Chocolate Havanese is an adorable chocolate-colored toy dog with a loving personality. Love chocolates, hugs, and cuddles? The chocolate Havanese dog will be the right choice for you. The only Havanese dog with a chocolate color variant, a light black color. Like any other Standard Havanese dog, the chocolate Havanese dog is very affectionate, loving, friendly, and a beloved family pet. The Havanese dogs are members of the Bichon family, and their ancestors originated in Cuba. The breed was named after the capital city of Havana. It is also believed that they came from Italian sea captains or Spaniard colonizers. This breed of just 11 dogs went to the United States during the Cuban revolution.
Interestingly, famous people like Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, and Queen Victoria owned a Havanese dog. Chocolate Havanese dogs love being around people and are perfect lap dogs. The chocolate Havanese dogs are no different from the standard Havanese dogs except for the coat color, and they share the same characteristics. The chocolate and black color coat occur due to the eumelanin pigment. Chocolate color coat results from the rare recessive gene bb, and both parents of the chocolate Havanese pup should carry the same recessive gene. Chocolate Havanese comes in different color combinations, including white, red, gray, and sable. Chocolate Havanese also have a dark brown coat which may look like black.
Chocolate Havanese dogs are adorably cute, petite, and sturdy dogs. Chocolate Havanese are loyal, fun-loving, and bond strongly with their humans. These toy dogs are 8-11 inches tall, weigh around 7-13 pounds, and are the best fit for apartments and closed spaces. Chocolate Havanese are double-coated with a wavy outer coat and a light undercoat. The puppy gets the chocolate coat because of the rare recessive gene bb. It is also essential for both the parents to carry the same bb gene for the puppy to inherit a chocolate-colored coat. Here, the chocolate shade is only a diluted black color. Chocolate Havanese also get other color variants with exciting features like brown, silver, white, tan, red, and sable called chocolate parti Havanese.
Chocolate Havanese may not be a chocolate brown color, but their lips, eyes, paws, and nose are brown. With all the parts mentioned above in chocolate color and the coat has a different color is also a chocolate Havanese dog.
Dark Chocolate Havanese is dark brown and almost looks black. But the color becomes lighter as the dog grows older.
Chocolate And White Havanese are primarily brown with white fur on their underside. Sometimes white patches are found on the brown body.
Chocolate White Havanese dogs have the primary color white with brown. They are chocolate dogs as long as their nose is brown and not black.
Chocolate Sable Havanese has lighter fur at the base and darker at the tips.
Chocolate And Tan Havanese have a chocolate or lover color coat with tan patches like a German Shepherd.
Chocolate Irish Pied Havanese has chocolate fur on its head, chest, and tail with lighter hair on its face.
Red Chocolate Havanese sounds like a red velvet cake, but it looks like chocolate brown Havanese. Yet, they have a deep red tint to their coat.
Dilute Chocolate Havanese is created by breeding with light chocolate color with the help of the coat dilution gene. The nose and eyes are golden brown.
Chocolate Merle Havanese dog has silvery-white areas and a wavy coat pattern called “clouds” on chocolate or liver-colored fur. This color is associated with several congenital disorders.
Chocolate Silver Havanese has a silver-gray coat with a brown nose, eye rims, lips, and paw pads.
Chocolate Silk Havanese has a silky smooth coat with slightly different facial features.
Chocolate Brown Havanese simply has a brown coat and fur. Notably, these puppies change color, and their coat color gets lighter as they grow older.
Chocolate Havanese dogs have floppy ears with brown or hazel eyes that are large and almond-shaped and have solid brown eye rims. Their expressions are soft, intelligent, and mischievous. If a chocolate Havanese dog has blue eyes, it is a cross-breed. The nose, eye rims, and soles are brown. The tail is curved over, which gives a unique appearance. The skull is broad and has a round-shaped head with a flat cheek. They have a slightly arched neck that balances with the height and weight.
Friendliness Overview
Affection level
High
Family-friendly
High
Kid-friendly
High
Dog-friendly
High
Stranger-friendly
High
Adaptability Overview
Good for apartment living
High
Good for new owners
High
Sensitivity level
Medium to high
Tolerates being alone
Low
Cold tolerance
Low to medium
Heat tolerance
High
Chocolate Havanese Temperament
Chocolate Havanese are loyal and fun-loving dogs. They are very energetic and love to stick around their humans. Chocolate Havanese are affectionate and very friendly towards strangers. They suffer from anxiety when left alone. These toy dogs are loyal to their family and have sweet and playful personalities. They are intelligent and enjoy playing with their humans. However, they need to be taught well to play in childhood. They are typical lap dogs that love to sit on their lap and watch the world go by. Chocolate Havanese also enjoys making you laugh with its goofy antics. They are very sporty and love agility, freestyle, obedience, and flyball.
