# To Hav or Hav Not?



## MJ EV (Oct 11, 2012)

Hello I am a new member. My beloved Lab mix breed dog of 14 passed away 1 1/2 years ago. I feel that I am ready to bring another fur baby into my home and have been looking at different breeds and happened by chance on the Havanese. Could you please post some information about your experience regarding training, especially housebreaking. Some of the information that I have found on the web states small dogs are hard to housebreak. My female Lab mix was very easy to housebreak. At this point in my life, I would prefer a small dog but not a toy breed. The Havanese looks like a perfect size.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome, you dont' want a toy , yet you're looking at a Hav? I never have bought that theory. I'm sure a lot will tell you otherwise lol.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, Havanese ARE considered a toy breed, though they are bigger than some and sturdier than many.

Small dog breeds, in general tend to take a little longer to potty train than big breeds, but the flip side is that they are easier to contain, and tend not to be as destructive as puppies! The MOST IMPORTANT THING to know in terms of potty training is that if you want an easier time with potty training, MAKE SURE you buy your puppy from a reputable breeder who puts the work into starting the puppies off right with potty training from a very early age. 

I didn't find it difficult to potty train Kodi, but I bought him from an excellent breeder who has potty training puppies down to a science. All I needed to do was follow through with what they had started one I got him home.

Another problem many people have is insisting that their Havanese go ONLY outdoors. It IS possible to train them this way, but it takes longer. Most do best if at least for the first year or two, they have an indoor potty option. Most eventually choose to go outside all or most of the time, but the people who insist on it from the beginning are the people who often find that their puppy has the most accidents.

As far as other training is concerned, I find mine to be incredibly smart and easy to train. He's a joy to have around, travels with us everywhere, and at 3 years old has multiple performance titles and competes in 3 different sports.  What more is there to ask for?:biggrin1:


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

good advice Karen but not sure why you think small dogs are harder.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

Hello and welcome to the forum! 
Good for you researching and thinking hard if this is a good breed for you! 
I researched for about a year and kept coming back to the havanese at the end of each search! If you live in an area that has any GOOD, ethical breeders, I highly recommend going to visit and seeing for yourself what the breed is all about! We did this and all fell in love and KNEW this was the breed for us!
I found my hav very easy to potty train, and she does only go outside. I TRIED to train her to go inside, but she was having NONE of it! I bell trained her when she was about 16 weeks (we got her at 14 weeks) and she got it right away!! Havanese are VERY, very smart and very sensitive. My little hav will go hide in her crate if my kids are fighting or something stressful is going on.
These dogs ARE velcro dogs, they truly just want to BE with thier people, regardless of what you are doing, they want to be WITH you. This is a very normal characteristic for the Havanese that is very important to consider when thinking about getting a hav.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> good advice Karen but not sure why you think small dogs are harder.


Because that's what I've heard from EVERYONE! I don't think they are as hard as many people think, though!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Whimsy is indoor potty trained. The breeder trained her on pee pads and I just kept it up. It suits my lifestyle. Havanese are companion dogs and love nothing better then to be with their owners..on their lap, near their feet.. in the bed with you. Whimsy always places herself where she can see me if I'm making dinner or cleaning the house etc. They are considered a toy breed...the weight can range anywhere from 8 pounds to 15 or so. They are a very loving and intelligent dog and very much in tune with their owner.
Welcome and keep us posted!!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I still don't believe there's any real justifiable reasons. I think it's more of a people problem. I listen to trainers every day too and not too many think there should be any difference. I think you can train any dog if you know the basics well. Small amounts of urine don't get the attention they should. JMO.


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

I have a one year old and found him very easy to potty train. He only goes outside and scratches on the door to be let out. My little guy is very smart and I think easy to train he does really want to please me, most of the time (ha ha) As others said these guys will LOVE YOU.... want only to be near you, and will follow you around the house, be prepared for that. I'm sure others will chime in... Timmy is 15 pounds and is very sturdy, I wouldn't put him in the same category as a Chihuahua or Yorkie, just my opinion.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> I still don't believe there's any real justifiable reasons. I think it's more of a people problem. I listen to trainers every day too and not too many think there should be any difference. I think you can train any dog if you know the basics well. Small amounts of urine don't get the attention they should. JMO.


I'll agree with you completely there... I think that enough breeders don't do THEIR job starting the pups out right either... and the ones that come from pet store or puppy mill starts have an even harder time.


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## MJ EV (Oct 11, 2012)

Thank you all for the information. I am looking forward to seeing a havanese in person. They do seem to be sturdier than most small breeds. I will make sure to find a good breeder in my area who has started housebreaking.


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## marlowe'sgirl (Jun 17, 2010)

I didn't have an issue outdoor potty training, but many have if you read around the forum. Someone on here once said that for a small dog, it's much harder for them to see the whole house as their 'home'. With a bigger dog, a house is relatively smaller to them and they get that it is all 'theirs' faster. I had to be careful when allowing my pup freedom as he got older; too much space is overwhelming (and can lead to an accident). 

As for general training, it's been a breeze. Havs are super-happy dogs; eager to please. Though mine is very sensitive. For awhile as a pup, if anyone at the dogpark was yelling at their dog, my Hav would immediately sit obediently wondering what he did wrong, looking like the saddest dog in the world.


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## RitaandRiley (Feb 27, 2012)

I understand exactly what you mean MJ EV. Havanese are in the toy group but they are not tiny nor fragile which is what often comes to mind when one hears the term "toy". Mine did take a longer time to house train which was rather frustrating considering he learned everything else so quickly. Now he's perfect.


