# Looking for reputable breeder near South Florida



## mct

New to the forum and searching for a reputable Havanese breeder in/near South Florida. I have been searching online and found Perl's Havanese:

http://perlchihuahuas.com/

Has anyone heard of this breeder?

Any other recommendations for breeders in the South Florida area?

Thanks in advance for your feedback. Looking forward to learning a lot from this community .


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## FancyNancy

Many of us have traveled some distance to get a dog from the best breeder we can find. I think most of us would agree that the location/convenience of the breeder is less important than the quality. Sometimes you are lucky enough to find both, but it is better to opt for quality. Los Perritos Havanese, near Tampa has a good reputation, and so does My Yuppy Puppy in Ocala. Maybe others here can recommend some too. Best of luck in your search!


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## mct

Thanks FancyNancy for the reply! I am actually in e-mail contact with Lynn as well. I don't mind driving to Tampa for a quality puppy . Hopefully things will work out and we find a healthy puppy that is a good match with our family.


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## FancyNancy

I also forgot to mention...Most of the knowledgeable people on this site are very negative on breeders who breed more than a single breed. Perls will most likely get a bad review here on that basis and maybe for other reasons as well. I'm not an expert on breeders (or anything else) but I believe that a lot of the advise you will get here about breeders is worth listening to. Always remember that choosing a breeder will have the single most powerful impact on whether your experience with your dog will be easy or difficult for the entire life of your Havanese. Take the time to find the best one and be patent. It is well worth it! Again, good luck and let us know how you are doing!


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## GrannyMouse

I'm probably not the one to advise you as I'm pretty new to all of this "Havanese stuff" but I thought her website was impressive and she does have puppies available. Not that this really means anything but the handler pictured on her website is the one we used to finish our first Havanese.


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## lfung5

I think the site looks good. She does the health testing and showing. Some of her males and females are from yups and Prairiwind.
I did some research for my brother when he was looking for his havanese. I think I remember a Csta Havanese in Naples that looked good but please do your own research. This was 2 years ago. Good luck!


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## krandall

FancyNancy said:


> I also forgot to mention...Most of the knowledgeable people on this site are very negative on breeders who breed more than a single breed. Perls will most likely get a bad review here on that basis and maybe for other reasons as well. I'm not an expert on breeders (or anything else) but I believe that a lot of the advise you will get here about breeders is worth listening to. Always remember that choosing a breeder will have the single most powerful impact on whether your experience with your dog will be easy or difficult for the entire life of your Havanese. Take the time to find the best one and be patent. It is well worth it! Again, good luck and let us know how you are doing!


I'm not sure it's NECESSARILY a bad thing for a breeder to have more than one breed, especially when they are doing all the proper testing AND showing their dogs. Three breeds would be my absolute limit, though. I think it must spread the breeder awfully thin. My take, from reading the site, however, is that Havanese are their main breeds, and the have just occasional litters of the other two breeds. I, personally, wouldn't buy from any breeder without visiting, seeing how the puppies are raised and meeting the puppies and the breeder in person, but I don't see any huge alarm bells on the web site.


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## mct

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys. I was a little nervous as well with the multiple breeds, but I then saw that Havanese seems to be the main breed and the others on occasion. Since she is relatively close by, I am going to see if we can stop there for a visit to check things out. If I don't get a good vibe, it just isn't meant to be. Thanks again!!


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## krandall

mct said:


> Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys. I was a little nervous as well with the multiple breeds, but I then saw that Havanese seems to be the main breed and the others on occasion. Since she is relatively close by, I am going to see if we can stop there for a visit to check things out. If I don't get a good vibe, it just isn't meant to be. Thanks again!!


Good idea. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get sucked in by cute puppies!!!! ALL Havanese puppies are to-die-for cute, and it is REALLY easy to buy with your heart instead of your head.

