Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Without Health Issues.

[Cavstar]

Oh my goodness Jules they are divine! Here's one of Miss Lucy. She's only 9 months old :)

I honestly can't believe that there aren't more breeders in WA for cavs given that they are such a popular breed in other states.

I had to get mine sent from NSW as I just couldn't get one here in Perth.

I don't see alot of them around either although I do know a couple of people that own them. Whenever we goto the dog beach there is rarely another one there. The most popular that I see are border collies/bull breed type dogs.

Even when we went to dog traning the trainer commented that she hasn't had a cav in her class in forever!

[dogsaremyworld]

The clincher for me is the fact that many many CKCS owners I talk to admit they very much love their dog, but admit they will not have another due to the heartache & expense they have endured with the first one.

How very strange... I've never heard this from a CKCS owner. It's rare to find a Cavalier owner with just one Cav and those with only one wish they could have more but can't only due to personal circumstances and not the breed.

As with any breed - registered, reputable breeders will do everything in their power to ensure their puppies do not develop such problems as MVD, SM/CM. The major problems come from inexperienced breeders, backyard breeders and puppy farmers.

Blackdogs - you do need to be aware of these key health issues and question the breeder in regards to these http://www.cavaliersa.com/health.htm. The other issues Arcane mentioned are rare and I wouldn't say are common to the breed.

My Cavalier, Lady, is 1 year and 8 months old. She has never had any medical issues. However, I do have pet health insurance as I know problems can arise over time (although, I would have this for any breed of dog).

She has been an absolute ray of sunshine in my life and I cannot recommend this breed enough to people who want a loving companion. Lady is friendly with strangers, children, and she never barks. She does suffer some separation anxiety as she wants to be around people all the time. Cavaliers are recommended to people who are at home most of the time (I work from home, so this suits me).

When I am in a position to get another dog, I will most definitely be getting another Cavalier.

Eighteen months old is not quite old enough to give a complete health picture of an ENTIRE breed. We have five Cavaliers, none of whom showed problems until they were 2 - 3 years old. At eighteen months old I thought all of ours were wonderful as well. They are exactly what you say - lovely temperament, great with strangers, kids, and ever so loving. Then they get sick. We have one with patella's and another with a heart murmur and another with an undiagnosable stomach problem that causes her to be sick every 3-4 days. All from different, reputable, registered, breeders. I, myself, am a registered breeder and am SO disheartened with Cavies and the health problems that I am considering going to another breed. It is heartbreaking to watch something you love so much suffer so greatly, and at the same time ruin years of carefully considered breeding programmes.

[julesluvscavs]

Thank you Cavstar ! :D

Your Miss Lucy is gorgeous too! Hope you have many happy and healthy years with her

Edited July 19, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs

[Drumbeat]

Thank you Cavstar ! :D

Your Miss Lucy is gorgeous too! Hope you have many happy and healthy years with her

Completely off topic but it's lovely to see you on DOL Jules, so many nice people don't post anymore.

[asal]

My mother would one day like a Cavalier Kind Charles Spaniel, however, I have reservations about this due to the high propensity for health issues within the breed.

Is it possible to find a breeder who breeds Cavaliers without health issues or is the breed just too far gone to even bother?

Blackdogs it is possible to find a breeder who breeds healthy cavaliers but you will never have a 100% guarantee that the dog will never have health problems. I would suggest you find a breeder who health tests, someone who is willing to discuss the health issues of the cavalier with you and not just dismiss it with "not in my lines". See how you feel after talking to some breeders and hearing what they have to say.

If your mum is looking for a lively, loving, affectionate, snuggly little dog then she won't go wrong with a cav. :)

If I could get one breeder to respond that none of the dogs they've ever bred have suffered from genetic health issues I would find that comforting.

That's a big ask. You'll probably find a breeder somewhere who says that, but have they really had every single pup they've ever bred tested throughout it's life to be sure they've never bred a dog with genetic health issues? I would very much doubt it.

I can only go from my sisters experience and mine, my sister bought two some 16 years ago, she only lost them one last year and miffi end of last year. no problems with either of them.

thanks to her I bought two as well and both lived to 14 and 16

snuffling is long palette and its in every shorter faced breed, and I am not just referring to pugs and pekes.

