A small history of the breed Bichon Havanais
(reference: Guerra, Z. Portuondo, Havanese, Kennel Club Books, NJ 2003)
The family of bichon is known for many centuries in Europe. The word bichon related to barbichon (bearded) is french and means fleecy dog. Bichon stands therefore for dogs completely covered with hair and a people-orientated personality. This kind of dog was very fashionable in Renaissance in Europe and was introduced to other parts of the world like the New World, Asia and Africa during their discovery. The Bichon was then mixed with similar breeds which resulted in different dogs: Maltese, Bichon Frisé, Bolognese, Löwchen and Coton de Tuléar. The Havanese was first known as Cuba Blanquito de la Habana and very popular in aristocracy during the 18th and 19th century. The first dog came probably from Spain or via Spain to Cuba. In the 19th century poodles arrived the same way from Europe and the crossing of the two breeds led to a new one: The Havanese.
Breed Standard
FCI-Standard N° 250 / 10. 04. 2006 / GB
HAVANESE (Bichon havanais)
Translation:
Mrs. Peggy Davis, revised by R. Triquet.
Origin:
Western Mediterranean basin, development : Cuba.
Patronage:
F.C.I.
Date of
Publication of the Original Valid Standard: 21.02.2006.
Utilization: Companion
and toy dog.
Classification
F.C.I.: Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs. Section 1Bichons and related breeds.
Without working trial.
Brief
Historical Summary: The breed comes from the Western Mediterranean region and
has developed along the Spanish and Italian coastal region. It would seem that these dogs were imported
early in Cuba by ocean navigating Italian captains. Erroneously, the most frequent brown colour of these dogs
(tobacco) gave birth to the legend which would mean it to be a breed
originating from Havana, capital of Cuba.
The political events however have led to the total disappearance of the
old blood lines of the Havanese in Cuba; apparently a few dogs could be
successfully smuggled out from Cuba; their descendants have survived in the
U.S.A.
General Appearance: The Havanese is a sturdy little dog, low on his legs, with long abundant hair, soft and preferably wavy. His movement is lively and elastic.
Important Proportions: The length of the muzzle (tip of nose to stop) is equal to the distance between the stop and the occipital protuberance. The relation between the length of the body (measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock) and the height at the withers is of 4/3.
Behaviour/
Temperament: Exceptionally bright he is easy to train as alarm dog. Affectionate, of a happy nature, he is
amiable, a charmer, playful and even a bit of a clown. He loves children and plays endlessly with
them.
Head: Of
medium length, the relation between the length of the head and that of the
trunk (measured from the withers to the base of the tail) is of 3/7.
Cranial
Region :
Skull : Flat to very slightly rounded,
broad; forehead hardly rising; seen from above it is rounded at the back and
almost straight and square on the other three sides.
Stop : Moderately marked.
Facial
Region:
Nose : Black or brown.
Muzzle : Narrowing progressively and
slightly towards the nose but neither snipey nor truncated.
Lips : Fine, lean, tight.
Jaws/Teeth : Scissor bite. A complete dentition is desirable. The absence of premolars 1 (PM1) and molars
3 (M3) is tolerated.
Cheeks : Very flat, not prominent.
Eyes : Quite big, almond shape, of brown
colour as dark as possible. Kind
expression. The eyes rims must be dark
brown to black.
Ears : Set relatively high; they fall
along the cheeks forming a discreet fold which raises them slightly. Their extremity is in a lightly rounded
point. They are covered with hair in
long fringes. Neither propeller ears
(sticking sideways), nor stuck to the cheeks.
Neck: Of
medium length.
Body: The
length of the body is slightly superior to that of the height at the withers.
Back : Topline straight, slightly arched
over the loin.
Croup : Noticeably inclined.
Ribs : Well sprung.
Belly
(abdomen) : Well
tucked up.
Tail:
Carried high, either in shape of a crozier or preferably rolled over the back;
it is furnished with feathering of long silky hair.
Limbs:
Forequarters : Forelegs straight and parallel,
lean; good bone structure. The distance
from the ground to the elbow must not be greater than that between the elbow
and the withers.
Hindquarters: Good bone structure; moderate
angulations.
Gait/
Movement: According to his happy nature, the Havanese has a strikingly
light-footed and elastic gait; forelegs with free stride and pointing straight
forward, the hindlegs giving them the impulsion and moving in a straight line.
Coat:
Hair:
Undercoat woolly and not very developed; it is often totally absent. The topcoat is very long (12-18 cm in an
adult dog), soft, flat or wavy and may form curly strands. All grooming, the usage of scissors to even
out the length of the coat and all trimming is forbidden. Exception : tidying up the hair on the feet
is permitted, the hair on the forehead may be slightly shortened so that it
does not cover the eyes and the hair on the muzzle may be slightly tidied up,
but it is preferable to leave it in natural length.
Colour:Rarely completely pure white, fawn in its different shades (slight blackened overlay admitted), black, havana-brown, tobacco colour, reddish-brown. Patches in mentioned colours allowed.
Size:
Height
at the withers:From
23 to 27 cm.Tolerance : from 21 to 29 cm.
Faults: Any departure
from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with
which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Important
faults:General appearance lacking in type.
Truncated
or snipey muzzle, length not identical to that of the skull.
Bird of
prey eyes; eyes too deep set or prominent; rims of eyelids partially
depigmented.
Body too
long or too short.
Straight
tail, not carried high.
« French »
front (pasterns too close, feet turned outwards).
Deformed
hind feet.
Coat harsh,
not abundant; hair short except on puppies; groomed coat.
Eliminating
Faults: Aggresive or overly shy.
Depigmented
nose.
Upper or
lower prognathism.
Ectropion,
entropion; rim of eyelids of one or both eyes depigmented.
Size over
or under the indicated norms of the standard.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B.: Male
animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.