While it looks like this person is doing the proper testing, make sure you look it up on OFFA. Also remember that even with all the testing, and parents with championships, HOW the puppies are raised will have a great deal of bearing on the quality of pet you get. They should be raised underfoot, in sparkling clean surroundings, and AT LEAST partially potty trained by the time you bring them home. (the cleaner the surroundings, the more likely the puppies are to want to keep their surroundings clean, and potty only in appropriate places) They should have an enriched environment, with lots of toys, different floor textures and things to climb on. If the breeders don't have young children, hopefully they have made an effort to have some come visit, so the puppies have that experience too. While not all breeders do this, I was very glad that my breeder had introduced Kodi and his siblings to crates at night during the week before I brought him home. It made the transition to his new home SO much easier.

The new owners have a big responsibility to continue the good up-bringing and ESPECIALLY socialization of the puppy, but you can never fully make up for a bad start while they are in the breeder's care.


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## mct

Bummer - was going to try to see her Saturday but they will be on vacation for a week travelling . Will have to wait until she gets back in town.


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## krandall

mct said:


> Bummer - was going to try to see her Saturday but they will be on vacation for a week travelling . Will have to wait until she gets back in town.


Oh well, don't be in too much of a hurry. It took me six months to find my breeder, and a couple more to get my puppy... And I was lucky! They typically have a waiting list, but everyone on the waiting list wanted girls, and they happened to have a litter of all boys. I didn't care about gender or color, just the right personality match and a good "working" dog, and I got a match made in Heaven!:biggrin1:

Other people have waited longer than I did for their perfect puppy. Remember, this is a decision you will be living with, hopefully, for the next 15 years or so. It doesn't pay to be hasty now!


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## Becky Chittenden

I've never heard of Perl, but if you go to breeder referral at the Havanese Club of America's web site, they can refer you to a reputable breeder. I know of a number of these, but not sure what part of FL
Additionally, you will find, even though "given a red flag", many reputable breeders who have an additional breed or two. I've bred and shown Shelties beginning in the '70s and added ( a natural addition) Collies in the 80's, though I don't have many litters, my last Sheltie litter was 4 years ago and have had a total of 3 Collie litters. Quite a few people with my additional breeds have added Havanese, probably for the identical reason I did: to downsize and a comparable bright and loving dog to live in the house; and fell in love with the breed.


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## pjewel

She's got really good breeding stock from very reputable breeders. That goes a long way in my book. So many of her puppies look like my troops. It's a lucky thing Ms. Ruby cured me.


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## mct

Thanks for the continued feedback. All great info. Heard back from Perl's about specific tests conducted:

CERF
Heart
Patella

They do not test hips in order to keep costs down and said since it is a Toy dog, they have few hip problems. Test results are also not registered with OFA due to cost. Also, they don't do BAER since they said it is obvious whether the dog can hear or not and the dogs hate the test. Also was told the puppies are $1200.

Still planning on meeting with them, but wondering if these are red flags that I should be concerned about.


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## waybrook

My Panda comes from Lynn at Los Perritos. She runs an excellent breeding program & I think you would be very happy with one of her dogs. Janet at Yuppy Puppy also raises excellent puppies.


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## pjewel

That's a little surprising about the tests. That makes me uncomfortable. The other Florida breeders mentioned are also reputable and many members have gotten their puppies/dogs from them.


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## Pixiesmom

Never heard of that breeder, but they look good to me.


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## krandall

mct said:


> Thanks for the continued feedback. All great info. Heard back from Perl's about specific tests conducted:
> 
> CERF
> Heart
> Patella
> 
> They do not test hips in order to keep costs down and said since it is a Toy dog, they have few hip problems. Test results are also not registered with OFA due to cost. Also, they don't do BAER since they said it is obvious whether the dog can hear or not and the dogs hate the test. Also was told the puppies are $1200.
> 
> Still planning on meeting with them, but wondering if these are red flags that I should be concerned about.


This would seriously bother me. There are definitely reasons to check hips, not only dysplaysia, but also for Leggs Calves Perth disease. And we KNOW there are problems with deafness in Havanese puppies. We have had one person here on the forum who purchased a puppy from a breeder who didn't bother with BAER testing, and the puppy was TOTALLY deaf in both ears. They didn't realize it until the puppy wasn't coming along in training classes. Unilateral deafness is more common, and impossible to tell without testing. ...and if your dog starts out deaf in one ear, and anything happens to their hearing on the other side, again, you are dealing with a deaf dog.

