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Breed guide · Dogs
Her whole breed was rebuilt from eleven dogs. I treat her like the last one.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Room to room all day, and a small face waiting at the bathroom door.
What's going onHavanese are known to dislike being left alone for long. Teach short spells alone from their first week, and if they are distressed when you go out, contact your vet.
At home
A bouncy, springy trot that turns heads in the lift lobby.
What's going onThe bouncy walk is the breed. A limp or a skipped step is not. Chondrodysplasia (a form of dwarfism that affects the joints) and slipping kneecaps are known risks, so give them steps, not leaps.
At home
Bright dark eyes peering out from under all that hair.
What's going onCataracts (cloudy lenses) and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA, gradual loss of sight) are known risks for a Havanese, so their eyes are checked by a vet every year from age one. A cloudy look, or hesitating in dim light, is worth telling your vet about.
At home
A shake of the head the evening after a bath.
What's going onEar infections are a known risk in a young Havanese, and damp ears make them more likely. Dry inside the ear flaps after every wash or groom.
At home
They know you are going out before you pick up your bag, and go quiet when you are upset.
What's going onHavanese are known for picking up on how their people feel. Keep your leaving and coming home quiet, and they learn that neither is an event.
At home
Barely a hair on your clothes, and knots under the harness by the weekend.
What's going onTheir long, silky coat hardly sheds, so it tangles instead. Brush them several times a week, and make handling a treat while they are small.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: The family dog of Havana's big houses.
In Dubai: Often alone in a flat for the working day.
Their company
Built for: Always in the room with someone.
In Dubai: Company only before work and after it.
Their attention
Built for: Chosen for watching their people closely.
In Dubai: Reads every sign that you are about to go.
The shadowing and the distress at the door mostly come from that gap.
You cannot be home all day. You can teach them that you always come back, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a Havanese at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Havanese dislike being left, and time alone is easiest to learn as a puppy.
From the first week, and for life
Why
Havanese dislike being left, and time alone is easiest to learn as a puppy.
What to do
From their first week, leave them in a safe room with a chew for a few minutes while you are home, then a little longer. Come and go without a fuss, and go back a step if they cry.
Separation distress is treatable, and home fixes can make it worse.
Any age
Why
Separation distress is treatable, and home fixes can make it worse.
What to do
Film them for twenty minutes after you leave. If you see howling, pacing, scratching at the door or accidents, don't punish it, and skip the anti-bark collar. Show the film to your vet.
A lean body weight protects their joints, a known weak point in a Havanese.
Every age, most of all 2 to 7 years
Why
A lean body weight protects their joints, a known weak point in a Havanese.
What to do
Weigh their daily food on kitchen scales and take treats out of that amount. Swap table scraps for a game or a brush. As a senior, move to the diet your vet sets. A Body Condition Score (a check on whether they are the right weight) is in your plan from their puppy visits.
Chondrodysplasia (a form of dwarfism that affects the joints) and Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) are known risks from puppyhood.
Every age, most of all up to 7 years
Why
Chondrodysplasia (a form of dwarfism that affects the joints) and Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) are known risks from puppyhood.
What to do
Give them steps up to the sofa and bed, and put rugs down on marble. Lift them with one hand under the chest and one under the back end, never by the front legs. An orthopaedic evaluation (a joint and bone exam) is in your plan every year from six months to seven years.
A collar presses on a small neck every time they pull.
Every age
Why
A collar presses on a small neck every time they pull.
What to do
Clip the lead to a well-fitted harness, and keep the collar for their ID tag. Check the fit as they grow.
Dental disease is the first risk to watch in a Havanese, starting with baby teeth that do not fall out.
Every age, from the week they come home
Why
Dental disease is the first risk to watch in a Havanese, starting with baby teeth that do not fall out.
What to do
Brush daily with a dog toothpaste. Start with a few seconds and a reward, and build up. If a baby tooth is still there when the adult one comes through, tell your vet. A professional dental clean every 6 to 12 months is in your plan from six months old.
Ear infections are a known risk from puppyhood.
Every age, most of all up to 4 years
Why
Ear infections are a known risk from puppyhood.
What to do
Handle their ears every day while they are small, with a reward. Dry inside them after every bath or groom, and clean them monthly with the solution your vet gives you. Monthly ear cleaning is in your plan from age two to four.
A Havanese who is carried everywhere misses the chance to learn what is safe.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
A Havanese who is carried everywhere misses the chance to learn what is safe.
What to do
Walk them on their own feet. Let them meet calm dogs and new people at their own pace, and give them space rather than scooping them up.
They walk low to hot ground, under a long coat.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
They walk low to hot ground, under a long coat.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Carry water.
Mitral Valve Disease (MVD, a leaky heart valve) becomes a risk from 4 years.
Every age, most of all from 4 years
Why
Mitral Valve Disease (MVD, a leaky heart valve) becomes a risk from 4 years.
What to do
From four years, notice if they start to cough or breathe faster while they sleep, and tell your vet if anything changes.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Havanese
There is one Havanese: a small, sturdy dog with a long, silky coat and a springy walk, usually 3 to 6 kg when grown. They belong to the Bichon family, with the Bichon Frise and the Maltese, which is why you may hear them called a Bichon Havanese.
Colours
Havanese come in every colour and marking, from the palest cream to deep black, solid or patched, and no colour counts for more than another. Choose the puppy, not the shade.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. From the first week, practise short spells alone, start brushing their teeth, and make handling their paws, ears and coat a treat.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Get steps up to the sofa and bed, rugs where they run on marble, a well-fitted harness and kitchen scales for their meals. Add a soft brush, and a towel for drying their ears after a bath.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder what health tests the parents had, for their eyes and knees in particular. The whole breed was rebuilt from very few dogs, so a breeder who tests and shares the results is worth waiting for.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
You'll keep treating them like the last one. If they panic at the front door, contact your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1800s
Small white dogs of the Bichon family, including the Bichon Tenerife, reached Cuba with Spanish settlers and traders.
What they still carryA small dog who fits into any household.
1800s to 1959
The Blanquito de la Habana, the little white dog of Havana, lived in the homes of Cuba's wealthy families. It is the Havanese's direct ancestor.
What they still carryA family dog through and through. Their dislike of being left starts here.
1959 to 1979
After the Cuban Revolution, few families who left could take their dogs. In the 1970s an American breeder found eleven Havanese that had come out with three families, and started the breed again.
What they still carryA breed rebuilt from very few dogs.
1996
The American Kennel Club recognised the Havanese in 1996, and the silky coat and springy walk became known around the world.
What they still carryA cheerful companion, loved for their coat and their company.
Today
In the UAE a Havanese lives in a flat or a villa, and still wants what the breed was made for: to be in whichever room you are in.
What they still carryA family dog, happiest with their people close by.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Havanese suits you, so might these.
MalteseThe same kind of dog: a Bichon-family lap dog, always white, with a long, silky coat.
Coton de TulearMadagascar's Bichon-family companion where the Havanese is Cuba's, in a soft cotton coat and with a quieter voice.
Toy PoodleThe same friendly, people-loving temperament, in a tiny poodle with tight curls that need regular clipping.
PomeranianA similar toy size that suits flat life just as well, under a thick double coat that feels the heat more.
