Planning to get a puppy for the new year, when should I start looking?

[bestfakesmile]

I'm planning to get a king charles puppy (preferably a bitch, ideally ruby or black/tan) and would really like it ready to leave it's mum first thing in the new year. When is the best time to start looking? is there a way I which I could find breeders who are planning to have a litter at a suitable time?

Can't answer your actual question, but standing in the freezing rain multiple times per day in January while toilet training a puppy is miserable. Having done it, I wouldn't do it again!

Given how rare the breed is you might not have much choice about when you get the pup. Even in a good year fewer than 200 are bred and last year it was less than 100.

I'd definitely get into the breed club now and ask if they know of any breeders planning litters.

Agree with NewView. Puppies are relentless the only thing keeping me sane at the minute is at least the weather has been good. I'd be in tears if it was cold and wet too!

We met breeder in December- puppy wasn't born until early June

Do you mean cavalier King Charles? They are different to King Charles which are much less popular.

Cavvies are prone to a lot of health problems (heart and brain) so ask a lot of questions about the health of the parents and whether they've had any screening.

If you go on the kennel club website you will find a list of registered breeders.

Second a pps comment about standing out in the cold in winter with a puppy. It's even more fun at 4 am in the morning! Kept a brolly, wellies and a thick coat by the back door, and boy were they needed!

Sorry, I do mean cavalier king charles. I know about the health issues and will take care to look into health of parents.
I've looked on kennel club website but you've no idea if those breeders are 'active' do you?
My family all want a dog now, but I know we will be quite busy for this second half of the year and I want to be able to have lots and lots of time available for the vital settling in period. I think I can make them wait til the new year but no longer than that!

King Charles are rare so starting looking now would be highly unlikely to be a puppy brought home in new year.

If you mean Cavalier King Charles, then it's possible to find one for then but tbh you probably wouldn't get a decent breeder with puppies available for the exact time you want them.

It is absolutely imperative that you get a good breeder with Cavalier, with both parents fully health tested.

Cross post

I would be happy to have it any time in jan/feb so there is flexibility. It seems that there are lots of people advertising puppies available right now, but often say that there's just one left and I would like to be able to pick from a litter so I want to get my name down on a waiting list.
How do you know who is a decent breeder? Is it better to get a puppy from someone's family pet or from a proper breeder?

I met our breeder twice before the dogs were even conceived! We met at her house and we met the mum and saw how she interacted with her dogs etc. We asked questions and she asked us questions!

With good breeders of cavs you will need to be phoning breeders before the litter is born and seeing whether or not they have any litters planned. My pup was born the day before I could get down to meet the breeder - I reserved the last pup in a litter of 8 Ruby (the others were reserved prior to being born - note reservation was not to a specific pup in the litter but to a pup from that litter- the breeder decided which pup would go to which home once he could see their temperaments). I have a Ruby Cav, which was actually my last colour preference, but to have got another colour from a breeder as good as I had found, with such well health tested lines, would have likely taken a very long time. Or I could have waited another year for when the breeder was planning a litter with some black and tan likely. (I now like ruby coloured Cavs a lot - infact they have become my favourite colour).

Ah, obviously the CKCS is much more popular but finding a breeder doing all the appropriate health tests can be extremely difficult so, again, I'd get looking for breeders immediately and you may have to be prepared to compromise on when you get a puppy.

It's absolutely not worth taking a risk on a puppy from parents who aren't fully health tested or from a breeder who doesn't follow the recommended breeding protocols to avoid heart issues.

I'd recommend having a good read through the Cavalier Health site and also the UFAW information on conditions affecting the breed.

Definitely avoid breeders who don't MRI their dogs (or use similarly tested stud dogs) or who don't follow the MVD breeding protocol.

Also bear in mind that a decent breeder isn't going to just let you pick whichever puppy you want with no input or guidance from them. At the very least they'll either steer you towards a particular puppy or give you a shortlist to pick from but some prefer to pick which puppy goes to which prospective owners.

To find a good breeder speak to the breed club and KC do have a list of assured breeders (it's not perfect but can give you breeders to research more). Also note KC Assured Breeder is very different to KC registered parents/pups.

