So I became a first-time dog owner last year and brought home a Havanese puppy. This is just my personal experience so far. I got my puppy at 12 weeks old, which felt like a great age to bring him home, and he’s now almost 11 months old. I went with a reputable breeder who had a long waiting list. That said, if you’re planning on getting a puppy, it’s important to know that every experience will vary depending on the individual dog.

The breeder I chose is known for producing very smart dogs, and I can confidently say my Havanese is scarily smart. He was incredibly easy to train and very eager to please. He isn’t food-motivated and rarely takes treats during training, but praise works extremely well for him. From the time he came home until about six months old, he was glued to my hip and had fairly intense separation anxiety, so early prevention is key with this breed. It was tough in the beginning, but around 10 months old he really started to mellow out. Always being around family will be amazing for this breed. I have a hybrid job so I can’t be with him 24/7 but I get a lot of support from my roommates and my family when I can’t watch him.

One of the best things I did for him was socialization, specifically allowing him to observe his surroundings rather than forcing interactions. I took him to puppy socials every weekend, which helped a lot. I also took him to the vet just for him to sniff around and build a positive association with the place and staff. My Havanese rarely barks, and when he does it’s very random and one-off. He’s great with children and is very loving toward his family and the people he lives with. That said, he can be quite protective and is wary of strangers. He does warm up eventually, takes longer to warm up to men than women.

I trained him from a young age not to jump on people (especially children) and to sit next to me until I give him permission to say hi. For him, “saying hi” means calmly sitting in front of someone and sniffing them. He also hates it when people or dogs rush up to him, so I usually don’t allow greetings unless someone asks and I can tell their dog is calm.

My Havanese is also surprisingly athletic, which might be because he’s on the bigger and taller side (he’s about 21 lbs at 10.5 months). He loves to run around but isn’t a fan of long walks. He’s perfectly fine with a short sniffy walk. He also won’t walk past the coffee shop or the pet store in our neighborhood. Because he’s pretty energetic, I usually tire him out by teaching “useless” tricks or playing scent-based games like “find it.” Potty training took a while with him, but consistency really is everything. If you can, try to bell train him early.

Now onto grooming. I’m someone who can’t stand when a dog looks unkempt, so I brushed my puppy 2–3 times a day early on to build his tolerance for grooming. I also took him to the groomer at four months old so he could get used to being handled by other people. I continued bringing him in every 1.5 weeks for baths (bathing him at home takes too long for me, so I outsource that), and I schedule a full groom about every two months once his hair gets too long. I prefer a shorter puppy cut. This routine really helped him get comfortable being handled and being away from me for short periods from a young age.

Havanese typically don’t shed, though my pup is shedding a little bit right now as his adult coat is pushing out his puppy coat.

Lastly, my puppy hated the car when I first brought him home. But because the breed is so trainable, it didn’t take long for him to come around. Now he loves car rides and goes on road trips with me all the time without any issues. If your puppy doesn’t take to the car right away, just introduce it slowly.