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I'm Bill from San Diego

1K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  ImJustABill 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

My name is Bill and I live in San Diego, CA. My family (wife + 13yo daughter and I) are considering getting a dog soon. We're attracted to the Havanese breed because 1) we have allergies 2) their size and disposition would be a good fit for us 3) they're so darn cute.

What I'm wondering is whether getting a new puppy right now is a good idea

Pros of right now:

I'm working from home during CV19 (probably at least for another month in CA) and will have more time to watch over and play with the dog at home

Cons:

Going on outdoor walks discouraged right now (we do have a backyard. 7000 sq ft lot or so
Socializing new puppy with other people and dogs obviously wouldn't be a good idea right now while we're all social distancing.
Getting supplies from pet store more difficult / bad for social distancing right now.
Going to vet more difficult / bad for social distancing right now.

So hello to everyone, and I'm wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the tradeoffs of getting a puppy now during the CV19 shutdown vs. waiting.

Thank you!
 
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#2 ·
Hi Bill, I'm Popi and I'm a Havaholic. We live two hours north of you off the 15/215.

To answer your questions:
- I have animal allergies and I have no issues with the Havanese breed. They are hypoallergenic.
- Havanese size makes them easy to transport, whether by bicycle basket, car, or airplane.
- They are so cute they will draw a crowd wherever you take them and they love to be the center of attention.

I think you have accurately described the pros and cons of getting a puppy at this time. Even finding and visiting a potential candidate puppy would be difficult. I recommend you contact Lisa at Ohana Havanese (ohanahavanese.com) in Corona. She has puppies available right now and she has beautiful show dogs that make great pets. In the meantime, the whole family, especially your daughter, should start researching the Havanese breed on the Internet - care, personality, feeding, grooming, characteristics, coloring, etc. Think about starting to get the necessary equipment together via mail order BEFORE you get a puppy. It will be like Christmas in April. Ask lots of questions on this chat list. Have your daughter ask questions too!

I wish there was a way for you could 'borrow' Ricky for a day. He will make Havanese believers out of the whole family!

Ricky's Popi
 
#3 ·
I agree with Popi of Ricky above about getting your supplies for a puppy now. Shipping is taking a longer than usual time. Here in FL, the vets are open, not sure about CA. I was at the vet's this morning and it was different but ok. My vet has changed their hours, lots of cleaning between dogs, you wait outside til the previous dog leaves. The vet talks to you from 6 feet. My dog ran to him and he took into the adjoining room with the vet techs. Not in the same room on the table like it usually is. One person in the office, so you couldn't bring the kids in.
I would be concerned about not leaving the puppy alone enough and socializing. Many Havs get too attached when they don't get used to being left at home alone. My Hav is a good example. I see that now I really am home almost 24 hours a day for over 3 weeks now the couple of times I have gone out, he has not been cooperative at all. It seems like he has gotten used to my presence constantly. I am going to make sure that he gets crated for an hour or 2 every day from now on, even if it means I am out walking or doing yard work. Things will be harder for him when real life starts happening again. I think it would be the same for a new puppy, they need to learn to be alone for short amounts of time.
The upside would be that you will have lots of time for potty training.
 
#4 ·
It might be hard to find a puppy from a reputable breeder. I was starting to look for a puppy right before this and now a lot of people are in wait and see mode. You might find someone with a litter that was already planned, but then you have to hope they don’t have a long waiting list.

I don’t think there’s any harm in starting to contact people and get an idea of what plans breeders have, because getting a Havanese puppy is typically going to be a process that takes a couple of months under normal circumstances.

I think right now where everything is shut down really tight, socialization would be a challenge, but not completely impossible if you’re up for it. But I also don’t think everything is going to open up all at once, so maybe you’ll find yourself in a position where you’re still working at home part of the time, and things are starting to loosen, and social interactions with healthy family and friends starts to resume. That might be a better time.
 
#5 ·
Just thought to add, I would be really careful to check out anyone with puppies available. Of course, with everything going on, there could be a great breeder that had people back out of getting a puppy because of covid-19. On the other hand, puppy mills aren’t going to stop breeding because of social distancing and stay at home orders, and it’s not like they’re inviting people to “visit the farm.” They’ve become really sophisticated at disguising what they’re doing, and the current situation gives them a lot of excuses to avoid typical due diligence, like visiting the home of the breeder.
 
