asal

Because even well trained dogs have a brain fade, or do something naughty when home alone. ooo what an understatement. the neighboourhood was being burgled regularly soooo thought it might be a good idea to leave my australian cattledog in the house. 1. so she was safe from being hurt or baited 2. dog in house might be more off putting to intending burgler. sooo what do i find when i get home? jodie had been doing the wall of death along all the windowsills. the sunroom has fishtanks and dozens of potplants. only took a whole dayto repot the survivors and clean the mess out of the fish tanks.. no fish died amazingly jodi? had a ball, she said

i for one would never go to an offlead park and let my dog loose if others were there, to do so is to acknowledge i am prepared to risk losing my dog if its attacked, fatal injuries can be inflicted in seconds. if i do so choose i wont be posting my poor didums was attacked there either. a group of dogs loose is a potential receipe for disaster as well as fun. its like the surfer who dives into the sea and complains if they hit the bottom and are injoured, that the council is to blame. or dive into a wave and bang into a shark, i was lucky it was a wobigong who didnt retaliate. even wobigong's can bite, especially at such close quarters as that. nor do i pretend diddums couldnt do exactly the same to somone elses either. theres risk assessment and a decision to take or not take such risk. well there was. now its no one seems to take responsibility for bad outcomes anymore.

im sorry if what i said came across as bull bashing, i meant it as the ego centric creatures attracted to what they perceive as an extension of their egos. regardless of which breed is in favour at the time, i knew the pitty would attact these types in droves and time has bourne that out unfortunately, the mentality has selecting for the most savage for future generations a priority, again regardless of the breed of choice. my family had cattledogs before i was born. when there was a litter, the number of people who ask "how savage are the parents" is proof posative this mentality exists all right. a true cattle dog is not savage. it guards its family and their belongings and doesnt go on alert until family or belongings are under threat. never forget at the tip one day, two chaps were walking by the truck, jody was sitting in the passenger seat looking through the open window interestedly watching proceedings, they suddenly realised she was watching them, they suddenly did a huge circle well away from the truck. she hadnt done anything but look at them. huge difference. my parents would NEVER leave two running loose, knowing one would egg the other on to mischief . ALSO all fences were totlly secure, none of their dogs were ever permitted to roam of the property. its good manners and GOOD SENSE. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BOTH? P.S.love saffies

It ran onto the road because it was being attacked by the other dogs. So they are directly responsible for the dogs death. The only thing sensational about the title is the reference to pit bulls. The headline actually says "Guide dog killed after being ambushed by pit bulls in Bellfield in Melbourne's northeast" This is true, but what if it was something else that had startled the dog? It wouldn't even have made the news then. Say it was a windy day and there was a tarp that suddenly moved, the dog startled and jumped into the road. My dogs have almost done this on several occasions. What if it had been a golden that suddenly jumped out from behind a corner and startled the dog? Other than the pit bull type dogs involved, it's not even worth reporting. True, but the guide dog was not startled by anything else but 4 dogs, pit bulls or other breed, it doesn't matter what. The fact is that these dogs attacked and mauled a cocker spaniel and then chased the guide dog onto the road. What would have happened if the blind owner was with the guide dog, and not his brother at the time? Why are you making excuses for these brutes whatever their breed happens to be? maybe it was their dogs that did the "startle" ? The behaviour of the 2 attacked dogs is irrelevant. They were on lead, the attacking dog were off lead. The responsibility lies with the attacking dogs owner. Are you saying that the guide dog and the cocker were "asking for it" somehow? curious isnt it, same mentality towards rape victums? no dogs should be allowed to be loose unleashed. full stop. until thats a chargable offence and enforced we will continue to see such tragedie's

until there is muscle and fines sufficient to make sure people actually make sure their dogs ARE under control and not loose this will occur over and over again. one dog can attack, put them in numbers and the gentlest can become something you never imagined possible, even human packs are terrifying. never forget the bondi riots.... its not just dogs in a pack that are dangerous regarless of breed

