QUESTIONS
1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc)
I'm a pre- first time owner. :-)
Hello everyone. I'm new here and though I don't have a Cav yet, I'm hoping to add one to our family soon. I've been doing lots and lots of research and have contacted a few breeders. I've found a lovely breeder not too far from me who has been very helpful and informative, answering all my questions and I know she is a reputable and ethical breeder who has been in the Cav field for a long time. I'm very happy with her and am just hoping and praying she will have a pup for me later this year.
In the course of my research I've been in touch with owners of pet Cav's as well as breeders/show people. Everyone agress that Cav's have a delightful temperament and are a great little indoor family dog (just what i want). But then there are the health issues.... I'm well aware that Cav's - as with most other pure breeds - are prone to certain health problems and that truly ethical breeding is what I need to be looking for in order to maximise the chances of healthy pups. However one owner I heard from told me she has had 6 Cav's and they were amazing dogs but ALL of them died by 4 years old. Three died of heart troubles (MVD I suppose), two from stomach cancer (and both had heart murmers as well) and the other had hip and eye problems and died of a blood infection I think. Two of her dogs came from the same breeder and had the same mothers but different fathers, the others came from different breeders. She didn't say how long ago this was except to say it was over 4 years ago and there were no health checks done like there are these days. She said they all came from "high end" breeders. I would guess that perhaps she didn't realise that just because someone is a registered breeder and charges a high price for their pups, it doesn't necessarily mean that person is an ethical breeder. ? I mean, surely that is not normal. It seems like a shockingly high incidence of illness causing premature death. It made me very sad to read of her experiences, but strangely, it didn't put me off wanting to bring a beautiful Cav into our family.
Oh also, I know two ladies who bought their Cav's at pet shops (something I would never ever do) as they couldn't find breeders with girls available. They must have been lucky - so far anyway - as all three dogs (girls) remain healthy and their hearts have been fine at their regular vet checkups. They are 18 months, 6 years and 7 years of age now.
