# Once Upon A Havanese - breeder question



## HavaHopeful (10 mo ago)

Hi all - Does anyone know anything about this breeder?

Heidi Glass at Once Upon A Havanese in California





Once Upon A Havanese


Once upon a havanese provides families with friendly, high quality havanese. Located in central California, all puppies are raised in our home and are well loved by both children and adults.



www.onceuponahavenese.com





Would love any feedback - thank you!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I don't know them at all, so these are just observations on the website. They do not include registered name of the dogs, so you can't look them up on OFA nor can you look up pedigrees. DO NOT take their word for OFA testing. MAKE SURE that you get a CHIC number for each parent and check that the dog actually PASSED all tests. (non-passing test results can be filed with OFA and STILL get a CHIC number)

I would want to find out more about how their puppies are raised, what kind of enrichment they do with the puppies and whether/how they start potty training and hopefully crate training. I'm not saying they don't do these things, but the website doesn't say, so these are questions to ask in your conversation.

Personally, I would not buy a puppy from someone who would not release the registration papers until after the puppy was spayed/neutered. I've heard WAY too many stories of people never getting their papers. But that's something you will have to decide for yourself. That's a lot of money to pay off what is, essentially, until you get your papers, an unregistered dog. The dog is being sold on a "limited registration" contract anyway, meaning that you cannot breed the dog and register any offspring. So withholding the papers really does not strengthen her position. 🤷‍♀️ 

I also don't love contracts that provide for replacement puppies rather than refunds in the case of a life-threatening congenital defect. Often, what people need is money to repair the defect. So I think refunding the purchase price is fairer. But she kind of dances around that, so perhaps there is wiggle room? Hard to tell. 

I also REALLY don't like breeders who allow people to choose their puppies from infant photos as she obviously does. It is my STRONG opinion that good breeders match puppies to the right homes based on their temperaments AND the other desires the puppies buys, with looks probably being the LAST priority. If someone came to me saying, "I want a Chocolate girl with white feet", I'm probably going to tell that person they should look elsewhere.  

So, those are my thoughts looking at the website. No terrible"red flags" in terms of pet dogs, LOTS of questions _I_ would ask before moving forward. With a nine month wait-period, I think you have better options around.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Id also add that I find the note about the ‘extra parvo shot’ a bit strange. I am not a vet and have never even heard about this, but since so many Havanese breeders follow a limited vaccination protocol, I don’t think I’ve seen a breeder prioritizing extra vaccines. Just another question I’d ask if you were considering!


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## HavaHopeful (10 mo ago)

LWalks said:


> Id also add that I find the note about the ‘extra parvo shot’ a bit strange. I am not a vet and have never even heard about this, but since so many Havanese breeders follow a limited vaccination protocol, I don’t think I’ve seen a breeder prioritizing extra vaccines. Just another question I’d ask if you were considering!


The breeder said the extra vax is called the "NeoPar vaccine" and is given as the first vax as an early measurement to protect further against parvo. Is this ok?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavaHopeful said:


> The breeder said the extra vax is called the "NeoPar vaccine" and is given as the first vax as an early measurement to protect further against parvo. Is this ok?


I have never heard of it. It is not part of the vaccine protocol recommended by Dr.Dodd, nor is it recommended by my regular vet or my repro vet. I wonder whether she has had problems with Parvo in her kennel so is cautious for that reason…


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## MamacazCA (Jul 5, 2018)

Hi HavaHopeful - I am considering Once Upon a Havanese, but I am now concerned based on the responses you got. Did you end up getting a puppy and from where? Thanks!


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## HavaHopeful (10 mo ago)

MamacazCA said:


> Hi HavaHopeful - I am considering Once Upon a Havanese, but I am now concerned based on the responses you got. Did you end up getting a puppy and from where? Thanks!


Hi! Our breeder won’t have more litters for a while, but I highly recommend Ohana Havanese and Amor Havanese.


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## MamacazCA (Jul 5, 2018)

HavaHopeful said:


> Hi! Our breeder won’t have more litters for a while, but I highly recommend Ohana Havanese and Amor Havanese.


I have time if waiting for your breeder is an option? Thanks for the recommendations.


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