Having other breeds wouldn't tun me away from a breeder if everything else looked good. Personally, I would not be willing to compromise on health testing. (I also wanted soaps of both the parents and puppy). Long-term health and soundness is not something I am willing to take unnecessary chances on.


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## mct

Yeah, I agree. I was a little let down by this information .


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## tootle

It is important to test for hips, even in a toy breed.


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## CacheHavs

I would like to also mention that the expense in the testing is the actual test themselves, if they are truely doing the health test then I don't know why they would not submit them into OFA as that expense is VERY minimual compared to the cost of the actual test. Seems a little fishy to me. If it were me I'd move on and look else where - JMHO


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## HalleBerry

I'm new to Havanese, so clearly do not have expertise... but this is copied from the Havanese Club of America: 

"The HCA participates in the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) program to promote testing and reporting of health test results for the Havanese breed. CHIC is a centralized canine health database jointly sponsored by the AKC/Canine Health Foundation (AKC/CHF) and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Testing required for a Havanese to receive a CHIC certificate include OFA BAER, OFA Hips, OFA Patellas and annual CERF exams. It is not necessary for the Havanese to actually pass those tests as our intent with the CHIC program is to simply encourage widespread testing and the open disclosure of results through the OFA database.

HCA encourages Havanese breeders to use the OFA database to research the health pedigree of dogs prior to breeding. This provides an outstanding research tool for performing searches on individual dogs and also links health testing results of the dog’s related pedigree information (Parent, Offspring, and Sibling) , when those related dogs have been health tested.

It is fair to assume the vast majority if not all breeders have good intentions, as no one sets out to breed unhealthy dogs. Each breeder faces similar challenges as we work to translate good intentions into producing healthy puppies. Appropriate utilization of available information along with a continued commitment to health testing and research will ensure we meet our common goal ‘to encourage and promote quality in the breeding of purebred Havanese’."

So I guess I'm curious why someone would think that hip & BAER testing wasn't necessary?


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## krandall

HalleBerry said:


> I'm new to Havanese, so clearly do not have expertise... but this is copied from the Havanese Club of America:
> 
> "The HCA participates in the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) program to promote testing and reporting of health test results for the Havanese breed. CHIC is a centralized canine health database jointly sponsored by the AKC/Canine Health Foundation (AKC/CHF) and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Testing required for a Havanese to receive a CHIC certificate include OFA BAER, OFA Hips, OFA Patellas and annual CERF exams. It is not necessary for the Havanese to actually pass those tests as our intent with the CHIC program is to simply encourage widespread testing and the open disclosure of results through the OFA database.
> 
> HCA encourages Havanese breeders to use the OFA database to research the health pedigree of dogs prior to breeding. This provides an outstanding research tool for performing searches on individual dogs and also links health testing results of the dog's related pedigree information (Parent, Offspring, and Sibling) , when those related dogs have been health tested.
> 
> It is fair to assume the vast majority if not all breeders have good intentions, as no one sets out to breed unhealthy dogs. Each breeder faces similar challenges as we work to translate good intentions into producing healthy puppies. Appropriate utilization of available information along with a continued commitment to health testing and research will ensure we meet our common goal 'to encourage and promote quality in the breeding of purebred Havanese'."
> 
> So I guess I'm curious why someone would think that hip & BAER testing wasn't necessary?


From what I've seen, there are breeders who come up with a lot of "reasons" to justify their decision not to test; "too far away", "too stressful to the dog", "my dogs have never had that problem"... IMO, it all comes down to, the question: Is this breeder working to IMPROVE the breed, or just to churn out puppies? I want to be involved with the first type of breeder, otherwise I'd rather adopt a shelter dog.

The funny thing is that it is typically the BYB sort, who often really do love their DOGS and enjoy raising puppies. But they are doing a disservice both to the breed and to their puppy owners by not doing the proper testing. Yes, overall Havanese are a pretty healthy breed. But there is NO breed without its problems, and responsible breeders do their best to breed away from these problems by testing their breeding stock, and removing any that don't pass muster from the breeding pool rather than stick their heads in the sand.


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## windfallhavs

The cost to send a CERF exam to the CERF database: $12.00 for initial, and $8.00 every year after that.

