Bundles of joy that have their paws round your heart (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel)

Member Name: mickeyhunt

Product:	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Date:	06/08/09 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They are full of love and fun and will be loyal till the end

Disadvantages: Some of the diseases that are inherited in the breed.

I have two Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Hector who is black and tan and 3 years old and Jonty who is ruby and 2 years old and I adore them. I fell in love with the breed 12 years ago when we had our first CKC boy Digby who was a tri colour. Sadly he died of cancer 3 years ago and even now we still miss him.

Cavvies as they are known are a joyful breed and love people, cats and other dogs. My two boys even get on with my ducks. If they are properly brought up and trained they are easy to walk and socialise well. It is very unusual for find vicious traits in this breed and my 2 boys are very gentle friendly dogs. In fact Jonty is too friendly running up to any dog and immediatley rolling on this back to play. I do worry that one day he might get himself into trouble.

It is very important to be selective when looking for a puppy because Cavvies are prone to a few diseases, notable Mitocondrial Vale disease, a condition that affects the heart. If they have a defective valve it allows a back flood of blood to go the wrong way through the heart. It is usually detected as a heart murmer which is measured on a scale of 1- 7, 1 being light and 7 being the worst. Dogs are always checked when they are young, but a heart defect cannot be confirmed till they are at least a year old as murmurs can be comon in puppies as their bodies are still growing. A murmer at 3 months should be checked out again at 9 month and then 12 months. Often a murmer at 3 months will disappear. By the age of 6 or 7 most Cavalier will have a heart murmer and will have some level of MVD. This is not the end of the world and most Cavies can lead a happy life even with a murmer, but you need to be aware of the illness as some dogs can develope bad murmers and can die unexpectedly at an early age. Buying from a breeder who only breeds from healthy heart stock is the best practice here, although it still does not guarantee a disease free dog. The other disease to be wary of is Syringomyellia, a problem that affects the base of the skull and caused fluid to leak into the spinal cord. This is very serious and can cause a great deal of pain and distress to the dog and is very distressing to witness. It can be alleviated but not cured. Again it is essential to make sure that when you buy from a breeder that they are again breeding from disease free dogs. The difficulty here is that some breeders ignore the dangers and often will deny knowledge of the disease.

When you go to choose a puppy, you need to try to disengage your feelings (very difficult to do I know). It is easy to fall in love with a puppy every time you go and see them and I do it every time, but it makes it difficult to be objective and to judge the people you are buying from. We have had 5 dogs over the years, 2 Laradors (Willow and Freya) and 3 Cavaliers. We sadly lost Freya at age 12 1/2 3 months ago, but still have Willow and Hector and Jonty. We did get two of our dogs from bad breeds (Freya and Hector), but unfortunatley I had already fallen in love with the puppies and would not contemplate leaving the dogs with those breeders. The most recent was Hector and we went to surrey (we live in sussex on the coast) to see the breeder having clearly specified that we wanted a home raised dog and wanted to see the mother. The lady seemed nice and the puppies were beautiful. She said that the mum was out with her daugher, but would be there when we came back a few days later to pick up Hector. We paid our deposit and she gave us a reciept. We came back 4 days later to pick him up. Prior to the visit she had called to say she could meet us to pick up Hector, but I insisted that we go to the house. She was not there just her husband and some strange man. He brought Hector in and we paid the money and I asked to see the mother. He brought in a smallish female cavvie that seemed to want nothing to do with Hector. I smelt a rat, but was not prepared to leave Hector there, so we got a receipt and left. A week or so later I noticed that she had another advert in the paper. I called her up and sure enough she had a diffrent set of puppies. Hector was diagnosed with a potential heart murmer and I was do angry that I rang her up and complained. She said she would take Hector back, but I would not give him up for the world. In the end I reported her to Waverley council who said she was importing the dogs from Wales and Ireland and was a puppy dealer. So the thing to do is ask all sorts of questions, after all you are spending a lot of money. A genuine breeder who cares about their dogs and what they are doing will be quite happy to answer your questions and will not get annoyed. If they take offence or get annoyed then they have something to hide and should be avoided. You should always see the puppies with their mother and should know the history of both mother and father. Always ask about heart murmers and syringomyellia.

When you get your puppy home the fun begins. Often good breeders don't let them go till they are 12 weeks old, but it is common for them to be ready from 8 weeks. I have found all my boys easy to toilet train, with the only thing hampering it is bad weather. We got Hector and Jonty in October and November and consequently we were training in very wet weather which makes it more dificult to reward and reinforce good behaviour. After all how can you tell a black and tan dog he is a good boy for pooing in the garden if you can't even find him in the dark and the rain let alone see if he has done a poo. More often than not I would tread in it!

They are two very differnt dogs. Hector is a small framed Cavie who can jump like a goat and barks at anything even his own reflection. It is great at 3 am in the morning to be woken by Hector barking at the top of his voice at the foxes or some other noise in the garden. It certainly tests your heart. Jonty is much bigger than Hector despite being a year younger and is not as agile. He cannot jump up onto our bed so I have to lift him and he weighs a ton. When his coat gets long he looks like Chewbacca from Star Wars. His nick name is Chewie.

I keep my boys cut short as it is nicer for them and easier to keep them clean. Jonty needs cutting twice as often as Hector and at £25 at time this can get expensive. I should do a grooming course. They both have a terrible habit of eating duck and cat poo, so we have to constantly check the garden to beat them to their special treat. If they do get to it, you do not realise till they try to lick you, then believe me you know about it.

I love my little boys and miss them when I have to go away on business. Hector is lying on the bed beside me now as I type. Jonty is in his bed at the foot of our bed with Willow our Lab. I was weak willed when we got Willow our first dog and let her sleep in our room and that is the way it has been for the last 13 years.

If you want a dog that is going to be gentle and loving and easy to train who is very intelligent and will love you for ever then Cavaliers are the dogs for you.

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Update 18-09-2009.

We have just got a new puppy - a Blenhiem Cavalier girl who we have called Summer. We have had her two weeks - she is now 10 weeks old and she has just had her last injection so we can start taking her for walks in about two weeks.

She has settled into our house so well with all the other dogs and cats and ducks and can even manage the stairs going up on her own (she can't go down yet). Jonty took about 3 to 4 months before he would tackle the stairs. Summer is so bold and chases the ducks and even wrestles with our Siamese Jasper. He is so laid back he just lies there and lets her play.

She hardley ever messes in the house, in the last two weeks she has only done 3 poops and a couple of wees indoors. It is always when we have taken our eye off her, but I have noticed that she is starting to go outside on her own to do her poops now if the door is open. She sleeps on the bed with us and if she needs to go she wakes up and sits on our chest and squeaks at us. That is really fun at 3 am in the morning. We have a puppy cage, but only use it when we go out.

She has a little hernia, but the vet says that it is only small and may heal, but if not they will deal with it when she is spayed.

She is absolutley adorable and just confirms my love for all things Cavalier King Charles.

Summary: The Cavaliier is the perfect dog for your lap, your fireside and your bed.