The havapoo is a  friendly, playful and highly intelligent doodle. They are loving and fairly easy to train. The havapoo is a smaller doodle that is adaptable to different environments and makes an ideal dwelling city doodle. 🌆 They are lively and social and they get along well with other pets and children. The havapoo is known to be extremely soft which makes them an excellent cuddle companion. 

The havapoo can also act as a home alarm system to let you know if you have visitors. 🥷 Other than announcing visitors arriving they keep the barking to a minimum. 

Let’s take a quick look at the parent breeds of the havapoo and how those traits make up this super soft doodle package. 

The Havanese is a member of the Bichon dog breed family and is believed to have been brought to the island of Cuba 🇨🇺 by Spaniards or Italian sea captains who were colonizing the new world in the 1600s. The Havanese is the only dog that is native to Cuba and is named after the capital Havana. The Havanses spent the next 300 years warming the laps of Cuba’s wealthy and aristocrats. They were also often given as gifts or traded for other goods by sea merchants. 🌊

The Havanese’s status remained secure until Fidel Castro’s Communist take over of Cuba in 1959. Refugees that were fleeing the Communists brought the Havanses to America 🇺🇲 where the breed was preserved from becoming extinct. 

Let’s take a quick look at the other half of the havapoo hybrid.

The Poodle is called Pudel in Germany 🇩🇪 and Caniche in France 🇫🇷 . Both of these names are a nod to the Poodles original breeding use as a water retriever. The German Pudel name translates to puddle or splashing water . The French Caniche name translates to duck dog. 🦆

The Standard Poodles were originally bred as hunters of wildfowl to retrieve the game out of the water. The Miniature Poodle was also bred in France as a talented circus performer 🎪 . These Miniature Poodles were trained to walk tightropes and even perform card tricks and skits. 

Both the Havanese and the Poodle have long histories as companion dogs. 

Sizing it all up

The havapoo doesn’t have as many size variations as some of the other doodles. The havapoo can weigh between 7 to 20 pounds and be 8 to 15 inches tall. The havapoo makes an ideal doodle for apartment and condo dwellers and they can thrive in a city environment as long as they get their required amount of exercise. 🐕

Color Coding, Fur Real

The havapoo can have a variety of different coat textures from wavy to curly due to the combination of both parent breeds genes. 🧬  Their coats are usually medium to long and they usually don’t shed that much. The havapoo can also be a variety of different colors to include white, black, gray and different shades of brown. They will have a curled over tail and a set of perfectly floppy ears. 

The havapoo needs to be brushed daily or every other day to prevent matting. They will need a bath 🛁 once per month and a hair trimming every 4 to 6 weeks. Havapoo owners can either hire a groomer or they can learn grooming skills and trim their havapoo on their own. The havapoo will also need to have their ears trimmed and cleaned once per week. Doodle ears can trap debris and moisture and their ears can become infected more easily, so they need to be checked regularly.👂

A quick note on hypoallergenic and what that actually means. 

 The AKC states that “there is no such thing as a completely hypoallergenic dog”. Unfortunately people with dog allergies are usually allergic to the dog dander 🦠, not the dog’s fur. Granted the dog fur can be a carrier for the dog dander it is not the cause of the allergen. The old school of thought was that less dog hair = less allergen. So breeders would attempt to have as many Poodle genes in a dog breed to lessen dog hair shed. Unfortunately, this does not change the level of dander. Please be cautious regarding the labels of “hypoallergenic” if you have dog allergies. If you would like more info on this please read 22 Hypoallergenic Doodles. 🤧

Working it out

The havapoo is a medium energy doodle. They only require about 30 minutes of activity per day to stay happy and healthy. They can make a great playmate for children and adults. They love to participate in whatever their people are doing. Whether that’s walking 🚶 around the block or watching a movie. If you want to do something more active with your havpooo they can do well at agility 🎾  and obedience training. The havapoo really likes the outdoors and would also probably like to go on a hike with you. 

⚠️ One word of warning, it is not recommended to have your doodle participate in highly strenuous activities prior to the age of 10 months due to underdeveloped joints and bones. ⚠️

Come, sit, stay

The havapoo is an intelligent doodle that is generally easy to train. They are very eager to please their owners and respond well to positive reinforcement. Havapoos are very in tune with how their owners are feeling and havapoos will gauge if their actions are pleasing or displeasing you. Owners of this type of doodle need to be very patient and understanding to this sensitivity. Havapoos will be watching 👀 your body language and your tone of voice very closely, so these doodle owners will need to stay positive and gentle with them at all times. 

The havapoo is a natural at learning new skills and tricks. They can also excel at obedience training. Due to how smart these doodles are they can become bored and destructive easily. The havapoo can also be prone to separation anxiety which can be intensified if they are not getting enough physical and mental stimulation. They will need their daily exercise and also playing games and teaching new tricks regularly will help to keep them calmer and less destructive. 🧩

As with all doodles, the havapoo needs early socialization and puppy classes in order to develop healthy habits for life. 👍

Quality of Life

The havapoo is usually a fairly healthy doodle. The havapoo usually lives between 10 to 14 years. They can still be susceptible to the medical issues that either of their parent breeds are prone to. 🩺  These medical issues are hip dysplasia, patellar luxation and progressive retinal atrophy to name a few. Your veterinarian can test your havapoo for these issues if you have any concerns. 🧪

So now you want a Havapoo….

If you are thinking about getting a havapoo you must make sure that you are in love with any combination of traits that a doodle surprise can offer. 🎁 Your doodle may look exactly like a Havanese but act exactly like a Poodle. Would you be ok with that? What about the other way around? If you can love 💗 ALL of the traits of both parent breeds then DO IT! Doodles are the best! 

I would check at Poodle rescues and also at Havanese specific rescues, they may have a mixed breed/hybrid there as well. Also check regular rescues. Just realize that if you want to rescue you may have to wait to find your dog or travel to pick it up. But there are great benefits to rescuing instead of buying. 👍👏

If you decide to buy a puppy please do your research on the breeder and don’t be afraid to ask the right questions. And good luck to you! I hope you find your forever puppy! 🥰