When asked to name all the corded dog breeds, some of you might leave one off because that breed doesn’t always come immediately to mind with this kind of coat (and if you include the Bergamasco, you would be technically wrong because that breed is “flocked,” not corded).

If you name the Komondor, Puli, Spanish Water Dog, Poodle, and Pyrenean Shepherd as breeds that cord and think you are done, you’re not. You left off one of the two smallest corded breeds found in the AKC’s Toy Group, the Havanese (the other is the Toy Poodle).

The Havanese must have a double coat of two slightly different textures. It is naturally lightweight, soft, silky, wavy and abundant. With the right texture, the coat has a natural tendency to cord, and in a show ring,  a corded coat must be given equal consideration as a brushed coat. Compared to other corded breeds, the cords of a Havanese tend to be softer and silkier, but the cord itself won’t feel as soft as a brushed coat. Some exhibitors of corded Havanese feel that the best way to evaluate coat texture is to feel a cord at its base where it is uncorded as it grows into the skin.

From the breed standard:  The coat may be corded. Corded coats will naturally separate into wavy sections in young dogs and will in time develop into cords. Adult corded dogs will be completely covered with a full coat of tassel-like cords.

As in other corded breeds, the coat of a corded Havanese develops naturally over time (and sometimes it’s never fast enough for the owner!) On average, it takes a couple of years for a Havanese coat to become fully corded – half the time it takes for a Puli coat to fully cord to the ground because of the size difference.

Our post title comes from the fact that the FCI standard does not mention cording in the Havanese. Neither does the Canadian Kennel Club,  Japan Kennel Club, or the Kennel Club in the UK.  As far as we know, the only country in the world that allows a corded Havanese is the United States, and the irony is that the United States is only country in the world in which a brushed out Puli is acceptable according to its breed standard with the AKC.

Image: Havanese by Sue/Adobe