Breed Help...please!

[julesluvscavs]

I have a 6 month old ruby cavalier and so far no shedding although I have been warned that may happen as she gets older :laugh: Cavs are very much family dogs, loving to be with their people but many people who owns cavs do work and their cavs cope well. My girl split her time from being inside with me to sitting outside during the day. 30 min walk would satisfy a cav :) Cavs are extremely cuddly

My second choice would be a cocker spaniel. I think they would be happy with a 30 min walk but I think you would need to walk them every day (unlike cavs who can miss a day if needed). I think a cocker spaniel would require more grooming than a cav though.

Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!!

When I first started researching breeds I was also very concerned. But I have to say that since joining numerous cavalier online groups I am very pleasantly surprised to find out how many cavs live to a ripe an old. I also think that the cav personality far outweighs any potential health concerns

Hi Maybel :)

If you are reluctant about getting a Cav and for whatever reasons you and your husband have about them thats fine . However I'm a passionate Cavalier owner and just want to say even tho do have known genetic health issues, it doesn't mean they all going get sickly and die. There's no guarantees with life long perfect health with any breed of dog or us humans. I've owned hardy type x's and they have had their own health issues in the years I owned them.

I was fully aware about Cavaliers and their known genetic issues when we started looking into them. We did our best to find breeders that were trying to do the right thing by their breed.

One of Cavs 'Renae' has just turned 12 and she only now has the mildest form of a heart murmur (which the vet can only just hear) She's on no meds for it. She has had some health issues last couple years as she's gotten older as can happen with everything that gets older.

Her son Joey did pass away unexpectedly last year at the age of 9 but it was from a brain tumour. He had been healthy up to the that point and was still heart clear and showing no signs of having any heart problems. When he was younger we thought he had done his patellas, but it wasn't .. It was just from him running around quickly and straining his muscle. Patella problems don't just happen in Cavaliers anyway. (BTW Joey's brothers and sisters from his litter are still going along healthily)

I have a facebook group for cavalier owners, and i also know lots of people that own them and we also go along to the fun days at the Cavalier club of SA (have for many years) Many are healthy and live to good ages (altho Cavalier don't have a long life unfortunately) having said that I have known Cavs to get to about 16 or 17. Most i have known personally have passed away between 10 and 14.

I also have a almost 2 year old, so far so good (she's come from a reliable registered breeder) and 4 year old (unknown background) but he's super healthy atm with no known heart issues. Sometimes heart issues don't come out till they are about 6 or 7 onwards. Altho badly bred ones that can heart problems right from when they were puppies Not all heart murmurs are sinister, some can live with them for years and not get any worse or need any meds

The biggest thing they advice you (proper breeders of them) is to keep them lean, exercise them regularly and feed them healthy diets. Not allowing them to get overweight is hard but its very important!

They can be as energetic or lazy as you want them to be. I have friends who compete successfully in agility with theirs.

Most of them do shed to some degree and they will need regular grooming. Our house and clothes are full of hairs. We are not into clipping them (just general tidying up of their paws etc), some people do go the whole way tho (but they don't need to be)

Ours prefer being indoors with us, and I am home most of the time with them. However if my husband is home and working down the back , they love going down there with him and playing ( well the 2 younger ones do )

The love they put out is exceptional and the majority of them have fantastic temperaments for being around kids, other people, other dogs and other pets. We have a bunny and 2 cats.

Sure the health problems are a valid concern but they certainly haven't put me off owning them or people i know who own them :)

Like any breed of dog make sure you do plenty of research, go visit some at shows, see if the breed you are interested in has a club and fun days for pet owners. That way you can see for yourself and ask owners what they are like, their health etc .

Whatever breed you end up getting, I wish you all the best :)

Edited August 2, 2014 by Jules❤3Cavs

[maybel]

I have a 6 month old ruby cavalier and so far no shedding although I have been warned that may happen as she gets older :laugh: Cavs are very much family dogs, loving to be with their people but many people who owns cavs do work and their cavs cope well. My girl split her time from being inside with me to sitting outside during the day. 30 min walk would satisfy a cav :) Cavs are extremely cuddly

My second choice would be a cocker spaniel. I think they would be happy with a 30 min walk but I think you would need to walk them every day (unlike cavs who can miss a day if needed). I think a cocker spaniel would require more grooming than a cav though.

Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!!

When I first started researching breeds I was also very concerned. But I have to say that since joining numerous cavalier online groups I am very pleasantly surprised to find out how many cavs live to a ripe an old. I also think that the cav personality far outweighs any potential health concerns

Hi Maybel :)

If you are reluctant about getting a Cav and for whatever reasons you and your husband have about them thats fine . However I'm a passionate Cavalier owner and just want to say even tho do have known genetic health issues, it doesn't mean they all going get sickly and die. There's no guarantees with life long perfect health with any breed of dog or us humans. I've owned hardy type x's and they have had their own health issues in the years I owned them.

I was fully aware about Cavaliers and their known genetic issues when we started looking into them. We did our best to find breeders that were trying to do the right thing by their breed.

One of Cavs 'Renae' has just turned 12 and she only now has the mildest form of a heart murmur (which the vet can only just hear) She's on no meds for it. She has had some health issues last couple years as she's gotten older as can happen with everything that gets older.

Her son Joey did pass away unexpectedly last year at the age of 9 but it was from a brain tumour. He had been healthy up to the that point and was still heart clear and showing no signs of having any heart problems. When he was younger we thought he had done his patellas, but it wasn't .. It was just from him running around quickly and straining his muscle. Patella problems don't just happen in Cavaliers anyway. (BTW Joey's brothers and sisters from his litter are still going along healthily)

I have a facebook group for cavalier owners, and i also know lots of people that own them and we also go along to the fun days at the Cavalier club of SA (have for many years) Many are healthy and live to good ages (altho Cavalier don't have a long life unfortunately) having said that I have known Cavs to get to about 16 or 17. Most i have known personally have passed away between 10 and 14.

I also have a almost 2 year old, so far so good (she's come from a reliable registered breeder) and 4 year old (unknown background) but he's super healthy atm with no known heart issues. Sometimes heart issues don't come out till they are about 6 or 7 onwards. Altho badly bred ones that can heart problems right from when they were puppies Not all heart murmurs are sinister, some can live with them for years and not get any worse or need any meds

The biggest thing they advice you (proper breeders of them) is to keep them lean, exercise them regularly and feed them healthy diets. Not allowing them to get overweight is hard but its very important!

They can be as energetic or lazy as you want them to be. I have friends who compete successfully in agility with theirs.

Most of them do shed to some degree and they will need regular grooming. Our house and clothes are full of hairs. We are not into clipping them (just general tidying up of their paws etc), some people do go the whole way tho (but they don't need to be)

Ours prefer being indoors with us, and I am home most of the time with them. However if my husband is home and working down the back , they love going down there with him and playing ( well the 2 younger ones do )

The love they put out is exceptional and the majority of them have fantastic temperaments for being around kids, other people, other dogs and other pets. We have a bunny and 2 cats.

Sure the health problems are a valid concern but they certainly haven't put me off owning them or people i know who own them :)

Like any breed of dog make sure you do plenty of research, go visit some at shows, see if the breed you are interested in has a club and fun days for pet owners. That way you can see for yourself and ask owners what they are like, their health etc .

Whatever breed you end up getting, I wish you all the best :)

Thanks Jules that's excellent advice. We are very experienced in the "dog health lottery" - our most expensive dog (in terms of vet bills etc) was actually a cross breed. It looks like there are great breeders out there doing all the tests etc so I don't have major concerns. Such a shame the public perception has been affected by bad breeders and media.

[julesluvscavs]

Thanks Jules that's excellent advice. We are very experienced in the "dog health lottery" - our most expensive dog (in terms of vet bills etc) was actually a cross breed. It looks like there are great breeders out there doing all the tests etc so I don't have major concerns. Such a shame the public perception has been affected by bad breeders and media.

I believe in being honest about my fav breed's known genetic health issues but yes bad breeders and media are a lot to blame for giving them bad publicity :)