melstar-36

Aswww that's so sweet, the love and loyalty that a dog can give you is priceless

it has been indeed more reassuring that i know all the facts, im still going to keep the specliast oppiontment for next week, as well as an appiontment on thursday for a meeting with my new vet i havent as yet spoken to her breeder, i want a second opioun before i get her worried over something that hopefully is a mix up, but atleast something postive has come out of this conversation- there are so many lovely people willing to give advice :D i really REALLY apprieate it, i quickly put the pitch forks away when i reliazed that i was totally over reacting. dutchess is my first cavalier, which i remeember when i was researching the breed and asking about breeders, somebody on here told me that owning cavaliers was an addiction, you just cant own one. AGREED!!! i have a new bitch coming in 2 weeks tomorrow, i wont be rehoming dutchess no matter what the circumstances, she has always been a companion than anything else

this is dutchess, the girl in question.

When I was doing research with my mother about 6 years ago on the breed, you can get paint coloured ones, its not a recognized colour ( but i could be wrong, it happens every now and then) :) but it was interesting.

Lacey is a gorgeous name, can I ask whether you had the operation done or tryed other methods to help improve her mobility? The vet told me both knees, one at a time, each with 6 weeks recovery time with no or little movement, that's 3 months all together!! It would be so hard on her

That I am abit confused over, my breeder reassured me she was patella sound, does this mean that no other dogs to there knowledge has the condition, if there is no gentic testing, will I ever know whether it was genetic, I'd hate to tell her breeder that and it be something that has arisen at home. I suppose the specialist will inform me more, I'm just anxious to know

I haven't informed her yet but I will once I have taken the right steps to fully identify the problem, I was very harsh to point the finger at her without knowing the facts. Once the specialist has confirmed that is what it is, I will contact her to let her beware of the problem, desex my bitch, leaving the idea of breeding and showing on the bench for a few years and enjoy my bitch as a companion

Oh my god, I didn't reliaze that I was feeding her crap, I will stop straight away, a nice lean diet of raw food is on the menu for now on. I have read abit that diet and excerise is a big contributer, Dutchess is going to get a shock. I tought I was doing the right thing with calcium powder and making her own food, thanks heaps I will do anything to help her out.

I have an appointment with a specialist next week so hopefully he can clear things up for me. She has a diet of mince, veggies, rice, garlic and calcium powder. A dental stick at night, liver cake for training ( not every day) sometimes chicken necks , I crate her when we eat, she is a vacuum if the kids drop food on the floor and she gives me the 'puss in boots stare' when I'm eating. I keep her in the recommended weight for her breed but I will be restricting her feed amount abit more now to keep her on the slimmer part of the scales

And as for the grading, I totally over reacted, she made it seem beyond bad. All this advise is really reassuring that everything will be ok

We have been to a few shows but I only watch, I have so much more to learn before I jump in, instead I stay at home and watch my crufts DVDs and hope one day I can play with the big boys. Lol. And Evan though she hadn't been shown doesn't make her poor quality, she's lived up to all my expectations and has the best temperament. One off the questions on the breeders exam was- best practical advice for selection a foundation bitch- a. Use your first bitch B. use your first title winning bitch C. Consider type and temperament D. Consider wins... The answer c, my girl doesn't need to be Evan though I'd love her to be, a champion in the show ring to be considered good breeding stock. But she will be desexed now and I'll have to dream off competing in the neuter class now :)

Sorry fat finger alert, she's just under 8 kg, hehe I'm still figuring out how to type using my new iPhone

I hope she's alright too, as I said, never shown any signs before. She's 14 months old, weight is just under 9 kg, feed a healthy diet of chicken or kangaroo mince, rice, veggies, garlic and calcium powder. Walked twice a day and lives indoors.