The cost to send OFA patellas and BAER hearing testing to the OFA database: $15.00 per test

The cost to send OFA hip and elbow testing to the OFA database: $40.00

For the 4 basic health tests needed in order to get a CHIC number, the total amount needed to register the tests (and ALL of these tests are one time tests except for CERF) is $82.00. 

Keep that in mind next time a breeder tells you that they can not afford to register the OFA results of the parents of the $1500.00 puppy you are considering purchasing.


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## mct

Yeah - it does seem silly to not spend the ~$82 to post the results if you are spending all the money on the tests.

Well I have been in contact with Los Perritos as well. Have seen lots of good comments regarding them, so that makes me feel pretty good. They have a puppy we are interested in and will be meeting hopefully in a week or so if we can work out meeting schedules.

It seems that Los Perritos does quite a bit of documentation related to health testing, which is good. I found the Dam's information and it lists the Hips test as "FAIR" and the CERF as "E1-Lens, punctate cataract *significance unknown". The Sire's health tests are all normal and hips were good.

Should I be concerned with the Dam's hips and CERF results?

Thank you all so much for your feedback, thus far. This has been very educational!


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## mct

Came across this breeder today in my web searching:

http://www.cubanitoshavanese.com/

Looks like she is Vice President of the Independent Havanese Club. Site seems pretty detailed. After reading about the Independent Havanese Club (havaneseclub.org), it looks like in 1998 there was some type of political riff and they broke away from the Official Havanese Club of America.

Seems that they are more focused on Havanese as a pet instead of focused on breeding or showing.

Anyone heard of Cubanitos Havanese?


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## TilliesMom

I'm not an expert and although they don't show all thier dogs to championships, I would probably consider getting a pup from them... they do all the testing as well as socializing and early learning... just my 2 cents


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## krandall

mct said:


> Came across this breeder today in my web searching:
> 
> http://www.cubanitoshavanese.com/
> 
> Looks like she is Vice President of the Independent Havanese Club. Site seems pretty detailed. After reading about the Independent Havanese Club (havaneseclub.org), it looks like in 1998 there was some type of political riff and they broke away from the Official Havanese Club of America.
> 
> Seems that they are more focused on Havanese as a pet instead of focused on breeding or showing.
> 
> Anyone heard of Cubanitos Havanese?


I haven't heard of them. It' looks like they do the basic testing on the parents. I, personally, would not take a puppy that had not been BAER tested. I don't want to deal with a deaf puppy. It can be done, but it's hard work.


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## krandall

TilliesMom said:


> I'm not an expert and although they don't show all thier dogs to championships, I would probably consider getting a pup from them... they do all the testing as well as socializing and early learning... just my 2 cents


I agree, I like that they are working with the puppies early. That's important. (though I wish they used a better potty system than just a pee pad) But they don't say that they are BAER testing the PUPPIES, and that is one of the few tests that can (and should) be done before the puppies leave for their permanent homes. If I were to even consider one of these puppies, it would be based on the written agreement to a FULL refund of even unilateral deafness, and then I would get the BAER testing done myself. But considering that most good breeders BAER test the entire litter before the puppies go to their permanent homes...


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## mct

Good points - thanks! I took your advice and asked about a refund if a puppy is found to be unilaterally deaf if we did our own BAER testing. Will see what she says. They do list a lifetime guarantee on their site and a statement that they will take any of their puppies back at any time no matter what, which I asked for clarification on.

I did find out that while the parents are all tested, the results are not posted up to OFA's website either with this breeder. She did, however, offer to provide copies of all tests results and numbers to the vets to confirm the results. Is this acceptable? 

Cubanitos Havanese does seem quite knowledgeable and, so far, has been the breeder to ask me the most questions about my family and our home and spent quite a bit of time on the phone answering questions and asking some of me too.

We have an appointment tomorrow to meet the breeder and the 4 week-old puppies. I was impressed by the requirements of the house visit - here is what she stated:

"puppies are newborns without vaccination so I do ask you not visit any groomers, pet shops, vets, dog parks, other breeders, etc before visiting. Please wear shoes that the sole can be sprayed with a bleach solution and I will ask you to wash your hands before meeting the dogs. When you visit you will meet ALL my dogs (grandmothers, grandfathers and great grandmothers)."

