Come and talk to me about Cavalier King Charles

[DollyDayScream]

We are considering this breed as a family pet.

Are they easy going? Will they cope well with children?

How much exercise do they require as a daily minimum?

Are there any breed pitfalls? Hips?

How do we find a decent breeder?

Do they shed excessively? I know that they need regular grooming, but providing that this is done satisfactorily do they shed much?

A puppy will be with someone 24/7 and very rarely alone - just to pop out here and there.

Lots of support, but we need to make the right breed choice for temperament over looks. I would like a Westie, but I know in my heart that it's not a good family dog.

Hi there. I own 3 so think I can help!

Yes very easy going, loving family dogs. Love children and people in general.

They are brilliant in terms of exercise. They obviously love walks and would like about an hour a day, but if at the weekend you wanted to go on a longer walk they could quite happily. Equally if one day you could only manage a 15 min trot around the block they would be fine with it.

As a breed they have notoriously bad eyes, hearts and issues with syringomyelia. All three can be tested for, and both parents should be eye tested, heart clear, MRI scanned and DNA tested for dry eye and curly coat. However even with all testing done there are no guarantees pup won’t be affected. This is especially true for MRI scanning and syringomyelia as the mode of inheritance has not been determined.

Decent breeder, best way is through the kennel club. They have an accredited breeders list. Absolutely NOT pet buying websites.

I wouldn’t say they shed excessively, nowhere near the scale of a Labrador or Rottweiler. However they do shed even when brushed daily so bear that in mind.

Their main issue is their health problems and unfortunately it ruins what is otherwise an absolutely perfect breed in every way.

I'll get in touch with the Kennel Club.
I've seen a Cavaliers website, but not sure who is on it.

Why do you not think Westies are good family dogs? They're great!

I wouldn't. For the syringomyelia alone. My understanding is it can't be bred out of the breed so you can't guarantee a pup won't have it.
But the best way isn't actually the kennel club for any breed. It's the breed club or society.
Westies have their own issues. Skin etc.

I had a cavalier for years when I was a little girl and she was a friendly and loving. I used to carry her around like a doll (as a kid I didn't know better) and she never snapped or objected at all so definitely great with kids. She didn't like particularly long walks and could be a little lazy. But she had terrible issues with her eyes which cost a fortune in vet bills

Cavaliers are tops!! And so intelligent too. Here's mine reading

I own a 12 year old Cav whom I've had since he was a pup, so here's my input:

Are they easy going? Will they cope well with children?

Very. They're fun loving and adore attention so don't mind having their feet tickled and so on. We don't have children but mine often gets petted when out for a walk and takes it in his stride. They're good with cats as well.

How much exercise do they require as a daily minimum?

Absolute minimum would be two 15 min walks in my opinion. They are very flexible, though, and will keep going all day if you take them on a day out. Mine gets two short walks and one long walk most days.

Are there any breed pitfalls? Hips?

Here is the bad news - there are some very serious ones. Heart murmurs are considered almost inevitable by the time they reach middle age. Syringomyelia is also having a devastating impact on the breed - this can cause severe pain and seizures. If you google this, be prepared for distressing images.

How do we find a decent breeder?

We found ours via the Kennel Club - be prepared to go on a waiting list. Unfortunately Cavaliers are popular with puppy farmers and there are lots advertised online - these are to be avoided.

Do they shed excessively? I know that they need regular grooming, but providing that this is done satisfactorily do they shed much?

Yes, they shed a lot even when groomed regularly, particularly in warm weather. Because they are long haired, the shed hairs quickly build up and show on your carpets. Be prepared to accept some hairs, or to vacuum twice a day!

Their main issue is their health problems and unfortunately it ruins what is otherwise an absolutely perfect breed in every way.

Agree totally with @Squeaky Chicken's closing comment.

I had my beautiful Molly for 15 years, she died last year 😢

She was absolutely amazing around children, I have pics of me pregnant with her resting her head on my bump. When my twinnies were born she'd sleep at the bottom of their Moses baskets, if they cried she'd be over to see them.

Their temperament is lovely, she didn't have a nasty bone in her body. I want another one but I'm not quite ready yet.

