Havanese care: knees, liver shunts, teeth and coat

Havanese are small, long-lived dogs: the American Kennel Club gives an adult weight of 7 to 13 pounds (about 3 to 6 kg) and a life expectancy of 14 to 16 years. The same breed profile lists the conditions the breed can be prone to: eye disorders, chondrodysplasia, deafness, heart murmurs, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease and patellar luxation. One more belongs on the list. In North American teaching-hospital records, the Havanese had the highest proportion of congenital liver shunt diagnoses of any breed. Most of what follows is about those conditions, and about the ordinary things (weight, teeth, coat) that make them easier or harder to live with.

Knees, hips and forelegs

Patellar luxation

In patellar luxation the kneecap slips out of the groove at the end of the thigh bone. VCA Animal Hospitals notes that many toy and small breeds have a genetic predisposition to the medial form, where the kneecap slips toward the inside of the leg. Owners usually notice a skip in the dog's step. The dog runs on three legs for a few strides, then carries on normally.

Vets grade the problem from I to IV. At grade I the kneecap can be pushed out by hand but returns as soon as it is released. At grade IV it sits outside the groove permanently and cannot be put back. Surgery may not be needed for a mild grade I knee. For most other dogs, VCA says, surgery is often advised sooner rather than later, because a kneecap that keeps slipping wears the joint and makes arthritis and cruciate ligament tears more likely.

Diet cannot put a kneecap back in its groove. What it can do is keep load off the joint. On a 4 kg dog, half a kilogram of extra fat is more than a tenth of its body weight, so lean condition matters more here than any supplement. Where arthritis has already started, VCA lists joint supplements and therapeutic mobility diets among the measures that may slow it down, alongside weight loss for dogs that need it.

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is a loss of blood supply to the head of the thigh bone, the ball of the hip joint, which then breaks down. A 2021 veterinary review describes it as a developmental problem of young small-breed dogs whose cause is still uncertain. The typical picture is a young dog with a hind-leg limp that slowly gets worse. Treatment is mainly surgical. No feeding plan prevents the disease. After surgery, a lean body and controlled exercise make rehabilitation easier.

Short, bowed forelegs

Some Havanese have shortened, bowed front legs. A genetic study of 355 Havanese looked at the FGF4 retrogene, a known cause of chondrodystrophy in dogs, and found the chondrodystrophic version in almost every dog tested. Dogs carrying the other version were taller at the shoulder. For an owner, the practical point is that a Havanese with crooked forelegs that limps or seems sore needs a vet check, and benefits from being kept light for the same reason as a dog with bad knees.

The Havanese Club of America gives awards to members' dogs that pass and register four health tests with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals: an annual eye exam, a hearing test, hip X-rays and a patella evaluation. Asking a breeder for those results is the simplest way to lower the odds of these problems in a puppy.

Liver shunt

Before birth, a blood vessel carries blood past the liver. It should close shortly after birth. In a congenital portosystemic shunt it stays open, or an abnormal vessel does the same job, so blood from the intestines reaches the rest of the body without being cleaned by the liver. Ammonia and other toxins build up. In records of 2,400 affected dogs from veterinary teaching hospitals, 3.2% of Havanese seen had the diagnosis, the highest proportion of any breed and well above the 0.05% found in mixed-breed dogs.

Signs to watch for in a puppy or young dog:

• Slow growth or poor muscle compared with littermates
• Odd behavior such as staring into space, circling, head pressing or disorientation, sometimes only after a meal
• Seizures
• Drinking and urinating more than usual, vomiting or diarrhea
• Slow recovery from anesthesia
• Later in life, repeated urinary infections or bladder stones

Any of these needs a vet visit. According to VCA's handout on liver shunts, most affected dogs have raised bile acids on a blood test, and imaging then shows where the abnormal vessel is. Small breeds usually have a shunt outside the liver, the type that is easier to correct. VCA reports survival of 84% to 95% after surgery for these shunts, and many dogs are clinically normal within four to eight weeks.

