# I want a Havanese, but would a Poodle be a safer bet?



## Jazzmin (May 6, 2010)

First of all, thank you for letting me join. I will soon be the proud momma to my first dog ever. If only I could decide which breed to get.

Here's where my confusion comes from. I am very mildly allergic to dogs (also to cats but have managed just fine living with two, mostly medication-free so I'm optimistic) and, while many suggest that Havanese are low shedding, they don't seem to be a "safer bet" the way Poodles and Bichons are. I've interacted with poodles without reaction but have had no opportunity to interact with Havanese.

The other piece of the puzzle is that I have small children (4 and 6). They are gentle as far as children go, but still children. The Havanese are small dogs and I worry the children may be too much for a small dog. If I got a poodle, I would get a larger one.

Despite the arguments FOR the poodle, I still want a havanese LOL. What would you say to me?


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Hi Jazzmin and welcome. :wave:

It is a tough call as I am owned by both two standards and a havanese and love both breeds. I love, love, love my standards. They are easily potty trained and house broken. They are athletic, super smart, high energy but not hyper. My havanese is extremely close in personality to my standards, but that's probably because he came last and I was looking for a proper characteristics to work with my big guys. Havanese will be harder to potty train, that's a given, but a lot easier to travel with and take under the plane seat when you travel. As far as allergies, my twin nephews seem to have a little reaction to my havanese, but not to my poodles. Although there are a couple of members on this forum who claim the opposite, allergies to poodles, but not havanese. I would say that you need to visit a breeder and spend some time around the havs to find out for yourself.

Another thing to consider is that both breeds are high maintenance dogs who require regular brushing and grooming. My havanese is in full coat and he gets brushed daily, otherwise he will mat. Also, while havanese have hair and do not shed per say, they are just like humans and do drop their hair. The only hairs I ever find around my house is Bugsy's. Even though he doesn't shed and doesn't leave hair on furniture, it is still around my house, where as my poodles don't shed, period. Of course if you keep your havanese in a puppy cut , it will greatly decrease the hair around the house. 

I think it's great that you came to the havanese forum for opinions on the breed, as you will get a lot of great information and the little darlings. I recommend checking out www.havanese.org and here's a link to the local havanese club in new york. http://www.gnyhc.org/.

Now you do realize that this is a havanese forum, so we are cray about the breed and completely impartial. So to balance it out in fairness, here's a link to the poodle forum, where you will be told that poodles are the greatest breed ever. lol http://www.poodleforum.com/. Also the link to poodle club of america: http://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/ and a http://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/find.htm#NEW YORK

Best of luck.

P.S. edited to add that you should also consider a miniature poodle. A well bred mini that might go oversize, (which happens very often with males), with good temperament might also work.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I have severe allergies to everything. I am actually more allergic to poodles than I am to Havanese. this has been explained to me that poodle's oilier coat is due to more sebum which is a protein and therefore an allergen. That being said...all people are different. I would encourage you to visit with Havanese to see if you react. Perhaps pm other New Yorkers and see if you could visit their pups. Havanese are sturdy little dogs and if you search for breeders who breed on the larger end of the specs you could end up with a 15 to 20 lb Hav...(we did... Cash is actually 24 lbs) 

The one area where I would say a Hav may be more allergenic than a poodle is that you tend to keep Havanese in a longer coat(even if you keep them in a puppy cut,) which means they pick up more dust, pollen, weeds, mold spores than a poodle might. So if you have seasonal allergies...those seasons are usually a bit tougher. But if you are thinking of getting a Standard Poodle, it is just more dog, so also more allergies. 

We kept my SIL's Havanese for 2 weeks to test my allergies and then again for another week a month later before we committed to looking for our own puppy. See if you can spend some time with a Havanese or two or three.


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## mckennasedona (Feb 20, 2007)

It would be a tough choice. I would choose a Hav, naturally.....but I do love miniature Poodles too. The Hav would require more grooming as I would imagine most Poodles visit the groomers on a regular basis rather than having their owners groom them. 
I agree with contacting a local breeder and asking to visit their dogs. Hands on contact is the only way to tell whether the allergens will affect you.

Good luck in your search.


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

I would definitely spend some time with havanese as others suggested to make sure you are not allergic. Maybe a forum member would let you "borrow" one of their havs for a day to see how you react. I'd offer mine [after I made sure you weren't a dog-napper ] but I'm in Cali!

I have a hav and I grew up with standard and mini poodles, so I love them both. I believe its more about the dog than the breed. Especially when you are comparing two intelligent, non-shedding, easily trainable breeds. You might not always get a dog that has all of the standard breed characteristics. So, to me, its more important to do your research, choose a good breeder and select a puppy who exhibits some of the personality traits you are looking for in a dog. Maybe you can research breeders for both and see where that leads you.

BTW, as far as size goes.... my parents have a mini-poodle Jack who is 23 lbs!! He's the largest, most muscular mini I've ever seen. His mom and dad were only 10 & 11 lbs and my brother has Jack's sister who is around 12 lbs. So, like Julia mentioned, they can get big.