Also, owners must be approved before they can buy a puppy.

Definitely shows a protective nature of the puppies, which I appreciate.

All of this research is so exhausting but I know it will be worth it in the end!! Thanks again for helping me on this journey!!


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## mct

Well I don't have to worry about the BAER test from Cubanitos Havanese. She promptly replied to my question and offered to have the puppy BAER tested before it went home for $60-$80, which I would happily pay if we decide to go with them.

So I guess the only red flag is the test results not appearing on the OFA site, but if I get copies of all results, would that be good enough? is the question


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## krandall

mct said:


> Well I don't have to worry about the BAER test from Cubanitos Havanese. She promptly replied to my question and offered to have the puppy BAER tested before it went home for $60-$80, which I would happily pay if we decide to go with them.
> 
> So I guess the only red flag is the test results not appearing on the OFA site, but if I get copies of all results, would that be good enough? is the question


Great about the BAER. I'll let one of the breeders on the forum (hopefully) weigh in on the testing not being on OFA. Not sure about that one.


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## mct

Well our visit went very well. They were actually having a puppy open house today for the people on the waiting list for the litter. Some of the people were previous owners of other Cubanitos Havanese who were looking at getting a second Havanese so we were able to get to talk to actual previous customers first hand. They all raved about their experience and the quality of the dogs.

As for my testing concerns, they provided all the test results for the parents, and the puppy we end up with, definitely will have BAER testing done on it before we pick it up. There was absolutely no push-back on that request and they were very open with all of my questions.

We were able to meet the parents and grandparents as well as their other Havanese family (they have 8 of them that are theirs, not including the puppies) and they were a delight.

Lastly, once the breeder saw how we did with the adult dogs, we were introduced to the puppies. Of course they were cute! Aren't all Havanese??? LoL

My almost 8 year old son did well and promptly picked out his top 3 favorite puppies (1 puppy was from 1 litter and 2 were from another litter). We will need to see how the puppies develop over the next few weeks to see how their temperament evolves to make sure we get the right one (they're only 4 weeks old so they were not very active yet - mostly sleeping and crawling on our chests).

We were impressed enough with the breeder to leave a deposit based on what we saw and what we heard from previous clients. It is clear that the breeder does not go away after the transaction and is there to provide support after the puppy goes home.

We still don't know which puppy we will end up with yet, but based on what we saw, any of the puppies in the litter would be a delight. The breeder will play a part in determining which one we end up with in the end. Wish us luck!


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## krandall

Sounds like ou've done a great job checking things out. Congratulations!!!


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## mct

Thanks!! And especially thank you to all who have provided feedback on my questions. It is much appreciated. I will keep you posted!


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## tootle

I'm a little late :biggrin1: but wanted to respond about the health testing and OFA. I would be perfectly comfortable with seeing the testing results even though they weren't sent to OFA. Just be sure that the breeder is showing you the testing on the correct parents and that the CERF has been done within the year. Sounds like you are doing a great job of doing your homework. You will be glad that you took the time and had the patience to wait on the right breeder.


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## mct

tootle said:


> I'm a little late :biggrin1: but wanted to respond about the health testing and OFA. I would be perfectly comfortable with seeing the testing results even though they weren't sent to OFA. Just be sure that the breeder is showing you the testing on the correct parents and that the CERF has been done within the year. Sounds like you are doing a great job of doing your homework. You will be glad that you took the time and had the patience to wait on the right breeder.


Thanks! Always good to hear from people more experienced than me, letting me know I am on the right track lol. I actually also heard back from Lynn at Los Perittos and she apparently knows the folks at Cubanitos Havanese and had good things to say about them, which made me feel even better in our decision.


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## pjewel

I'm happy you had such a positive experience. There is no greater recommendation than the words of previous owners. If they've come back to add to the family, that speaks volumes. I'm sure you will love whichever pup the breeder thinks is right for your family. Keep us posted on progress.


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## mct

Wanted to provide an update.... Looks like our son's top pick will be our puppy 










We are thinking of naming him Comet, but were cautioned that Comet may be a confusing name for the puppy with commands like "Come Comet". I started a thread about this here if anyone wants to chime in 

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=17233

Thanks again for all your help through our breeder search!


