Havana Silk Dog

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Havana Silk Dog breed is a purebred breed, dating back to the Caribbean in the pre-Columbian era, and was thought to be brought back to Europe by Columbus. Although a more rare dog breed, the havana silk dogs are recognized by the HSDAA (Havana Silk Dog Association of America) which require all dogs entering the breeding population to pass all health testing required for OFA CHIC program to ensure the accuracy of parentage based on the DNA profile as well as to have soaped photos on file to assure they are free from chondrodysplasia. This breed has been developed solely by selection for a specific phenotype from the Havanese gene pool similarly to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was pulled entirely out of the English Toy Spaniel gene pool.

Color

Common colors include either white, perle, black, black and white or brown and white.

Coat

The Havana Silk Dogs have a long often wavy coat of various colors. They have also been bred specifically to have a hypoallergenic coat.

Personality

The Havana Silk Dog is truly a "big" dog in a "small" dog's body. They are extremely smart, very playful, quite loveable, and excel in athletic competition sports and obedience trials. They are small enough to be portable, and sturdy enough to not be fragile. They make good watch dogs but they are not yappy. They can be very affectionate, but they are not needy. They are usually happy just to be hanging out in the same room with you. They love everyone, from children to adults to the elderly. They even love the other animals they "own", other dogs as well as cats. They have wonderful, calm temperaments and are gentle natured. They do not shed and are "hypo allergenic"."

Care

The Havanana Silk Dogs will need to be groomed about once or twice per week and should be bathed every 2-3 months. These dogs are hypo-allergenic making them great for people that suffer from animal related allergies. This breed is prone to eye problems, such as Cataracts and Progressive Retinal Atrophy, skin allergies, and luxating patella's. Heart murmurs, hip dysplasia, and deafness are also genetic diseases the Havana may inherit.

Training

This is a clever, easily trainable dog making training for either basic obedience or little tricks quite simple. They need positive methods and repetition to succeed in any type of training, as negative methods with this dog will get you nowhere. They can be very sensitive to their owners words so a gentle approach will be needed.

Activity

The Havana Silk Dogs will need about half an hour of exercise per day as they burn off most of their energy during the daytime. Regular walks will be perfect to tire this dog out. The Havana Silk Dogs will be perfect for apartments because they are well behaved small dogs that don't take up much space. A back yard will not be needed as they don't need the extra outdoor room to run around in.