HCA Education
for  Puppy Buyers

NOTE: At this time the price of a Havanese is about $1800.00 to $2500.00. The interest in obtaining a Havanese from a breeder that does all the health testing exceeds the availability of them. It is possible that a person may have a wait of six months to 2 years to obtain the “right” one for them. You may be unable to find Havanese Breeders in your location, as Breeders are not in all states. You more than likely may have to travel to pick up your Havanese.

You may be able to find available puppies from Breeders listed on the internet. Please make sure they do the same health testing as a breeder on the HCA Breeders List. You must receive documentation of all health testing done. To be on the HCA Breeders List, a breeder must meet strict health testing requirements: BAER-hearing, CERF-eyes, OFA- Hips and Patella's. Many breeders on the list do additional testing such as SA320-Liver Shunt and Heart.

BREEDER REFERRAL INFORMATION

The Havanese Club of America provides a Breeder Referral List for the convenience of potential Havanese buyers and Havanese Breeders. The HCA takes no responsibility for the promises or guarantees that a buyer and seller may agree upon at the time of a sale of a Havanese. The Breeder Referral list is comprised of HCA member breeders in good standing who have current CERF certificates on file with the HCA Referral Coordinator, and have provided the required information. The inclusion of a breeder does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the HCA. It is the responsibility of potential buyers to ask questions and decide for themselves if they wish to do business with any particular breeder.

Contracts
Most problems arise due to misunderstandings with the wording of a contract or the lack of one. A contract must be understood by the buyer. READ EVERY WORD BEFORE YOU SIGN IT! As a potential buyer it is important that you make yourself clear to the Havanese breeder as to what type of puppy you are looking for, in the first contact you have with them, be it Pet, Show Prospect or Breeding Prospect. The AKC numbers for both parents and the AKC Litter number for your puppy must be received by you, either in a Contract or a Bill of Sale, when you pick up your puppy.

AKC Registration
NOTE: It is against AKC Rules to charge an additional price for registration papers.

There are two types of AKC Registration:

AKC Limited Registration: This means that the puppy may not be shown in conformation, or used for breeding. Any puppies it may produce may not be registered with the AKC. Limited Registration dogs may be shown in Obedience or Agility.

AKC Full Registration: This means the puppy is eligible to be shown in any type of competition that the AKC offers for the breed, and any puppies it produces may be registered.

CERF - Canine Eye Registry Foundation
All breeding stock should have a Registered Current CERF number. This number can be verified on the CERF website. The Havanese CERF number is HVxxx/xxxx/xxx. What this means---HV is Havanese, the next figure is the permanent CERF number, followed by the year CERF was done, and finally the age of the dog, in months at the time of the exam. The reason for the CERF exam is to determine if the dog may have cataracts (or other abnormalities) at the time of the exam. It can not predict whether the dog may develop problems at a later time. A buyer should receive copies of current CERF certificates for both parents before any money is paid.

Heritable Health Concerns

Chondrodysplasia
Deafness
Heart Problems
Liver Shunt
Seizures
Hip Problems-Dysplasia
Legg-Calve-Perthes
Patellar Luxation

OFA-CHIC Numbers

The HCA now gives a 4 Star Award each year to Havanese that are tested for BAER - hearing, CERF- eyes, OFA- Hips and Patellar Luxation and PASS all four of these tests.

To earn a CHIC number the Havanese must have the tests but they do not need to pass them. To check OFA-CHIC to see what Havanese have been health tested and the results forwarded to OFA: Go to the OFA website, page down to bottom click on CHIC, which located on the left of the page. This will bring up the CHIC site, click- search CHIC, the breed page is next, scroll down to Havanese, click- begin search. This is the main Havanese listing in alphabetical order. Click on the name, this will bring up the individual testing results.

Before paying any money you should receive

1. Copies of the current CERF Certificate for BOTH parents. (copies of the exam may be altered), copies of BAER, OFA -Hips and Patellas
2. A blank copy of the contract (if the breeder uses one) so that you will be aware of what is expected of you as a buyer and of the breeder.

When picking up your puppy, you should receive

1. The puppies pedigree.
2. AKC Individual Registration Application (the puppy buyer personally registers their puppy.
3. Copy of the puppies Shot Record.
4. Food Schedule.

Someone recently said to me "Why would I pay $1800-$2500 for a puppy from a breeder that does not take the time or money to health test the parents prior to breeding them?"

 Warning:

There are increasing numbers of Havanese in puppy mills and being produced by people solely for profit without regard to health. Make sure you read All this information before contacting any breeders.

Health Testing is very important! Contrary to what some breeders want you to believe, the Havanese do have health problems.

Please read the results of the recent Health Survey.