Ive had chihuahua's for 40 years and one of my most strong beliefs is the show scene should be banned from shortening the breeds faces.

i thought that in the 70's and have no reason change my belief, the stupid sentance "the more diminuative preferred" i argued be deleted from the standard then has finally been removed. but only after that doco "pedigree dogs exposed" hit the airwaves.

as my vet said, you may shorten the faces but nature does not shorten the tongue or the palette, so you are deforming the dogs internally by doing so. holds as true today as it did in the 70's.

the biggest mistake the show world makes and continues to do so is they cont content themselvs with "maintain" a standard, they cant resist changing the goal posts with the excuse of "improving" the breed.

as i asked then, where did the standard ask to change from an apple dome to th entire apple?

increasing eye size till they can hardly shut them? and as for the diminuative bit, were is bitches so small only a cesearian can deliver the next generation doing anything good for the breed?

all done in the name of a bloody bit of ribbon that moths eat and time turns to dust, yet the survivors of their descendants live their lives with their tongues being tapped to remind the dog to keep it behind the teeth for the judge as they arent supposed to stick their tongue out?

sorry folks, I do not consider the ribbon chasers the bastions of the intregrety of a breed, any breed.

if a dog with black eyes wins a challenge next thing you know every other ribbon chaser is selecting for black eyes, eg 1984 Sydney Royal, there were lines of black eyed australian cattledogs in a breed standard that reads "Eye colour, dark brown."

since when was black as the ace of spades equatable with brown in any form dark or otherwise.

i could go for for pages enough to write a book over the distortions the show fraternity go with every few years across all breeds.

so just because one group of breeder "shows" does not mean they are the better person than the ones who like me, refuse to distort a wonderful breed to be seen to be in fashion step.

I still remember how lamblasted Phil Burgess of Elfreda kennels was because she is and was a professional pet breeder who was willing to sell lovely puppies on main register. who always slelected for self whelping and soundness. of course some were unsound as in teeth out patella etc, breeding is a game of percentages even breeding humans.

Imagine my amusement some 15 years later when some of her most disparaging critics discovred a new dog purchased was discovered to trace back to elfreda and were thrilled to find such sound breeding behind it, so hard to keep a straight face that day, how the tide had finally turned.

show me one single parent who can health guarantee their own children for life, yet I am hearing that breeders are now doing so for the puppies they breed.

as well telling a puppy buyer that to not do so means the breeder who does not do so is a puppy farmer?

as I asked one chap, I will be interested to see if the ones offering such a all emcompassing guarantee will still be members in 5 years time.

I know when a survey was done something like 80 percent of new members were no longer members 5 to 6 years after joining and by 10 to 15 years all but 7 percent were no longer members so what value is the lifetime guarantee when you cant find them anyway?

Edited July 19, 2012 by asal

[julesluvscavs]

Completely off topic but it's lovely to see you on DOL Jules, so many nice people don't post anymore.

Thank you Drumbeat

I don't post much these days on here unfortunately (and I know of others) due to so much nastiness,negativity and bullying going on

However there are many lovely, helpful and friendly dolers i have met on here, and also see around on fb, so DOL has been really good too ! :D so I do pop in and have a bit of a read every so often, and contribute when the situation arises ;-)

Edited July 19, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs

[asal]

The clincher for me is the fact that many many CKCS owners I talk to admit they very much love their dog, but admit they will not have another due to the heartache & expense they have endured with the first one.

How very strange... I've never heard this from a CKCS owner. It's rare to find a Cavalier owner with just one Cav and those with only one wish they could have more but can't only due to personal circumstances and not the breed.

As with any breed - registered, reputable breeders will do everything in their power to ensure their puppies do not develop such problems as MVD, SM/CM. The major problems come from inexperienced breeders, backyard breeders and puppy farmers.

Blackdogs - you do need to be aware of these key health issues and question the breeder in regards to these http://www.cavaliersa.com/health.htm. The other issues Arcane mentioned are rare and I wouldn't say are common to the breed.

My Cavalier, Lady, is 1 year and 8 months old. She has never had any medical issues. However, I do have pet health insurance as I know problems can arise over time (although, I would have this for any breed of dog).

She has been an absolute ray of sunshine in my life and I cannot recommend this breed enough to people who want a loving companion. Lady is friendly with strangers, children, and she never barks. She does suffer some separation anxiety as she wants to be around people all the time. Cavaliers are recommended to people who are at home most of the time (I work from home, so this suits me).

When I am in a position to get another dog, I will most definitely be getting another Cavalier.

