Havanese dog - WikiHQ

The Havanese, a bichon-type dog, is the national dog of Cuba, developed from the now extinct Blanquito de la Habana ("little white dog of Havana"). The Blanquito descended from the also now-extinct Bichón Tenerife. It is believed that the Blanquito was eventually cross-bred with other bichon types, including the poodle, to create what is now known as the Havanese. They are sometimes referred to as "Havana Silk Dogs", but this is a separate breed, which has been bred to meet the original Cuban standards.

Characteristics

thumb|200px|Havanese in the "Puppy Cut" which is favored by some non-show dog owners

Appearance

The Havanese is a toy dog with a silky coat. The height of the Havanese ranges from at the withers with being the ideal height. The body, measured from point of shoulder to point of buttocks, is slightly longer than the height at the withers, giving the dog the appearance of being slightly longer than tall.

A unique aspect of the breed is the topline, which rises just slightly from withers to the croup, creating a topline that is straight but not level. Renowned for their flashy, lively gait, their strong rear drive and slightly shorter upper arm produce a springy motion rather than a far-reaching one. The angle of the topline does not change while moving at a natural gait. The coat is long, soft, lightweight, and silky. The Havanese coat is slightly wavy, profuse, and undulating. Unlike other double-coated breeds, the Havanese outer coat is neither coarse nor overly dense, but rather soft and light. The undercoat is sometimes completely absent. The Havanese coat should be very soft, almost cool to the touch, like silk.

Havanese suffer primarily from luxating patella, liver disease, heart disease, cataracts and retinal dysplasia.

The Havanese is predisposed to sebaceous adenitis.

A study of over 90,000 dogs attending the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital found the Havanese to be predisposed to portosystemic shunt: 4.35% of Havanese had the condition compared to 0.35% for mixed-breed dogs.

History

The Havanese is a member of the bichon family of dogs. The progenitors of the breed are believed to have come from Tenerife.

As part of the Cuban Revolution, upper-class Cubans and others marked out for annihilation by the communists fled to the United States, but few were able to bring their dogs. When American breeders became interested in this rare and charming dog in the 1970s, the US gene pool was only 11 dogs. The American Kennel Club (AKC) only officially recognized the Havanese breed in 1996.

Activities

thumb|A havanese dog standing in the snow.

Because of the Havanese's friendly and readily trained nature, it is used for a variety of jobs involving the public, including therapy dogs, assistance dogs, such as signal dogs for the hearing impaired, performing dogs, mold and termite detection, and tracking.

Havanese also compete in a variety of dog sports, such as dog agility, flyball, musical canine freestyle, and obedience training.

As show dogs

The breed standard notes that except for slight trimming around the feet to allow for a tidy foot, they are to be shown untrimmed;