Great family dog (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel)

Member Name: scoutingbargains

Product:	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Date:	31/10/08 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loyal, loving and trustworthy

Disadvantages: Major health problems

We bought our first dog together three years ago knowing that one day he would be a family dog. I'm work in the animal industry so I was already aware of their excellent temperament and health problems.

Pros - Extremley friendly, loyal, divoted and effectionate. I can honestly say that I trust my dog completely with my son. Obviously I always keep an eye on them but as my son grows he wants more and more to dog with the dog and sometimes my little boy can hurt the dog by pulling at his fur, poking and pulling at him but the dog as never once shown any signs of aggression. He just gets up and moves away although the dog still likes my son (for some reason).
Cons - Health problems as follows: Endocardiosis which is a heart valve disease which end up in heart failure. Not a nice death but the condition is managable with medication. Most Cavs will have some degree of heart trouble so go into it with your eyes wide open and get pet insurance from day one! My Cav has hip dysplasia in one hip, a luxating patella in the other leg and Chronic Degenerative Disc Disease that he is now on life long medication for alongside regular physio and dietary management. Oh, and he also has Syringohydromelia (a complicated & uncurable neurological problem) but isn't suffering from it. 85% of Cavs have it so his Neurologist told me but not all suffer from it. The ones that do suffer with the symptoms inevitably need to be put to sleep as living with the condition is unbearable and there isn't a cure or suitable management.

All in all, they are excellent family pets although you really do need to do your research first as they often come with problems, and I can't recommend pet insurance enough!

Summary: Get pet insurance as their health problems cost you a fortune!