Sorry for the emotional post! It's all still very raw

Thank you everybody.

The health issues sound gravely serious, but otherwise they sound ideal.

If very selective with breeders is it possible to get a healthy dog or is some ailment unavoidable?

@Elliss2018 .

They are lovely. But get a pedigree one and as people said check for heart conditions etc

They are lovely dogs, but as other posters have said, the health issues are common and serious. My parents had two. Both from a reputable breeder. The first had the heart issue (MVD, I think?). The other had syringomyelia. Both horrible, horrible illnesses and deaths. The vet was scathing of breeding practices, not just of puppy farms but of supposedly reputable Cavalier breeders too. The poster above who described the breed as having been “ruined” is not, imo, exaggerating, and I personally feel it’s wrong to contribute to any demand for a breed where so many dogs will suffer.

We are paying over £160 per month on meds for our 11 year old Cav. Heart and syringomyelia. SM since age 2.5 (£60/mo) and heart since age 5 or so. The cost just went up as another heart med has been added in.

She has the most gorgeous temperament. Never bitten or even growled or barked at our 18mo DS even when he has managed to grab and pull her ears or tease her with his food.

I wish the breed didn't have these issues. They are such lovely creatures.

Lots of shedding but we don't care. She is so lovely.

If these dogs have such serious and well known health problems then why are they still bred?

There is some detailed information about MRI screening for syringomyelia here which might help explain how risks can be minimised:

www.cavalierhealth.org/smprotocol.htm

Breeding dogs/bitches should routinely be heart-tested, but this tests for early-onset heart-disease. By the age of 7-8 heart murmurs are very common, but not necessarily debilitating. Mine was diagnosed with a heart murmur 5 years ago and it doesn't seem to affect him - the vet has not put him on any medication.

My molly had a heart murmur diagnosed when she was around 7 but it then disappeared. She was healthy up until the last few weeks of her life; the vet said she'd never seen a cav live as long as 15 before.

Absolutely a perfect family dog! Had one growing up and she was gorgeous, loved EVERYONE (crap guard dogs!), loved attention and being lazy, oh and food
She had very severe heart murmur from about 6 years old and lasted until she was 11 bless her, but those years were progressively a struggle for her and in the end could hardly walk to the end of the road. Also very expensive in vet fees for my mum.

One day I would love to have another, but I would do my research (think my mum bought from local paper) and definitely get health checked.

RiverTam I know of several reputable breeders who have stopped breeding, for that reason.

That’s good to hear.

Could you get a healthy one? It's possible.
Can you guarantee that you won't buy a dog with a syryngomyelia? No.
If you don't know what it is then it's an awful. Bloody painful condition.
I have never met a nasty cavalier but I wouldn't consider one because of the health issues.

What could've done to save the breed?

I suppose that other pedigree spaniels (such as cockier) also come with their own problems. So mixing in some wouldn't necessarily solve the problem.

I read a comment on MN once from an Australian poster who said the Cavalier breeding stock there is much, much healthier, so perhaps the future lies in international breeding, if the obvious logistical issues could be overcome.

I understand the issues have developed from the dogs having a limited gene pool, so outcrossing of some kind sounds like the only answer - I don't know enough about it to know how other breeds could be added to breeding programmes without losing the essential qualities of the Cavalier.

Does the breed need saving? The poor things have been deliberately bred to look a certain way with appalling results. I think breeding should simply be stopped. I don’t know how you can live with a pet you know has been bred with these issues. There are surely plenty of heathy dogs one can have for a pet?

Quite a narrow minded view there.

It’s a topic that’s so much more broad and diverse than just “stop breeding”. For people who have owned and loved this breed for 40+ years it’s unthinkable to just stop.

There has already been improvement, and you are far less likely to see a Cavalier badly affected by SM at a young age than you were 10 years ago. Although the majority of Cavaliers still have SM, a fair number are now asymptomatic. There is still a huge way to go of course but for those that love the breed (and just from this thread you can grasp how popular they are) it is something worth fighting for.

The other side of this is of course that it would only be the decent breeders that would stop, paving the way for the pet breeders to churn out their untested and unhealthy Cavaliers as a replacement.