Although you think your Havanese is perfect, not everybody else will. They also might not appreciate the adorable chewing and athletic prowess of leaping onto people. Other people, especially little children, might get hurt by your Havanese’s behavior. Of course, your Havanese is not trying to hurt anyone. But he can only communicate in Canine and not in human. It is your responsibility to teach your Havanese human communication with basic Havanese training.

It only takes a few minutes a day, every day – and a lot of patience – to train your Havanese. You can help your Havanese along by making sure your dog is well fed, gets regular exercise and doesn’t have any health problems that might interfere with training. This will help your Havanese focus his attentions on your and not get so easily distracted. Five minute sessions three times a day can do wonders, as well as following advice from dog training books or videos.

In order to get your Havanese’s attention, you might have to get on the ground and get some eye-contact with him. Small dogs have a way of dodging your eyes when they want to be mischievous. Get your Havanese to look at your face by rewarding the dog with special treats, petting and praise whenever you see your dog looking at you. You want to be a source of fun and interest for your Havanese.

It’s a lot easier to get your Havanese obeying you if you make the dog WANT to obey you. Now that the dog is paying attention to you, make simple commands like sit with your voice and a hand gesture. Have everyone in your family use the same verbal commands and hand gestures to tell your dog to sit. If you raise the food bowl over the dog’s head, the dog usually sits. Praise, praise praise!

If all of this seems baffling or overwhelming, take a deep breath and get to the book or pet store. Well, you have to go to the pet store for dog supplies anyway, so why not get a Havanese obedience training DVD or video? There aren’t many specific dog training books just on training Havanese, so you might be better off with an all breed dog training book. Havanese love to please and are very intelligent, so any dog training book emphasizing positive reinforcement will work for them and for you.

Always end your training sessions on a good note. A way to do this is to ask the dog a command you know he or she knows. This gives the dog confidence and gives you some positive reinforcement. Keep the dog on a lead if you are not sure how he or she will react. Train inside and then, when the command is learned indoors, try outdoors with a lead on. Be patient – you and your dog will learn Havanese obedience training eventually if you keep at it.