With Havanese puppies gaining such extraordinary recognition over the last thirty years, Havanese breeders are hard pressed to keep up with the influx of requests for these special little dogs. Unfortunately, this has led to the rise of a great many puppy mills across the country who are only interested in supplying pet stores with a large number of dogs very quickly, without paying special attention to the health of the dogs they are selling.
Due to the fact that the original genetic pool that the Havanese we now see was limited to a very small number of dogs (about eleven), there are a great many genetic health problems that a Havanese breeder must test their puppies for prior to making them available for sale. This often leads to a wait of several months or years to be able to fill just a single order for a healthy Havanese pup. Brokers bypass this step, and so often the dogs found in pet stores will not meet the exacting requirements for a healthy Havanese.
One of the most important questions you should ask of any Havanese breeder you are considering buying a pup from, is whether or not you will be allowed to verify that all of the necessary medical testing has been done before you pay the balance in full.
A dishonest puppy broker will generally not offer this information, as they don’t want people to look into their dishonest business practices. But an honest Havanese breeder will be more than happy to provide you with all of the documentation you need to ensure you are getting the pup you paid for.
Another important question that should be asked of all Havanese breeders, is whether or not they will breed the same female every time she is in season. If the answer to this question is yes, then you are most likely dealing with a dishonest puppy broker, as opposed to an honest puppy breeder who respects the dogs that he or she is breeding. A respectable Havanese breeder will only breed a female every other season, or even every two seasons. This helps to ensure that the female has plenty of time to recover between litters.
You would think that the high price of these sweet little pups would be enough to ensure that potential owners would check to see that their pups had properly tested and registered prior to sale. Unfortunately, so many dog lovers are in such a hurry to own one of these precious dogs that they have created an open market for puppy brokers who can meet demands faster than Havanese breeders can ? caring only for the money they can make, instead of the health of their dogs.
If you want to make certain that you are getting your money’s worth when buying a Havanese pup it is important that you pay special attention to the practices of the Havanese breeder you have chosen to work with.
An honest Havanese breeder will have no problem with letting you see everything to do with their dogs, while a puppy broker will be more apt to try to rush you into a purchase.
