Maggie is having her puppies this week! Stay tuned to see what excitement happens at the Poole home any day now.
Go here to see the litter as soon as it is born:
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Havanese Standard
What should a Havanese look like? It is probably best to start with easily definable elements.
Size Height at the withers from is from 23-27cm with tolerances from 21-29cm.
In inches that works out to 9.055 inches or think of it as just over 9 inches at the minimum up to 10.6299 inches or a bit over 10 and half inches. The tolerance part pertains to the show ring and allows breeders to keep dogs who are not within the ideal as part of their breeding program. Since dogs outside the tolerance range are disqualified and should be removed from a breeding program, narrowing the size range too much could result in drastically reducing the size of the gene pool. Keeping the Havanese within that 9 to 10.5 size range is one of the challenges of breeding the Havanese. While some people would like to see weight restrictions placed on the Havanese, I think it would result in some less than desirable consequences. First of all a dog at the top of the size range who is physically fit and well muscled will weight a great deal more than a less athletic dog of the same size. There are some show people who might restrict their dogs’ food in order to keep their prize champion within the desired weight range. Yes, sadly it does happen.
Coat & Colour Hair: undercoat woolly and not very developed; it is often totally absent. The topcoat is very long (12-18cm in adult dog), soft, flat or wavy and may form curly strands.
A Havanese can be any colour and any pattern. The only pattern that is not presently part of the Havanese genetic makeup is the merle (think Shelties and Australian Shepherds). This is fortunate since there are severe health risks associated with the merle gene when present in pairs.
In real life the Havanese has everything from long silky, fairly straight hair with very little undercoat to short cottony hair, that refuses to grow, to pretty curly hair that has so much undercoat that it becomes next to impossible to maintain to any length because of its tendency to knot up. Breeders are working at trying to come up with the desired silky coat but the genetics of coat type is not well understood and is very complex. Any one litter may have several coat types even when the sire and dam have the desired silky coat. I classify the coat types in the following way:
1. Silky with very little undercoat - fairly straight
2. Silky with a lot of undercoat - fairly straight
3. Silky with very little undercoat - fairly wavy
4. Silky with a lot of undercoat - fairly wavy
5. Silky but each individual hair is thin
6. Silky but each individual hair is thick
7. The cotton coat
The easiest coat to maintain is the thick individual hair that is fairly straight with little to no undercoat. Since both the US and Canadian standards are being revised right now I'm not sure just what the new "best coat" is going to be according to the standard.
There will be more later but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me at:
sonrisas_havanese@sympatico.ca
Rita
Size Height at the withers from is from 23-27cm with tolerances from 21-29cm.
In inches that works out to 9.055 inches or think of it as just over 9 inches at the minimum up to 10.6299 inches or a bit over 10 and half inches. The tolerance part pertains to the show ring and allows breeders to keep dogs who are not within the ideal as part of their breeding program. Since dogs outside the tolerance range are disqualified and should be removed from a breeding program, narrowing the size range too much could result in drastically reducing the size of the gene pool. Keeping the Havanese within that 9 to 10.5 size range is one of the challenges of breeding the Havanese. While some people would like to see weight restrictions placed on the Havanese, I think it would result in some less than desirable consequences. First of all a dog at the top of the size range who is physically fit and well muscled will weight a great deal more than a less athletic dog of the same size. There are some show people who might restrict their dogs’ food in order to keep their prize champion within the desired weight range. Yes, sadly it does happen.
Coat & Colour Hair: undercoat woolly and not very developed; it is often totally absent. The topcoat is very long (12-18cm in adult dog), soft, flat or wavy and may form curly strands.
A Havanese can be any colour and any pattern. The only pattern that is not presently part of the Havanese genetic makeup is the merle (think Shelties and Australian Shepherds). This is fortunate since there are severe health risks associated with the merle gene when present in pairs.
In real life the Havanese has everything from long silky, fairly straight hair with very little undercoat to short cottony hair, that refuses to grow, to pretty curly hair that has so much undercoat that it becomes next to impossible to maintain to any length because of its tendency to knot up. Breeders are working at trying to come up with the desired silky coat but the genetics of coat type is not well understood and is very complex. Any one litter may have several coat types even when the sire and dam have the desired silky coat. I classify the coat types in the following way:
1. Silky with very little undercoat - fairly straight
2. Silky with a lot of undercoat - fairly straight
3. Silky with very little undercoat - fairly wavy
4. Silky with a lot of undercoat - fairly wavy
5. Silky but each individual hair is thin
6. Silky but each individual hair is thick
7. The cotton coat
The easiest coat to maintain is the thick individual hair that is fairly straight with little to no undercoat. Since both the US and Canadian standards are being revised right now I'm not sure just what the new "best coat" is going to be according to the standard.
