Bichon Havanese

The breed origin

Although it is new to the AKC, the Havanese is quite an old breed in "dog years". Its history is fascinating and important to defining type, as it is unique in many respects. The Havanese is the National dog of Cuba and its only native breed. The flag of Spain was first raised over Cuba by Christopher Columbus in November of 1492. In the ten years following, colonization was begun on the island by Spain, who owned it for the better part of the next four hundred years.

The first settlers came from two distinct classes- farmers primarily from the island of Tenerife, and the "segundos", or second sons of the Spanish aristocracy. Ship's logs of the early sixteenth century reveal that dogs were brought along on these early colonists' voyages, and logic tells us they were most likely the dog of Tenerife, common ancestor to all the Bichon family. Because of the draconian trade restrictions imposed on its colonies by Spain, Tenerife remained one of the only ports open to Cuba for trade, and it would appear these little dogs, who soon found their way into the homes of the resident Spanish aristocracy, developed without much outside influence. They did, however, develop in response to the climate of this tropical island. The Havanese of today is still a remarkably heat-tolerant little dog, due in no small part to the unique coat. Once called the Havana Silk Dog, or the Spanish Silk Poodle, the coat is like raw silk floss, profuse, but extremely light and soft, and insulating against the tropical rays in much the same way that yards of silk sari protect the women of India. In its native country, the coat was never clipped for this reason, and the hair never tied into a topknot, as the Cubans believe it protects the eyes from the harsh sun.

In spite of the trade restrictions, Colonial Cuba developed and prospered. By the 18th Century, it was the cultural center of the New World, with an elegance that surpassed anything the British had managed in ITS colonies! The aristocracy of Europe found the city of Havana to be a great vacation spot, with its operas, theatres and palacios. On their return to Europe, they brought back the little Dog of Havannah, which found favor in the courts of Spain, France and England. In both Spain and in the court of Louis XVI, they were shorn in the manner of poodles, and were much admired for their diminutive size. The English, on the other hand, appeared to leave them au natural, and calledthem the white Cuban, although they were as often found in parti-colors and shades of fawn.

By the mid-eighteenth century, they were downright trendy in Europe. Queen Victoria owned two and Charles Dickens had one, beloved of his seven children and named Tim. They were exhibited in the early European dog shows and type was well-established. In Cuba meanwhile, the times were changing. The aristocracy of the sugar barons was dying out and a new class was emerging, the bourgeoisie, and the little dog of Havana, adaptable as always, became a family dog extraordinaire. It is a position he has held there for the past hundred and fifty years.

With the advent of the Cuban revolution, the class of Cubans who owned Havanese was the first to leave. A handful of them found their way to this country, and by the end of the 70s a gene pool was being rebuilt. All the Havanese in the world today, save those from the "iron curtain" countries and those remaining in Cuba, stem from those 11 little immigrants. Remarkably, through all their travels, Havanese type has remained virtually unchanged from that of the dogs painted in the eighteenth century. To preserve it now and for the future is the challenge.Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga byTitian

Bichon Havanese

The breed standard

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.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The length of the muzzle (tip of nose to stop) is equal to the distance between the stop and the occipital protuberance. The relation between the length of the body (measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock) and the height at the withers is of 4/3.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Exceptionally bright he is easy to train as alarm 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. 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 of 3/7.

CRANIAL REGION: Skull: Flat to very slightly rounded, broad; forehead hardly rising; seen from above it is rounded at the back and almost straight and square on the other three sides. Stop: Moderately marked.

FACIAL REGION: Nose: Black or brown. Muzzle: Narrowing progressively and slightly towards the nose but neither snipey nor truncated. Lips: Fine, lean, tight. Jaws/Teeth: Scissor 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 eyes 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. BODY: The length of the body is slightly superior to that of the height at the withers.

Back: Topline straight, slightly arched over the loin.

Croup: Noticeably inclined.

Ribs: Well sprung. Underline and belly: Well tucked up.

TAIL: Carried high, either in shape of a crozier or preferably rolled over the back; it is furnished with feathering of long silky hair.

LIMBS 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. Forefeet: Of slightly elongated shape; small; tight toes

HINDQUARTERS: Good bone structure; moderate angulations. Hind feet: Of slightly elongated shape; small; tight toes.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: 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.

COAT Hair: Undercoat woolly and not very developed; it is often totally absent. The topcoat is very long (12-18 cm in an adult dog), soft, flat or wavy and may form curly strands. All grooming, 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: Rarely completely pure white, fawn in its different shades (slight blackened overlay admitted), black, havana-brown, tobacco colour, reddish-brown. Patches in mentioned colours allowed. Tan markings in all nuances permitted.

SIZE: Height at the withers: From 23 to 27 cm. Tolerance: from 21 to 29 cm.

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

SEVERE FAULTS:

• 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.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities.
• Depigmented 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.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bichon Havanese

PERRITOS PINTADOS (COLORFUL BREED)

The Havanese is uniquely different from other breeds in many ways. One of the most intriguing of these is coat colour. Few other breeds carry such a wide range of colours, markings, and patterns in their coats as the Havanese. The Havanese breed comes in an intoxicating array of shades; from white, cream, champagne, gold and red to sable, brindle, chocolate, silver and black displayed as single solid colours or in a myriad of two and three colour combinations.