I never forget the video i saw of a women dog catcher in america being torn to bits by a pit bull she had been sent to catch, the attack was sickening and the dog just kept leaping and ripping at her arms legs body i still cant believe any humane person could film such horror instead of going to the womans aid. that was before even the first pit foot ever landed in australia. it was a guarantee that such dogs would be bought by every ego manic in the country. dogs like that are a magnet for such people, before they were german shepherds, dobermans, rotties and every pig cross imaginable but not until some idiot allowed the importation of the pittie has the massacres become so sickening. although quite a few other breeds pupular with the mafia and such are equally as capable, saw an add for 10 cane corsos pasted in a shop window beside a for sale add for 9 pitties. just written up on sheets of quarto paper. long as there are people whose egos need their tough dog status symbol all are potentially in danger sadly when that lot grow up, whats the odds, more headlines waiting unfortunately.

It ran onto the road because it was being attacked by the other dogs. So they are directly responsible for the dogs death. The only thing sensational about the title is the reference to pit bulls. The headline actually says "Guide dog killed after being ambushed by pit bulls in Bellfield in Melbourne's northeast" This is true, but what if it was something else that had startled the dog? It wouldn't even have made the news then. Say it was a windy day and there was a tarp that suddenly moved, the dog startled and jumped into the road. My dogs have almost done this on several occasions. What if it had been a golden that suddenly jumped out from behind a corner and startled the dog? Other than the pit bull type dogs involved, it's not even worth reporting. True, but the guide dog was not startled by anything else but 4 dogs, pit bulls or other breed, it doesn't matter what. The fact is that these dogs attacked and mauled a cocker spaniel and then chased the guide dog onto the road. What would have happened if the blind owner was with the guide dog, and not his brother at the time? Why are you making excuses for these brutes whatever their breed happens to be? maybe it was their dogs that did the "startle" ?

Ho well Ive made the decision no more a breeder. just gave away my two about to whelp girls to a friend. This was last staw what happend this week. still cant believe it. had the rspca around. some hero of the abused reported me for transporting my dogs 'crammed' in "boxes" in the back of my station waggon and added they looked like they lived in them as well? since when were fully legal carry crates "boxes" for starters. now you can be reported for not having your dogs safely contained during transport and just as legitamatly reported for 'cramming' them into "boxes"? no complaints about the lady inspector . really nice person, but cant take or cope with "the guilty until proven innocent" mentallity that is the general public if you breed, any more. Some potential puppy buyers just are not to be belived are for real. but they are. as one lady asked me "how can you prostitute your fur baby like this?" when I asked her what are you talking about she said "would you sell your grandchild? this is no different?" like what the? she wanted the puppy, she was prepared to buy the puppy, yet she despised me because, to her eyes, I was no better than a prostitute if I could part with the puppy? its weird. Today if you dont keep every puppy you breed a growing percentage out there despise you and report you for any thing, even transporting puppies or parents can get you reported. considering the stringy nightmare has taught me that it doesnt matter that your dog has nothing wrong with it is going to protect either your dog from dozens of unnecessary testing and resulting income (you HAVE TO PAY) EVEN when the testing proves he/she is healthy all costs are at your expense. as the head of the dept of agriculture to whom the rspca is accountable to report their activities for the year. assured me, my dog had now had a complete work up . so this complaint could easily end up with a repeat of the stringy episode if the inspector is another donnelly to decide to "form the opinion" such tests are necessarily in the "best interests" Nope end of the line for me, cant cope risking another being punished for being mine.

