Royal Flush Havanese

I am a new dog owner, and learned a lot over the last year with my havanese. If you are going to spend the money and take the time to go with a breeder vs a rescue, make sure you get an excellent breeder. This means one who is professional, communicative, fair, and that produces healthy, well-​adjusted and well-​tempered pets. Each of these things is critical, if any are not good, it makes for a poor choice of breeder. My experience with Holly is that she met MOST of the criteria, but that my animal, and others I know have been purchased from her, have an aggressive streak that is hard to train out, and can be scary for small kids (and, in a larger breed, could be downright dangerous).
My real problem with Holly is that there was never any follow-​up. None. If she is not checking up on her animals, she does not know the temperament of her animals. In my case, we started to see signs of severe aggression (snarling, biting, complete tantrums) at about 4 months of age, despite seeing a dog behaviorist (trainer) regularly. We read 3 books before we got the dog, spent unbelievable amounts of time working with him (and still do), only to have our trainer say «your dog just has a mean streak, this sort of thing should have been bred out.» Our trainer was saddened to hear our breeder was not tracking her animals. On a positive note, he is beautiful and healthy. However, I would gladly trade for an ugly dog with a beautiful personality. Bad Holly, bad.

Holly is really personable. I only wonder why when I bought my pup Nov. 2012 I paid $ 1500 (with my $ 100 discount). Now, puppies from the same «parents» are $ 2400 (with the discount as well).
The dog I got is amazing and I love her to death. I would purchase another one if she didn’t up her prices by almost $ 1000! Guess I’ll be looking somewhere else for my next Havanese

I got the state to inspect her facility, two months after my purchase. Here is the reply:
On Feb 23, 2012, at 10:00 AM, xxx wrote:
«I responded there a little over a week ago and was accompanied by the State
Animal Health Inspector. Much to my surprise, I found absolutely nothing
wrong. Our visit was unannounced and early in the morning, therefore she
had no time to prepare for our arrival. We observed approximately 50 dogs in
stainless steel enclosures which more than suitable in size for the number
of dogs in each one. The dogs were clean and all appeared healthy. The
facility was clean and sanitary. According to the State, she was no in
violation of any licensing/​breeding regulations.
So I don’t really know how to explain the „numerous“ complaints as I was
expecting to see much worse. I saw no evidence or cruelty or neglect and no
violations of Rhode Island General Law. She provided us with the names of
three licensed veterinarians who regularly care for her animals.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.»
I am so appreciative of this inspection. It does sound like consumers are still being duped, though. Here is my original email to Holly from December 2011 upon first taking our dog to the vet:
«Hi Holly. I took Sophia to the vet today. The vet was suspicious about the vaccines. She thought it was unusual for the breeder to do them and she said that since you didn’t put the stickers from the syringe of medicine onto the records, she is going to repeat all the vaccines. Sophia’s ears are infected and we got medicine for them. What kind of proof do you want from our visit today to keep the 5 year health guarantee? I can fax you my invoice, or mail a copy. Just let me know what works.
Thanks,
Wendy»
She replied:
«Hi Wendy,
Good to hear all is well. Well in almost 30 years of breeding I’ve never had a vet question shots. That’s really unfortunate that she is loading her up on more shots unnecessarily. Perhaps she could have called me for details — I have been vaccinating the dogs myself for years. Anyway I hope Sophia is loved and adored and that your vet was as thrilled with her as the other vets are with these guys.
Holly Mastroianni
4 018 643 371»
I called her to ask for the phone number of the vet that Sophia had seen, even if Holly had done the vaccines. She told me that the dog had never been seen by a vet and was unable to provide me with a number. So I am suspicious of the three names and number she provided to the inspector. If the dogs see vets regularly, why wouldn’t she just give my vet the number? That doesn’t make sense to me.
My other concern is that on her website, she states:
«We pride ourselves on our happy, hearty, healthy Havanese puppies raised in our
HOME…»
«There are NO kennels. All Moms and Dads are always here in my home also.»
I also find it interesting at the time I was researching my purchase, she had «absolutely no kennels!» posted in little blurbs all over her website and now, it is only written once instead of advertised as a main selling point. I didn’t get to see inside the building, of course, but «We observed approximately 50 dogs in
stainless steel enclosures which more than suitable in size for the number
of dogs in each one» doesn’t sound like «no kennels, dogs raised in my home» to me.
So please, make your own choice, but beware. Make sure you get the number of the vet before purchase. Make sure you confirm with the vet that they saw your dog. Make sure your vaccination papers are valid. Ask why you can’t see the pedigree papers of the parents. Insist to see where the dogs are raised. Insist on meeting the parents. Clearly with 50 dogs all together, this person is in a huge money making business and not particularly interested in loving the dogs. Also, I contacted the AKC.
«The AKC does not license or register any breeders or kennels. There are no AKC registered breeders. If you send me the breeder’s name, I can check to see if she registers dogs and litters with us and if she is in good standing with our rules and regulations.
Please let me know if you have further questions or need additional assistance.
If a reply is necessary, please include all previous correspondence.
Richard Lemis
AKC Customer Service Representative
919−233−9767»