Also I personally didn't come across anyone with a cav puppy available right now, who was actually a decent breeder or had fully health tested parents. Well bred Cavs are snapped up.

Make sure all health tests are done (once you have the parents names you can check whether or not the tests really have been done on the KC website).

Research puppy socialisation that breeder should be doing and question prospective breeders on how they will be socialising the pups (it includes all sorts - even things like making sure pups experience walking on different textures, like carpet, vinyl, door mats, etc).

Also expect a lot of questions from the breeder, about your family, lifestyle and knowledge before they will let you go on their list.

So is the best thing to do just to email reasonably local breeders to see if they're planning a litter?
What questions should I ask? What will they want to know from me?

About a year ago tbh...

Adopt, don't shop.

but some prefer to pick which puppy goes to which prospective owners.

My Cavs breeder was in this camp because it ensures every puppy/prospective buyer has the right home/family/puppy for each other. I was told by another breeder (of a different breed) that she always saw buyers being able to pick any pup as a big red flag.

When my Cavs breeder had decided on which actual pup I was having from the litter he invited me to meet the litter again and showed me my puppy and explained why he felt that was the right puppy for my family. I think he was spot on tbh.

Your family, your home, set up in terms of work hours etc, why that particular breed, experience with dogs, watching you interact with their dogs (particularly the children!)

Nobody else going to advise to go to the rspca instead of making a bitch mate and have a litter of pups who could end up in a shelter too? There are so many dogs in shelters looking for a home, lots of pups and even more old dogs. I think you are very ignorant in wanting a dog to be 'made' for you and your family when there are so many out there starving and freezing to near death only to be rescued and left in shelters for years

I would phone and chat to the breeders, rather than email. On the phone you get more of a feel for them as a person and breeder.

You may have to travel quite a way. I think I was fairly lucky to find a good breeder 2hrs drive from me.

prosecco because adoption is not right for everyone and the dogs that stay in rescue for years are generally the sort that need a very particular type of home. My family had a rescue dog and my bro currently has a rescue dog. I however got a well bred puppy because I felt it was best for me and my family (very young DC)

Also none of my Cavs siblings should ever end up in rescue because a) the breeder vets prospective owners well and b) wants the dogs back if something goes wrong/changes in circumstances, rather than the dog ending up in rescue or passed around different homes. Also adores his bitches and would never get rid after they had bred their litter(s) either.

This is a good little guide to buying a puppy and the accompanying list of questions to ask a breeder is also well worth reading.

Any breeder you get in touch with should ask you lots of questions, walk away from anyone who doesn't. They'll want to know about you, your family, your lifestyle and home, what you want in a dog, what you feel you can offer a dog, why you picked that particular breed, what drew you to them as a breeder, that sort of thing.

Health test wise both parents should have a current clear BVA eye test (these are repeated annually) and have been MRId to look for signs of CM/SM. The breeder should be following the Syringomyelia breeding protocol. Both should also have been DNA tested for (with at least one testing clear of) Degenerative Myelopathy, Episodic Falling, Dry Eye & Curly Coat Syndrome, Macrothrombocytopenia, Phosphofructokinase Deficiency and Muscular Dystrophy. The breeder should also be following the MVD breeding protocol.

Ideally you want a breeder who is aiming for a low inbreeding coefficient as well as doing all the appropriate health testing, this article explains why this is so important. The COI should be no higher than the breed average (which is 5.5% in the CKCS) but preferably as close to 0% as possible.

The Champdogs CKCS breeder list can be a pretty good starting point as you can filter the list by those who health test. You do need to research individual breeders still though as 'current health tests' doesn't necessarily mean they're doing all the health tests they should.

The KC Assured Breeder list is another potential starting point but the scheme requires only the most minimal health testing and the most important stuff (i.e. the MRI, MVD protocol and all the DNA tests) are only 'recommended'.

I'd also recommend contacting either the national breed club or the relevant regional one as they should be able to put you in touch with breeders who are planning litters. There's a list of all the CKCS clubs here.