Eighteen months old is not quite old enough to give a complete health picture of an ENTIRE breed. We have five Cavaliers, none of whom showed problems until they were 2 - 3 years old. At eighteen months old I thought all of ours were wonderful as well. They are exactly what you say - lovely temperament, great with strangers, kids, and ever so loving. Then they get sick. We have one with patella's and another with a heart murmur and another with an undiagnosable stomach problem that causes her to be sick every 3-4 days. All from different, reputable, registered, breeders. I, myself, am a registered breeder and am SO disheartened with Cavies and the health problems that I am considering going to another breed. It is heartbreaking to watch something you love so much suffer so greatly, and at the same time ruin years of carefully considered breeding programmes.

I can sympathise with you, disaster still happen. I will never forget when asking one breeder who was recommended to me by a member of the ethics committee . to be told when I questioned the large number of Aust Champions's I saw with hernia's. to be told 'I doubt in the next 12 years, you will be able to find any without them "

Edited July 19, 2012 by asal

[AussieDog]

My sisters dog - the day he came home.

[Baileys mum]

Hi :)

We own beautiful 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (not sure why people still call them King Charles Cavaliers??) , Joey and Renae. They are an Absolute joy to own and we feel very blessed to have them both in our lives and hearts :D

I have owned many dogs in my life, none of which have never had some sort of health problem along the way. Mostly cancer has taken their lives

I always wanted Cavalier from when I was really young, but ended up with more active and farm type dogs as I used to compete in Obedience and Agility.

It was only in my early 30's my husband and I bought our first one 'Joey'. We were very aware that Cavaliers can have some genetic issues (altho many breeds do as well) but we wanted to make sure we did our homework and research properly first before we bought one. We knew there would never be a health guarantee (altho the decent and ethical breeders will offer another pup from future litters if there is a medical issues found in the first 12 months .. I think? im not sure the time length atm)

So with all this in mind we sought out breeders that had healthy reputable lines., as one does with every breed they are seriously thinking of buying. In fact some of us dog lovers put more effort into the getting the right healthy dog than some people who have children, when perhaps they shouldnt be because of their genetic health issues ! (But thats another topic !) Doesn't seem to stop them from producing

Anyway Joey came to us when he was about 18 months old. He had have to have a small hernia repair operation (which we knew about), but it wasn't life threatening, or has ever affected him in any way since. When I looked up about hernias in the health section on Dol , there were many other cases with all breeds of dogs, so I know its not a 'Cav' only problem.

I was paranoid in the beginning of owning him as everyone went on about Cavs and patella's, and Heart problems etc etc, and i was constantly at the vets lol Joey once strained his muscle in his leg and i straight away thought it was his patella. It was just a strain from running and turning quickly around, nothing sinister and nothing that wouldn't come right with rest ..Its been fine since!

Well he's now 8, got a brilliant heart and is great health apart from being a bit overweight, which is mostly my fault as i cant exercise them like I used to be able too. But we do watch their weight as we are advised to by their breeder and the SA Cavalier Club. As we all know extra weight can cause heart issues ( with pets or humans) but as they are prone to it, we are on cautious side . Many Cavalier owners don't always heed this advice, then they wonder why there are problems later !

The only Main issues we have had with Joey and his Mother Renae are with their teeth and gums, and thats only just recently has happened. The teeth specialist said to us its not uncommon in most brachy breeds of dogs, so not just Cavaliers. Most times teeth/gum problems can be rectified and its not necessarily means the end of their life . Renae recently had a tumour in her gums, which caused her teeth and gum problems to go bad in a year (last senior health check up at 9 all hers were perfect!). The results came back yesterday and it was benign ! Once again the specialist said this is not uncommon in brachy breeds of dogs, and she has seen them in other breeds of dogs too. She also said out of all the major things dogs can have at least with teeth problems they can be fixed unless its extreme. Dogs can still survive without out teeth and still have a reasonably good quality life !

Renae will be 1O this Sunday, and she is deaf now, but the vet said to us some dogs do go deaf, its not just Cavalier related (none of Renae's or Joey's family have been deaf that im aware off) and It doesn't appear affect her life She is a very happy Cavalier:)

Joey also has had couple of little lumps on his eyelid (benign) but once again if you go into the health section on dol, you will read of other dogs that have had these little lumps. They not sinister in any way.

Both Joey and Renae's heart are very good for their ages, and yes we have spent money on vet bills over the years, but we don't have any children (so its not like we have to fork out on their health problems too!), we live modestly in a modest house by the beach, and so what money we have spent on them has been worth it ! :D

There's no real reason unless they get cancer or have some unfortunate accident (which any dog can get, and have happen ) that our 2 won't live to a reasonable age !

