Cavalier King Charles

[Orkneys]

Not 100% on a dog but I'd like a cavalier if I did. I know about health problems. Can't seem to find a reputable breeder puppy farms Yes. Can anyone recommend one? as I say I'm not a 100% just looking into it for now.

@Lonecatwithkitten the Assured Breeder Scheme is good, but (surprisingly, IMO) Cavaliers are not required to have heart & syringomelia tests to qualify- it's "recommended" for them rather than "required".
So even breeders on the ABS list should be asked specifically about these tests.
Just an FYI in case potential new owners get caught out!

@Lonecatwithkitten I had no idea. That’s good to know. I wish there was a list potential puppy buyers could use to look up easily exactly what tests should be done.

@Wolfiefan there is a list here, www.thekennelclub.org.uk/dog-breeding/the-kennel-club-assured-breeders/breed-specific-requirements-and-recommendations-including-health-screening/
, this page has a full list of recommended and required tests for the Assured Breeders Scheme... although it's not the easiest page to find for your average puppy buyer!

OP, I’m not in the UK so can’t recommend a breeder near you, but I will say that good breeders are out there. It took me over two years of research to find a good one, but I did.

My Cav is 13 now. She’s an elderly pooch, but doing well. She did develop a mild heart murmur last year which as quite rare as I think the statistic is that something like 90% of cavs have a murmur before the age of 10, and the younger they get them, the worse the prognosis.

They’re fabulous little dogs. Full of personality and priss. They do need looking after though and are prone to weight issues as well as other problems mentioned on this thread.

They also make the smelliest farts ever. Be warned.

My sister had one, sadly he died a few years ago, but he was the loveliest dog I've ever met. All he wanted to do was to be taken for walks (which they hardly ever did ) and lie on your lap. I absolutely loved him. He did like to chase cats mind but he wouldn't have hurt them as he lived with a cat. I don't know about the breeder though and we're in South Wales so wouldn't be possible at the moment anyway.

@Alfaxan that list is not great. It’s just what the KC use for their assured breeder club. For instance I have wolfhounds. Liver shunt testing of puppies is only recommended. No decent breeder should sell puppies that haven’t been liver shunt tested.
An independent list would be brilliant. And not the bare minimum. Sadly I don’t have much faith in the KC.

@TownHallDesigner

OP, I’m not in the UK so can’t recommend a breeder near you, but I will say that good breeders are out there. It took me over two years of research to find a good one, but I did.

My Cav is 13 now. She’s an elderly pooch, but doing well. She did develop a mild heart murmur last year which as quite rare as I think the statistic is that something like 90% of cavs have a murmur before the age of 10, and the younger they get them, the worse the prognosis.

They’re fabulous little dogs. Full of personality and priss. They do need looking after though and are prone to weight issues as well as other problems mentioned on this thread.

They also make the smelliest farts ever. Be warned.

Thank you they are a lovely breed ( from what I've read and seen) I intend to look after her like my life depended on it so I've got no worries there.

@Heartofglass12345

My sister had one, sadly he died a few years ago, but he was the loveliest dog I've ever met. All he wanted to do was to be taken for walks (which they hardly ever did ) and lie on your lap. I absolutely loved him. He did like to chase cats mind but he wouldn't have hurt them as he lived with a cat. I don't know about the breeder though and we're in South Wales so wouldn't be possible at the moment anyway.

That's a shame thats why I'm in two minds I'd be inconsolable if anything happened to mine. Is it really worth the pain? No one's allowed in Wales at the moment but don't mind travelling anywhere in the country.

We had a Cavalier who was healthy and lived to over 14 - it is about finding a responsible breeder who breeds for health, not looks. We were on a waiting list for about a year when we found ours but it was worth waiting - he was active and lively all his life, right to the end.

I would suggest a breed club as a starting point (Google for one local to you).

This site has lots of information about health testing including registers showing dogs that have been health-tested.

www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html

I can’t recommend a breeder, sorry, but I can 100% recommend this breed of dog, my other half is a fell runner and he ran his cavalier for 10 years for hours a day and he was really really healthy, when he was young he did have a heart murmur and they kept an eye on it, but no issues other than that one time.

