Hi folks,

I'm thinking of getting a companion for my little girl (8 month old Cavalier x Maltese) and have been making enquires about Cavaliers. I'm thinking of getting an older bitch, perhaps 2-4 yrs old because:

1) One psycho puppy is enough
2) An older calmer companion might help to calm Nikki down and teach her a few manners
3) I don't think I could handle the constant pee trips in the middle of the night, early mornings and the whole toilet training saga all over again with another dog to distract her. Before it was alright but tough, now that I work in the evenings and finish around 10-11pm it'd be too exhausting.

I like Cavaliers because they're small but not tiny, and tend to be sweet and gentle dogs.

Do these sound like good enough reasons?

I spoke to a handful of registered breeders, and one lady had a Blenheim bitch who was just about to have her last litter before being spayed and rehomed. She said they only breed from their bitches 2-3 times max. The bitch in question is coming on to 4 years old. The lady asked me a few questions, like whether or not I had other dogs (she wouldn't let a cav go to a home where it would be left alone), whether there were children (not good with toddlers because they're not stuffed toys) and invited me to call in about 6-8 weeks time so I can have a look at mum and pups.

Can any of you think of questions I should be asking the breeder? The obvious one I can think of is about testing for mitrial valve disease and heart murmurs. Are there questions that should be asked about an ex-show/breeding bitch that might not necessarily apply when purchasing a pup?

Hi Maiko,
One thought...don't assume an older bitch is house-trained! She may be used to living in a kennel.
If she is a showdog she should be well socialised, but otherwise might not be.
Just my first thoughts.

My first reaction is that this breeder is probably a commercial breeder - most of us on here wouldn't make the comment that 'we ony let our bitches have 2-3 litters then rehome them' - our dogs are our dogs for life, God Willing.

I would far rather go to an occasional breeder of repute recommended by the breed club

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

My thoughts exactly.Just because shes not breeding her again she's letting her go???????Sounds to me like she wants to appear to be the caring breeder by telling you she only lets them have a couple of litters and then in the next breath tells you she rehomes all her bitches no longer fit to breed.Caring breeder???I don't think so!!!!
Look somewhere else is my advice

Sorry I meant to add.I know your not from the UK as I've seen you posting on another forum.Maybee they don't do things the same way in OZ

Thanks everyone for the replies!

She didn't say they always rehome, I have no idea if they always do or not, but I'll ask. As for why they choose to rehome, I guess that's something I'd ask as well. Perhaps space and council regulations? I don't know if there's a limit of dogs placed by the council she lives in, but mine only allows a max of 2 dogs per household. I'll ask at any rate.

What happened was I got the list of registered breaders from the Canine Association then made calls from that list. A few of the breeders I spoke to who didn't have what I wanted, gave me the names and numbers of other breeders they knew who might be able to help (also on the list). There isn't a Cavalier club here in WA, so I don't know what else to do to find out who's good or bad besides going by the list and recommendations from other breeders. They all know each other from shows etc because there are only about 10 registered breeders here.

I'll most certainly be asking about house training. She said they were definitely indoor dogs, and said they (dogs) loved sleeping on their (human's) bed so quite possibly she is house trained.

Keep the replies coming, this is really helpful :)

I thought about it some more, and decided against an older dog. If I do get one, it will be a pup, that way Nikki can remain top dog. But first things first.. obedience training.

I know that there are limits imposed on the number of dogs to be allowed to be kept. The breeder I sent a puppy to is only allowed to keep four adults over 12 weeks of age.

For breeders who want to develop a breeding line, rightly or wrongly this means that they will rehome some bitches and dogs if they do not come up to the required standard, in order to be able to carry on.