LizT

Same here. My vet suggests starting them on heartworm preventative at around 5-6 months old.

I fed it for years as it was recommended in an old Natural Remedy Book for dogs I used to have. Then I read it wasn't the best for them and made them lethargic. I have a nearly 8 month old Cavalier here who is bouncing off the walls and could do with a dose of "lethargic". :laugh: I still feed it daily to my horses as a complimentary vermifuge (kill intestinal worms).

I've bought them both on-line and at Petstock.

So sorry for your loss. So many good memories to cherish at this time. A peaceful departure for dear little Penny. So glad she was with you Esky. One couldn't ask for a better person to be with than someone you love when it's time to cross the bridge.

An intersting conversation last night. New potential puppy buyers called in see the little one. During discussions we talked about MVD. "Oh yes, I know about MVD, our mums last dog died of MVD. She started coughing, needed medication or a while, then got bad and was given her wings at age 12." We talked some more about it. Hmmm.."I thought this was your first Cavalier" I said. "Yes, it is, mums dog was a Yorkshire Terrier".

That's good. :) If only I knew then what I do now!

Yes. It's not such a big worry as some may think PROVIDED it does not develop into Phenomia. It's good to listen careful to see if the type of cough changes. If it goes from dry cough to a rattly chesty cough...problems. However, this is only likely to happen if the dog is in a cold, damp, drafty enviroment. It's a chest infection such as trachial bronchitis (the coughs we get) and with or without anti biotics it can take up to around 3 weeks to recover, but I've had symptoms ease within the week in my experience, both with and without anti-biotics. The manuka honey is very useful treament both symptomatic and to help recovery by boosting the immune system.

Do keep a close eye on that back would. Have you been to the vets? I don't want to scare you but this is my experience. Long story short, my Schipperke once had an altercation with a foster GSD I had on trial. She ended up with a very small tear on the back (scruff area) that I treated myself and it healed up beautifully. I had treated many a horse injury, wound myself and didn't think about the location of the wound and it's inability to drain properly. The GSD went back to be placed in a home without other dogs. Five weeks later Tessa was sitting on the front verandah shaking. I patted her and noticed a huge wound on her back. It had abcessed and festered and now blew out. She needed life saving surgery to clean the wound and bacically was cut from armpit to armpit across the top of her body, cleaned up and restitched. It was a horrific wound and the Vet and staff couldn't believed she pulled through from the massive infection that was throughout her body. I WAS A BAD MUM. And learnt a valuable lesson about dog bites and wound location.

I thought she was the staffy upside down on the couch. I can really envisage a piched nerve happening in the dog in the photo.

As I learnt the hard way. It wasn't there because they hadn't looked. Once they started dropping dead it was a bit late! my vet was given a litter of cavalier x beagle puppies to rehome. only a few months later one of the litter had syringamyelia dignosed, very distressed and in pain puppy and was put down. so hybrid vigor isnt the be all and end all as the garden knome has been telling us. he also told me its being found in ALL small dogs NOT just cav's, Its just that the Cav's have been the hot topic. has had me wondering if it may be in beagles as well, how many of you are aware thats it is also in humans? last I looked no ones been breeding for small heads in the homo sapien's. So just what is its mode of inheritance really needs a lot more research along with just how widespread it is across not just dog breeds either. Somehow labeling the parents of an affected child as unethical would be hard to get the label to stick as easily as it is to the dog fraternity. Actually from what I have been able to determine skull size has very little to do with it. SO much still to be learnt. Interestingly, in my research I have found that Beagles are known to also be affected by Mitral Valve Disease. The "Beaglier" dosn't sound like a 'smart' idea at all.

The above does make sense. I will rephrase it If any Cavalier develops a murmur before s/he reaches 5 years do not breed with him or her. If the parents of the Cavalier had clear hearts at 5 years (ie, no MVD murmurs), it should be safe to breed the cavalier before s/he reaches 5 years of age. If the parents' hearts were not clear (or not checked), you should not breed the Cavalier before s/he reaches 5 years Hope that clarifies it. A good vet with a decent stethoscope can diagnose a murmur. Exactly, my interpretation is that I have a bitch who will turn 5 this October. She has had one litter at 3 years of age, I kept one bitch from that litter. If my older bitch continues to be heart clear when she turns five later this year AND her daughter at 2.5 years is also heart clear I will breed the daughter using a male OVER 5 who is still heart clear. E.T.A. The older bitch was bred to a male over 5 still heart clear, and both her parents were over 5 and heart clear at that time.

Sending healing thoughts and happy vibes to dear little Penny, whatever the outcome, know Esky that she feels your love.

Oh, I hope she didn't miss the Amstaffs and Bullmastifs going around the ring.

So I wonder then, in the days of King Charles where Royalty were considerably inbreed, because, apart from "sub contracting the "job" out due to infertility, Royalty only bred with Royalty, and therfore these little companions of the 'Fop of a King" were also very, very, very inbred?

This is the MVD Breeding Protocol set up as a guideline for breeders in the United States. Apparently the main reason it is not working is because of breeders not following it. Every breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should be examined annually by a board certified veterinary cardiologist. Do not breed any Cavalier who is diagnosed with an MVD murmur under the age of 5 years. Do not breed any CKCS before age 2.5 years. Do not breed any Cavalier under the age of 5 years, unless its parents' hearts were free of MVD murmurs by age 5 years It's not a big ask. It's not rocket science.

