There are so many terms that talk about breeders. What do they all mean?

There are a huge variety of breeders that can fit your needs. The terminology is murky, and different people use the same words to describe different things – so I’ll do my best to explain the terms. Many breeders fit more than one category! Read through and see which traits and combinations make the most sense for you.

A good/responsible breeder keeps their dogs in safe and sanitary conditions and provides them with species- and breed-appropriate physical and mental enrichment, and completes appropriate genetic health testing for their breed. They feel accountable for all of their puppies for their entire lives and work to place them in appropriate homes. A substandard breeder (often called a “puppy mill” or “backyard breeder”) keeps their dogs in unsanitary, crowded conditions that do not provide appropriate care or enrichment, and/or does not do any health testing, and/or does not feel they have any responsibility for puppies after they are sold.

A hobby breeder is a smaller-scale breeder who does not make most of their household income selling dogs. A professional/commercial breeder is a breeder who relies on their breeding program for a major source of income. A hobby breeder can be substandard; a professional breeder can be responsible. Scale alone is not a good indicator.

A show/sport breeder breeds dogs who compete. This could be in dog shows, which not only judge the historical physical appearance of the dog but also the mental soundness to allow strangers to interact them in loud, busy environments. This could be dog sports, such as obedience, agility, herding, earthdog, and more, which demonstrate the dog has retained a skillset relevant to its history heritage. A pet breeder breeds their household pets for the sole purpose of creating more household pets and does not participate in any venues to get feedback on their physical or mental soundness or historical temperament.

A preservation/heritage breeder is someone who breeds with the good of the individual dogs and the breed as a whole in mind. This holistic view includes preserving the heritage and history of the breed; breeding dogs with the specialty health testing recommended by the Canine Health Information Center and/or their parent club (like the Havanese Club of America) and publicly share these results so other breeders can do research; maintaining a robust gene pool and using genetic diversity testing as available; keeping dogs in sanity and enriched environments; proving dogs in various dog shows and sports; ensure their puppies find breed-appropriate homes and provide a lifetime of support to help that dog be successful in its home.

If I just want a pet dog, why should I look for a show or sport breeder?

The answer is essentially “peer review.” You are attracted to a breed because of how they look and act, right? It’s very easy to have a few of them in your own home and assume that they look and act right, but over the generations, they just sort of… drift.

Because you are the proverbial frog in boiling water, you don’t notice (because you have nothing to compare to) that they’ve gotten kind of big, or kind of shy, or are losing that essential breed look. Taking dogs to shows compares them to what else is out there and is a valuable way to get feedback from experienced judges (who often have decades working with dogs) and, importantly, from other breeders in your area. Plus, dog shows are loud and busy environments - it takes a well-raised, mentally stable dog to be a successful show dog.

And finally, if your goal is to protect and improve the breed, the odds are high that the best male for your female isn’t the one you happen to have in your house. Sure, sometimes this works out, but what if a dog in another part of the country, or even the world, is better? Without shows, we’d never see what else might be available to produce better and healthier dogs.

What is health testing, really? Is it different from a vet visit? What about an Embark/Paw Prints genetic panel?

Genetic health testing is absolute best way to give puppies the best opportunity to not inherit any health issues. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation put out there by substandard breeders who do not want to bother to do the work.

1) Health testing is not the same as a “vet check.” Every animal should receive appropriate veterinary care, both routinely and as needed. However, “health testing” as it comes to breeding dogs is more than a general practitioner veterinarian declaring the dog healthy. There are specific health concerns, many of which are not outwardly observable, that need to be diagnosed by a veterinary specialist. Some of these are common among almost all breeds of dogs - for example, many breeds take x-rays for hip dysplasia or require ophthalmologic exams for inherited eye disease. Some are very breed-specific. Head over to the Canine Health Information Center and search by breed to see what is recommended for that breed, and ask for proof that these have been completed by the appropriate provider.

2) Broad-scope genetic panels aren’t always useful, and most don’t address the most common health concerns. This includes Embark and PawPrints type broad-range panels. For example, these test more than 200 genetic health conditions, which sounds amazing — but they also note that only one single test is relevant to the Havanese breed. It is literally 205 irrelevant, non-useful tests from a health perspective. They do not test for any of the CHIC-recommended Havanese health conditions, because we do not have genetic markers for hip problems, knee problems, eye problems, hearing problems, or even heart or liver issues. While some breeds do have genetic markers and DNA tests can be one of their important health tests, these DNA-based tests are rarely if ever the complete health testing requirement for a breed.

3) Anyone who tells you they don’t test because “their dogs are healthy” or they “can’t see any issues” or their “line is free of issues” is lying to you - or themselves. While health testing is the best way to help produce healthy puppies, nature and her complex, recessive genes can fool us and they are not perfect. Many health issues don’t show any outward signs at first, but appear in a few years when it’s worse. You may never notice any outward signs on a dog with mild hip dysplasia, but that dog can easily produce severely dysplastic puppies who need to have surgical intervention - or even to be humanely euthanized. A breeder who isn’t doing the breed-recommended health testing on parent dogs is not doing the best they can for their breed or for their puppies.

