# Luv Bug & Mariposa Havanese in Charlotte, NC area



## Shannon Havanese (Oct 10, 2014)

We are looking to adopt our first Havanese puppy & I am doing my research to find a great breeder. Has anyone heard of Luv Bug Havanese in Charlotte, NC or Mariposa Havanese in Rock Hill, Sc? Or has anyone adopted from them.

Thx


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I don't know Luv Bug, but I know Michele Nieberding, Mariposa Havanese very well. She is a great breeder of lovely dogs. In fact, she has used Kodi's sire, Starborn Black Tie Affair, several times for her litters. I also have friends who have gotten puppies from her.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

Luv Bug is active on the show circuit. I dont have any personal experience with them but their dogs are beautiful.


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## Shannon Havanese (Oct 10, 2014)

Great! Thank you. I will have my husband visit these breeders the next time he is in the Charlotte area.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I looked up Luv Bug on the OFA site and it's good to see that a few of her dogs have posted results there. However, one of them ("Tasha" DeVita's Pocket Full of Sunshine at Luv Bug) has only Fair results for Hips so not sure if you would want to steer clear of any offspring from that dam. Perhaps Tom or another breeder could provide guidance on which results would make one reconsider a puppy.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

OFA hip rating is as much about how good the xray is, as how good the hips are. More times than not, a Fair is because of a less than ideal angle on the xray. Of course, it can be the hips too, but Fair is passing. An xray can't make bad hips look good, but can very easily make good hips look bad. We always want to see the xray, rather than just reading the rating. We actually have a pretty sizeable collection of hip xrays-not just our own dogs. Pam has taught a lot of breeders about what to look for in the xrays. 

The rating is subjective. We know of a breeder who sent in a Preliminary, which came back Mild, but once she learned that it really needed to be a good xray presentation, the final came back Excellent.

Long story short, it's not as simple as the rating. Good or Excellent are great, but we would look at a Fair.

I can attest that Mariposa is as good as it gets. Michelle is full time with the dogs, and not a sideline breeder. I don't know anything about LuvBug, but that doesn't mean they are not okay too.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

Tom King said:


> OFA hip rating is as much about how good the xray is, as how good the hips are. More times than not, a Fair is because of a less than ideal angle on the xray. Of course, it can be the hips too, but Fair is passing. An xray can't make bad hips look good, but can very easily make good hips look bad. We always want to see the xray, rather than just reading the rating. We actually have a pretty sizeable collection of hip xrays-not just our own dogs. Pam has taught a lot of breeders about what to look for in the xrays.
> 
> The rating is subjective. We know of a breeder who sent in a Preliminary, which came back Mild, but once she learned that it really needed to be a good xray presentation, the final came back Excellent.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the explanation! I remember when we got our lab ten years ago, his mother was listed as OFA Fair, and the rest of the family tree was Good and Excellent. We were concerned, especially with a labrador, but the breeder assured us everything should be okay. Fortunately it was.


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