I agree, you should not sell to someone just for breeding, or someone who did not believe in the same things as you. But we have been showing now for over 39 years - not just with Cavaliers, with great success at local, interstate and Royal shows. Despite the fact that all the Cavaliers I have owned have eventually turned out sick or suffering from great genetic faults such as patella's I have managed to title 3 of them before they sucumbed to thier diseases. I have never asked for a dog primarily for breeding, but rather to put in the show ring first, and eventually breed with them, IF they turned out to be breeding quality. When approaching the 'top' kennels I have offered to co-own the dog, sign any contract they care to offer me, and even only breed with thier permission regarding what dog and when, etc, etc. I have never been blacklisted, pissed anyone off, am great friends with many in the show world, done ANYTHING dodgy - in fact it would be the opposite. I have had 8 Cavaliers from 6 different breeders that were sold to me on main register, show potential. Because of thier faults (patellas, heart murmurs, etc) I have not bred in my 15 years. Less scrupulous people would of, and if i had a dollar for each time I had been told to 'take my chances' I would be a millionaire! I have been promised throughout those years HUNDREDS of puppies from great bloodlines. I get my hopes up, only to have them dashed. Something ALWAYS happens. Not with dogs, but always with bitches. i understand why, but it is still very frustrating. I WILL NOT breed from crap, unhealthy dogs, or dogs who do not meet my strict requirements, and that has meant I have had nothing to breed from, so really I am NOT a breeder, but just a showie with a big dream. from my limited experience obviously because the show scene does zilch for me. all the people i have met want their dog as a pet. as healthy a pet as possible. I know when i whet shopping for my sister it took me 6 months to find a breeder who ticked the boxes i had written up as must haves. you were incredibly unlucky we were and are very happy with ours. i only know three who actually went on to become breeders, n ive had as i said chihuahua's since 78 i think I have met a few hundred, if not more, happy to be pet owners. my guessamate as to the percentage to end up actually breeding would be something less than 1 in a hundred. so all these others seem to hve met racing to become breeders I have missed meeting.

As for the OP's question, yes they sure are around. no problems with mine, well except for the one the neighbour ran over. sis now has her second pair and they are over 12 months old and she thinks they are awesome, their breeder had heaps of old dogs, descended from the same family as the first two. can i mention the kennel name? Its Pribar, really nice lady

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.

Ho love it. my friend Colin's, Boxer can do the same without needing to carry a stick, his undocked tail is about the same weight and damage capacity as a baseball bat. I learned from experience. You seem to get the same sort of look when trying to explain. yes I've been kneecapped. how? the boxer did it. no not a boxing human. the dog. a boxer dog.. canine dog... his breed is boxer....... ummm dont think they believe me somehow.? how did it? with his tail. nope they think Im not going to admit hubby did it I suspect. maybe you should always take the doggy weapon of mass distruction with you perhaps

Car sense and self preservation from same are two genes we need dna selection testing found soon as possible for, that would be wonderfull, I suspect cars account for more than every other cause of death with this darling dogs. It should be noted on every puppy before purchase, no fence no sale. as for gates maybe all of them should have spring closures just in case they dont latch properly

forgot as another said, look for breeders with old dogs, my sisters dogs grandmum and great grand mum were still with their breeder when they were born and were 11 and 13. miffie lived to 15 and her sisters, champagne to 13, tequila to 14, they did have a 4th sister tiki died only 3, who was run over by a neighbour, who as he said, "I speeded up, but she didnt get out of the way" Unfortunatly I had to watch it unfold as I ran towards her calling her to come back, I saw him run her down too terrified to turn off the drive and get out of the way of his car, when he gunned the motor she lay down and was killed by the passenger wheels. the side gate had been accidently left open and she had ran out and along his driveway as he was leaving for work, he wasnt even running late. That was the hardest to come to terms with. apparently, to stop long enough to let me pick her up wasnt an option. He was my family doctor till that day. To me if you dont have enough humanity to let her live what do you think of your patients?

Realised after a lot of thinking about the topic, if you want the best chance of a healthy pup forget asking does the breeder show. ask are the parents and grandparents checked and have certificates or vet reports to prove it. regarless of whether the breeder has registered parents and grandparents or simply unpapered purebreds. if the breeder cant find a sale for puppys from unchecked and/or un dna'ed parents then they wont be breeding another litter too often would they. as for the kennels who are dead ends , so what, even if the numbers of registered dogs drops to unstainable levels. I realised thats exactly what happened to the Stumpy Tailed Cattledog and the registry began a grading up scheme from the available unregistered Stumpies. so the breed is back on track anyway (by the time the grading up scheme was implemented there was only one registered breeder left in the country so all wont be lost after all. they will just embrace the remining entire purebreds that fit the standard back into a grading up scheme anyway. why didnt i remember that before.. no doom for breeds at all that drop too far in registered numbers...

