# what where havanese used for?



## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

Back when dogs where being bred for a purpose (other that to be friends), what was the havanese used for? i have heard they where used to heard chickens, and to be circus dogs. Is this true, and has anybody done any hearding with there dogs?


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

as far as I understand it, they were bred to be companions for the royalties children. I have never heard about them being bred for herding?? possibly for the circus though.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I also read about herding chickens. I don't think mine act at all like a herding dog. I live with a Ausie and she herds mine around. I can diffidently see the Havanese as being entertainers for the circus ring.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I have heard of herding, companionship to royalty and circus act dogs


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

babysitters to the children of well-off families (in Cuba?), thus their gentle and entertaining nature


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Of course they were being bred long before they made their way to Cuba and were named "Havanese"... Charles Dickens had at least one, maybe two. They were bred primarily as companion dogs, but because they are so smart, cute, easy to train and love to please, they were often used in European circuses. 

Likewise, I don't believe they were ever bred SPECIFICALLY to herd... they are too small to safely herd anything but poultry. But Cuban families found that they had herding instincts and used them to herd the family poultry flocks as well as be beloved family pets.

Kodi has definitely inherited this herding instinct. I have never done any formal herding with him, but our neighbors have chickens, which often get out and into our yard (where they destroy my perennial beds!!!:frusty Kodi will round them up and herd (NOT chase!!!) them back into their pen, then come trotting back home. Again, he has never been taught to do this, he does it all on instinct.


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## Kalico (Jan 11, 2012)

krandall said:


> Kodi has definitely inherited this herding instinct. I have never done any formal herding with him, but our neighbors have chickens, which often get out and into our yard (where they destroy my perennial beds!!!:frusty Kodi will round them up and herd (NOT chase!!!) them back into their pen, then come trotting back home. Again, he has never been taught to do this, he does it all on instinct.


What a cool dog!


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Sergio is entertaining and makes people smile!! They can't help it. 

When I was bringing him home, at the security gate at the airport, I had to take him out of his Sherpa bag and carry him through security. You should have seen the reaction and the faces of the security people. All smiles!! 

In the elevator yesterday, this toddler was being held by her dad and I was holding Sergio. She saw him, and she immediately started smiling. Dad had to tell her Sergio is a dog, not a toy. Kids and adults come up to me all the time and ask if they can pet Sergio. 

Sometimes he lets people pet him, and other times he hides behind my legs. Then people think he's anti-social. That's something I want to work on with him. 

The strange thing is, sometimes strangers are nicer to me because I have Sergio, than they are with people who are holding babies or toddlers.


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

krandall said:


> ...Kodi has definitely inherited this herding instinct. I have never done any formal herding with him, but our neighbors have chickens, which often get out and into our yard (where they destroy my perennial beds!!!:frusty Kodi will round them up and herd (NOT chase!!!) them back into their pen, then come trotting back home. Again, he has never been taught to do this, he does it all on instinct.


Karen, Kodi gets this from his Mother. When we went to pick Toby up, Razzle (Kodi's Mom, for those who don't know) was trying to heard my children! ound:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

curly_DC said:


> Sometimes he lets people pet him, and other times he hides behind my legs. Then people think he's anti-social. That's something I want to work on with him.


Just remember that although you want him to be accepting of people, dogs do NOT have to like being petted by everyone. Let him take it at his speed. One problem is that SO many people want to reach for the top of a dogs head. Most dogs don't like getting banged on the head any more than we do!

With Kodi, if a child want to pat him, I usually give the child a treat, and have them hand it to Kodi. Then I tell them to let him sniff them, and then STROKE his back. Handled that way, he will accept attention from anyone. If they go for his head, he's behind my legs in a flash, and I don't blame him one bit!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Carefulove said:


> Karen, Kodi gets this from his Mother. When we went to pick Toby up, Razzle (Kodi's Mom, for those who don't know) was trying to heard my children! ound:


I wonder if she herds the King's chickens. I can't remember whether they let their chickens loose or not.


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## ClaireVoyant (Jan 26, 2012)

Here's a quote from AKC's site:



> A Look Back
> An old breed, the Havanese is a descendent of breeds brought to Cuba from Spain and could also be related to the Tenerife, an ancestor of the entire Bichon family. Once known as the Havana Silk Dog and the Spanish Silk Poodle, the Havanese evolved from its role as a pampered lap-dog of the aristocracy into a family companion responsible for being a watchdog, child's playmate and herder of the family's poultry flock.


http://www.akc.org/breeds/havanese/


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

One purpose of lap dogs was to catch fleas that would otherwise get on the women holding them. Dogs body temperature is higher than a human's, and fleas will go to them first.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> One purpose of lap dogs was to catch fleas that would otherwise get on the women holding them. Dogs body temperature is higher than a human's, and fleas will go to them first.


