# Havanese and Golden Retrievers



## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

Do Havanese pups do well with Golden Retrievers? We have a precious Golden named Ella and would like to add a dog to our family. Ella is very sweet and very playful -- typical Golden puppy. I just want to be sure the size difference would be safe...she weighs about 55 pounds and is still growing.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

my labradoodle is 55 lb and she is very gentle with my havanese. The first couple weeks she was a little jealous so i didn't leave them alone together unless supervised and always kept a close eye on them. Now they are best buddies. The big dog is extremely gentle with her. 

Goldens are gentle dogs by nature, but I would make sure she is well socialized and try her out around little dogs to make sure she likes them and isn't too rough. How old is she?


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## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

She is 8 months old. She does well with the large and small dogs we meet on walks at the lakefront. Some small dogs do not seem to like her, and she sometimes doesn't get the message...as far as she is concerned, every creature she meets is there to play with her lol. She plays well with my parents' rat terrier, except when she chases his tail...he is not fond of that...yet she persists. I haven't seen her off-leash with a very small dog.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

try going with her to an off leash dog park where you can observe her with smaller dogs, or try and good doggie daycare (let them know you're considering a small dog so the staff can observe her behaviour).

She might be a bit young yet, she doesn't know her own size/strength. I waited until my dog was 3 before I introduced a new puppy to the household.


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## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

You nailed it...I am not sure she is aware of her own size/strength. She is very gentle but can wrestle with the best of them if the other dog initiates it. Our dog park has a separate yard for dogs under 20 pounds, but doggie daycare is a great suggestion. Thank you!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I would suggest waiting until Ella is at least a couple of years old, and has settled down. Right now, Ella is probably just STARTING to enter adolescence, which is a head-strong age for all breeds. Even though she has gotten along well with an adult rat terrier (a very tough breed) I don't think I'd trust ANY large breed puppy (and that's what Ella still is... a big puppy!) with a soft temperament, small breed puppy. If Ella pounced on a 3 lb. puppy, even in play, with NO intention to hurt it, she could snap it's back!

If you decide to go ahead with getting a Havanese puppy now, you really will need to commit to supervising them NON-STOP for quite some time. That said, I know of a number of adult Goldens who have younger Havanese "siblings", and they are a great match for each other! It just not be the best time right now.


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## cap (Jun 21, 2012)

As everyone here has mentioned--timing is everything. I have always had goldens. They are a remarkable, gentle breed. That said, just understand that their brains usually don't show up until they are between 2 & 3. Until about that time they are all puppy all the time. Our vet suggested that the best time to introduce another puppy into our household would be when our golden was between 3 & 5. We brought our Isabelle into our lives when our golden, Olivia, was 7 (a bit late but it worked for us). Olivia was gentle and tolerant and a great teacher to Isabelle as well as a great playmate. Enjoy your Ella's puppyhood, continue to socialize her with all sizes of other dogs, and give her the opportunity to emerge into the gentle being she will become. Then, when the timing is right, bring in your havanese puppy to be Ella's best friend.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

cap said:


> As everyone here has mentioned--timing is everything. I have always had goldens. They are a remarkable, gentle breed. That said, just understand that their brains usually don't show up until they are between 2 & 3. Until about that time they are all puppy all the time. Our vet suggested that the best time to introduce another puppy into our household would be when our golden was between 3 & 5. We brought our Isabelle into our lives when our golden, Olivia, was 7 (a bit late but it worked for us). Olivia was gentle and tolerant and a great teacher to Isabelle as well as a great playmate. Enjoy your Ella's puppyhood, continue to socialize her with all sizes of other dogs, and give her the opportunity to emerge into the gentle being she will become. Then, when the timing is right, bring in your havanese puppy to be Ella's best friend.


Well said. Definitely work on socializing your golden around small dogs, so when you do get your havanese you'll know they'll be best buddies! It will prevent a lot of problems in the future if you can recognize potential issues before they arise and correct them. Try to get her around young puppies if you have the opportunity as well (closely supervised of course).


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## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

Seems to be good advice. 

I am very familiar with Goldens and their behavior, as Ella is our third one. We try to have dogs in pairs so they can do what dogs do -- play. We give Ella as much socialization as we can, but we feel like she is missing out by not having a canine buddy. Our breeder asked that we wait until she was at least 6 months old before getting another puppy to give her time to bond with us. As gentle and sweet as she is, I would never forgive myself if she accidentally hurt another puppy....and I'm not sure I can handle 2 large dogs at this time. Makes me kind of sad for my girl...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ellaismygirl said:


> Seems to be good advice.
> 
> I am very familiar with Goldens and their behavior, as Ella is our third one. We try to have dogs in pairs so they can do what dogs do -- play. We give Ella as much socialization as we can, but we feel like she is missing out by not having a canine buddy. Our breeder asked that we wait until she was at least 6 months old before getting another puppy to give her time to bond with us. As gentle and sweet as she is, I would never forgive myself if she accidentally hurt another puppy....and I'm not sure I can handle 2 large dogs at this time. Makes me kind of sad for my girl...


You know, a single dog does miss out on the constant companionship of another family dog, but there are trade-offs too. Sometimes I feel the same way for Kodi that you do for Ella. But I also have SO much more time to invest in training with Kodi and DOING things with him that I couldn't do with two dogs. I will eventually get another dog, but not for several years. Right now, training and showing Kodi takes all my "dog time". If I got another puppy now, I'd have to spend half that time with each of them, and I think right now, Kodi would be the loser in that arrangement.


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## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, everyone!


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

8 months old is still a puppy in my book! But it is your household, and you know your current dog the best. I waited until my standard poodle was over a year old before I added Louis, my Havanese. The difference was that both dogs were "adults" by then - my poodle over a year old, and Louis at 2 years old. The transition was a lot smoother and they get along great. My poodle is around 65lbs and Louis is around 13lbs. They play with each other every now and then, but if my poodle gets too rambunctious, Louis tells him to calm down by growling. Louis can be quite an old, grumpy man. You may find yourself trying to limit the amount of horseplay in your Golden, stressing the importance of being gentle and calm, especially with a small Havanese puppy.

Here's my two playing:






Louis is very particular about dogs he likes. He basically only tolerates my poodle lol. They are best buds.


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## ellaismygirl (Oct 17, 2012)

She is still a puppy for sure! She is so submissive and does play well with 12-15 pound dogs, but I was worried about a puppy's safety. I think there are so many pros and cons...but the big con is that Ella could unintentionally hurt a tiny pup. I will either wait for an older Havanese or wait until Ella is older. Maybe I should put my name on a list now...by the time it's my turn, Ella will be more mature.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

It's great that you are researching and thinking about the dynamics right now! I too was hesitant to mix a small dog with a big dog. Even an older, well-mannered large dog can accidentally hurt a small dog in play. I also put "adult" in quotes because for a large dog, 1 years old is still a puppy. Like it was mentioned before, they don't mature until 2-3 years. My poodle will be turning 2 at the end of November. I'm betting by 5 years of age he will calm down (not getting SO excited by every little thing). Louis is already an old man at 2 years old. If you do get an adult, really find out if they are potty trained and if they have any issues (like fearfulness, nervousness, excessive barking, dog aggressive, etc).


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## Pipersmom (Jul 27, 2009)

I love that video tokipoke! 

Louis sitting on the blanket to make it a fair fight and then when your poodle gets the blanket, he looks at you to intervene. LOL!


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