LOl from what Ive seen the owner is trying to make it clear their staffy isnt a american/pit bull. most of the local shop windows are no longer putting they have pitbulls for sale they are amstaffs now, just not papers of course. thats what bsl has accomplished, just a name change. no thats too simplistic, n the deaths of a lot of innocent dogs

This might be a bit obvious, but doesn't the second point override the third? How can you breed before 5 years of age if they have to be MVD tested until 5 and be clear? I am not a breeder (only a first time dog owner) but is there a maximum age that a dog should have it's first litter by, and is there an age at which it is best to stop breeding at? For a dog, 5 years seems like a long time to wait to have a litter. Part of me wonders how much human intervention has affected certain breeds - in most species it is expected there will be genetic factors that will affect some of the offspring, call it 'natural selection' or genetics or mutations or whatever. Not all offspring will be healthy, live to an old age and be extremely fertile and produce vigorous offspring themselves. To expect perfection is not a reality. For breeders to expect perfection is not a reality. For buyers to expect perfection is not a reality. I know that there has been a lot of good done to eradicate nasty genetics but the fact is, there are genes present in any species or breed that could potentially mutate or recessive genes that may not be "shown" but are being passed on and will in the future generations be "shown" when 2 recessive parents are mated. The reason inbreeding creates problems is that it is more likely that recessive genes end up being "shown" and mated together and carried on to offspring (like the "royals" with haemophilia in times past). Unless you can map the 2 parent's genomes and know every single possible genetic outcome of breeding them you have to take what the luck of the draw is. Breeders can do their best to predict, but none can give any sort of guarantees. Personally, I used a number of website "what breed suits me" quizzes to make a short-list of possibilities from there I did some research and decided that despite a possible short lifespan (compared with other breeds) and possible illness, that the CKCS was indeed the "perfect" breed for us. I think you firstly need to decide the best breed for your circumstances and be prepared for what that breed may entail - health-wise or other, and if you aren't prepared for that then look at another breed. Your observations are just so sensible you make me hope maybe there might be a future. but how to get this message back out there, instead of expecting the impossible from a breeder and deamonising them when the obvious does occur. that is why the phrase exists "put the best to the best and hope for the best" thats reality. as you so well said. The other downer to potential puppy buyers is being constantly told by the self styled "precious ethicals" to ask. "do you show" and cross of the list any breeder, even though a member with registered dogs as a puppy farmer. there is nothing. be it NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, SA, WA or NT. (NOT yet anyway) in the membership rules of any state canine council, that state to own and breed your main registered dogs they MUST be shown. Yet this is what the self labled "ethicals" are labeling those who choose not to show as "unethical" and what some for decades have used as the reason to justify using the RSPCA (and only too happy to oblidge to the best of thir abilty, as I discovered with Inspector Donnelly) to persecute those who do not agree with them or end up on the black list for whatever reasons, even those who do show,have found themselves on the 'to be purged for the good of the breed list'. nice world the dog show fraternity. there is a way, go back to the bad old days of the 50's and early 70's when everyone worked together and encouraged newbies and each other, freely exchanging bloodlines for the good of the breed instead of just 'their' kennel. even those with all the tests done and proven will not release any but a limit register pup these days, or face the music. one lady I met does sell on main register, the catch being the puppies are already desexed before they go. not much improvement for future generations there but they are great pups and do come with a lifetime guarantee, well for as long as she is a member anyway. LOL

Now Who was it wondeering why you cant find main register puppies and members are not renewing? and how do u find those with healthy parents of any breed let alone the adorable cavalier? my friends thought they would help and showed some of mine for me and ok they became champions in less than a year. but what did that really achieve? all it really did was delay the 'precious ethicals' some championship points for their darlings for that year, didt it? didnt make my dogs any better than I already knew they were surely?