Eeewww. I'm sure you're right, but... Eeewww.


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

krandall said:


> Kodi will round them up and herd (NOT chase!!!) them back into their pen, then come trotting back home. Again, he has never been taught to do this, he does it all on instinct.


That's it, I'm getting me some chickens!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sprorchid said:


> That's it, I'm getting me some chickens!


I *HATE* chickens!!! They destroy my gardens, poop all over my porch, I slip on their poop in the garage, Kodi either eats it or rolls in it any chance he gets... And since they aren't even my chickens... I DON'T EVEN GET ANY @#$% EGGS!

<ehem> I'll try to get myself back under control now.:focus:


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## Anne Streeter (Apr 14, 2009)

I hear you about the chickens! My daughter has 6 banties and had me fostering the one at the bottom of the pecking order last summer. She pooped non stop and Luci thinks it is candy! I even found her on her stomach trying to reach into the pen with her paw to pull some out. Yum Yum (and please do not lick my face!) She did try to herd the chicken when she was out in the yard. She also tries to herd dh and I into the bedroom at bedtime.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Its not like Cuba is filled with royalty and spoiled children... I guess they probably stumbled upon the chicken herding fad by chance. I will say, Gucci is instinctively a herder, we had her at a local farm which has a few peacocks that walk around amidst the caged farm animals and she took off ofter those peacocks like NO tomorrow!!! Didn't hurt them, of course, but herded them to their safe place...or ran them in there out of fear, however you want to word it!!! ound: Scared me to death, my husband thought it was the funniest thing he''d ever seen...me, not so much. I envisioned the peacock potentially eating her for dinner.

I had some country neighbors years ago that insisted on keeping a chicken hatch in the city (illegally) their rooster Drove me crazy in the morning. The TV and movies would romanticize the natural alarm clock but in real life...I found it annoying and generally ruined all chances of me sleeping in on weekends 

I don't eat chicken. developed an aversion to it during my pregnancy and never got over it, that was 17 years ago.

to prevent fleas, ehh? eww...probably very true. People back then came up with some crazy ways to prevent disease and illness!!!!

Kara


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thumper said:


> Its not like Cuba is filled with royalty and spoiled children...


There WAS a good-sized Cuban aristocracy before the revolution, and they were the people with Havanese. The poor people just had street dogs.



Thumper said:


> I don't eat chicken. developed an aversion to it during my pregnancy and never got over it, that was 17 years ago.


I eat chicken and enjoy every minute of it. IMO, the only good chicken is one on my plate.ound:


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie herded the chickens until the rooster got her with a spur. Now she is afraid to go outside without me. The ** rooster has gotten me also. I go out with a broom to fend him off. Just as soon as one of the hens starts setting, he is out of here. I like to raise a few chicks for the grandkids to play with, then give them away or replace an old hen. I don't eat chicken either. Can't stand to look at raw chicken. Luckily I don't have an adversion to beef since I have two new calves to raise.


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## Gableshavs (Jun 19, 2007)

I was told by a very reliable source that years ago Diane Klumb was dying to get an interview with Dorothy Goodale, the woman who brought this breed to the USA. Dorothy I was told did not care for DK and finally agreed to an interview, in that interview she told her all kinds of things not necessarily true and the story of herding chickens (I was told) was something she made up. These dogs were lap dogs of the wealthy. Their main job was to be sweet and loving lap warmers.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie went back to herding this week. The ** rooster jumped on her back just as she had squatted to do her business. Well being my child, that made her so made. She threw him off of her and then ran him until I thought he would pass out. He finally had sense enough to get in the hen house. Since then every time she sees him, he has to go in the hen house. Seems he was just a bully. Course he flogged me the next day.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Gableshavs said:


> I was told by a very reliable source that years ago Diane Klumb was dying to get an interview with Dorothy Goodale, the woman who brought this breed to the USA. Dorothy I was told did not care for DK and finally agreed to an interview, in that interview she told her all kinds of things not necessarily true and the story of herding chickens (I was told) was something she made up. These dogs were lap dogs of the wealthy. Their main job was to be sweet and loving lap warmers.


I am sure that you are right, that their main job in lifee in Cuba was as a cute lap dog, although they certainly were also used in Europe as circus dogs... This info didn't come from Dorothy Goodale. And ther is no denying that at least some of them DO have innate herding instincts. Kodi certainly does, and he has had NO formal training. I've heard this about other Havs as well. So whether or not they DID herd poultry in Cuba, I think they COULD have been taught to.


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