4) Genetic diversity testing is a useful breeding tool, but not necessarily an indicator of individual health. While a more diverse gene pool is good for the breed, and a more diverse puppy is less likely to ‘double up’ on recessive and potentially problematic genes, this is not a guarantee. A dog who is slightly more in-bred on healthy, health tested dogs is going to have a better chance at a healthy life than a dog who is randomly bred from dogs without any health testing or who are not themselves healthy.

5) Claiming that crossing breeds results in “hybrid vigor” so there is no need to health test is a marketing scam. Dogs are all the same species, so mixing breeds does not result in ‘hybrids.’ Additionally, there are many health concerns that are very common among all breeds of dogs. If a Labrador is at risk for hip dysplasia and a Poodle is at risk for hip dysplasia, breeding them together does not mean that the puppies magically don’t get hip dysplasia! Regardless of the breed or cross, if you are working with a breeder, insist on seeing the health testing clearances that are appropriate for the breed or breeds involved in the cross. There is no magic way to eliminate health problems - only screenings and genetic selection.

What health testing do Havanese need, specifically?

The minimum standard for health testing is the CHIC number – Canine Health Information Center – who partnered with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Havanese Club of America to determine the minimum required tests for the breed. They require four tests for Havanese:

• Hips: This is an x-ray of the hip joints to ensure they are formed correctly and the dog does not have hip dysplasia. The x-rays are examined by three board-certified orthopedic specialists at the OFA to determine their rating – Excellent, Good, Fair, or one of several degrees of a dysplastic joint. These x-rays cost about $250 in this area.

• Eyes: This is an annual examination by a board-certified opthamologist (CAER or CERF are the ‘brand names’ for this exam). This is not something a regular vet can do, but an board-certified specialist exam. Many eye issues are slow moving, and you may not notice them until the dog is suffering, blind, or both – which can be well after it has passed on its genes. This test is about $40-50 in this area.

• Knees: Often called a “trick knee,” a luxating patella is a kneecap that can slide out of its place. This comes in several grades of severity (Grade 1, where a dog usually lives a normal life as a household pet, up to Grade 4, which requires surgical repair). This exam can be done by any general practitioner vet, so the costs are typically part of a routine wellness exam. It might cost $20-40 at a health clinic.

Past these minimum tests, common optional testing in Havanese includes:

• Hearing (BAER)

• Cardiac (heart)

• Thyroid

• Elbows

• Liver function

• Dentition

What should I look for in a health guarantee?

It is a very common trick among substandard breeders to offer a health guarantee where your only option is to return the dog to them. Knowing that you are unlikely to want to give up your beloved pet, they can both say they offer a guarantee while not ever having to actually act on it.

Look for a health guarantee that lasts at least two years, because the majority of genetic health concerns will appear by this age. Also look for one that gives you some options. While there may be situations where returning the dog is the best choice, having the option to receive a full or partial refund to help cover expenses, or receive a replacement puppy down the road might be a better choice. Additionally, check to see what is covered; many contracts cover what they can screen for, which makes sense, but some might leave out important and common health problems for nonsensical reasons. Read your contract and be comfortable with the provisions.

This is all great, how do I really know I found a good breeder?

There is no Good Housekeeping Seal of approval for dog breeders and no magic trick that will show you if the breeder is good or not. The only way to find out is to talk to them and others, and find the person you are most comfortable with on the long-term (remember, they are part of your life as long as your dog is - 12-15 years!).

That being said, to me, the single most important factor is this: do they give a shit? Do their words and actions show that they care about the health and preservation of the breed? Do they care how their dogs live? Do they stress about how their puppies are raised? Do they care deeply about the families their puppies end up with, and the puppies the families end up with? Do they care how those puppies are doing 10 years after they sold them? Do they care about the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the puppies? If the only thing they seem to care about is how fast you can write them a check - I suggest you keep looking.

OK, I get why I want a good breeder. But you’re not having puppies soon and I don’t know where else to look.

I know. It sucks. Animal Rights Activists - PETA, HSUS, and other groups who are anti-breeder - have done a great job painting all breeders as bad breeders and passing legislation that sounds good on the surface, but makes it almost impossible for the average hobby breeder to exist. These groups say they support good breeders, but then try to legislate them out of existence, so your only choice is a commercial breeder - who they are also against and try to shut down. They think the only dogs who should exist are by irresponsible breeding: rescues.

Anyway, that being what it is, there are three sources I recommend that you explore the AKC Marketplace and the Havanese Club of America’s breeder directory. It’s important to note that none of these are perfect sources, and you will need to screen breeders and make your own decisions. However, these sites all require either a written and phone screening process, are subject to on-site inspections, and/or have a code of ethics, so they have a minimum entry point that other puppy finding websites do not.

I will also note that you should not be fooled by a pretty (or ugly) website. Many substandard breeders get a few beautiful, professional websites that are not a good indicators of how the dogs really live; many responsible breeders aren’t tech people who aren’t good at maintaining a web presence, or haven’t updated it in years.

And finally - expect to wait or a puppy. Good breeders aren’t Wal-Marts with puppies on demand; find someone you’re comfortable with with a litter coming, and wait. If you speak to more than one breeder, that’s fine but be transparent and always let the others know when you have finalized your plans.