Please tell me where too look!?! I KNOW there are healthy Cavaliers out there that would be FANTASTIC in my breeding programme, the problem is those quality breeders will not reply my emails, or if they do, I never hear back from them when litters are born. I know I am not alone in this. Maybe in the 'pet' world it is easier, but when you are trying to establish a breeding programme you need healthy, well constructed bitches. And they are rare to be able to obtain. cant help you, its the new age now, if you going to be seen to be "ethical" your kennels are a closed shop. so if anyone is willing to sell you a pup on main they will immediately become one of the "unethical " and fair game for attack . my dog stringy paid almost with his life because I chose not to show and as a result was marked for elimination by our ho so ethical showie ranks. as letter from the then minister for agriculture Richard Amery says. "Thank you for your letter of 30 April 2001 regarding the seizure of your dog 'Stringy"' by the RSPCA. This whole incident has clearly been distressing for you. However , it would seem that the appeaance of your dog breeding establishment and several of your animals attracted the attention of at leaast one other breeder who was concerned about the rputation of the industry, the conduct of your business and the welfare of some of your dogs. The RSPCA is obliged to investigate genuine complaints regarding animal welfare and to pursue what they believe" ill put the rest later have to go out. the gist is the rspca were used to find something anything to charge me so i could be kicked out of the membership of the canine council. unfortunately for their brief 21 needle inseertions, torn trachea doing an op he didnt need nor could be done by any vet without the owers permission failed to find them anything to charge me for so brief not accomplished. so you see dont anger the precious or your dogs will pay even if you dont. nice eh? its not just savage dogs that are dangerous, its the even more savage showies so just what are the implications of that letter? 1. the RSPCA is often used to persecute anyone the showies dont like. 2. as in the case of my dog. "If you conduct your business as outlined in the Code of Practice for dog breeding establishments you will have nothing to fear from further visits from RSPCA inspectors" is a load of lies. there was not one single breech of said code yet he was taken and tested for conditions he did not have yet I had to pay them for. They made over $500 dollars from that convenient call. 3. by law I am supposed to be told the nature of the complaint at the first visit. Inspector Donnely refused to disclose anything. just that i would be advised by mail. I never was. 4. by law i am supposed to have 2 weeks to rectify any thing needing to be done. Inspector Donnely refused to disclose anything, advised i would receive a letter by mail. I never did. 5. he returned two weeks later and stole my dog, then cited to Richard Amery the dog was seized because i had not had the dog taken for verterinary appraisal. 6. when I pointed these breeches of law to Ricard amery he replied in that letter i am quoting "I do not feel that the RSCPA HAS ACTED OUTSIDE THE LAW OR UNREASONABLY IN THIS MATTER" (MY CAPITALS.) so beware folks there is no appeal and still isnt.

