BEFORE you buy a puppy....
Havanese are the one of the fastest growing breeds in the AKC right now. There are articles cropping up in magazines and on news programs touting the Havanese as the current must have trendy dog in America! What does this mean for the average person looking for a Havanese for a loving pet?
Unfortunately, it means: BUYER BEWARE!
There are "back yard breeders" turning up right and left in the Havanese world. Pick up a dog magazine, newspaper or do a web search and you'll see a plethora of Havanese puppies for sale. Many have adorable and cute websites too, so do your homework to reduce your chance of being 'duped'. Havanese puppies are turning up more frequently now too, in Pet Stores. Where do all pet store puppies come from? From Puppy Mills, Pet Stores or unscrupulous people who are just breeding to cash in on the new trend. A "good" breeder has certain criteria which sets them apart from the random back yard breeder or mill.
Some of those criteria are:
- A good breeder health tests her breeding dogs. This does not mean they do JUST a CERF (eye) or a Patella exam. That is the bare minimum of health testing and not enough anymore for this breed. The Havanese Club of America (HCA) "advises these tests: BAER, CERF, OFA of Hips, Elbows, Cardiac and Patellas. You can find out if the parents of the puppy you are considering buying have these tests done by looking up the AKC Registered name of both the parents at the OFA Site. There is a 'quick search' box at the top of the page. Just type in the dog's Registered name OR their AKC number. If the 'breeder' will not supply you with the AKC Registered names of their dogs or their number, or you find no records listed for those dogs, the odds are good that this person is not telling you the truth.
- A good breeder is involved in showing dogs in AKC Breed Conformation Shows. Buying from a 'show breeder', you are going to get a puppy from a knowledgable person who understands and breeds to the AKC Standard of Excellence, for what a Havanese should look like and act like. Without having been in the show ring with their dogs, where the 'experts' (Judges) evaluate the dogs against the Standard, how can a breeder understand the correct conformation of putting two dogs together that compliment each other, before they breed? They don't know! They just put two breeding dogs together without any knowledge or thought and create puppies that may or may not even look like a Havanese as an adult. It's the old rule, that you get what you pay for and in some instances, in the Havanese World, you may still pay for what you don't get. So buyer beware!
- A good breeder spends many hours working with young puppies to get them ready for their new homes. It may not be obvious to everyone, but there is a lot of work involved with getting a puppy started out on the right foot. This means working with each individual puppy every day - handling them from the time they are born, playing with them, starting potty training, starting crate training, etc. This takes a lot of time if it's done correctly. A good breeder is dedicated to her puppies and has the time every day to spend in this crucial stage of their development. Can a breeder really do a good job of socializing and early training while working a 40-or-more-hour job outside the home, and away from the puppies?
- A good breeder allows you to come to their home visit and to pick up the puppy. While it can be very time consuming and stressful to have hordes of strangers coming to visit each week, a good breeder will want you to come to their house to see the puppies when they are about 5 or 6 weeks old if at all possible, or at the very least come to their home to pick up the puppy to take it home. This gives the breeder and the new owners a chance to meet face to face before letting a puppy go home and also allows the prospective buyers a chance to see how their puppy has been raised since birth. If the breeder refuses to let you come to their home to pick up your puppy, and insists on meeting you at the McDonald's parking lot instead with puppy in hand... odds are, this person is not a responsible breeder!
- A good breeder guarantees her puppies for longer than 5 days. While most infectious diseases will show up within 5-7 days from exposure, many genetic problems will not be evident for many years. While there is no way to guarantee that a genetic disease will never happen, a good breeder will have a section in the purchase contract with options.
- A good breeder will be there for you, long after they cash your check and will provide picutres of the growing puppies and updates while they are with the breeder. A good breeder will be available via email and/or phone calls to prospective puppy buyers and will care about their pups and you, long after you've taken the puppy home. In other words, a good breeder is available to you! It's part of what you are paying for, when buying from a knowledgable and caring breeder.
Many people believe that you only need to go to a breeder if you are interested in a show dog. Nothing could be further from the truth. A good breeder sells most of their puppies to pet homes (simply because good show homes are far and few between!) A good breeder carefully selects homes for both pet homes and show homes and placing their pups in the safest and most loving homes possible is always their first priority.
If there were just two things that I could stress upon you, that you'll take with you after reading this page, it's:
- Don't be in a big hurry to buy a puppy from the first person who has puppies available and
- Do your homework first! Talk to several breeders and get a feeling for how they do things. If it doesn't feel quite right, trust your instinct...this is probably not the person you want to get your treasured family member from!
This is a long term committment for you and your family both financially and emotionally. So you owe it to yourself (and to your new puppy) to buy from a good breeder who health tests their dogs and breeds according the AKC Havanese Standard.
Also be sure to visit the HCA Website and click on the Breeder Referral link to find a list of Havanese Breeders who have met health testing and other criteria for being listed. Also, while you are there, start educating yourself now before you buy! Education as well as patience, before you buy, is the key!