| IDEAL PUPPY – Resources for the Havanese Puppy Buyer
On this Page:
- Finding a Quality Reputable Breeder
- Breeder Selection Criteria
- Puppy Scams and Schemes
- T-Wags Delivery –Free Delivery (see below)
- T-Wags Lifetime Guarantee
- T-Wags Breeder References
- T-Wags Owner References
Finding a Quality Reputable Breeder and the role of Health Testing:
Locating your Havanese puppy should be fun and exciting. If you know the breeder you select and feel comfortable with that breeder that is great. Often Havanese puppy shoppers are not familiar with Havanese breeders and in view of this the following discussion and guidelines are meant to help you find a quality reputable breeder with quality puppies.
The first thing you should understand that MANY Havanese breeders DO NOT follow the recommendations of the Havanese Club of America. This national club is dedicated to the breed and sets standards for breeding. The link for the Havanese Club of America is on the links page of this site. They explain why it is CRITICAL to get a puppy from a breeder who does the recommended health testing. Lots of breeders will try and tell individuals it is not necessary to do health testing as their dogs are perfect and there are is no reason to do continued and on-going health testing on the breed dogs. This is simply FALSE. Both the Havanese Club of America and any veterinarian will point out that on-going heath testing is critical in breeding programs for virtually ALL dog breeds. Breeders are dealing with genetics and lineage and problems can surface at any time in the breed dogs. Annual health testing is done by veterinarian specialists and is expensive for the breeders. But this important part of the breeding program is designed to help ensure that puppies are healthy for their adult life-span.
In this discussion remember that although puppies are wonderful and adorable, they quickly mature into adult dogs. It is often in adulthood that owners realize the importance of quality breeding, and often they realize this too late. Quality breeding programs are aimed at not only healthy puppies, but adult Havanese that are healthy over their lifetime. In addition quality breeders are also focused on the mature Havanese temperament that represents the breed characteristics and not puppies that become something else as adult Havanese. Keep in mind that veterinarian costs have become expensive and you wish to avoid these with your adult Havanese. Thus here is some sound advice and guidelines to help you find quality breeders with sound breeding programs.
Look beyond the puppy, and do your homework as this puppy will become a member of your family for many years, day in and day out. First: Don’t lose sight of the fact that very soon the pup will become an adult. You want a healthy adult dog free from problems often the result of poor breeding. Second: Realize you will pay more for a puppy from a reputable higher end breeder because their costs are substantially more. In fact if you compute the purchase price of a puppy over the lifetime of the dog, a thoroughly health tested Havanese puppy from a quality breeder will cost you about $9.00- $10.00 per month over the lifetime of the dog. This is pennies a day for all the joy you will receive. If your decisions are driven by hype, emotion and purchase price, you are making the wrong decision when it comes to selecting a breeder and a puppy.
All breeders are not alike. In general there are four levels of breeders:
- Reputable quality breeder who invest considerable money to achieve a top breeding program.
- Breeders that masquerade as quality reputable breeders, but are not.
- Puppy mills that have deplorable breeding programs.
- Backyard breeders with poor quality puppies. (this link defines both backyard breeders and puppy mills) http://ontariospca.ca/1-glossary.shtml
BREEDER SELECTION CRITERIA:
There are ways for you to determine facts from hype in selecting a breeder. I call it doing your homework.
- Determine if all the required and recommended health testing has been done. The Havanese Club of America (like most parent dog breed clubs) has determined which health tests are critical to avoid health problems that are prone in that breed. http://www.havanese.org/health Health testing is critical and many breeders will do some, part or none at all. The reason is much of the health testing for breeding stock must be done on an annual basis and it is expensive. No matter what breeders may tell you the critical health testing for the Havanese is:
- Patellar Luxation (Knee cap or kneepan )
- Hips (If the hip is properly located in the socket)
- Eyes (also known as CERF exam)
- Cardiac
- Elbow Dysplasia (If elbow is formed correctly)
- Legg-Calve-Perthes (degenerative disease of the hip joint)
- Baer (hearing)
Now here is the secret many Havanese breeders do not want you to know. It is extremely easy to verify that this testing has been done. All you need from the breeder is the AKC registration numbers for the puppy’s parents (both sire and dam) and take that to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals http://www.offa.org/index.html Type in the registration number and “bingo” the health testing is listed and verified. This procedure is also listed on the Web site of the Havanese Club of America. http://www.havanese.org/health If the breeder claims that they have had the testing done ask for copies of the documentation. (There is a fee charged by OFA to put the test results on their web site)
- Another secret is that many breeders will do some health testing or partial testing on their breeding stock yet imply that their dogs are fully health tested. Again you can verify the testing of the parents at the OFA site as described above.
- Look for a listing of their breeder standards and code of ethics. (T-Wags is here on this website)
- Get a money-back written guarantee.
- Some breeders request people to fill out “application forms”. There are pro’s and con’s to this approach. But it seems to reverse the role of the consumer. T-Wags does not do this rather discusses your wishes and needs personally.
- Ask to see any contract in advance of the purchase
- Look for number of years breeding Havanese. Experience is an indicator of expertise but not by itself.
- Look for breeder references and check them. Be a bit wary of “breeder bashing” as that often stems from competition, jealousy and poor ethics.
- Request a State Approved Veterinarian Health Certificate on the puppy. Most states require such and it protects you the buyer. Without one it voids most state laws that protect the consumer in puppy purchases from any recourse.
- Look for puppy owner references. The warm and fuzzy testimonials on web sites often have little relation to the puppy you are looking at. To zero in ask for references of owners who have puppies from that line.
- Understand the limitations of “AKC”. This is a registry of purebred dogs and does not get involved in health testing (common misconception in the public arena) There are several other registries the ACA etc, but often these register any dog including mixed breeds and mutts.
- Check and verify stated breeder professional affiliations
- Quality breeders are proud of their genetic lines and championships and will display them on their websites. This will show the relationship of the genetic lines to your puppy, and championship relations to your puppy.
- Visit the breeder if you can. If not the breeder should be able to provide references of those who that have visited the breeder on-site and attest to the breeding program.
- If you want a quality puppy, keep focused, do your homework and don’t look for bargains. You are bringing a living creature into your home environment. You are not buying a toaster or a television.
PUPPY SCAMS AND SCHEMES:
There are now puppy scams and schemes you should avoid. This link discusses some of these schemes. There is an additional link to other schemes on the link page of this website.
Link to Scams & Schemes
T-WAGS DELIVERY:
- Door-to-door delivery in Florida available. Ask for details
- Hand delivered to your nearest airport or shipped via pet friendly airlines to your nearest airport. Ask for details
T-WAGS GUARANTEE:
All puppies come with a lifetime guarantee. T-Wags is proud to say that with over 10 years of dedication to the Havanese breed not one of my puppies has been returned nor have any developed genetic health issues and I am very proud of that fact.
T-WAGS BREEDER REFERENCES:
T-WAGS OWNER REFERENCES:
- Both recent and long-time owners of T-Wags Havanese provided
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