untrimmed, double coat. There seems to be a huge division of thought on what is correct when discussing the coat. First of all, age will determine the length of coat. A coat of shorter length on a younger dog should not be faulted. Even some adults, who have a slower growing coat, may have shorter length. But, it should always be a double coat on an adult Havanese and should never be trimmed! The standard describes the perfect coat. Silky to the touch, soft and light in texture. The outer coat carries slightly more weight. It stands off the body, flows with movement and is abundant and wavy. Dogs can be shown corded as well. Puppy coats can be softer than adults and they also may not have much undercoat development. If the coat is flat, frizzy, curly, it should be faulted. If it is coarse or wiry it is a DQ. The standard is pretty explicit on how the coat should be and goes on to say that head furnishings can be in simple braids. Simple plain bands hold- ing the braids in place. The big issue is what can be done to the coat to comply with the sentence that states “Natural as is consistent with good grooming”. I think it is simply stated in the stan- dard and should be adhered to. Mini- mal trimming of the anal and genital area is allowed but should not be seen on presentation. Hair on the feet and between the pads should be trimmed. No other trimming or sculpting of the coat is permitted. It is to be severely penalized as to preclude placement. For some reason, time after time I see obvi- ously scissored coats being rewarded, and yes many are also flat ironed. Why? The standard calls for a wavy coat! Flat ironing also changes the texture of the coat. It is no longer that soft, wavy, lightweight coat. When a standard says it should be severely penalized and pre- clude placement, why are theywinning? Is the rest of the entry, untrimmed and being shown naturally (but brushed!) that bad that the judges cannot “see” the trimming of the coat and the excessive shaving around the bum? The HCA has stated in their standard, that they do not want this level of grooming awarded. Another area of confusion in the
standard is the part. Most adult Ha- vanese coats will fall down from the middle of their backs to the sides. If they do not, they have an incorrect coat. The coat should not stand off their backs like a Bichon. Remember, it is to be a long coat. Long coats will fall to either side. What the standard says very clearly, is that the coat should not be deliberately parted. Meaning, not a Yorkie or Maltese part that is perfect and done with a knitting needle! And never should the dog’s coat be parted and held in place by hairspray! Yes, I have watched it being done right out- side the ring but Judges, please under- stand that a correct coat is going to part. Time and again I have had handlers and owners tell me they were scolded in the ring for the dogs coat parting. And just where would those judges like the coats to fall? Even brushed straight back, the dog shakes and the coat falls to either side, naturally. The first paragraph also describes the top line in the Havanese. For awhile, when I first started showing Havanese, I saw dogs winning with excessive rises. Putting my hands on them, I realized it was either that they had crooked front legs, poor shoulder assembly or no rear angulation. Or they were a bad combi- nation of all of that. But they had a rise and so the judges were rewarding that. It seems that the breeders have gotten better about choosing keeper puppies with better front legs and somewhat better shoulders and all should be look- ing for that short upper arm. But now, The top lines seem to have gone com- pletely the opposite direction. We now have level top lines. Finding a slight rise is getting harder and harder. I hear it all the time from judges. They are seeing it across the country. We are losing the short upper arm, the top line and the springy gait. I see videos on Facebook and maybe one in five has a slight rise on the move. The well behaved puppy with a level top line wins because the judges can’t get past that cute face and happy temperament. Please remember this is a hallmark of the breed and is what makes the Havanese outline dif- ferent from other breeds. While I am
glad that we have less and less chon- drodysplastic dogs being shown and bred, I would hate to lose this hallmark of the breed. The plumed tail also adds to that beautiful correct outline. While I would not throw out a tight or loose tail, I would hope that breeders would choose mates carefully to try to breed away from those traits. We want to keep that arched tail, another hallmark of our breed. The springy gait is also mentioned in the first paragraph. This is so important to distinguish a Havanese from a Shih Tzu or Lhasa. The structure and at- titude both contribute to the gait. The Havanese should never be run around the ring. They are not a sporting dog and should not have reach and drive as one. They also should not have lift in the front like a Min Pin. And yes, I have seen both being rewarded. They are to be shown on a loose lead. But, this does not mean the lead should be drag- ging on the ground behind the dog. The handler still has to have control over the dog. What is meant here is that the HCA does not want to see the Havanese being strung up like is so popular with other toy dogs. Stringing them up, let- ting them run, or letting them sniff the ground, all throw off the top line on the move. It is important to see the top line rise on the move, not just while stacked. So, no tight leads but also not so loose that the dog is then controlling how they move around the ring instead of the handler controlling the dog. Yes, this is a training issue too, but keep in mind these little dogs are happy, and inquisi- tive and letting them have too much leeway on that loose lead can lead to a disaster. Ihope that Ihavehelpedyouunderstand the hallmarks of the breed. Keep in mind that these are simply my opinions and how I personally have interpreted the breed standard. If you want to know how I evaluate puppies and adult dogs, how I determine overall balance and quality, I would be happy to discuss my thoughts with you. My email address is havayork@yahoo.com.
46 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2019
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