I met a couple years ago Cav that was 17 ! and died of old age, and only had arthritis as one would expect at that age!

I've also met quite a few healthy cavs that do agility quite successfully and are getting on in age.

I am not naive that Cavaliers don't have some genetic issues (theres never been any secret of that) but like others have said if you are wanting to buy one make sure you find a very reputable breeder who keeps on top of their health testings etc and if you do have a problem, make sure you let the breeder know (this really applies to registered ones that care!) . They need to know! Too many people don't say anything, and the breeder isn't aware to do anything about it in their lines. Then they get a bad rap arghhhh! (I'm not a breeder, just a passionate Cavalier owner)

Most Cavs that I have heard that have had really serious health issues have mostly been from BYB's, Petshops, Rescues (not all Rescue cavs are unhealthy !) so no wonder Cavaliers get such a bad reputation from people who don't really know a lot about them

I love this breed, and will only ever own this breed (altho i am a fosterer also for small dogs for a rescue Org ). They are not all unhealthy believe me, and its not all bad about them as some people are making them out to be :)

I highly recommend Cavaliers to the right people, but I do point out the truth about that some of them can be prone to genetic health issues, but to make sure they find the right breeder and do heaps of research first, and keep on top of their weight, which is very important !

It is sad, unfortunate and bad luck (and perhaps bad breeding in some cases) that some people have had serious issues going on with theirs, but I would hate to think that would put people off wanting to buy a Cavalier. Sure there are some with bad temperaments as there are with other type dogs (and as with us humans too!) but please don't judge them all on all the negative stuff said about them. There's usually more to the story I find ;-)

Jules, Joey and Renae x

Renae is in the first pic, she will be 10 this Sunday. The second pic is of her and her son Joey, (on the right side of her) who is 8.

BTW we are working towards getting our third Cavalier in the near future !!

Great post Jules, & gorgeous pics, & I agree its great to see you back on Dol :)

Even though we still chat on FB all the the time!! :D

Edited July 19, 2012 by Baileys mum

[julesluvscavs]

I can only go from my sisters experience and mine, my sister bought two some 16 years ago, she only lost them one last year and miffi end of last year. no problems with either of them.

thanks to her I bought two as well and both lived to 14 and 16

snuffling is long palette and its in every shorter faced breed, and I am not just referring to pugs and pekes.

Great to hear your sister's and your Cavs all lived to those ages !

[julesluvscavs]

Great post Jules, & gorgeous pics, & I agree its great to see you back on Dol :)

Even though we still chat on FB all the the time!! :D

Thank you Baileys Mum :D x

[julesluvscavs]

My sisters dog - the day he came home.

Awww beautiful !!

[HazyWal]

Thank you Cavstar ! :D

Your Miss Lucy is gorgeous too! Hope you have many happy and healthy years with her

Completely off topic but it's lovely to see you on DOL Jules, so many nice people don't post anymore.

Sorry but I'm going OT as well hello Jules...it's good to see you :)

[julesluvscavs]

Sorry but I'm going OT as well hello Jules...it's good to see you :)

Hi there stans mum !! and thank you also

Im supposed to be emailing a lovely doler on here atm, but keep getting distracted in here :laugh: I'm sure she will understand :D

Lovely seeing you all too ! x

Edited July 19, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs

[AussieDog]

My sister has a pure bred Cavalier from a registered breeder - i think the breeder may actually even be on DOL (not sure though).

He was the runt of the litter so a lot smaller than your normal Cavalier - he came with a hernia, something wrong with his testicle, he had his ear canal operated on due to very smelly and infected ears, and his eyes are now shot.

The family love him to bits but he has been a very expensive little doggie.

Those things are not associated with the breed though it can happen to ANY BREED. Some breeds may be more proned to things like ear infections then others, but every breed has it flaws and health issues the key is being able to do your research and weed out the people who don't test to those who do test, I'm sure if you found a pup and you opted to pay for optional test for highly uncommon things in the breed a breeder would be more then happy to get the test done on your pup. I have been around cavs alot and even handled a few in the ring no way would those dogs be there as a representation of "good breeding" if they had health issues that could potentially affect off spring.. Well anyone with ethics wouldn't be doing that anyway

I'm not sure what you are trying to imply with a: my sister's buying habits or b: the breeder's ethics but this thread was about Cavaliers and health issues they may be prone to. As I have a Cavalier in the family and i know of his long list of problems i thought my contribution to this thread might be interesting. Cavaliers have long ears - they will be prone to infections more so than dog's with "normal" ears.

