The
Havanese is the National Dog of Cuba and the
country's only native breed (Havana = Havanese).
Despite
its being a new breed to the AKC, the Havanese
is an old breed, descending from breeds brought
over from Spain to Cuba.
The
Havanese was once called the Havana Silk Dog or
the Spanish Silk Poodle.
The coat
of the Havanese is deceptively warm-looking; in
reality, it is an insulation and barrier from
the sun and overheating.
The
Havanese descends from the same ancestor as the
entire Bichon family, the Tenerife.
By the
mid-eighteenth century, the Havanese was so
popular that it was owned by such celebrities as
Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens. It became
known as the dog of the aristocratic class of
sugar barons of Cuba.