The History and Standard of The Havanese
The
Havanese is believed started in Cuba by the breeding of Blanqutio de la Habana to a toy Poodle at that time known as the Italian
Tenereffe ( now the Bichon Frise) to increase it size, leg and type of coat. This is how the Havanese was born !!!!
With the increase of revolutions in Cuba in the 20
th century breeders had to forgo furthering the breed standards. It has been said that they are found running the streets
of Havana and cities as little street dogs, sad but true.They have been said to be used in herding small animals chickens
etc
In the 1970 Dorothy Goodale rescued 11 Havanese and
brought them to America, they became a registered breed in 1999 by the AKC. Also three families from Cub left Cuba with these
fanastic little dogs , the Perez, Fantasio, Barba families. We can thank these honourable people for our Havanese of today.
Canadian
Kennel Club Standard - Havanese
General Appearance
The
Havanese is a sturdy little dog, low on his legs, with long abundant hair, soft and preferably wavy. His movement is lively
and elastic.
Temperament
Exceptionally bright he is easy to train as a watchdog
dog. Affectionate, of a happy nature, he is amiable, a charmer, playful and even a bit of a clown. He loves children and plays
endlessly with them.
Size
Height at the withers from 23-27cm. Tolerance from 21-29cm.
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. The usage of scissors to even out the length of the coat and all trimming is
forbidden. Exception: tidying up the hair on the feet is permitted, the hair on the forehead may be slightly shortened so
that it does not cover the eyes and the hair on the muzzle may be slightly tidied up, but it is preferable to leave it in
natural length. Colour: there are two varieties of colour. Rarely completely pure white; fawn in its different shades of light
fawn to havana-brown (tobacco colour, reddish brown); patches in those colours of coat; slight blackened overlay admitted.
Permissible colours and patches (white, light fawn to havana-brown) with black markings. Black coat.
Head
Of medium length, the relation between the length of the head and that of the trunk (measured
from the withers to the base of the tail) is 3/7. Skull: flat to very slightly rounded, broad; forehead rising; seen from
above it is rounded at the back and almost straight and square on the other three sides. Stop: moderately marked. Nose: black.
Muzzle: narrowing progressively and slightly towards the nose but neither snipey nor truncated. Lips: fine, lean, tight. Jaws/Teeth:
scissors bite. A complete dentition is desirable. The absence of premolars 1 (PM1) and molars 3 (M3) is tolerated. Cheeks:
very flat, not prominent. Eyes: quite big, almond shape, of brown colour as dark as possible. Kind expression. The eye rims
must be dark brown to black. Ears: set relatively high; they fall along the cheeks forming a discreet fold which raises them
slightly. Their extremity is in a lightly rounded point. They are covered with hair in long fringes. Neither propeller ears
(sticking sideways), nor stuck to the cheeks.
Neck
Of medium length
Forequarters
Forelegs straight and parallel, lean; good bone structure. The
distance from the ground to the elbow must not be greater than that between the elbow and the withers.
Body
The length of the body is slightly superior to that of the height at the withers. Topline straight, slightly
arched over the loin. Croup noticeably inclined. Ribs well sprung. Belly well tucked up.
Hindquarters
Good bone
structure; moderate angulations. Feet of slightly elongated shape; small; tight toes.
Tail
Carried
high, either in shape of a crozier or preferably rolled over the back; it is furnished with feathering of long silky hair.
Gait
According to his happy nature, the Havanese has a strikingly light-footed and elastic gait;
forelegs with free stride and pointing straight forward, the hindlegs giving them the impulsion and moving in a straight line.
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with
which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
General appearance lacking in type Truncated
or snipey muzzle, length not identical to that of the skull, Bird of prey eyes; eyes too deep set or prominent; rims of eyelids
partially depigmented.
Body too long or too short.
Straight tail, not carried high
French front (pasterns too
close, feet turned outwards)
Deformed hind feet
Coat harsh, not abundant; hair short except on puppies; groomed
coat
Disqualification
Depigminted nose
Upper or lower prognathism
Ectropion, entropion; rim of eyelids of one or both eyes depigmented
Size over or under the indicated norms of the
standard
N.B.: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
