get an "inexpensive" dog, because often they come with problems that cost you more in the long run. You can get lucky, but the odds are not in your favor.
 
#8 ·
Rescue



Hi Lynn

We got my Perry in December from a rescue - he was 9 months old. He came from a breeder that went out of business and given the number who came from that breeder at different ages, I would assume this wasn't someone recommended by the Havanese association.

We haven't had many problems - the biggest one has been that I don't think he was socialized well as a puppy in the critical period and may have had some bad experience with men, so he's basically afraid of almost anything new (and is still afraid of my husband). We adopted him in the US but we live in Kampala, Uganda so we haven't been able to do a lot of the needed socializing here (no training classes, all the trainers here work individually with people, and not a lot of other people with well trained/ small dogs). So, it's something that I need to work on, but don't have a lot of opportunities to do so.

Other than the fear (and the resulting growling at many things), we haven't had any issues. He's picking up different commands pretty easily (right now working on not barking and recall when distracted).

I fully acknowledge that I'm biased (we went to a lot of effort to adopt instead of buying from a breeder) but I would encourage you to look at rescue.
 
#11 ·
I do not have a specific dog lined up, but have applied to HRI. They will do a background check on me and home visit to make certain i am responsible. I thought I would go the rescue route first, but if I am unable to adopt then I will go to a breeder. How can you tell who is reputable and not online other than reading reviews? Are there any reputable breeders you would suggest in the TN area?
:smile2:
 
#13 ·
Lynn, I got my rescue, Bentley, on March 15. He was very shy at first but by about ten days was romping and playing with Raffi and follows me everywhere. He was adopted from a rescue/ no kill shelter as a puppy. When found as a stray he was returned to them since his chip was not current. He is house and crate trained. You will get different results with rescues as some were simply unwanted and others were reluctantly given up. I am lucky in that I jab his medical records from when he was a puppy and he was listed as a purebred. Good luck with your search.
 
#15 ·
My first Havanese also

Welcome to all who have their bundles of joy! I got mine (Macy) back in September 2016 after losing my 14 yr old miniature poodle suddenly. He was my baby. But.......Macy came upon us and I am soooooo glad that we have her. She was 10 months old when we got her and we were the 4th owner of her. Long story short, not knowing and not told the whole story when we got her, but she has ectopic ureters. No one wanted to put up with her having this so they just kept giving her back. : ( When I got the all the paperwork finally from the person I cried cause of what this baby had gone thru. And to top it off one of the owners was going to put her down. The surgery for this is costly and I can't afford to get it done so I keep her clean day and night, she is a happy little PooBear. Very active, loves to run outside and play. Anybody that has suggestions of help to get her the surgery please let me know. We do give her this medicine called LEAKS NO MORE and it helps some but not enough. Diapers FORGET IT!!!!!!!!!! She shredds them off.
 
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