AKC Toy Group · No. 25 in 2025
How to identify a Havanese
The Havanese is a sturdy toy dog from Cuba with a long, silky, wavy coat, ranked No. 25 by the AKC in 2025. The plumed tail arches forward over the back, and the dropped ears always keep a distinct fold. The coat is shown untrimmed, and every color is allowed.
Field marks
These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Havanese standard.
- “Long, untrimmed” coat that is “abundant and wavy,” silky and light (it may also be corded)
- Plumed tail “arched forward up over the back”
- Dropped ears with “a distinct fold”; black nose and lips, or brown in chocolate dogs
- Slightly longer than tall, 8½ to 11½ inches; “all colors and marking patterns” allowed
Tell them apart
Havanese or Shih Tzu?
Check the face and the coat. A Shih Tzu has a short, square muzzle about an inch long, an undershot bite and a dense, flowing coat. A Havanese has a longer muzzle, only a little shorter than the skull, and a wavy, silky coat that’s left untrimmed. Both carry the tail over the back.
Havanese
- “Long, untrimmed” coat that is “abundant and wavy,” silky and light (it may also be corded)
- Plumed tail “arched forward up over the back”
- Dropped ears with “a distinct fold”; black nose and lips, or brown in chocolate dogs
- Slightly longer than tall, 8½ to 11½ inches; “all colors and marking patterns” allowed
- “Luxurious, double-coated, dense, long, and flowing”; topknot tied up
- Muzzle “square, short, unwrinkled,” about 1 in from nose to stop
- Tail “set on high, heavily plumed, carried in curve well over back”
- Round, broad head with an undershot bite; all colors allowed
Test your eye
One photo, four names, ten dogs a day. Free, no sign-up.
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