Our Ethos

How we make our breeding decisions
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habibi bear puppy therapy dog

We Start with Healthy Dogs

You deserve a healthy dog. Dogs deserve a long, healthy life. We know that all starts with healthy parents. When you have healthy breeding dogs, both genetically, but physically, your puppy gets the best start. We take this responsibility to heart. A healthy dog simply is the foundation for our breeding program ethos and breeding decision philosophy. 

 

We couldn’t be more pleased! Thank you!

 

-Kathleen

Recently picked up our 2nd puppy from Julie. Small dogs have been a part of our lives for 45+ years, and we can say unequivocally that Habibi Bears are the best in every way. Smart, loving, entertaining, easygoing temperment, and beyond cute! Best canine companions ever! Jelly (1.5 yrs and 7 lbs) and brand new Nova (11 weeks and almost 3 lbs) are great size for in cabin airline travel. 

 

Genetic Diversity & Hybrid Vigor 

For over 35 years, we’ve meticulously bred our Habibi Bears, the original teddybear breed,  with a vision to create the perfect family companion – intelligent, empathic, easy-keepers, and heart melters.  Through strategic outcrossing, we develop these unique dogs by considering any breed that meets our genetic diversity and temperament standards. Freed from breed restrictions and closed stud books, we nurture dogs with ideal qualities to thrive as beloved family members. Our exceptional Habibi Bears combine beloved companion breeds using modern science and DNA choices, restoring genetic diversity lost to centuries of inbreeding. The result? Sweet, easy-going companions that provide a lifetime of love.

 

habibi bear puppy in spokane wa

A Healthy and Nutritious Diet

We raise all of our puppies on a raw diet. This allows us to mix fresh ingredients together without any of the unnecessary binding and preservative ingredients found in kibble. While this is a little more work than simply putting kibble into a bowl, we think it’s the best way to set our puppies up for success. 

While we don’t expect all of our buyers to follow this protocol, we do believe that you’ll love the results if you make the leap (don’t worry, we can help!). Because not everyone can do raw, we do have so suggestions for kibble that we feel will provide good nutrition and a healthy life. 

 

As Natural As Possible

We believe in working with the body as much as possible when it comes to health and wellness and we do the same with our puppies. Our natural rearing methods aim to set the puppies up for success by allowing them to be born naturally, raised with their mother as guidance, and we want to support the natural process.

This also means we avoid chemicals as much as we can. We’ve stopped using chemical dewormers and have a limitied vaccination protocol. The way we see it, we shouldn’t unnecessarily put our pups and dogs at risk (by not vaccinating), but we also don’t want to unnecessarily subject them to heavy toxins and the risks associated with over vaccinating.

The same goes with our flea and tick protocols. We love where we live and we love spending time at the coast, BUT these places come with their risks. We’ve opted to use natural flea and tick treatments and have had wonderful success. 

While we fully respect your right to make decisions for your dog, we are always there to help you with natural alternatives. 

Various Sizes for Varied Purposes

Small

Teacup & Toy – This size is our smallest. We’ve found them perfect for traveling. If you love to travel, but hate the idea of leaving your dog, this is the solution. They make excellent medical alert dogs, therapy dogs (especially for situations where holding the dog is the ideal support). They have enough personality to fit a big dog, but they’re in a little package. 

Miniature

These dogs are great for families with kids. They are able to keep up with the family activities, but aren’t so big you can’t tote them around. They’ll fit easily under the seat on an airplane, but a bit more durable than the smaller toy-size pups. The miniature is the perfect all-around Habibi Bear.

Moyen

These are our biggest dogs. They are fantastic for active families, running buddies, therapy dogs making the rounds in clinics and classrooms. They also make wonderful service dogs for children with autism looking for a larger, stable dog, able to be the consistency piece for a child. 

 

cute teacup habibi bear puppy - the hypoallergenic teddy bear breed

Attuned to Humans

Given the need for our dogs to be service or therapy dogs, we pay close attention to how well they’re attuned to humans and emotions. We want a dog that can read your emotions and respond. However, how they respond will have its variations, but also some responses will be better for various situations. For example, when working with a child whose emotions fluctuate frequently, it’ll be important to have a dog who can read those emotions, but remain emotionally stable in the moment. With other situations it would be better for the owner if the dog not only recognized the fluctuation in emotions, but then chose to interact differently with the owner, such as comforting the owner when she feels anxiety. 

There is a place for both types of reactions, but one will be better for your situation. Our goal in breeding is to make sure all of our dogs are attuned to people, then we will find the one who is perfect for you!   

More Snuggles less Sniffles
Allergy-Friendly or Hypoallergenic?

Given the important job of many of our dogs as service and therapy animals, we have made the decision to only work with more allergy-friendly breeds. Occasionally with the combination of genes, we get a generation of dogs that shed. We have worked to reduce shedding as much as possible making our dog more allergy friendly, which makes them easier to take with you without creating complications for those around. 

While we could never say our dogs are fully hypoallergenic, they seem to be acceptable for most people with dog allergies. We do offer an allergy test when possible if this is a concern. Having that said, when we do find a particular line is leading to more-than-normal shedding, we will remove that line from our program.

 

habibi bear puppy in spokane wa

 

 “Together they are our second set of daughters as ours are grown.”

             -Marcie

 Ruby, our first little Habibi girl who turned 5 on Dec. 1st. She joined us in 2020. When we got Ruby I was in love, and had just lost my male Maltese, Wally, to cancer at 8. She helped me through the hardest year of my life, as 2020 I suddenly lost my mom, and my aunt. I don’t know what we would have done without her for love, comfort, and being my best little friend during the pandemic. In 2021 we got our second Habibi girl, Rosie. She has a different personality and is a little more chill than Ruby, and together they are our second set of daughters as ours are grown. Julie, these little dogs mean the world to us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  If I could, I would get another!  Also, today is Rosie’s 4th birthday!! She will celebrate with a scrambled egg, their favorite treat. Big hugs to you.

Match the Dog to the Family

In all the years we’ve done this there is one single thing that has made all the difference between being successful with your puppy or having unnecessary struggles: the match. 

When the match is right, everything is easier. My goal in working with you is to understand you and your needs, and articulate what type of dog that’ll best align with you. Just the same, all dogs are a little different, they have their own preferences, personalities, and their drives in how they want to interact with people. Some pups are more extroverts, greeting everyone they meet, while other dogs appear more like introverts, appreciating their one-on-one time with their family. Some prefer to be with other dogs, while others don’t mind being the only dog. 

Because of these differences, some pups will naturally be a better fit for you and your family, the key is aligning you with the perfect one for you. 

When discussing this, naturally color and patterns come up in conversation, my hope is that you’ll keep an open mind and heart and welcome the right puppy into your family. I promise it’ll be the best decision you ever made. It’s worth it!

 

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