Briefly, we are very interested in the health and well being of our havanese.  The health testing we do can identify issues once they have occurred (or not), but genetic (DNA) testing is the ideal answer to predicting the future health of the breed. DNA color testing is fascinating - and with all we can identify now, we still don't have all the answers nor can we conclusively predict what colors will come out in a litter. We continue to gather information in our search for greater knowledge.

We are firm believers in health testing and as such I'm a member of the Havanese Club of America's Health Committee.  We have now completed our first Longevity Survey and the subsequent Rainbow Bridge Survey.  These can be read in full on the Havanese Club of America web site; on the Health page you'll see "Havanese Health Surveys"; at the bottom of that page is the link to the full text of the surveys.  The Executive Summary of the 156 dogs included in the survey indicates that around 27% of died from cardiac disease at around 12 years of age.  As such, we have been bringing our dogs to a cardiologist annually for cardiac exams so we can know if/when a problem occurs.  The genetics of most cardiac diseases are not known at this time.

There are a lot of opinions about health, and what health testing is important.  Havanese are a relatively "young" breed in the AKC and we're still learning a lot. Many tests that have been done are virtually eliminating the problems from the breed (BAER testing for hearing, CAER testing for vision), more information here.  The genetics of "loose" patellas (knees) and dysplastic hips is thought to be polygenetic (ie many factors are involved).

The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL), in collaboration with Dr. Niels C. Pedersen and staff, has developed a panel of short tandem repeat (STR) markers that will determine genetic diversity across the genome and in the Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) class I and II regions. This test panel is useful to breeders who wish to track and increase genetic diversity of their breed as a long term goal. 

BetterBred LLC was born of a love for purebred dogs and their devoted breeders. BetterBred was created in response to the glaring need for multiple measurements to help identify, maintain and redistribute genetic diversity in several breeds. It was formed as an outgrowth of a project that helped develop the Canine Genetic Diversity Test created by world renowned Dr. Niels C. Pedersen, DVM PhD at UC Davis.  Biodiversity and allelic richness are also major concerns to dog breeds and other species, many of which are under human management. Breeders hold the responsibility to conserve their breeds for future generations by maintaining and addressing loss of diversity due to genetic drift and bottlenecks. BetterBred’s mission is to support all breeders so they can conserve the genetic diversity in their breeds.



Genetic Diversity Testing

Bitsy

Chilli    

Daisy   DD    

Ellie

Fabio  Fizzy 

Garbo     Giselle    Griz

Halle    

Kiki    

Milly  Mo   

Rosie     Roxy   Ruby 

Salem 

Tequila  Thelma  Tommy    

Wally     Willie     Woody  Wrex 

Color Testing

Aspen

Bitsy   Buttons Bitsy's girl puppy

Chilli     Clifford     Cooper  

 Daisy   DD   Dixie  Duly 

Ellie  Everly    

Fabio  Fizzy 

Garbo    Giselle     Griz

Halle

Izzy 

Kiki

Lucy 

Marko  Maverick  Milly Mo 

Priscilla 

Ritchie     Rosie    Roxy   Ruby 

 Snickers  Shermie   Sting  Skylar

Taylor   Tequila Thelma Tommy

Wally     Willie     Woody  Wrex 

Zinger   Zinn 

Some sites with information about havanese color:

Colours of the Rainbow

Colours

Havanese Fanciers of Canada Color page

Dog Coat Color Genetics