I'm not putting the breed down - we love Billy. He has had a small fortune spent on him because he is loved so much. He now 7 and seems to be a happy little dog.

[julesluvscavs]

Renae visiting me when i was very ill last year. My husband came and picked me up from hospital and we went and sat by the beach for a while. He had bought Joey and Renae with him to see me.

Luckily they don't judge me with all my health issues and still want and love me as their owner. Thats unconditional love.

Yeah Ive gone off track I know MEH ! :D

Edited July 19, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs

[Baileys mum]

Renae visiting me when i was very ill last year. My husband came and picked me up from hospital and we went and sat by the beach for a while. He had bought Joey and Renae with him to see me.

Luckily they don't judge me with all my health issues and still want and love me as their owner. Thats unconditional love.

Yeah Ive gone off track I know MEH ! :D

Awww that's so sweet Jules, I think dogs have the best healing powers when we are unwell. :)

[julesluvscavs]

Awww that's so sweet Jules, I think dogs have the best healing powers when we are unwell. :)

totally ! :) x

[LizT]

The 'bite & dentition' issues I mention are not about a few teeth being crooked or slight misalignment. I groom several that have the most shocking of overbite. 1/2 to 1.5 inches. I just haven't seen this in other breeds like i see it in the Cavs I groom. I have 3 cavs in today and one of them is as I describe with a shocking overbite.

The feet & toes on many of the cavs I groom are really bad too. i groom quite a few with only 3 toes on at least one foot, several with four toes but one of the outer toes is severely stunted, and I even groom one with five toes on both front feet not including the dew claw. Again something I just don't see in other breeds.

I'm not trying to diss the breed either. I am simply stating my observations as fact.

I would also entertain the idea of owning one myself. I do quite like them.....But I know I would my doing the mountain of research too.

WOW! This is a phenonomen I am TOTALLY unfamiliar with. Certainly hasn't happened to any breeders pups I pesonally am aware of. Your experience has made me want to look into this further. I can understand a puppy being born with a deformity, nature does do weird things sometimes, but you make it sound quite prevalent and not "random" as these things usually are.

When my own childen were born I did the usually new baby "count the fingers and toes thing" as we new mums do. We go over our precious ones with a fine tooth combs. :) I do check over the new puppies closely but haven't count "fingers and toes" as yet. That is a new one for me.

Off to do some research on this one.

[Guest Arcane]

The 'bite & dentition' issues I mention are not about a few teeth being crooked or slight misalignment. I groom several that have the most shocking of overbite. 1/2 to 1.5 inches. I just haven't seen this in other breeds like i see it in the Cavs I groom. I have 3 cavs in today and one of them is as I describe with a shocking overbite.

The feet & toes on many of the cavs I groom are really bad too. i groom quite a few with only 3 toes on at least one foot, several with four toes but one of the outer toes is severely stunted, and I even groom one with five toes on both front feet not including the dew claw. Again something I just don't see in other breeds.

I'm not trying to diss the breed either. I am simply stating my observations as fact.

I would also entertain the idea of owning one myself. I do quite like them.....But I know I would my doing the mountain of research too.

WOW! This is a phenonomen I am TOTALLY unfamiliar with. Certainly hasn't happened to any breeders pups I pesonally am aware of. Your experience has made me want to look into this further. I can understand a puppy being born with a deformity, nature does do weird things sometimes, but you make it sound quite prevalent and not "random" as these things usually are.

When my own childen were born I did the usually new baby "count the fingers and toes thing" as we new mums do. We go over our precious ones with a fine tooth combs. :) I do check over the new puppies closely but haven't count "fingers and toes" as yet. That is a new one for me.

Off to do some research on this one.

Here is the bite I was talking about on the one I did today. It's plain to see it is a serious overbite & this is not the worst one I see. I counted & currently I have a relatively small number of CKCS clients at 39, and 6 of them have serious overbites similar to this one. I'm starting to wonder if I do see a lot of dogs from the same faulty lines or sires or something!

Another I groomed today has ulcerated eyes as well as cataracts so is effectively blind in one eye & can't see out the other, has a major crust on his nose, suffers skin problems, and air scratches at the drop of a hat which is miserable to watch & really difficult to manage during the groom! He is also prone to random aggressive outbursts so untypical of the breed. I got a video of him but i'm not sure how to link it here.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Arcane