Diet is part of medical management, before surgery or instead of it. The ideal diet has not been firmly established. Strict protein restriction used to be standard, and current approaches rely less on it, favoring highly digestible protein, sometimes soy-based rather than meat-based, with lower copper and manganese. Lactulose is often prescribed to reduce ammonia absorption from the gut. This is a diet to design with the vet. A home-cooked or ordinary commercial food is not a safe substitute.

Teeth and gums

Small dogs get more gum disease. In a UK study of 22,333 dogs in primary veterinary care, 12.5% were diagnosed with periodontal disease in a single year, and the odds fell steadily as adult body weight rose. At 3 to 6 kg, a Havanese sits at the high-risk end of that scale.

Plaque hardens into tartar, inflames the gums, and in time destroys the tissue and bone that hold the teeth. Home care slows it:

• Brushing, ideally daily, with a small soft brush and a toothpaste made for dogs. Puppies accept it far more readily than adults.
• Dental chews sized for toy dogs, with their calories counted. The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal means the product met the council's standard for reducing plaque or tartar.
• A mouth check at every vet visit, including a look at around six months for baby teeth that have not fallen out, and a professional cleaning under anesthesia when the vet recommends one.

Evidence that ordinary kibble keeps teeth clean is limited. Brushing is the better-established habit.

Coat care

The Havanese coat is long, soft and silky, and the AKC classes it as a double coat. It sheds little, which means loose hair stays in the coat and forms mats. The AKC recommends combing a full coat every day. Many pet owners choose a short clip to cut grooming time, though a clipped coat still needs regular brushing. Bathe as needed rather than on a fixed schedule. Wipe the corners of the eyes daily to limit tear staining on pale coats, and check the ears for wax and debris.

Coat supplements are widely sold, but a dull or thin coat on a complete and balanced diet is rarely a nutrient problem. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that nutritional diseases are uncommon in dogs fed a good-quality complete commercial diet. Skin disease, parasites and hormonal problems are more likely causes, and they need a vet, not a new bottle of fish oil.

Exercise, time alone and daily calories

The Havanese was bred as a companion, and its exercise needs are moderate. A brisk daily walk or play session is enough for most, and indoor play counts. The AKC advises against over-exercising a Havanese at any age: if the dog is panting and struggling to keep up, it is time to go home.

Time alone is harder for many of them. The AKC notes that Havanese are not happy left alone for hours at a time. Short absences built up gradually, a predictable routine and a food puzzle when the owner leaves suit most dogs. A dog that howls, destroys things or soils the house whenever it is left may have separation-related distress, and that is worth raising with a vet or a qualified behaviorist. Calming supplements are not a substitute for that help.

Calories follow body weight, but not in a straight line. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives resting energy requirement as 70 multiplied by body weight in kilograms to the power 0.75, then multiplied by a life-stage factor: 1.6 for a neutered adult, 1.8 for an intact adult and 1.4 for an adult prone to weight gain.

These are starting points. Merck notes that two dogs of the same weight can differ by up to 30% in what they need, so weigh the dog monthly and adjust portions in small steps. Treats come out of the same total. Pea-sized training rewards are plenty for a dog this size, and a single large biscuit can be a tenth of the day. Two meals a day suit most adults. For a way to judge condition by hand, see how to tell whether a pet is overweight.

Sources

1. Havanese Dog Breed Information. American Kennel Club.
2. Luxating Patella in Dogs. VCA Animal Hospitals.
3. Legg Calvé Perthes disease in the dog. Morphologie, 2021.
4. Short and sweet: foreleg abnormalities in Havanese and the role of the FGF4 retrogene. Canine Medicine and Genetics, 2020.
5. Association of breed with the diagnosis of congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs: 2,400 cases (1980-2002). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2003.
6. Portosystemic Shunt in Dogs. VCA Animal Hospitals.
7. Epidemiology of periodontal disease in dogs in the UK primary-care veterinary setting. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 2021.
8. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.