Havana Silk Dog

Dlilly

Honored Member
I just read an article about Havana Silk Dogs, and I'm starting to really like the breed! What really got me interested in them was that they have a strong herding instinct, and the Havana Silk Dog Association of America requires all of their dogs to be health tested to be registered with them. (I think this is brilliant!!)

I also read that they have a great temperament, they do well in agility and obedience, and they were popular as circus dogs!

I want a dog that I can do agility with, and also teach tricks! We have chickens and ducks, so I'm really interested in owning a herding dog. I'm a bit hesitant about getting a Border Collie, ACD, or Aussie because they are so…. extreme!!! I'm starting to think a Havana Silk Dog might be a good match for me!

Does anyone have any experience with these dogs, or know anything about them? There isn't much information about them online. I really want to know about how they do with agility and herding.
 

Anneke

Honored Member
Jinx her breeder also has havanna's!! They are little bundles of joy!
I don't think they can do herding as they are companiondogs. But they are very good at tricks and agility.
It seems that somewhere in the past they were bred with poodles, to get to where they are now. So the intelligence is there. The dutch havanese club states they were used a lot as circusdogs;)
Don't know if you have seen this site, but there a a lot of pictures on it, showing havaneze doing agility...http://www.havanasilkdog.org/
Do keep in mind that they need a lot of grooming, though! Their hair gets very long and tangles up easily.
 

doc

Member
I guess I have as much experience with Havana Silk Dogs as anyone. I am a founding member of HSDAA and have been involved with Havana Silk Dogs since their inception. The Havana Silk Dog was spotlighted in the April 2012 issue of Dog World Magazine...the dogs pictured in the article are mine.
 

doc

Member
One of the Silk Dogs main motivators is having FUN. They are smart, trainable and eager to please so they take to tricks easily. They do well in performance sports that they think are fun...Rally, Agility are good venues for Silks. If you have any questions about these dogs, I'll do my best to answer.
 

doc

Member
New to this forum and am having trouble posting replies...is there a length limit to replies?
 

doc

Member
Jinx her breeder also has havanna's!! They are little bundles of joy!
I don't think they can do herding as they are companiondogs. But they are very good at tricks and agility.
It seems that somewhere in the past they were bred with poodles, to get to where they are now. So the intelligence is there. The dutch havanese club states they were used a lot as circusdogs;)
Don't know if you have seen this site, but there a a lot of pictures on it, showing havaneze doing agility...http://www.havanasilkdog.org/
Do keep in mind that they need a lot of grooming, though! Their hair gets very long and tangles up easily.
The dogs at www.havanasilkdog.org are not Havanese...they are Havana Silk Dogs.
 

doc

Member
Some Silks do have herding instincts...and I've seen a video of one herding. I know of one who has some experience at tracking, too...they have great noses and can follow scents VERY well.
Doc
 

Dogster

Honored Member
There is no limit to the length of replies. (Just ask Tigerlily, LOL:ROFLMAO:) Ooooh, I'm learning SOOO MUCH about the Havana Silk Dog!!!! (a breed I didn't know that existed:ROFLMAO:)
 

Dlilly

Honored Member
I guess I have as much experience with Havana Silk Dogs as anyone. I am a founding member of HSDAA and have been involved with Havana Silk Dogs since their inception. The Havana Silk Dog was spotlighted in the April 2012 issue of Dog World Magazine...the dogs pictured in the article are mine.
That's so cool! That's the artical I read!!!

I can't find any videos on YouTube of any Havanas herding. :( My family has chickens and ducks, so I am always dreaming about having a dog to do herding with. It seems like they aren't used for herding anymore though...
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
// There is no limit to the length of replies. (Just ask Tigerlily, LOL:ROFLMAO:) //

TRUE!! You can post as long of reply as you want, so far as i know.
and Dogster is right, i can post a long reply.
Many ppl today have twitter-level att'n spans and can't/won't read a long reply.:rolleyes:




but me, I read entire books,:eek:

so for ME, reading a few paragraphs is nothing. Absolutly nothing for ME to read a few paragraphs, but,
then again, i am a book lover, and do love to read.:D and also, i can type at almost 100wpm, so it only takes me a few minutes to type up a few paragraphs.

plus, many many topics on dog training,
don't really fit into bumper-sticker length bits of info.....
SO POST AS LONG OF REPLY AS YOU NEED!!!:ROFLMAO:
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
So Doc,
let me get this straight, i am fascinated by this breed.

The first line was the Havanese Silk dog, is that right?

and from that breed, the Havanese was bred...is that right?

and then, somehow, the original Havanese Silk dog was....gone ? and there were only Havanese dogs around, is that right?

so the ppl took some Havanese dogs,
and sort of "re-created" the Havanese Silk Dog all over again, by choosing certain types of Havanese? is that right??

It's almost like they've come around full circle then?

Are the two breeds very different, one from the other?
so so many breeds of dogs, ARE so different from a dog of their own breed, from even 50 years ago, or from 100 years ago. Look at the shape of 1940 German Shepherd,
vs the shape of 2012 German Shepherd. Big change there, with the now popular super-sloped hips of today. darn shame, too....
Or the super short legs of today's dachsund, now very very exaggeratedly short in many many lines, are not just like the dachsund of even 100 years ago.


So so many breeds have been made to have exaggerated features, especially in past century...but, some breeds, this was done long long ago...


In your estimation, or experience,
do you, Doc, think a person like me<---who knows nothing about Havanese, could spot the Silk dog out of a bunch of Havanese dogs? Or, do you think it takes a trained eye to spot the difference?

are the two breeds personality/ability a lot the same? so far as trick training goes?

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR INFO, DOC!
 

doc

Member
I'm sorry but every time I try to reply to a post with information of any length I get an error 500 and my reply does not appear. If I limit a post to a very short reply like this, it goes fine. I'd love to share information with you but seem limited by circumstance.:(
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Thanks for reply, Doc, i was also unable to paste it in as a reply,
but,
*maybe* this problem is due to this very week, the site admin is upgrading his server,
so possibly, that is why we can not paste that file into a reply...no idea really.
 
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