Interestingly, chocolate Havanese bark and howl very little. They are hypoallergenic and shed low. They are highly friendly towards children and other pets. They are the best fit for apartments and small spaces. Chocolate Havanese chew and play-bite people as they are mildly prey driven.
Chocolate Havanese Training
Chocolate Havanese are intelligent toy dogs and easy to train. They are naturally friendly and social and make a good candidate for obedience training. Chocolate Havanese is a smart and bright breed and loves to please people. Training chocolate Havanese does not take hard work and goes quite smoothly than other breed dogs.
Trainability Overview
Easy to train
High
Intelligence
High
Prey drive
Low to medium
Mouthiness tendencies
Low to medium
Barking and Howling tendencies
Low
Wanderlust tendencies
Low
Chocolate Havanese Exercise Needs
Chocolate Havanese dogs don’t need much exercise. Still, they need enough to keep their body in shape without exerting it. For example, they need just a daily walk of 30-40 minutes due to their small size. Chocolate Havanese live a healthy and long life with the right amount of exercise and activity. Above all this, they are happiest when around their human friends.
Exercise Needs Overview
Energy level
High
Exercise needs
Medium
Intensity
Low
Playfulness
High
Chocolate Havanese Grooming
Chocolate Havanese dog sheds low but requires frequent grooming. Their coat needs brushing every couple of days. The hair at its paws has to be trimmed to avoid the floor getting dirty. Cut their nails. The floppy ears should be cleaned to prevent dirt and earwax. Always brush your pet’s teeth twice every week to avoid tooth decay.
Grooming Overview
Easy to groom
Low
Drooling tendencies
Low
Amount of shedding
Low
Chocolate Havanese Health
Chocolate Havanese are generally healthy dogs. Still, like any other dog breed, they are also prone to specific health conditions.
Health Overview
General health
High
Weight gain tendencies
Medium to high
Size
Toy
Hip or Elbow Dysplasia: These are conditions where hip and elbow joints don’t develop correctly. As a result, the bones rub against one another and are quite painful for dogs. One can fix this condition only with surgery.
Chondrodysplasia: A genetic disorder where the condition leads to abnormally short limbs. Severity can range from normal to crippling stage. Commonly, this condition is called “dwarfism” in dogs.
Legg-Perthes Disease: Legg-Perthes cause deformity of the hip joint ball and can be treated with surgery.
Cataracts: Cataracts are hereditary and cause vision loss. It usually occurs in old age and can be treated with surgery.
Deafness: Hearing loss is very challenging for the dog and the owner. Surgery and medication can treat some forms of deafness, but most conditions can not be treated.
Patellar Luxation, also known as “trick knee,” is a common problem for small dogs. It is caused when the Patella with three parts is not correctly lined up and gives lameness.
Epilepsy: Seizures are a common issue in chocolate Havanese dogs that cause sudden body jerking and loss of consciousness.
Renal diseases: Chocolate Havanese dogs are prone to kidney diseases due to their narrow urinary tracts.
Hypothyroidism: Low level of thyroid in chocolate Havanese dogs causes overweight issues and becomes weak, dull, and not life-threatening.
Heart Murmur: This is caused by a disturbance in the blood flow and can be treated with medication, special diet, and exercise restrictions.
Chocolate Havanese Diet and Nutrition
Chocolate Havanese dogs are energetic, have an active metabolism, and require protein-rich food fed twice a day. High protein dog food helps the dog to stay fit and healthy, improves digestion, and maintains coat shine. The dog lives a long, healthy, and happy life by adding nutrients, supplements, and vitamins.
Chocolate Havanese Living Condition
Chocolate Havanese are outgoing and energetic dog breeds. They are very affectionate and thrive in their owner’s company. They are perfect apartment dogs, suffer separation anxiety, and are left alone.
Adding a Chocolate Havanese to Your Family
Things to remember before adding a Chocolate Havanese to your family
Getting a chocolate Havanese from a reputable breeder is best to prevent unavoidable circumstances like health and vaccination. It is best to check with the puppy’s parents to cross-check the puppy’s health and happiness.
Cost of a Chocolate Havanese Puppy,
The cost of a Chocolate Havanese puppy may cost around $1000 to $ 1500.
