Westminster Dog Profile: Havanese

With the Westminster Kennel Club 134th Annual Dog Show almost upon us (Feb. 15–16), Paw Nation will be talking with some of the show dogs' owners for some insight into this year's contestants.

Dog Breed: Havanese

Group: Toy

Dog's Full Registered Name & Nickname: Am Can Ch Heartland's Rumor Has It

Nickname: Rumor

Dog's Age: 3

Owner's Name: Sandy McCabe, Wade Koistinen and Ronnie Crowder

Hometown: Clare, Iowa

Tell me about your dog's personality.
My dog is very outgoing. She absolutely loves people and animals, and loves to show. She's also a very obedient dog. Though she does get very upset when we're showing other dogs. She definitely has some jealousy in her!

What is your dog's favorite treat?
Liver! She loves to eat liver! Though she pretty much eats anything. We'll make her liver as a treat when she's showing. She loves to eat chicken breasts too.

What is your dog's best trick?
She doesn't do any tricks, but she thinks she's a human. She's appalled to think that she's a dog. Many people call her a "pole dancer" because when she's getting ready to go in the ring, she climbs up the grooming arm pole. She always does this!

What's your dog's weirdest quirk?
When we're with other dogs in the ring she gets so jealous that she pouts. She doesn't bark -- she's definitely not a barker -- but she does get very mad. She'll sit there and watch the other dog's every single move. Then when we come back to her, she'll be so mad that won't even look at us for a few minutes!


How do you and your dog prepare for Westminster?
She's been doing shows for about two and half years. There's no way to really prepare her until when we get there. It can be overwhelming at times, with over 50,0000 people staring at the dog. She's used to going to them though, so its just a matter of calming her down if she gets worked up. We'll just talk to her to calm her.

Anything else you'd like to share?
Wade, the man who handles Rumor, actually donated a kidney to me last year when I needed a kidney transplant. We aren't related to one another, but he did such a nice thing by volunteering to donate his kidney. As a result, Rumor was off for a month while I recovered.

Tags: havanese, toy group, ToyGroup, Westminster, westminster dog show, WestminsterDogShow