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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

How much would you expect to pay for a female Havanese puppy?

46 replies

Zoe999 · 04/09/2013 20:29

And can anybody recommend another breed that would be small, not require a 10 mile walk every day but is very affectionate and a healthy dog that doesn't bark too LOUDLY. don't mind a bit of barking but not too high pitched or loud! I've done some research, I see the cons are that they can be hard to toilet train but I'll take that if everything else is perfect. If there is another breed that is similar, less well know, but just as good for children (not young children) then I'd love to know.
thank you.

OP posts:
LEMisdisappointed · 04/09/2013 20:34

I've never heard of them so googled, they look adorable, but i am willing to bet they are expensive!

Have you owned dogs before? Would you consider a rescue?

Original poster
Zoe999 · 04/09/2013 22:35

well, growing up we had Labradors and they have a lovely nature but I think they are too big for me. My parents house bigger than the one I live in. I am single parent as well and the responsibility will fall to me alone. I really don't want a rescue dog no. I want the dog that is perfect for us! I want to adore it the second I lay eyes on it. I don't want to just pick up a random dog and hope that we grow to love it, hope that it suits us. I know that that may sound selfish but I don't want to get a dog and then have to send it back to the rescue centre. I would rather pay for the dog that is right for us. Just wondering if anybody else had recently bought one and what the going rate is, if there is such a thing!

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 04/09/2013 22:59

Why would you not be able to love a rescue dog the moment you saw it ,but you could a puppy . I have a rescue dog and he is 'perfect for us' as you put it . You wouldn't know if a 'random' puppy would suit ,they all have differnt personalities ,even from the same litter .

heinztomatosoup · 04/09/2013 23:01

Actually we just got one paid 1200 pounds. There are some on the internet from abroad obviously do not get them, there are only a few reputable breeders in this country so you may have to wait until next year as I contacted them all and only a couple were planning a litter. Also they cannot be left all day so if you work full time they would not be the right dog for you. Having said that, you would definitely fall in love, so affectionate and gorgeous breed

LEMisdisappointed · 05/09/2013 00:02

I dont want to pick up some random dog and hope that i grow to love it? Hmm Oh, well pay through the nose for a puppy that you wont know how it will turn out and will end up in a rescue home itself when it doesn't fit into your ideal of the perfect dog!

Molecule · 05/09/2013 09:38

My cousin has one, bought in USA as that is where she works. It is a lovely dog, very gentle and sweet natured. She was working full-time, but think she may have popped back to her Manhattan apartment at lunch to walk him, but not sure.

She now has a very debilitating condition which requires treatment in UK, so he has to fly back with her, but seems to settle wherever she is, and is very quiet on the lead when she struggles to walk him. All in all, they appear to be super dogs.

I've no idea how much they cost. My cousin had gone to buy a kitten from an American petshop and fell for the pup. Turns out he was bred in Hungary, no doubt on a puppy farm, all of which my cousin (at the time, not now) was completely ignorant of.

mrsharrystyles · 05/09/2013 09:42

I have a rescue Westie. She is perfection on a plate. I love her to bits.

Lonecatwithkitten · 05/09/2013 09:53

With a puppy regardless of breed it doesn't come ready to suit your family. It is like a child you teach it and mould it to fit in to your family.

Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 10:49

heinztomatosoup thank you! confirms what I suspected. They are an expensive breed. I have emailed a breeder who says the next litter will be 2014. So we will see, we may end up getting another breed that I discover that is just as affectionate, yet small.

Molecule Sorry to hear that your sister's dog has health issues. Are they genetic? or common to the breed? I had thought that one of the pros of this breed was that they were hardy for a toy dog. So thanks for your sister's story. gives another personal angle to what I have read on the internet.

Floralnomad tread carefully, with posts like that you could inadvertently end up persuading somebody to get a dog that isn't right for them, in some misguided effort to prove to themselves or to somebody like you that they love dogs more or love dogs enough. NObody is obliged to love all rescue dogs. It must have been fairly clear from the thread title that I wasn't looking for a rescue dog so why would you attempt to chastise me for not wanting one Confused

A dog is not just for Christmas as they say and I make no apology for the fact that I have a particular dog in mind for my family. IF I saw that at a rescue centre I would happily take it but it's unlikely.

MrsHarryStyles Glad your Westie is gorgeous. You are lucky! Would love if things worked out that perfectly for us too!

This will be my children's first dog. Their impressions of a family pet will be formed on the basis of this dog and how it fits in with us and what we can manage. Lonecat nothing in life is ever carved in stone but I have done my research and have differented between different breeds and formed an idea of what is most likely to fit in with our lifestyle and house.

Why would anybody try to make somebody feel guilty or pressured into taking a rescue dog if it's not really what they have said they want??? Confused Confused Confused

OP posts:
Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 10:56

Sorry Floralnomad, it was actually LEM who was attempting to make me feel bad about having a particular breed in mind and not wanting to chance my luck with a rescue dog. I apologise for clutching my handbag and pearls at you.

There is nothing wrong with rescue dogs, you just obviously don't have the same choice. My friends have rescue dogs but that wouldn't be for me.

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Lonecatwithkitten · 05/09/2013 10:58

I just see in my professional life so many people who think their puppy is going to be the perfect fit to their lives not realising that the perfect fit comes from hours and hours of hard work.
I'm not saying don't get a puppy just be prepared for how much effort you are going to need to put in to mould that puppy to fit in your family.
I honestly believe that most breeds could fit into most lifestyles you just have to work at.
I have seen between 30 and 60 new puppies and their owners through my doors every month for the last 15 years. I have people in tears on a regular basis as they thought the puppy was just going to slot in. Fortunately we provide loads of support to our owners and failure rate is around 1 puppy per year mostly because people don't want to listen to our advice.