Unfortunately he died last week, tho he was 13 and 1/2 so a really good life. I definitely recommend them, they are lovely placid dogs, they are known to whine a little bit but apart from that, brilliant.

I was gutted and he wasn't even mine, but I spent a lot of time there and always took him for a walk when I visited. I remember going there on Christmas Day and I put some Christmas ribbon over his head and he got so excited as he thought I was taking him for a walk, I had to take him lol.
I can't remember how old he was when he died but I don't think he made it to double figures.
I wonder why we do it to ourselves with any pets to be honest, I'm a mess when we lose one

I have one. She is an ex breeding bitch from Ireland through a charity. I wouldn’t have bought one, mainly as I’d have no idea to find a healthy puppy. As others have said they can have serious issues,
Temperament wise she is the sweetest, softest and most loving dog I’ve ever had. We have cats and she isn’t remotest bit bothered by them. I wouldn’t say she is very clever and she isn’t a guard dog but a lovely family dog. Very young children would scare her though. And we have to watch her weight.

@Delamero

I have one. She is an ex breeding bitch from Ireland through a charity. I wouldn’t have bought one, mainly as I’d have no idea to find a healthy puppy. As others have said they can have serious issues, Temperament wise she is the sweetest, softest and most loving dog I’ve ever had. We have cats and she isn’t remotest bit bothered by them. I wouldn’t say she is very clever and she isn’t a guard dog but a lovely family dog. Very young children would scare her though. And we have to watch her weight.

I definitely do NOT want a guard dog and I don't have small children I do have a cat though so that's good too hear. I like Cavaliers because they are sweet dogs. Do they bark alot?

I've thought about it and I don't think I'm going to get one.
They are just to prone to health problems and I couldn't bare it if anything happened to her i know obviously it can happen to other breeds but the statics of health conditions are just to high for me.

Do they bark a lot?

Ours wasn't much of a barker. They're very eager to please so in that respect, easy to train, although they're not genius dogs. We taught ours from the outset that if he was out in the garden and started barking, he'd have to come in, and we didn't reinforce barking in the house with attention, and that seemed to work.

Ours was fine with our two cats although we had to physically bar him from the litter tray because he liked nothing more than to snuffle through it for a tasty cat poo.

There are breeders who take the blood lines very seriously and do all the tests and can demonstrate the checks back through several generations. Mine is a truly gorgeous little dog, sweetest temperament, loves people, lives to meet people, full of personality. Yes to chasing birds and bikes, loves anything that moves at speed, but lives happily with three cats and has the gentle mouth of any good spaniel. Mine is an awful barker at anyone anywhere in sight that he thinks might come and talk to him, but he's just that kind of personality and so apparently is his sister who his breeder kept; I don't think it's usual for the breed. Weight so far hasn't been an issue as he's a finicky little beggar!

I have one and he's gorgeous. Definitely not the placid lap dog I'd been led to believe. Mine is full of energy, loves walks and swimming and flushing things out of the hedgerows! He will walk for hours if we're out and about - definitely still a working spaniel within the breed. He does like a cuddle though. He also likes to bark more than any other breed I've owned.

My breeder has now stopped but I hope you find one with a good reputation. They are lovely dogs.

And a pic...

Oh, a lovely Tri-colour! He's beautiful. Our little chap was a Blenheim.

I love the Blenheim's and would like to get another cavalier... but not at the crazy prices for pups right now!

No, me neither. I think many will sadly end up in rescue post-lockdown. I might look at an older rescue in the future - I regularly go gooey over the dogs at Bliss Cavalier Rescue.

Haha ours loves the cat litter tray too...rank!
She doesn’t bark much at all, and if she does it’s because our other dog sets her off. She has no idea what she is barking about (hence the crap guard dog).
Insurance is more expensive than our mongrel by about £10 a month (c. £25 per month) but I imagine it will increase and I accept we’ll have to pay for any health issues. But as she was a rescue we knew the situation although they apparently couldn’t detect any problems.

I had 2 growing up
One was lovely the other was a vicious aggressive unpredictable nutbag he bit everyone In the house at some point and other times was lovely. Looking back he was bought from a farm where the dogs were kept in the shed

Both died early due to heart issues