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## riverlogic (Mar 1, 2012)

This is Mike, the guy side of riverlogic. 
MJ, I too came from the lab world to a hav. At first, I hated the idea. I'd always had labs. What was this little thing? It's going to be a yappy little pest like the other little dogs I'd been around. When Michelle brought him home, I was pretty furious. 
I can tell you this little guy has been none of that. He's quiet and attentive and patient and generous in spirit. There's not an annoying bone in his little body. He's just all love and joy. I'm a convert to this breed. I've had a lot of good dogs and a couple of great ones. This one is my fav. 
He house trained up pretty well. Maybe not as quickly as a lab, but pretty close. I too read they don't house train quickly. I also read it's more to do with small bladders, so they need to relieve more often. Nothing to do with temperament or training. I don't know if that's so or not, but he learned to only go outside in about a week, and he had no training from the breeder as far as I could tell. 
As an aside, my dad was a world-class lab breeder and trainer. He has no patience with poorly bred or ill-trained dogs, or small dogs generally. Surprisingly, he loves our little guy to bits and wants to keep him. 
But he can't have him


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Chica'sMom said:


> A week? Holy moly! Officially jealous here. I thought it would take about a week - which was my experience with other dogs in the past - but that is not the case at all. After 4 months of training to go outside, she still doesn't tell me when she has to go out. There are very few accidents because I'M well trained but I would not call 6 1/2 month old Chica fully house trained. (And I'm with her every waking moment. Sleeping moments too.) Did you crate train, Mike?


That was my experience too. Kodi didn't have accidents, but it was because *I* knew his schedule, and when to take him out. He also had his litter box for times when I mis-judged the timing, and was good about using it. He was just past his second birthday when he FINALLY started TELLING me he needed to go out.


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## jessegirl (May 13, 2011)

It definitely took around 8 months to get Rollie housebroken and then he had a bit of a relapse around 1 year. But, we used the crate, which worked great with him. Now we keep the crate open when we're gone (although he usually is just coming out of it when he hears we're home so he's definitely still using it). 

BUT, even with the long potty training, my husband and I are completely hooked on this breed. The temperament is so sweet. Rollie loves everyone, attacks us with love on a regular basis, and loves to cuddle. He has great energy, loves to run around and play and is a clown. I have no idea how to describe the clown part, but once you spend time with a Hav, you'll see it. He makes us laugh all the time and is just so cute I can't even stand it. And my experience with Rollie and general training was super. By ten weeks he knew multiple commands. They respond very well to positive reinforcement and are very smart. 

One additional potential negative to keep in mind is the coat. They do require a lot of grooming - definitely more than a lab. You can always choose to keep yours short, which would make grooming much, much easier, but if you like the full coat, definitely check out the grooming section of this site. I will say, it's no where near as hard as we thought it could be. We pretty much brush and bathe him weekly, but it does take some time to get through the whole coat. He doesn't tend to mat too badly and I understand that varies a lot depending on coat texture. 

Good luck!


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## riverlogic (Mar 1, 2012)

We used the crate for 3-4 days then I caved. We both work and I couldn't bear him being in there, I'm a big softie to him. We come home for lunch. After work, we both spent most of our time at home outside, doing a yard reno and he was always out with us. I think that was the big thing, we just spent a lot of time outside with him, and he wanted to be with us. I call him my reno-pup. 
There were _occasional_ lapses for a couple weeks, sure, but just that.

I wonder if for this breed, it's more they just want to be with you than they are slow to become house trained? Some here call them velcro dogs, that seems somewhat appropriate. Buck very infrequently asks to go outside by himself, but he will always come along when either of us go outside. We still go outside a lot, and I wonder if we didn't, would he rather be with us and just pee in the house? Maybe. I don't know, and don't intend to test that theory either.

I remembered my daughter learning to use the potty. I reno'd the bathroom right at that time, and she was always hanging around with me, wanting to help, being with dad. Worked like a charm, she learned in record time. Maybe that's the philosophy for this puppy.

Anyway, let's don't hijack this thread.....


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

MJ EV said:


> Hello I am a new member. My beloved Lab mix breed dog of 14 passed away 1 1/2 years ago. I feel that I am ready to bring another fur baby into my home and have been looking at different breeds and happened by chance on the Havanese. Could you please post some information about your experience regarding training, especially housebreaking. Some of the information that I have found on the web states small dogs are hard to housebreak. My female Lab mix was very easy to housebreak. At this point in my life, I would prefer a small dog but not a toy breed. The Havanese looks like a perfect size.


sorry for your loss. My hav was trained to only go outside, and had no issues with it. I bell trained her; as long as you are consistent they will learn.

they are smart smart dogs, and catch onto things very easily. She is the joy of my life and I know once you meet a Hav you will understand why, there is something special about them for sure.


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## RitaandRiley (Feb 27, 2012)

I love your post Mike. You summed up the breed very well. They ARE love and joy!


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## jessegirl (May 13, 2011)

Like everyone else, at first we had to be responsible for Rollie's potty training by knowing his schedule and getting him out there. But now he will sit by and/or scratch/jump at the door to let us know when he wants to go out. He makes it very clear. (Thank goodness)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

jessegirl said:


> Like everyone else, at first we had to be responsible for Rollie's potty training by knowing his schedule and getting him out there. But now he will sit by and/or scratch/jump at the door to let us know when he wants to go out. He makes it very clear. (Thank goodness)


Yes, we even tried the bells for a LONG time (FAITHFULLY, until they scratched up our woodwork and he STILL refused to use them!!!) but he eventually figured out his own signal. Now he uses a single, very deep "woof" that he uses for nothing else. Often he'll go to the door and do it, but if that doesn't get our attention, he'll come and stand by us, look us straight in the face and "woof" again.


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