Havanese

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The breed comes from the
Western Mediterranean region and has developed along the Spanish
and Italian coastal region. It would seem that these dogs were
imported early in Cuba by ocean navigating Italian captains.
Erroneously, the most frequent brown colour of these dogs (tobacco)
gave birth to the legend which would mean it to be a breed originating
from Havana, capital of Cuba. The political events however have led
to the total disappearance of the old blood lines of the Havanese in
Cuba; apparently a few dogs could be successfully smuggled out from
Cuba; their descendants have survived in the U.S.A.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Havanese is a sturdy little dog,
low on his legs, with long abundant hair, soft and preferably wavy.
His movement is lively and elastic.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : The length of the muzzle (tip of
nose to stop) is equal to the distance between the stop and the occipital
protuberance. The relation between the length of the body (measured
from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock) and the
height at the withers is of 4/3.

BEHAVIOR / TEMPERAMENT : Exceptionally bright he is easy
to train as alarm dog. Affectionate, of a happy nature, he is amiable, a
charmer, playful and even a bit of a clown. He loves children and
plays endlessly with them.
HEAD : Of medium length, the relation between the length of the
head and that of the trunk (measured from the withers to the base of
the tail) is of 3/7.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Flat to very slightly rounded, broad; forehead hardly rising;
seen from above it is rounded at the back and almost straight and
square on the other three sides.
Stop : Moderately marked.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Black or brown.
Muzzle : Narrowing progressively and slightly towards the nose but
neither snipey nor truncated.
Lips : Fine, lean, tight.
Jaws/Teeth : Scissor bite. A complete dentition is desirable. The
absence of premolars 1 (PM1) and molars 3 (M3) is tolerated.
Cheeks : Very flat, not prominent.
Eyes : Quite big, almond shape, of brown colour as dark as possible.
Kind expression. The eyes rims must be dark brown to black.
Ears : Set relatively high; they fall along the cheeks forming a discreet
fold which raises them slightly. Their extremity is in a lightly
rounded point. They are covered with hair in long fringes. Neither
propeller ears (sticking sideways), nor stuck to the cheeks.
NECK : Of medium length.
BODY : The length of the body is slightly superior to that of the
height at the withers.
Back : Topline straight, slightly arched over the loin.
Croup : Noticeably inclined.
Ribs : Well sprung.
Belly (abdomen) : Well tucked up.

TAIL : Carried high, either in shape of a crozier or preferably rolled
over the back; it is furnished with feathering of long silky hair.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs straight and parallel, lean; good bone
structure. The distance from the ground to the elbow must not be
greater than that between the elbow and the withers.
HINDQUARTERS : Good bone structure; moderate angulations.
FEET : Of slightly elongated shape; small; tight toes.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : According to his happy nature, the Havanese
has a strikingly light-footed and elastic gait; forelegs with free stride
and pointing straight forward, the hindlegs giving them the impulsion
and moving in a straight line.
COAT
HAIR : Undercoat woolly and not very developed; it is often totally
absent. The topcoat is very long (12-18 cm in an adult dog), soft, flat
or wavy and may form curly strands. All grooming, the usage of
scissors to even out the length of the coat and all trimming is
forbidden. Exception : tidying up the hair on the feet is permitted, the
hair on the forehead may be slightly shortened so that it does not
cover the eyes and the hair on the muzzle may be slightly tidied up,
but it is preferable to leave it in natural length.
COLOR :
Rarely completely pure white, fawn in its different shades (slight
blackened overlay admitted), black, havana-brown, tobacco
colour, reddish-brown. Patches in mentioned colours allowed.

SIZE :
Height at the withers : From 23 to 27 cm.
Tolerance : from 21 to 29 cm.