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## Lau (Apr 23, 2009)

I am allergic to dogs and I've had zero reaction to my Havanese (who is now One). This came as a big surprise as I expected there to be at least an acclimatisiation period. I am also allergic to cats (although less so than to dogs) and it took me six weeks of sneezing/wheezing and generally feeling like I had a cold, before I acclimatised to my (better for those with allergies) Siberian cat. 

I don't have direct experience of Poodles or Bichon Frises, but in my experience a Havanese was the safest bet I could have had regarding my allergy! 

We have just spent the weekend with my two nieces who are Two and Five and they couldn't have had a gentler or more amenable dog to play with than my Havanese. (Although of course it does depend on the individual dog - and I was VERY careful in choosing him and only considered a litter whose parents were BOTH easy going, and a pup who was confident but not rambunctious). Arlo is a bit over 14lbs and I didn't worry about my neices hurting him - he's pretty robust now he's fully grown.


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## AKathy (Mar 15, 2008)

I've had both a toy poodle and a havanese and I'd pick the havanese over a toy poodle any day of the week because they are sturdier and less high strung, so a much better bet with children. My hav is wonderful with kids. My poodle... not so much.


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## Gableshavs (Jun 19, 2007)

It's dangerous to think that all dogs are the same temperament based on the breed. I also have a poodle who is as mellow and well behaved as a dog can be, and I have 4 Havanese each with a different personality. Just because you get a pure bred dog, they will not behave the same, some are very easygoing and others can be 'yappy' and even considered "high strung." Havanese were bred to be pampered little dogs who were well attended to by the wealthy class women. There are some that fit that description and others who are all around dogs who work and play. My Havanese required alot of work in housebreaking, (and do get it right most of the time) while the poodle learned quickly and never had an "accident". I think it was my fault though, I had more energy when I got the poodle 14 years ago. Also breed doesn't mean that dog is going to do well with children. In my opinion, a larger dog is better for kids, small dogs can get hurt. Unless you watch the children closely and train them carefully there is a possibility they will hurt the dog. I usually recommend small dogs for children at the minimum of 7 years of age, depending of course on the child and parents.

In the new edition of Havanese Horizons there will be a wonderful article about allergies. This edition will be coming out very soon and can be accessed on the Havanese Club of America's website www.havanese.org. In the article it stated that no dog is completely hypoallergenic and that young allergy suffers can be allergic to these dogs. The article discusses ways to live with a dog safely even if you do have allergies. I don't know your household or your children but I recommend waiting a little longer until that 4 year old gets a little older before purchasing a Havanese.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

AKathy said:


> I've had both a toy poodle and a havanese and I'd pick the havanese over a toy poodle any day of the week because they are sturdier and less high strung, so a much better bet with children. My hav is wonderful with kids. My poodle... not so much.


I think she is considering a Havanese and a standard poodle, not a toy poodle.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

As far as allergies, I would say go poodle. I know we say havanese are not shedding but mine shed some compared to my friend's poodles. But if you are in love with the breed (I am too!) I would see if you could visit some havs or possibly babysit.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

I have had both miniature poodles and my Havanese. The Havanese is great with my grandchildren who were one and three when we got her over two years ago and she still loves them! Abby is barely eight pounds but there are plenty of Havs on the forum who are much larger. Just find a breeder who has dogs on the larger side. The poodles we had were not really too crazy about small children so I had to really watch them closely around them children. That is why I got a Havanese - good for me AND the grandchildren!


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## hav2 (Feb 26, 2010)

I too would have to say, if you have younger children I would go with a larger Hav. I have 2 daughters, 2yrs and 5yrs, they are a handful I also have 2 Havs, Izzy is 16lbs and she is 1.5yrs and Fergus is 12lbs and 4 months old. My daughters are pretty well behaved and treat the dogs well, but sometimes can play rough and the dogs get right in there with them. No matter what breed you decide on, make sure the pup is well socialized and does well with children


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## Jazzmin (May 6, 2010)

So many wonderful replies.

The strangest coincidence occurred today. I had a "playdate" with a woman I recently met to have her two 4.5 year old kids play with my 4 and (almost) 6 year old. It turned out that they had a large dog there. The dog was a mutt, so the breed is not what I noted. What I noticed was the children's activity around the dog. They were all very good with the dog, but they were children. The dog, being large, was very good about accepting the bear hugs and, when one of the kids tripped and fell a bit into the dog, he was pretty strong and just sort of "caught the kid" a bit as he moved aside. 

I realized that if these children were playing around a small dog, only a very special dog would feel confident and relaxed ... many small dogs would rightfully feel antsy about the potential to be hurt. This large dog today was like "no big deal, I can handle it". And I liked that. Obviously, regardless of dog size, supervision is key - but, as much as I'd love a Havanese, today I realized that I'd be constantly worried about my kids squashing it. My 4 year old trips too often still.

We're going with a Standard Poodle, and I'll keep the Hav in the back of my mind for when the kids are older and gentler.

Thank you all. See you in 4 years *grin*


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Happy hunting your perfect new family member!


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