Looking for a Havanese puppy? Our puppies are raised in our home as members of our family. They are well-socialized and virtually potty trained when they go home. We produce HSDAA Certified Havana Silk Dogs from health-tested parents.
This rare breed was re-created through careful selection from an ancestral gene pool in common with Havanese. In an effort to breed away from Chondrodysplasia (a disease common among Havanese) we chose only dogs with straight legs for our gene pool, which resulted in a more sound, healthier companion dog with the structure and elegant looks of the original Cuban breed.
So, if you are looking for a Havanese puppy...maybe a Havana Silk Dog is right for you.
Terapia is Cuban (Spanish) for Therapy. Our mission is to produce, raise and train healthy, happy, well-balanced Certified Havana Silk Dogs so they can live long productive lives as pets or in pet-assisted therapy ministries across the country. We are dedicated to this rare little Cuban breed and assuring that our lines breed true for the continued restoration of its original elegant Cuban form.
If you are not familiar with us and your first contact with us is online, you should know that we are professional boutique breeders not a commercial kennel operation. We concentrate on quality rather than quantity. Our dogs live in our home, snuggle with us on the furniture and sleep with us at night. They are members of our family and we expect the same from our puppy buyers. We do not sell to pet stores, puppy brokers, puppy buyers that won't meet with us personally, or puppy mills.
We want to help families find the perfect dog that fits their desires, environment, and special needs. So, allow us to help you pick the right puppy for your situation and household dynamics. When the puppy is 7-8 weeks old, their neurological development is complete and their individual personalities come to light.
You will actually pick up your puppy from our home when the puppy is 10-12 weeks old.
Buying a dog on the internet can be a really scary process and buyers should steer clear of breeders who will not allow you to see their home/kennel.
We do not ship puppies as cargo; we will happily pick you up from the Port Columbus International Airport and bring you here to meet your new Silk Dog puppy. Or, as an alternative, personal delivery service is available for the United States and Canada.
Terapia puppies come with a full, lifetime buy-back guarantee. If you cannot, or do not wish to, keep a dog you purchased from us at any time during his life, for any reason whatsoever, we will buy him back, no questions asked.
The Havana Silk Dog is a new breed, which has been created in an attempt to improve on the health and appearance of the Havanese breed. Unfortunately, Havanese tend to be susceptible to a developmental abnormality known as CD (Osteochondrodysplasia). CD is a skeletal abnormality which involves short and bowed legs, and is also known to be associated with liver problems, heart problems and cataracts.
According to the Havana Silk Dog Association of America, "In 2000, when it became apparent that the particular form of dwarfism often found in the Havanese throughout the US and Europe was associated with many of the health problems plaguing the breed, a small group of American breeders began choosing only those dogs with long, straight forelegs for breeding, adding straight-legged dogs from the Russian and post-revolutionary Cuban gene pools to strengthen their lines.
In early 2007, those fanciers preferring both the look and general robust health of these very different dogs split off completely from the Havanese breed, establishing their own national Parent Club and registry for the express purpose of preventing any further interbreeding with the Havanese. The old name Havana Silk Dog was chosen for this newly restored breed because the traits displayed so consistently in these dogs (but not described in the current Havanese standard) were precisely those pictured and described in the dogs of Cuba prior to the establishment and subsequent popularity of the Havanese in the US."
The Havana Silk Dog has been recently granted recognition as a separate breed by the Canine Kennel Club and the North American Kennel Club (formerly Rarities). Silks may now be shown in both of these organization's shows, in all-breed competition, and are eligible for both CKC and NAKC International Championships. For more information, please see: History & Health.
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Looking for a Havanese puppy? 
We want to help families find the perfect dog that fits their desires, environment, and special needs. So, allow us to help you pick the right puppy for your situation and household dynamics. When the puppy is 7-8 weeks old, their neurological development is complete and their individual personalities come to light.
