The Havanese is a wonderful dog for any situation; in fact, my parents have two of them! Just ask any Havanese lover why they love their pup and I'm sure there will be a variety of responses; what isn't there to love about these loving and energetic dogs? Just to put it into perspective how much the love for this breed has grown over the past 10 years, an article from the American Kennel Club recently revealed a 994% increase in the popularity of the Havanese over this time frame [1]!

If you weren't already aware, a Havanese is a member of the Bichon family, sort of a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Maltese, if you will. However, the Havanese demeanor seems to be deviant from that of their closely related pooch. In fact, the majority of information found on the Web will state that the Havanese is a less "vocal" dog than most toy breeds. I, in fact, have first hand experience with this; my parent's Havanese do not bark unless there is a person at the door. The best part is, they are immediately calm once they come in contact with the person and said person shows respect for the dog's interest in them.

When people are searching for a new dog for their family, one of the most prominent features for the dog to possess is a non-shedding attribute. A lot of people are either worried about ruining their household with fur falling from the ceilings, or afraid that all of this fur will stir up allergy problems for anyone visiting the household. This can be an overwhelming embarrassment on both ends of the spectrum. Though, with the Havanese, owners and visitors will not ever have this problem because they are non-shedding, hypoallergenic dogs that have the ability to roam around all walks of life.

The final and, in my opinion, the most important of all characteristics the Havanese possess is its ability to adapt to its surroundings. The Havanese can be put in any living situation and surpass all expectations. For example, my parent's Havanese are joined with a much larger, much stronger dog (a border collie) and 3 cats. Despite these strange living conditions, the smaller dog, the Havanese prevails just fine as he/she plays with all of his/her animal companions. I believe this characteristic stands out to me as the premiere reason to acquire a Havanese the next time you are in the market for a puppy (it also helps that they are cute).

As a final note, I would like to present the statistics on the popularity of dog breeds around America. Once again, this is taken from the Web [1].

2007 Most Popular Dogs in the U.S.

1. Labrador Retriever

2. Yorkshire Terrier

3. German Shepherd Dog

4. Golden Retriever

5. Beagle

6. Boxer

7. Dachshund

8. Poodle

9. Shih Tzu

10. Bulldog

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37. Havanese (up 994%!)