Are Havanese Stubborn? The Ultimate Havanese Behavior Guide

Havanese dogs make great additions to families both big and small. They are playful, fun-loving, and super social. With their average intelligence and their high need for social interaction, some might think that these dogs aren’t stubborn at all. 

Are Havanese Dogs Stubborn?

However, the truth is that Havanese dogs can be quite stubborn at times. These dogs know what they want and when they want it. They can be stubborn when going on a walk or when they want to stop playing. 

Havanese are described as being bubbly, playful, and extroverted dog breeds. They are one of the most popular toy dog breeds because they have stolen the hearts of so many with their playful attitudes. 

These dogs need a ton of social interaction as they love to talk to both new people and new dogs. They are the life of the dog park, wanting to introduce themselves to everyone and everything. 

The Havanese dog has a pretty even temperament as long as they get their needed exercise, which isn’t a lot. Only 30 minutes of exercise a day is needed for these tiny creatures. However, without the proper exercise, these dogs can become quite mischievous. 

A great way to get in this exercise is through playing. Havanese dogs love to spend a lot of time playing and it doesn’t matter if it’s inside or outside. Whether they are running around with the kids of the house or playing fetch outside, these dogs will thrive in play. 

Not every dog is perfect, however. Without the proper training, the Havanese dog can become stubborn as they are very strong-willed. 

They will tell you what they want and there is no changing their mind. This stubbornness can present itself in your Havanese dog refusing to walk any further outside to show that they want to head home or them suddenly stopping their play because they don’t want to anymore. 

How Do I Train My Havanese Dog to Not Be So Stubborn?

The cause of the Havanese dog’s stubborn behavior usually stems from a lack of proper training. As puppies, all dogs should go through basic obedience and command training. This is where a dog learns how to listen to their owners and knows what commands they should be following. 

If they don’t have this training, they won’t know how to listen to their owners and will want to be stubborn. This stubbornness isn’t because your Havanese dog is trying to defy you. These dogs tend to form a “tunnel vision” around the things that they want to do. 

They can get super excited or super resistant to the activities around them. The stubbornness of Havanese dogs isn’t severe, but it can still frustrate the average dog owner. 

Positive reinforcement is the best way to train the stubbornness out of your Havanese dog. Never implement harsh punishments on your dog as it can harm the relationship between you and your dog. 

Practice different commands and reward your Havanese dog with treats. If your Havanese dog is stubborn on walks, practice commands that relate such as “stop,” “stay,” and “follow.” After your Havanese dog successfully follows the command, reward it with a treat. Repeat until your dog is able to follow the command without the need for a treat. 

Is It Easy to Train Havanese Dogs?

Here’s the bright side of having to train your Havanese dog to stop being so stubborn. Havanese dogs are super eager to please, always wanting to impress you and to receive praise. This trait serves to make it easier to train these dogs as they will want to impress you with what they are learning during training. 

When a Havanese dog isn’t stubborn, they are good listeners. It won’t take much work to train a habit in or out of these dogs. 

Are Puppy or Adult Havanese Dogs More Stubborn?

Both puppies and adults can show stubbornness based on their progress in training. However, it is known that Havanese puppies are more stubborn than their adult counterparts. Puppies are still growing, developing, and are in the process of training. To put it short, puppies aren’t mature and are more likely to be stubborn to both commands and training. 

Adults can be stubborn if they haven’t gone through training. While it’s never too late to start training for a dog, adult dogs will have a slightly hard time if they’ve already learned negative traits. 

They might have already learned to be stubborn so instead of just preventing stubbornness while training, you are also having to untrain the stubbornness in their behavior. 

The age that most puppies are the most stubborn is 8-9 months. This is essentially the toddler phase of dogs that presents the most behavioral problems in your Havanese.

Do Havanese Dogs Have Any Other Negative Traits?

After looking at the list of personality traits that these dogs have, it might seem like they are almost the perfect dog. The only con is that they can be stubborn sometimes, right? Well, as mentioned before, these dogs can be mischievous if they aren’t getting the proper exercise. They can also be mischievous if they become too bored or too lonely and can get into a lot of trouble in the meantime.

When a Havanese dog isn’t having its needs met, they will take it out on the area around them. You might find your Havanese dog chewing things up, getting into places that they shouldn’t, or having accidents in the house. These actions are them showing that their needs aren’t being met. 

High Social Needs

One of the most common causes of this behavior is not getting enough social interaction. These dogs are social butterflies and hate spending too much time alone. Many owners don’t consider this fact when they have a long workday ahead of them. 

They will head out to work for several hours, leaving their Havanese dog all alone. The Havanese dog will get lonely and frustrated from being alone for so long.

Havanese dogs are also highly prone to developing separation anxiety. This is just another one of the outcomes of having an incredibly social dog. You can train your Havanese dog to work past its separation anxiety if you start noticing signs, but this will take time and the effects won’t last if they are still home alone for long periods of time. 

Housebreaking

Havanese dogs also struggle with the housebreaking process. Tiny dogs tend to struggle with this more than adult dogs as the size of their bladders is very different. The small size of the Havanese dog makes it difficult for this breed to recognize when they need to go to the bathroom, and it can cause accidents to happen in the house.

In fact, many owners of Havanese dogs agree that housebreaking is the most difficult part of training. A lot of patience is needed for your dog to learn what its bodily needs are and what the procedure is for when they need to go to the bathroom. 

On The Bright Side…

These dogs will love you with their entire hearts. They never mean to make you mad or frustrated when these dogs are showing their own frustrations. All they want is to love you and to receive that same love back. At the end of the day, you will find your Havanese dog trying to snuggle close to you or on you as they are a classic lap dog. 

With the proper amount of training and making sure that their needs are met, you will find these dogs to be practically perfect in their personality and behaviors. They are true Velcro dogs when they are in their loving moods. Be sure to return all the love back, they deserve it.

Final Thoughts

One of the very few negative traits that the Havanese dog has is mild stubbornness. These dogs can be strong-willed and want to do their own thing. When they are super excited about something or are just not feeling that they will let you know. 

These dogs don’t have many negative traits, but stubbornness can sure be one of them. Luckily for you, stubbornness can be trained away through plenty of positive reinforcement. Taking time to train your Havanese dog to follow certain commands can reduce their stubborn behavior. 

The Havanese dog is a nearly perfect dog. They are social, playful, and loving. They only cause trouble when they are frustrated about something, but if you are making sure that their needs are met, then you shouldn’t have to worry. The Havanese dog will let you know if they need something from you. 

Havanese dogs deserve all the love in the world because they are eager to share that love with you. Spend plenty of time every day playing around or snuggling with your Havanese dog to show that it is cared about and loved. When you receive love from them, the best thing to do is to show love back.