How we evaluate our puppies The question most often asked by prospective owners is how we decide which puppies are "show" and which are "pet". First, let me do away with those labels. Puppies are sold on either full or limited (spay/neuter agreement) registration. Our breeding program is based on the total Havanese and geared towards producing a sound dog in both structure and temperament. Ideally, we are also striving to produce a dog that follows the HCA breed standard closely enough to be competitive in conformation. STRUCTURE - When our puppies are eight weeks of age, we evaluate them for structure. This means that we spend time watching them move and determine their physical strong points and weaknesses. Conformation quality in a litter can vary widely as can the depth of such quality. Every dog, even champions, and every puppy have at least one fault. Some have more and each fault comes in varying degrees, from minor to major. If a puppy has one or more major physical faults (i.e. weak rear, toed out in front) or a disqualifying fault (incomplete pigment) that pup will only be sold on limited registration with a spay/neuter agreement, which means it is not to be bred and its faults would prevent it being successful in the show ring. In any given litter, there might be one or two puppies that have only minor faults and on the whole appear to be very balanced, correct individuals. These puppies are sold on full registration and we either keep them for ourselves or for serious competitive homes. Most puppies fall in between the two ends, having perhaps a noticeable fault, but also possessing many good traits as well. These puppies we sell on limited registration. MATCHING PUPPIES AND OWNERS - Usually, when the puppies are about six weeks old (or sometimes sooner) prospective owners start getting anxious about which puppy will ultimately be theirs. Because the best time to evaluate puppies for structure is at least eight weeks, and because the development of their personalities is an ongoing process and assessment, it would be unfair of us to start divvying up the lot any sooner than eight weeks of age. So, patience, hard as it is to uphold, is a must. What we try our best to do is match puppies to owners, not just maintain a first-come, first-serve list. The more open owners are to different colors or either sex, the easier it is for us to find the pup of the appropriate personality and structure to match their needs. The more specific they are the harder it is provide people with what they want. I hope this has answered some questions you may have about the evaluation of puppies and matching them up with the right owners. Hopefully, if you admire our dogs and what we hope to achieve with our breeding program, you will trust us to honestly evaluate a pup and match you up with the right one.