There will be more later but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me at:
sonrisas_havanese@sympatico.ca
Rita
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Puppy Mill Dogs
All animals may have health problems, but the Havanese is fortunate in that most of the health issues that face this breed are not serious enough to be life threatening in most cases. This, unfortunately, also makes them highly desirable for high volume output by puppy mills.
So, if the dogs are generally healthy, why not save $500 to $1000 on your puppy? First of all, the Havanese is a very people oriented breed and as such need a great deal of companionship to remain viable dogs. Havanese left alone for days and weeks on end will, just like humans, eventually turn negative, overly shy, and possibly anti-social all together. You may not end up with the wonderful, loving companion that you paid for. The canine mother plays an extremely important role in the social development of her puppies. Not only that, but the human bonding starts very early in life and if the breeder has multiple litters left in a building, or barn then how does each puppy receive the stimulation and human interaction that it needs to develop fully its personality and intelligence. Research during WWII and subsequent research by therapy dog institutions show that puppies who received physical and emotional stimulation early in their lives, grew up to be more responsive and trainable by humans.
You may luck out and get a healthy, happy dog from a puppy mill but if you don't, then the possibility of getting any money back for your puppy's illness is slim. After care and advice will be non-existent. A single vet visit for any major illness can start at $500 and go up from there. Not only can it cost a great deal of money to cope with the illness, but also the emotional cost of losing your beloved pet can be even higher. I have had so many people say that they wish they knew better before purchasing their dogs because of the heartbreak they suffer when the puppy dies, or is not suitable. What is needed is a huge educational campaign but that is costly.
So, can a breeder, no matter how conscientious, guarantee that your dog will be healthy? No, but they can increase the probability of that puppy being healthy and they can guarantee the health testing that was done on your puppy's parents and what they will do if something does go wrong. A good breeder belongs to organizations such as the Havanese Fanciers of Canada, the Havanese Club of America, and/or the Ontario Havanese Club (HOLA). Being a member of CKC guarantees nothing.
The most common health issues for the Havanese include cataracts, hearing loss, luxating patella and hip dysplasia. While there are many genetic factors involved in any health issue, not all illnesses have genetic causes and many are a result of environmental factors. Diet, for example, is a major cause of some diseases and it has been proven that excessive food, even good quality food, will shorten the life span of a dog. It is extremely important to keep your pet on the thin side.
All our breeding dogs are tested for, and certified clear of, any health issues including hearing, patella, hips, elbows, liver function, heart, and thyroid. They are tested regularly and especially before breeding.
So, if the dogs are generally healthy, why not save $500 to $1000 on your puppy? First of all, the Havanese is a very people oriented breed and as such need a great deal of companionship to remain viable dogs. Havanese left alone for days and weeks on end will, just like humans, eventually turn negative, overly shy, and possibly anti-social all together. You may not end up with the wonderful, loving companion that you paid for. The canine mother plays an extremely important role in the social development of her puppies. Not only that, but the human bonding starts very early in life and if the breeder has multiple litters left in a building, or barn then how does each puppy receive the stimulation and human interaction that it needs to develop fully its personality and intelligence. Research during WWII and subsequent research by therapy dog institutions show that puppies who received physical and emotional stimulation early in their lives, grew up to be more responsive and trainable by humans.
You may luck out and get a healthy, happy dog from a puppy mill but if you don't, then the possibility of getting any money back for your puppy's illness is slim. After care and advice will be non-existent. A single vet visit for any major illness can start at $500 and go up from there. Not only can it cost a great deal of money to cope with the illness, but also the emotional cost of losing your beloved pet can be even higher. I have had so many people say that they wish they knew better before purchasing their dogs because of the heartbreak they suffer when the puppy dies, or is not suitable. What is needed is a huge educational campaign but that is costly.
So, can a breeder, no matter how conscientious, guarantee that your dog will be healthy? No, but they can increase the probability of that puppy being healthy and they can guarantee the health testing that was done on your puppy's parents and what they will do if something does go wrong. A good breeder belongs to organizations such as the Havanese Fanciers of Canada, the Havanese Club of America, and/or the Ontario Havanese Club (HOLA). Being a member of CKC guarantees nothing.
The most common health issues for the Havanese include cataracts, hearing loss, luxating patella and hip dysplasia. While there are many genetic factors involved in any health issue, not all illnesses have genetic causes and many are a result of environmental factors. Diet, for example, is a major cause of some diseases and it has been proven that excessive food, even good quality food, will shorten the life span of a dog. It is extremely important to keep your pet on the thin side.
All our breeding dogs are tested for, and certified clear of, any health issues including hearing, patella, hips, elbows, liver function, heart, and thyroid. They are tested regularly and especially before breeding.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Our Number One All Breeds Dog
Here is a photo of Sonrisas' Tiny Thomas who was number one ALL Breeds in Canada for the year 2007.
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