TakeItAsRed · 05/09/2013 11:00

Consider a Miniature Schnauzer

Small dogs who think they are big dogs. bark don't yap, great with kids, easy to train and not usually timid or aggressive. Info here

Well worth going to a dog show and meeting a few. You can check for local show here

Much less expensive than the rarer Havanese.

Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 11:17

I don't know what your job is. It sounds very interesting. In your shoes I wouldn't discourage people from knowing what they don't want to take on. I've said I don't feel able to take on a rescue dog and bizarrely I have been reprimanded for that.

You say your advice is ignored, well, I'm not sure what your advice to me would be! are you advising me? It seems confusing. You are reminding me that I can't read the future (I know that). Are you advising me not to get a dog at all?!

I grew up in a house where there was never fewer than two dogs. So far my children haven't had a dog and I'm not going to amble vaguely into dog ownership.

I have seen people leap to take on a rescue dog (and another rescue dog) because a pair of sad eyes pulled on their heart strings. It has worked out for them, so I wouldn't dream of criticising them, but in the same way that all dogs are different, people are different too Smile.

Personally, I would rather do a bit of research first and increase the likelihood of all going well.

I don't think I will post on the dog house again!

OP posts:
Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 11:18

TakeitasRed, thank you, I will have a look at that breed now.

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 05/09/2013 11:24

I am advising you that it is unlikely to be perfect with a puppy on day one, it will become mostly perfect with hours of hard work training.

Good that you have done your research, but never under estimate that research on a breed and breeders is about 0.1% of the work that is going to be needed. So many people think that if they choose the right breed then everything will fall into place without any effort on their part.
No different with a rescue dog, unlikely to be perfect on day one likely to be mostly perfect after hours of hard work.
I'm a vet.

I have yet to meet the 100% perfect dog, my own dog discovered how to bark at me aged 2. He does not bark at anything else only me when I am no instructing him fast enough at agility.

Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 11:37

Why are you advising me of that. You have filed me under "so many people" which makes me think that you deal with a lot of stupid people at work and you're making the mistake of categorising me in with them. I never said or did anything to indicate that I thought it would be easy or that I could guarantee that it would all work out perfectly.

Look, we could back and forth for hours but the bottom line is I'll be looking after this dog and it's my prerogative to choose it. I said a few posts back that I'M NOT apologising for researching breeds before I make a decision. This is the internet and if you saw me in real life you'd see I'm a game old bird in her forties whose own children weren't what I expected. My children aren't 'perfect', whatever that is. I'm as confident as I can be that doing research before going ahead and getting a dog is not a bad move.

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 05/09/2013 11:41

I think you're reading people's responses as criticism when they're not . All I read from lonecats response was that any breed will fit into any family if you put in the work required so buy whatever puppy you like .

Lonecatwithkitten · 05/09/2013 11:45

You your self said in your first post said ' I'll take that if everything else is perfect'.

I don't meet stupid people, I meet people with unrealistic expectations of that choosing a puppy is the biggest part of getting a 'perfect' puppy.
You have chosen a suitable breed fabulous, but perfect it is unlikely to be.
I wish you every success, I am just pointing out that choosing the breed is a tiny, step on the pathway.
I'm sorry if I have misjudged you, but so often in the doghouse and in my clinic new puppy owners say why did nobody tell me it would be this hard.

mistlethrush · 05/09/2013 11:47

Whippets are a nice breed that, whilst they want a walk, don't need 10 miles, and then will happily sleep for a good long while afterwards. (Personally I wouldn't touch miniature schnautzers with a barge pole as I've met too many that have a dodgy temperament and only one nice one).

Molecule · 05/09/2013 11:51

Zoe, it's my cousin who has the condition, not the dog. Sorry for not being clearer. The dog has adapted very well to the multiple changes in lifestyle etc that this has entailed.

Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 11:52

No lonecat, I really think you've got carried away advising me. You (and not just you) are coming on a bit strong.

Your experiences with other people have nothing to do with me. The perception you have of me is your business and it's nothing to do with me.

mistlethrush thank you for that. Despite the tedious 'advice' I had to wade through here I did receive a few other suggestions to consider and I am really grateful to have a few more breeds to look into and consider.

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TakeItAsRed · 05/09/2013 11:55

Mistle
Really?
Stunned.
I have only known super friendly MS with lovely temperaments.
Obviously it depends on the lines, and the breeder through which I know most local mini's does place a lot of store on breeding for temperament. But then, so do all good breeders.

Really surprised.

FannyFifer · 05/09/2013 11:59

Wow you sound like a delight OP.

Original poster
Zoe999 · 05/09/2013 12:13

TakeitasRed, I looked at the miniature schnauzer and it looks like it's got a great temperament so thank you. That is definitely something I will look into. I was never rigid in my thinking. The fact that MS puppies are a 1/4 of the price is fantastic! They are gorgeous too. I will google whippets now out of interest too.

FannyFifer, I've had a very hard time on this thread and I did not deserve it, and here you arrive, first post, to say something nasty and sarcastic. So you win, you are more delightful than I am.

OP posts:
mistlethrush · 05/09/2013 12:14

Take it - a neighbour had two - the first was really lovely, out going, friendly - would quite happily have dog sat him. Other one was unfriendly, wouldn't look at faces, uncommunicative and would not accept that we were allowed to be in our garden (the first just wanted to say hello). DH's aunt has one and I hate it when we visit as I really worry about DS's safety - he's really good with dogs (and I have no problem with the tiny border terrier she has too) but this dog is just nasty. The ms she had before that one was also nasty (unlike the norfolk terrier/pom that she lived alongside who was absolutely sweet).