Living with the happy HAVANESE by theresa DeLgaDo
I f I had to pick only one word that sums up living with a Havanese, it would have to be joy. Never have I met such a happy, smart and eager-to-please dog that is truly a joy to be around. Romeo is my first Havanese, and my first puppy. I’ve had dogs my whole life, but they’ve been mostly big dogs and they had all come to me as adults or adolescents. When we were ready to add a puppy to our family, I did my breed research carefully. I have three daughters at home, one of them with special needs, and our house is loud and chaotic at times. I needed a special dog; one that would feel at home in the chaos of a busy house, a dog that was sturdy enough to play with the kids, and most importantly a dog that didn’t just tolerate children, but loved them. My daughters wanted a puppy that would like to play and go for walks. I wanted a dog that was truly a companion to all of us and want- ed to be with his people all the time. Thank- fully for all of us, we found exactly what we were looking for in the Havanese. I started making phone calls and was lucky to find a phenomenal breeder who had placed several of her puppies in families with special needs children. We brought our little Romeo home the week before Valentine’s day. We decided to keep the name his breed- er gave him because he already knew it well, every time you said “Romeo” he would look up and give you an adorable head tilt! Havanese dogs have stellar personalities and are smart, quick learners. Romeo has been so easy to train, in both obedience and housetraining, because of his extreme eager- ness to please. I’ve always used gentle train- ing methods and positive reinforcement, and he was fully potty trained outside and acci- dent free by the time he was 4 ½ months old. Aside from a small nibble on the molding and some toilet paper rolls, he hasn’t chewed up anything in the house either! We are now on our intermediate level obedience classes and he is always one of the first in his class to catch on to new things. Even if he does do something naughty, he responds immediately to a verbal cue. Just the other day, I walked into the kitchen to see Romeo chomping on a large steak that
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