This might be a bit obvious, but doesn't the second point override the third? How can you breed before 5 years of age if they have to be MVD tested until 5 and be clear? I am not a breeder (only a first time dog owner) but is there a maximum age that a dog should have it's first litter by, and is there an age at which it is best to stop breeding at? For a dog, 5 years seems like a long time to wait to have a litter. Part of me wonders how much human intervention has affected certain breeds - in most species it is expected there will be genetic factors that will affect some of the offspring, call it 'natural selection' or genetics or mutations or whatever. Not all offspring will be healthy, live to an old age and be extremely fertile and produce vigorous offspring themselves. To expect perfection is not a reality. For breeders to expect perfection is not a reality. For buyers to expect perfection is not a reality. I know that there has been a lot of good done to eradicate nasty genetics but the fact is, there are genes present in any species or breed that could potentially mutate or recessive genes that may not be "shown" but are being passed on and will in the future generations be "shown" when 2 recessive parents are mated. The reason inbreeding creates problems is that it is more likely that recessive genes end up being "shown" and mated together and carried on to offspring (like the "royals" with haemophilia in times past). Unless you can map the 2 parent's genomes and know every single possible genetic outcome of breeding them you have to take what the luck of the draw is. Breeders can do their best to predict, but none can give any sort of guarantees. Personally, I used a number of website "what breed suits me" quizzes to make a short-list of possibilities from there I did some research and decided that despite a possible short lifespan (compared with other breeds) and possible illness, that the CKCS was indeed the "perfect" breed for us. I think you firstly need to decide the best breed for your circumstances and be prepared for what that breed may entail - health-wise or other, and if you aren't prepared for that then look at another breed. HO my! THANK you soo much. I was beginning to think sanity and common sense had dissappeared where dogs were concerned. maybe there might be hope? you are right. leaving a bitch to 5 before being bred, quite a percentage will have been desexed due to pymetra (unterine infection) as my vet explained, dogs were not evolved to go years without being in pup. the ideal is the bitch have her puppies young and desexed to live out her old age in comfort. now its all back to front. the older the mother the higher the incidence of deformed eggs. just look at the percentage of babies born with downes in the human race, dogs have their own version too. aging maternal eggs mean more damaged eggs fertalized and more problems than babies born to mums with young healthier eggs. but hey maybe puppies born with doggie downs are preferable ? remember the downs damaged eggs pass on the now damaged chromosones down through the generations so what wasnt in the parents is now in the descendants. the older the parents the more chance of mutations in the offspring due to the advanced age of the mother. but hey our representatives on the boards of the canine bodies wont be mentioning that will they? watched the people being interviewed in that doco "pedigree dogs exposed" as the repesentatives of their canine boards was awful to see. our politicions know they dont know the facts when facing an interview so they get their researchers to put it together so they dont look as lost as the dog worlds representatives did. if you run for office and front a press confernece, find out your facts first instead of end up looking silly and selling yourself and the breeds out. they took the easy way out and banned related breedings without explaining that inbreeding or line cannot put in a gene that wasnt already there. aged maternal eggs can and do exactly that, but now we are going to be encouraged to do exactly what? only use aged bitches, by so doing may be free of mitral valve but? .....as a by prodoct getting a higher percentage of puppies born with damaged transmissable altered dna, how many other conditions besides mongolalism (downes syndrome) is added to the gene pool by this route? like what the? just look up the concerns being voiced about the increasing problems linked to our own populations tendancy to older and older mums having their first child. same applies to all species.

I pefer the little harness sets you can buy for a dwarf rabbit, they fit chihuahuas ok as puppies and the normal size rabbit when they are fully grown, that way they cant slip a collar or risk choking either. i get mine from the local produce stores much cheaper than the pet shops too. this is the blue and green tarten one, comes with harness and lead on this chihuahua about 2.02 into harrys video n yes I bred her, sassy by name and nature. http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv-and-video/video/watch/29693626/dr-harry-tv-jumper/1416633/

No, however a lot of traits/working styles/preferences, travel down the line ... I love watching pups 'working' pet sheep or poultry ..and being able to immediately spot the 'style' of their grandparents , etc. Yep, keep mating the shy ones and what do you end up with....boldness lost. Environment and training can assist or cover up issues but when placed under enough pressure I think most dogs revert to whats in their hard wiring. I'm thinking along the lines of Myer Briggs for dogs - adapted personality and true personality. When that bull is staring them down they either have the courage or they don't. I agree that they wont be able to make it an exact science. I was surprised when I have spent time with sheep herders that it can take up to a year to find a suitable pup for a particular handler. Soft handlers need softer dogs...it is a partnership after all. exactly, too often people forget they dont come off an assemly line like cars, applies to ALL living creatures.

Your original question was if it's possible to find a Cav without health issues. Health problems are remarkably common across animal species....and not all are specifically genetic in origin. Many arise from the simple biology of being alive....and interacting with an environment (whether animal or human). Experienced Cav breeders have already given you the state-of-the-art position on specifically genetically acquired health issues in that breed. Makes sense then, for you to track down registered breeders who are on top of their game. I did that for both my breeds of interest and have generally OK health-wise purebreds as pets. They're not kelpies BTW. Yeah, my original question could have been worded much better, but then, I'd had one too many ales at the time (hence the topsy-turvy-title and the lack of tact). Yes another FACT so often overlooked. not all faults are gentic, as my doctor explained after my third miscarriage, experiments in collecting as many miscaried babies as possible disclosed many had failed to develop properly and its natures way of eliminting them before birth. as he said remember you evolved from ONE cell, any mistakes in dividing and disaster, its really a mirical so many conceptions result in healty individuals. thats why many conditions at birth are called congenetial "present at birth" not necessarily gentic in origin muddies the water doesnt it

