Cavachon/ cavalier

[Nannyplumbrocks]

Has anyone got a cavachon or a cavalier? Im utterly smitten with these dogs and would love to hear from anyone with these breeds. Im considering our first family dog and cant decide which. Any pros/ cons for either?

As people on here seem to know quite a bit about it can I ask a question? Recently I’ve seen quite a lot of Cavs being walked ( they seem to be a fashionable pet at the moment) lots of the dogs I’ve seen look like their head/face is very small - this is quite different to how my Nans Cav looked - is this how they are being bred now?

Cavaliers make a good first dog as they are small, friendly people-pleasers who take to training very well. Their big downside is that the breed is prone to some very nasty and expensive health problems that can shorten their lives. Someone I know has a Cavalier that came from a classic puppy farmer out in Wales. He's a sweet dog but he's got everything wrong with him. He'll not get past 10 and he's spent years on so many pills he rattles.

Do some serious research into breeders, find one that only breeds from healthy lines, and then get good lifetime pet insurance. It will be expensive, but less so than finding out the dog's got heart problems that aren't covered later.

As others have said, you'll struggle to find a breeder of cavachons who isn't just bunging the two breeds together because cute=money.

*@nancy75 yes, Cavaliers have been bred with smaller and smaller heads. The health problems this has caused are horrific - you can read the details heree.

That wasn’t meant to be in bold....

My 8 month old Cavalier.

Best thing I’ve ever done!!

I made sure I got him from a really good breeder - all the health tests etc. I spoke to someone at length at I think it was the Cavalier society or something like before I got him to see what I needed to check for etc.

He is awesome.

I have two Cavachons but they are more 'Cav' than 'Chon' mine shed constantly but I love them dearly they are happy to walk and run around or to just sleep on the sofa, they love people and are complete social butterflies, I'm just sad that there are so many issues with health in the Cavalier breeding, finding a proper KC reg one is hard as the bitch has to get to be 5 years old without heart issues to be able to have a 'KC' reg litter. Just make sure you get good insurance if you own a Cav or a Cav cross.

Oh and these are my two pickles

finding a proper KC reg one is hard as the bitch has to get to be 5 years old without heart issues to be able to have a 'KC' reg litter.

The recommended MVD protocol is actually that a CKCS (male or female) may be used for breeding if they get to 2.5 years old with no signs of a heart murmur providing their parents are both completely free of murmurs and are aged at least five years old. It's not recommended to breed from either a dog or bitch before they're five years old if either of their parents have a murmur or the heart status of their parents is unknown.

The KC will register any CKCS litter from registered parents, regardless of whether the breeder is following the above protocol or doing any other health testing. Even Assured Breeders are only required to eye test, with MRIs, the MVD protocol and a couple of DNA tests only being recommended.

The only CKCS-specific registration restriction the KC has is colour related

I have a Cavachon, bought from a responsible breeder who health checks the parents. He is a gorgeous pet and a brilliant companion I would it be without him. He's very sweet and friendly

Life expectancy for cavaliers is only nine because 90% have heart disease by then. Health testing the parents is no guarantee a puppy will be healthy.
They are lovely dogs but sadly not recommended and cavalier cross breeds are just as likely to inherit the health issues as not.

“Not recommended” - by who exactly ShovellerDuck? You presumably? Well, frankly, fuck you.

Your statistics have no reliable evidence base whatsoever. Trust me, I did a LOT of research. Cavaliers do indeed have a higher likelihood than average of some health conditions - these risks can be significantly mitigated by making sure the parents have been health tested and there are significant steps you can take to look after your puppy to further minimise these risks (nutrition, exercise, regular check ups).

The average dog lifespan is about 11 years to put Shovellers unreliable stats in perspective in any case.

I have four Cavs ranging from 10 down to 7. Best dogs I've ever had.
They are turning into coffee tables now they are old. One has cerebellar ataxia and epilepsy. They all have fantastic personalities and are so gentle.