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Puppies & Retired Show Dogs

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 email us at LaTierraHavanese@gmail.com about puppy and adult availability.  Please provide information about your living situation, such as (1) how many hours a day a Havanese would be alone at home, (2) whether children live in your home and their ages, (3) the timescale on which you wish to adopt, and (4) other pertinent info.   
  • Please also review the information below, which reflects the way our puppies are raised, and should be helpful to you as you search for a puppy.   IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A BREEDER IS A REPUTABLE BREEDER OR PUPPY MILL/BACKYARD BREEDER, PLEASE CAREFULLY REVIEW THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE VIA THE LINK BELOW.  IF YOU CAN'T FIND A REPUTABLE BREEDER FROM WHOM TO ADOPT A HAVANESE, OR WANT A MIX OF TWO OR MORE BREEDS, PLEASE ADOPT FROM A RESCUE ORGANIZATION OR ANIMAL SHELTER.

Reputable breeders.  Your interest and that of the Havanese breed is best served if you acquire a Havanese from a reputable breeder.  Please review the info on the link: Finding a Reputable Havanese Breeder. 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 excellence in the show ring.  Their age-appropriate health testing records (hearing (BAER), eyes (CAER or CERF), cardiac, patellas and hips) are available on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals website. 

Price.  The purchase price for Havanese from reputable breeders is typically in the range of $1,800 to $2,500.  When available, our puppies are priced within this range to pet homes.  We do not place our Havanese in show or breeding homes. 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 value them and 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 an outstanding show dog and to perpetuate the qualities of the outstanding individuals and bloodlines with which we have been blessed.  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 coat sheds and if not combed out regularly will matt 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, and bathing it once a week, 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.  As reputable breeders do not breed en mass to make money 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.

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 webpage,
and for your interest in our Havanese.
If you have questions, please contact us at LaTierraHavanese@gmail.com.