very well said Jed. But, and there is always a 'but'. what the kennel controls have never done is actually 'educate' their members about breeding dynamics and genetics, its expected newbies and even oldbies do the research themselves and few do. it is not good enough to blame any and all imperfect pups on "inbreeding" that is only a copout. seen to be seen to do something, and ban all mother/son, father/daughteer, brother/sister matings, then sit back with a nice moral smile. what hasnt been addrressed is neither in or line breeding creates what wasnt there in the first place. What it does do is identify carriers immediately if both carry and the carrier outed. then breeding decisions are made as to which or if both parents are clear or free. in and line breeding actually dna tests the involved dogs/horses/cattle/sheep/goats for every dna gene they possess. there is no dna technology yet available that does this and this tool has been in use by breeders/FARMERS for millenia, thats how breeds evolved and were cleaned up of as many gentic failings as possible by the people who did understand this principle and became lauded as the leaders in their field. they are few and far between i grant you. you notice I included the word 'farmer' a farmer IS or once was a very honourable profession. yet like the homosexual group who chose to use "gay" as their new word and the rainbow as they new banner. the dog fraternity decided to brand the lowest of the low as 'puppy farmers'. considering so many of the pius/precious of the show world breed Champion to Champion collecting very impressive pedgrees along the way, thinking this proves how consenitious I am. breeding unrelated to totally unrelated achives many things. yes a very pretty pedigree. yes a parentage with not a clue what deletrious genes are hidden and when they do come out in all their glory, the owner of the bitch declares, the sire is at fault. the owner of the sire declares that bitch is at fault and the fight begins. I have seen hundreds if not thousands of such puppies bred over the decades and it didnt take me long to realise the puppys bred by the in and line breeders resulted in far fewer such puppies than the outcross all the time breeders. Ive seen puppies from "perfect" parents runing accross their feed bowl to scoop up dinner because the bottom jaw is so short its the only way to pick up their food. I did have a wonderful teacher, the genetist Glen Roberts. So I had a mentor to go to for advice and explaination. I have wondered from the moment i became a member of the Canine Council why such material and infomation is not accumulated and diseminated to new and old breeders? it is the learning of the ages. I also wonder why the people elected do not be proactive instead of this constant reactive. I queried the stupid "the more dimunitave preferred" in the chihuahua standard from the day i bought my first chihuahua, blind freddy could see generations doomed to cesearians was the result of (to me anyway) the fools selecting for so small they couldnt deliver anyway but hey they WON..... it took how many decades and "pedigree dogs exposed" documentary to remove it. Why didnt sanity prevail if SHOW BREEDERS are the paragons of virtue they profess to be. NO I do not show, I do not believe I need to dance to the tune of people I no longer respect, yet by not so doing risk the branding of what was a proud title...PUPPY FARMER. no morphed to derogotry by 'show' fraternity. remember those reading this, one of the doyons of the CKC told me to my face she believe within 12 years i could not be able to find a CKC without groin hernias. how negative is that for the welfare of this beautiful breed? its is easy to eliminate, YOU DONT BREED FROM PARENTS WITH THEM. but how can you reduce this in a breed where the judges award challenges to dogs with all three? navel and groin? go look for yourselvs, the show sceenies dont think its a problem yet name me any human with a groin hernia that doesnt get it fixed because its not only uncomfortable but can lead to intestine strangulation? and remember folks, when it became fashionable to get rid of "backyard breeders" I looked out the back door of my friends parroting this stupidity and asked ? "Then when you get rid of those you dont like, what are you going to say when the witch hunt looks out your back door? we all have a back yard". this insanity began in the late 70's. there are far fewer such people than there are good people but witchhunts destroy far more than the target as the freefall in members and dogs is proving. how long before someone realis's proactive instead of reactive, before too late?

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 "