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## TilliesMom

YAY! SO Glad you found your puppy!!!


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## krandall

Awww, he's adorable! Congratulations!

Remember, if you WANT to name him Comet, go right ahead. Just pick something that sounds different for his recall word(s). I don't ever use "come". I use "Here!" as my all-purpose, real-world, come to me cue, and "Front!" for my formal obedience recall cue. If I just want him to not stray far away, but I don't need him to come ALL the way to me, I use, "Get close!"


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## waybrook

He's adorable!


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## SRQfamily

*We're looking too!*

Thank you for the detail in your posts, we just started our search for breeders here in SW FL and after reading your thread & the others input, I feel much more confident in how to go about finding the best breeder & making the right choice.

I would be interested in learning more about how comet is doing & how he is adjusting to your son as I too have a little one about the same age.....


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## JazzFest13

My mom has one of their older dogs Ch Magical Silver and Lace (Lacey). She's a gem. I got my puppy from My Yuppy Puppy. Janet's in Ft. Pierce now. 

Good luck in your search!


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## mct

SRQfamily said:


> Thank you for the detail in your posts, we just started our search for breeders here in SW FL and after reading your thread & the others input, I feel much more confident in how to go about finding the best breeder & making the right choice.
> 
> I would be interested in learning more about how comet is doing & how he is adjusting to your son as I too have a little one about the same age.....


Comet is doing great. My son gets along great with Comet and they enjoy running outside together in the yard. Comet is one fast puppy!!

We have started to leave the door open to his x-pen when we are downstairs so he can go in and out. He still has a few accidents when he is out of his x-pen and "forgets" to go to the ugodog in the x-pen, but for the most part, he does a great job remembering to go where he should. He even moves the blinds near the sliding glass door when he wants to go out as well.

Our biggest issue right now is his barking when we are not around. Takes him a good 15 minutes or so before he calms down and chills out. He just loves being with us .

Good luck on your search. Give Rose @ Cubanitos Havanese a call. We still keep in touch with her.

Here is an updated photo:


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## TilliesMom

oh my goodness, he is GORGEOUS!!!! Love, LOVE, LOVE his coat!!!! 
Thanks for updating on his progress!! How old is he now??


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## mct

Thanks .

He just turned 5 months a week ago!


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## waybrook

Oh my - Comet is growing into one beautiful Hav!


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## rovernole

We also live in South Florida and have just begun our search for our first puppy and are smitten with the Havanese. This thread has been very helpful so thank you! JazzFest13, how was your experience with Yuppy Puppy as I have read good things about this breeder and their Ft. Pierce location is not too bad for us? Mct, are you still pleased with your experience with Cubanitos Havanese and how is Comet doing? Anyone else have helpful advice on great breeders in this area or any other tips for someone just getting started?


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## SJ1998

rovernole said:


> We also live in South Florida and have just begun our search for our first puppy and are smitten with the Havanese. This thread has been very helpful so thank you! JazzFest13, how was your experience with Yuppy Puppy as I have read good things about this breeder and their Ft. Pierce location is not too bad for us? Mct, are you still pleased with your experience with Cubanitos Havanese and how is Comet doing? Anyone else have helpful advice on great breeders in this area or any other tips for someone just getting started?


I looked on the forums for info and Havanese Club of America. I highly recommend Los Perritos.


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## HalleBerry

Halle's breeder has a pet puppy boy available from the repeat breeding of Halle (she is in Ocoee), and I have a friend who just bred her havanese (she's in Ocala) so there are puppies out there and puppies coming!


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## Lawton's mom

*Looking for a great breeder*

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum stuff. I need your help finding the best Havanese breeder near Tallahassee. We have been looking for a new 4 legged family member and after visiting my sister in law and seeing their 2 year old, we have made the decision that we have to have a Havenese pup for our family. Can anyone point us in the right direction!
Thanks so much

Lawton's mom


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## tootle

http://www.havanese.org/index.php/breeder-ref/37-info/breeder-referral/69-states
Check here for some good FL breeders


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## Lawton's mom

I will get right on it!! Thank you so much


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