#6 ·
I would be really careful to check out anyone with puppies available. Of course, with everything going on, there could be a great breeder that had people back out of getting a puppy because of covid-19.
My referral to Ohana Havanese is not a puppy mill and is a reputable breeder. I know Lisa personally. She is an officer in SoCal HCA. She has been breeding Havanese for 20 years. She has several Grand Champions in her history. Now is a great time to find a quality puppy. Lisa always has a waiting list but her business has been hit hard like everyone else. She planned a litter last fall before there was any C-19 and all pups were spoken for. The pups were whelped earlier this year and some people backed out because of the virus (loss of job, uncertainty of future, etc.) Not only should a prospective owner check out the breeder but Lisa will check out the prospective owner to insure a good match. She will often decline a prospective if they don't meet her standards. Although I don't know what she is charging for her pups, it can't be cheap!

Ricky's Popi
 
#7 ·
I second the recommendation of Lisa from Ohana Havanese. She is an amazing breeder! Our precious Taylor (now 15 weeks) is from one of her two December litters. Taylor's mom Adele is sister to Bono, the number one Havanese in the country. Her father is also a grand champion.

After countless hours of research, and trying to find a reputable, health focused breeder within a fairly close perimeter, I contacted Lisa. I sent her an email detailing our interest in a Havanese puppy or even an older retired show pet. After a few emails, she contacted us and invited us to visit her home to meet her dogs and get to know us. At that time, she had planned on two breedings for the Fall, which had not yet taken place. We were so impressed by her beautiful, happy dogs and her lovely home care for them. (She is very careful about where her puppies are placed, so be prepared to be interviewed at length.) We were fortunate to be considered for a puppy, and were notified when the breedings took place in November. We received a birth notice on the first litter with photos and updates. Her puppies were stimulated and acclimated in the upstairs nursery whelping area of their home for the first 3 weeks, then prospective families were encouraged to visit. We were able to visit once a week and watch the pups develop. It was amazing!

When they were 6 weeks old, puppies got rides in the car, stroller time, and visited Home Depot (always safely off the ground in a basket) to start meeting many different types of people for socialization. Lisa and her husband encourage the puppies in meeting many people and even small children. They also have a house kitty who the puppies get familiar with. The pups start out litter box training when very young, then transition to learning to potty outside. The pups then learn that the crate is a happy place to rest.

Lisa typically sends her pups to their new families at 10 weeks, never before. She graciously kept our girl for us until 12 weeks, as we had some pre-scheduled medical procedures that had to be taken care of. I have to say, that due to the wonderful care that Lisa and her husband provided the puppies, we ended up with an amazing, happy, adorable puppy who sleeps through the night in a crate by our bed, is almost fully potty trained to the yard, and has already mastered sit, stay, down, and roll over. We are in the process of leash training now, and as soon as she gets her next round of parvo vaccination in early May, we can start walking her.

Lisa does all the health testing of her breeding dogs, and she rarely breeds more than 2 litters per year. I know each and every one of those adorable pups from both litters and if any of them are still available, they will be wonderful additions to any family, due to the wonderful care, socialization and training they have received.
 
#8 ·
Thank you so much for all the great recommendations everyone! Sounds like I need to make sure I can get all the supplies first, then do a little more research into local breeders like Ohana, Havanese in SoCal, Encore Havanese.

I'll also need to look into what training I can do on my own - I assume professional trainer led classes won't be allowed again for a while - maybe May or June?

Thanks again,

Bill
 
#10 ·
Welcome! We got Shama because my husband has an allergic reaction to nearly every other breed, including many other "hypoallergenic" breeds. We love her so much!

They say teachers shouldn't get puppies in June because the puppies may get used to the teachers being home, and life changes dramatically in the fall. You would need to take great care now to avoid having the puppy get used to you being around if after COVID-19 you will be around much less.

You should have everyone in the household read both of these PDFs before considering getting a puppy now.

https://www.havaneseforum.com/8-puppy-area/123097-excellent-puppy-resources.html

(That said, I would hate to be an awesome breeder with awesome puppies unable to go to their forever homes right now ...)
 
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