Do any of the more experienced Cavalier Breeders know at what point in the Cavaliers History Mitral Valve Disease became a larger issue than in other breeds? Was is post or pre "resurrection" of the breed?

I agree, but a dog would be in the same danger uncrated indoors if there was a fire. They need a safe, warm place to be when you can't supervise them. I like puppy pens to put the young one in when I'm out for an evening or such. You are so right, you can't keep a convalencent dog sedated for more than a few days. Crate training has been a blessing for many.

Well then I guess the answer to your original question is. There are many good breeders out there who are trying to achieve just that....a healthy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, sadly there are many more people out there breeding CKCS who don't give a toss and are in it only for the money. You will certainly need to do your homework to throw the odds back in favour of a healthy dog, but it will still be natures roll of the dice.

I think you may have missed a number of posts in this thread. Somewhere in this thread (the authors may find them themselves and quote) are posts which state that: - It would be irresponsible of any breeder to claim there are no genetic problems in their lines, and if they did so, they either have their head in the sand or have no idea (paraphrasing) - (I'll add that breeders which make that claim are lying) - Sure, breeders become defensive in the face of negative publicity, including forums such as this when someone comes online making all sorts of blanket claims about the breed they love, and to which they have devoted their lives - Over the years, I've seen a number of potential buyers, with the attitude of expecting the genetically perfect pup, end up with one from a puppy farmer who told them all the lies under the sun (see my second point above), only to spend a lot of money at the vet, and then badmouth the breed. Not the shonky breeder they bought from, but the breed. Not their poor choice and the fact that they couldn't accept that there is no such thing as a genetically perfect breed, but the breed. If you want a genetically perfect breed, K-Mart sells them for about $20. - I don't have any puppies, so healthy or not, there is nothing for you. Except at K-Mart. end sarcasm. - I didn't ask you to claim there would never be any genetic issues with future pups, but wanted to know if there had been any genetic issues with dogs you had bred so far. Some breeders do give guarantees that if anything genetic crops up they will replace the dog free of charge. That shows a level of certainty in their breeding. I don't think you can ever guarantee that there won't be some throw-back or anomaly. - Well, I'm not sure why that defensiveness is directed towards me considering I'm not sure I've made a single claim in the entire thread. - I'm not interested in lies, I'm looking for the truth. This isn't a personal attack. I'm not sure how I can get you to understand this. - I would prefer to buy from a breeder who could discuss my concerns and answer my questions without sarcasm. I think it also depends on what you call a "Genetic Issue". Many breeds of dogs are born with hernias, if you bought a pup that turned out to have a hernia would you want a refund? Or like most have it repaired when the pup is desexed? A once off simple procedure with no ongoing health issues. Especially since the dog is not being bred from.

Me thinks a couple of readers were probably getting a bit excited for a moment, there :laugh: The thread subject line would indeed look odd...and totally unrealistic... if it referred to humans. 'Where could you find a human without health issues?' One difference in the purebred dog breeding world, is the nature of the decision-making for breeding with certain dogs....and also the shorter life- spans for the results to play out in lifetimes. I have an article from The Australian in which a researcher into human health at a leading Australian University, praised the process of purebred dog breeding as providing useful material for the work of his research centre. Why? Because many health problems are common to both humans and dogs. For the researcher, the problems were easier to track across depth and breadth of pedigree in dogs.....and the shorter life spans allowed them to see any genetic influences at work in what is controlled breeding. For well-informed dog breeders, it means an increasing pool of information to guide their decisions re which dogs to breed with. Interesting book just published, Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human picks up the point that there's much to be gained from making connections between animal and human medicine (written by a cardiologist). Apparently there's a joke that a doctor is just a vet who can only treat one species. :) Hmmm.. I've pondered this at times and really wouldn't you think humans would be a damn side more healthier than they are given the amount of "Hybrid Vigour" in our races?

Who are you, and why would I do that? In fact, your question just doesn't seem to fit the original intent of your first post, so... Who are you? What is your intent with this thread? It becomes clearer with every post. In answer to your question: Not many. My vet often thinks I'm seeing the other vet in town. He comments on how "robust" my newborns are, then later the young pups, how "rock solid" their patellae are; he'll check this and that knowing there's no point because it's all okay. The hip scores will come back lower than breed average. Hearts are good into old age, when the dogs will die at about age 13 or 14. BTW, heart clear until 7 can be cause for celebration. If the murmur is detected at 7 years, the dog may have another 7 or 8 years left yet. It may not even die from the heart condition. Stop scaremongering. Your slip is showing. Indeed...it would also have to factor the Grade of the murmur and at what rate deterioration, if any, progresses. We celebrate each year heart clear like a birthday, we cheer joyously when we hear of a milestone oldies birthday. It reassures us that what we are doing is indeed worthwhile and the breed is far from "doomed".

"Like"

I did read when browsing through an American dog forum that their dogs do spend quite a deal of time crated as pets. Like when owners are at work etc. Coming out only for toileting and excercise.

I have pm'ed you. But do bear in mind that just because a dog does Agility is active and healthy doesn't mean it is immune from any one of lifes afflicions.