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Puppies

The Rock Star Litter
(L-R) Bono, Mick, Madonna, Fiona, Adele & Stevie
"Rolling Bone" Photoshoot (c) 2016
Interested in Adopting?  Thank you for your interest in our Havanese.  We are AKC Breeders of Merit, and Havanese Club of America Breeders of Excellence.  We care about the welfare of the Havanese breed, and producing healthy puppies with breed type, sound conformation and good temperaments.  Please review the info below re adopting a puppy. 
  • Litters.  
    • During the Covid-19 era, we receive 5-10 emails per day inquiring about Havanese availability.
    • We cannot respond to each email individually due to our personal schedule, so we ask you to review the information on this webpage.
    • We do not have any litters planned for 2020, and it is highly unlikely that we will have a litter in 2021. We do not keep a wait list.
    • We are unable to provide referrals. Reputable breeders across the country report that they are inundated with requests for puppies. 
    • You may find the info below re finding reputable breeders helpful, which at this point is most useful to help you avoid puppy mills and scam artists.  
    • We understand your desire for a puppy, especially given the current pandemic, shelter-in-place lifestyle.  Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to help you.
    • Keep in mind that the pandemic is not an easy time for a reputable breeder to breed, whelp, raise and socialize puppies.  
    • Moreover, the pandemic also makes vet trips for vaccines and spay/neuter, as well as puppy socialization and training, more challenging for the adoptive family.  
    • Thank you for your understanding and your interest in Havanese.  
  • Young Adults.  On rare occasions, but not at this time, we have a young adult Havanese available for adoption to a San Francisco Bay Area resident with prior experience with toy dogs (preferably Havanese). These are typically dogs that we show to the completion of their AKC championship, then place in pet homes.  If you are interested in inquiring about adult availability, please send an email to LaTierraHavanese@gmail.com. Please include your location and information about your family (including the age of any children in your home) and living circumstances, as well as prior dog ownership experiences.  We will endeavor to respond, but due to our personal schedules, we may not be able to respond to every email that we receive. 
  • Please review the information below, which will answer questions you may have about us, and should be helpful as you search for a Havanese.   

Reputable breeders.  Your interest and that of all dogs is best served if you adopt a Havanese from an ethical breeder, and not a puppy mill or "backyard breeder."  Please review the info on the link: Finding a Reputable Havanese Breeder. IF YOU CAN'T FIND AN ETHICAL BREEDER FROM WHOM TO ADOPT A HAVANESE, OR WANT A MIX OF TWO OR MORE BREEDS (a so-called "Designer Dog"), PLEASE ADOPT FROM A RESCUE ORGANIZATION OR ANIMAL SHELTER. For a list of breeders who are members of the national and/or regional Havanese club, please refer to the Breeders' Directories for the Havanese Club of America (http://www.havanese.org/breeder-directory) and the Havanese Club of Northern California (www.thehcnc.com).  

General Information About Our Havanese.  As you can see from our website, our Havanese come from top show and breeding lineages, and prove their physical and mental soundness, as well as breed type, in the show ring.  Their health testing records (hearing (BAER), eyes (CAER or CERF), cardiac, patellas and hips) are available on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals website. 

Price.  As a reference, the purchase price for Havanese from reputable breeders is typically in the range of $2,200 to $3,000, depending on geographical location.  It is not our goal nor is it possible for us to recoup our investment in our Havanese, but it is extremely important to us that our Havanese are in homes that can afford appropriate veterinary and other care when and if needed.

Placement Process.  Our goal is to place our Havanese in loving homes where they will have an exceptional quality of life.  If our website indicates that we have Havanese available, please email us at latierrahavanese@gmail.com.   We will provide you with a questionnaire.  After reviewing your responses to the questionnaire, we will arrange for a phone interview so that we can get to know each other and see if a placement is appropriate for your family and our Havanese.  We follow up with an in-person visit.  We do not sell Havanese over the internet, nor do we ship Havanese to purchasers.

Puppy Life at La Tierra.  Our Havanese are our life and love, and this fact is reflected in their daily lives.  When we breed a litter, we do so in the hopes of producing physically and mentally sound individuals, with an abundance of breed type.  Puppies spend the first 4 weeks with their mother in a whelping box, then Rover pen, in the sitting area of our bedroom.  Next they move to a larger area in our family room, where they have more room to run and play, and an opportunity to meet our other Havanese.  Although they continue to spend time with their mother, they also learn to eat solid food.  We spend a great deal of time each day with them.  The puppies receive veterinary examinations at 3 days and 8 weeks, and start their vaccination schedule at 8 weeks.  We typically place puppies in their forever homes between 10 and 12 weeks of age, with spay/neuter required.

Allergic to Dogs? Havanese are double-coated.  Their inner coats shed and, if not combed out regularly, will mat in their outer coat.  However, Havanese have hair, not fur, which means they will likely shed far less than breeds with fur.  As a result, some people who are allergic to dogs with fur are not allergic to Havanese.  However, some people who are generally or severely allergic to dogs are allergic to Havanese.  If you or someone in your home is allergic to dogs, be sure to disclose the issue to the breeder and spend enough time, in multiple visits, with the puppy you wish to adopt prior to adoption.  Otherwise you may be faced with the very sad necessity of returning a puppy you adopt to its breeder.  Those with mild allergies to dogs or asthma often find that keeping their Havanese in a short clip, bathing it once a week, and cleaning the tearing beneath the dog's eyes, significantly reduces any adverse effects of having a dog.

Young Children? Havanese are generally good with children.  However, Havanese are toy dogs, and may be scared or injured by inappropriate advances and behavior by young children.  If you have younger children, carefully consider whether you have the time to supervise your children with a Havanese puppy, or if a larger breed such as a Golden Retriever or Labrador is more appropriate for your family's first dog.  We recommend that younger children always sit on the floor when holding or playing with Havanese.  Havanese generally do well with older children, but even conscientious older children need to be mindful of not inadvertently hurting a puppy. 

Be prepared to wait.  Acquiring a puppy from a reputable breeder is not like going to a store to buy a new cell phone or TV.  Reputable breeders do not breed en mass to make money.  As a result, they may not have puppies available at the moment you have planned.  You will however be rewarded in many ways from not purchasing a puppy from a puppy mill or backyard breeder.  Reputable breeders health test their breeding stock, and test them in the show ring for sound conformation and disposition, as well as breed type.  Purchasing from a reputable breeder means you increase the odds of adopting a Havanese that will be healthy and happy in its lifetime with you, and the breeder can provide helpful information for you as you introduce your puppy into your home.

Meeting Havanese.  Reputable breeders typically breed as an avocation, and so cannot open their homes to every person or family interested in meeting a Havanese.  However, to meet Havanese and their owners early on in your deliberations, you can attend dog shows and meetings of a regional Havanese club (see above).  Typically it is best to arrange to meet exhibitors prior to the show, so that they can plan time to visit with you after the Havanese classes end. For info on dog shows in your area, please see  http://www.infodog.com/show/calendar.htm?_p=Y.  Once you are in serious discussions with a breeder about acquiring a Havanese puppy, you should expect to visit the breeder's home to meet the breeder and their dogs. 

Thank you for reviewing the material on this website,
and for your interest in our Havanese.
If you have questions, please contact us at LaTierraHavanese@gmail.com.