Off topic- somebody once told me that a larma was a giraffe cross sheep, that was a science experiment. I believed them!!! I know pretty blonde of me, I googled it not long after , I surely did feel stupid. And one topic- no such thing as a miniature sharpei, my parents are getting a new sharpei puppy in 3 weeks, I love watching there wrinkles when they run :)

My bitch comes from good health tested stock, she is my foundation bitch, I was not planning to breed for quite a few years because what I have learnt about MVD is that it can arrise in healthy breeding stock when they are over 3, so better to be safe than sorry and I knew the basics of Patella luxation, that it was a slipping of the knees and was no gentic test for it. Just didn't think my girl would get it I spoke to my vet and got a referral to see pet emergency and specialist center in dandenong, my girl had her heart checked out there a few months ago and the staff are lovely. My vet was abit pissed that I was seeking a second opinion, she asked me why go to someone that will charge you double the price! I told her that she didn't give me enough info and would feel more at ease with a second opinion, she told me that Dutchess had grade one and needed surgery immediately before she formed athristis (she knew how much this would hurt me, my old girl of 12 years passed away 2 months ago from bad arthristis) I most differently will be changing vets now

I've just been reading abit and no my vet didn't grade it, just said it was bad in both kness, give me 2 grand, desex the dog and off you go. I was so frustrated by the end of the consult, I wasn't ready to leave, just wanted to know everything about it but she was standing with the door open waiting for me to leave. I now regret asking whether I should ask for help from her breeder, or Evan report her. I didn't want to upset other breeders, I understand that sometimes bad things happen!

And the vet simply fiddled around with her knees and come to that conclusion within seconds, it shocked the hell out of me

Thanks guys, I'm just upset that my little girl requires surgery, can anybody suggest a vet that specializes in this area, I would love to get a second opion before I approach her breeder! as already stated I've never been in this situation before, it's scary and I don't know all the facts, just what my vet is telling me

And the dog is only 1, never showed any signs and we were only at the vets a few weeks ago, isn't over weight, to me she was fit a fiddle

Yes I'm frustrated. Did I say she was a dreadful breeder, she's really lovely but I didn't want to go to her guns blazing if it's just the luck of the draw, the vet told me it was purely genetic, I don't know to much about it and I'm researching it right now, the vet also told me its a bad case of it. Please I come to you asking for advice, never been in the situation before so was unsure of what steps to take next, I know that breeders don't have a magic ball, I didn't know that other situations could of cases it, the vet just said it was genetic. And I'm not trying to stir trouble but isn't it the breeders responsibility ( if it is indeed genetic) to of breed from healthy stock. And be aware of it in there breeding lines

My gorgeous little cavalier has just been to the vets and the vet tells me she has patella, a genetic disease of the knees and required surgery to recorrect them, of course I will be contacting her breeder to tell her, my question is what grounds do I have to stand on, I purchased the dog with all intentions of breeding in the future, the breeder knew this and was sold on Main papers. She has seen a heart and eyes specialist and seemed to have all the boxes ticked until today. Now of course she will have the operation and desexed to make sure the condition isn't passed on. Can I suggest that the breeder help out with the vet bills, I'm really upset and frustrated, I called the vca but apparently the person I need to speak too isn't there Friday, do I report her?

Some people ask whether my cavalier king Charles is a king Charles " nope she's a cavalier king Charles" most people get confused, my reply to them with a giggle " there are two types, mine just hasn't been smacked in the face with a shovel" I must admit that a few years ago, I two thought they were the same breed, lol

I have 3 and another on the way in 4 weeks, always had 4 dogs but my old girl past away 3 months ago and the house has been so empty since. but I'm sure that will change soon with a little puppy around the place. My family think I'm the crazy dog lady but I think im just lucky to have them in my life. It's funny in a way, my partner is a cat man and I'm a dog person, he has he's cat snuggled up on his lap at night. I can't Evan see my lap with three dogs on it, lol

Good on them for being responsible and caring about others around them. A newspaper would be the way to go, I'm sure they would apprieated it and maybe others might follow by example