Havapeke

The Havapeke is a hybrid mix of the Havanese and the Pekingese that is recognized by five registries.  Hybrid-specific standards are not set or readily available given the nature of a designer dog’s genetic variable, so the Havapeke can range in looks and traits.  To better understand the potential physical and character traits of the Havapeke, many people review the histories and temperaments of the parent breeds. The Havanese’s ancient relative, the Tenerife, was a Bichon-type dog that is believed to originate in Malta over two thousand years ago.  The Tenerife was making its way through Europe during the mid-15th Century and eventually found its way to the Cuban Isles during the Colombian period.  The breed was left in near isolation when Spain restricted trade to colonial Cuba and the breed developed into the modern-day Havanese by the late 19th Century.  The breed faced another hurdle in the mid-20th Century during the Cuban Revolution and only 11 Havanese were known outside of Cuba following the end of the revolution.  Those 11 dogs became the base of all future Havanese dogs living outside of Cuba. The Pekingese is an ancient dog that was once well-guarded in China where it developed.  The Pekingese was kept in the Chinese palace at Peking, where the breed gets its name, and remained a hidden treasure.  The Opium Wars of the 19th Century first introduced the Pekingese to the Western world.  British troops found five Pekingese guarding the body of their mistress, who had committed suicide, in the imperial palace at Peking.  The five dogs were taken back to England and gifted to nobility, including one to Queen Victoria.  With the discovery of the Pekingese breed, the West found ways to smuggle the dog out of China and establish it as a breed in Europe and eventually, in the United States.  The American Kennel Club first recognized the Pekingese in 1906, and today the breed enjoys moderate popularity.