At National Purebred Dog Day, we celebrate the marvels of the purebred dog by sharing everything about different breeds from their history and famous owners, to information about structure, genetics and idioms unique to the breed.

We also explore information we come across in the course of research. It could be about a breed that’s not accepted by major registries, or it might be discussing a term or name that can be confusing or misleading to someone interested in a breed. Writing about such things on these pages shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement for a breed, but rather an effort to educate. This post is of the latter category.

In the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, there was a dog referred to as the “Havana Silk Dog,” “Spanish Silk Poodle” or Blanquito de la Habana. Said to be fairly common in European courts, the “Small Dogs of Havane” were thought to date back to the Caribbean in the pre-Columbian era and were taken back to Europe by Columbus.  The dogs were famed for having a coat texture that felt like raw silk floss, profuse, but extremely soft and light.

We don’t know what became of these specific “silk” dogs between the 18th century and the 1960s when history seems to pick up the thread again, but presumably, they lived their lives in Cuba, and found favor in the courts of Spain, France and England (where they were called “white Cubans”).

On the eve of the Cuban revolution, Cubans who owned the dogs were the first to leave, and several of them were able to escape with their dogs – eleven in all – to the United States. By the end of the 70s, the breed’s gene pool was being reconstituted, and it’s said all the Havanese in the world today except for those in Cuba and from “iron curtain” are descended from those eleven dogs.

There was, however, dissension in the ranks. There were those who felt the breed no longer resembled the original Havana Silk Dogs from Cuba.  Those who split off began to emphasize different aspects of the Havanese in their breeding programs, and to make the distinction more complete, they began to refer to their dogs as Havana Silk Dogs in 2007, and claimed they were a recreated breed, if not an entirely different one that was different from the Havanese. Early efforts saw a lack of consistency in the new “Silks,” but over time, more uniformity was realized and today, Havana Silk Dogs are said to have a flatter, silkier coat than their immediate ancestors, longer legs, higher set ears, a more refined muzzle, and in general, are less coarse in bone. The comments of one Silk breeder suggested there are Havanese today that look like Havana Silk Dogs, but not many Silks would be competitive in a Havanese conformation ring.

There is a Havana Silk Dog Association of America, but the breed is not recognized by the AKC as being separate from the Havanese, and while many Havana Silk Dogs are also registered under as “Havanese” with the AKC, there is no effort on the part of the Havana Silk Dog Association to get their their breed accepted by the AKC.

Again, we share the information in the spirit of education, and our mention of the Havana Silk Dog here shouldn’t be construed as anything more than that.

Image: Havana Silk Dog by Judith Stein/
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