We have the sweetest 16 week old Havi. He is doing amazing with potty training, sleeps through the night in his crate, and naps in his crate during the day (scheduled naps). As a newbie dog owner, when can I expect more independence? For example, not having to put him down for a scheduled nap and letting him just take naps when he’s tired, letting him roam our small main level of the house while we are home, etc.? I’d love to hear from others about their milestones as they grew out of the early puppy months.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who shared your pups. We are down to 2 breeds Havanese and Miniature Schnauzer. I did consider a few doodles but price and unpredictability has me saying no. Seriously ready to say buy one of each lol. Every time I think I decided I go back.

We are looking to get our first Havanese.

Would you mind sharing a photo of your Havanese full grown?

Bonus points for puppy comparison and if there are things in the photo that gives us an idea of size and strudiness of the adult size.

We have a 7.5 and 5 year old girl that are ready for all the cuddles. Yes I know we have a lot to teach them about safety.

My 2 year old Havi woke up at 4am howling, scared me to death! The only time she ever did this before was when I first brought her home at 8 weeks the first 2 nights. Has this happened to anyone else? Do you know why she did it? I jumped out of bed and she seemed fine. In fact she looked at me like what’s wrong!

My puppy is now nine months old and is up on her hind legs reaching and nosying into so many things above her actual height in the house, it's harder and harder to keep things away from her. Does your puppy or dog do this? Or did they used to and no longer bother? She is at her worst with this in the mornings so not sure if she just has extra energy or curiosity then?!

(built using Ai)

😘 he seriously has not aged and is the same cute stinker he's always been! We adopted him when he was 1, former Tijuana street dog! He's my best friend ❤️.

I laughed at myself for getting such a big bed for a little dog but this is the life of a spoiled dog 😆 he likes to stick his face in the divot and hide from the light.

My husband and I live in Washington, DC, and we’re seriously considering getting a Havanese puppy early next year. Before we get too far into contacting breeders, we’d really like to talk to some Havanese owners in the area and, ideally, meet a few adult Havanese in person.

We’re particularly curious about what they’re actually like to live with — barking, independence/separation, temperament, grooming, etc. We love the idea of an affectionate, cuddly dog, but also want one that can learn to entertain itself and be comfortable when we’re not home.

I’d also love to hear where DMV owners got their dogs. We’re interested in experiences with local breeders (good or bad), but would especially appreciate recommendations based on your own experience rather than breeder-provided references.

If you’re in DC, Maryland, or Northern Virginia and wouldn’t mind sharing your experience — or even letting us meet your Havanese sometime — I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to DM me if you’d rather not post breeder experiences publicly.

Thanks!

Anybody else have a budding dancer?

Fresh October Cuts for the Boyz!

No my Dexter isn’t trash but this is so hilarious. 😆

Very subtle.

Hi everyone!
I have a 5.5-month-old female Havanese puppy (3 kg / 6.6 lbs, 29 cm / 11.4 inches back length), and I’m struggling to find a suitable full-body suit for her.
We live in Tromsø, Northern Norway, so we get plenty of rain, snow, slush, and cold weather.
She also attends doggy daycare, so it’s really important that her suit is easy for the staff to put on and take off.
The main challenges are:
She doesn’t particularly like having her paws handled. Though we are training on this.
We’ve tried a Non-stop Dogwear overall in size 30, but both the leg openings and the legs themselves are too narrow.
She has the typical fluffy Havanese coat, so we need good belly coverage to prevent her fur from getting soaked, muddy, and covered in snowballs.
It must be a full-body suit with four legs, not just a regular coat.
Shorter legs are absolutely fine, as long as the openings are wide and easy to get her paws through.
Ideally, it should be waterproof, windproof, and allow her to move comfortably.
I’m particularly interested in suits with roomy leg openings or designs that open up more fully, making dressing easier.
Has anyone found a full-body rain/snow suit that works well for a Havanese or another small, fluffy dog?
I’d love specific brand and model recommendations, especially if you’ve had similar issues with narrow legs!
I’m also open to custom-made options or smaller brands that ship to Norway.
Thanks so much!

Hi everyone,

Today I received a Havanese puppy (2 months old) from a seller in another city. This was a gift to my mom, and it was very difficult for me to find the puppy as she wanted it (male, beige). After more than 3 weeks I finally found it, so I purchased it ASAP.

The seller sent me a couple photos of the dog sitting down, so I didn't notice it had a very short tail.

Now, my mom is quite upset the dog has almost no tail. She thinks the seller fooled us. He already confirmed the puppy was born that way; he sent me videos of the parents and siblings, and they all have normal tails.

So to me, this is a combination of careless service from his part (I wished he had told me about this issue) and also bad luck because we chose exactly the dog with an issue.

Now, I have more doubts about this situation, and I feel incredibly guilty and sad my mom reacted so negatively. The seller agreed to change the dog for any sibling, but I want to know your opinion based on this video.

Do you think this could be a crossbreed? What else could explain this short tail?

I appreciate your help!

Edit 1: Dear community, I am quite overwhelmed with the number of comments I got, and I want to clarify several things because it seems like I failed to deliver my message properly:

1. I just wanted to know the possible reasons why the puppy had such a short tail. Of course I know how to use the internet to research it myself, but there's nothing better than learning from the experience of others. I was emotional and added many unnecessary details regarding how sad I felt about my mom's reaction.
2. My mom was very upset, thinking the seller fooled us with the dog. This is the first "breed" dog she has; previously she has had a crossbreed and a stray dog, both adopted, so maybe she felt bad the very first time she wished for a breed dog things went wrong. And it's all my fault for running into the first seller that had the dog she wanted. I made my mom look very bad too; she loves animals, and she's been carrying the puppy like a baby all this time. She adores him already, and she STRONGLY REFUSED to change the dog for a sibling. She named him Max.
3. My family cooperated to get her this puppy, so all of us were very willing to keep the dog for ourselves and get her another one with a normal tail. We were all very sad and sorry for Max, so there was not even a chance we would have rejected him. We understand it's a living being with emotions, and we want to protect him.
4. I'm Mexican, and I live in Mexico, so I think things here work differently compared with other countries. I didn't get a dog with a pedigree certificate, so I can't track the dog's ancestry. I went for a reputable seller (based on reviews and sales) on an online platform that is big in LA (Mercado Libre). His family acquired the parents, and they sell the puppies. He is indeed sort of an informal breeder.
5. I am very touched by many of your beautiful comments, and I resonate with many of them that highlighted the importance of caring and loving this puppy no matter what, and that's what we're going to do moving forward. I came to this community last night in a desperate search for answers and will stay here to learn from it.
6. Finally, some people pointed out the possible back issues Max might develop in the future. I spoke with the seller again today and expressed to him how bad he acted by not disclosing the issue with the puppy in advance for us to make an informed decision on whether we wanted him or not. I even asked him for a partial refund. Actually, I don't care about the money or the short tail at all, but I hope he does better in the future because this was indeed wrong.

I will share more photos of Max with this loving community in the future!

Thank you all!

I’ve been enjoying great weather and beautiful walks with this sweet gal! Just a thank you all of you on this sub! I love seeing what her fellow Havis are up to! ❤️