Hello,

I am looking for some honest advice on a cavalier king charles spaniel.

We have 2 childre (4&5) and I am at home every day and would like reassurance that this is the breed for us. We don't want a huge dog who requires hours of exercise but it has to be the right breed with having the children.

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions. ???

Having read up on a few books I feel this is the breed for us, but would like advice from you experienced people out there.

Thank you so much.

The Cavalier is a very good family dog, but please be very careful if you do get one to go to a reputable breeder, who can show you all the relevant health checks & the mum. They may/not also have the father. This link is a good place to start looking.

They can have heart, eye & patella problems so it is important that only healthy dogs ae bred from

The cav does sound good for you, their truly outstanding dogs, fun, happy, intelligent etc. plus they really do love you more than anything in the world, i must warn you though as moonmaiden said cavs do have health problems and youed be lucky to get 10 or 11 years out of them, i had two cavs ( one ruby and one tri), the ruby made it to the grand old age of 15 but the tri only made it two 8 years old so make sure you have thourgh health cheques.

Thank you moonmaiden and bullboy, I really appreciate your advice.

Will let you know how I get on.

Best Wishes.

I have 2 Cavvies, although my son is 16 now they are both great with any young children that visit us (which is quite often). They are friendly, loyal, loving and caring breed. They can be quite excited and jumpy when very young, but you could expect them from any breed. Cavs are an ideal breed of dog for any age of owner as they give you alot of fun and laughs (mine sure do!!).

Good luck with your search or dog. Please be careful though and as Moonmaiden said check the breeder of any dog you get and never get one from a puppy farm or pet shop.

Cath

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Hi

I have two cavvies so am probably biased but I would say they make fabulous family pets. They're very affectionate and loving. Mine love nothing more than to spend the evening curled up on mine & hubbys' laps or at our feet. They have fabulous little characters aswell and have a really happy sunny disposition.

My two have three short walks (20 minutes) a day but are just as happy with one or none (especially if it's too cold or raining!). If we want to go for long walks of over an hour they're equally as happy to come with us and will just trot along beside us.

I have lots of very small (under 3 years) nieces and my boys are very very gentle with them and we've never had a problem. They're easy to train and love to please so learn very quickly.

As an aside I also have three adult cats and two 12 week old kittens and the boys are very gentle and careful with them all.

I agree with a previous poster though, you need to make sure you go to a reputable breeder who has all the necessary health checks done, hearts & eyes etc. They do have a tendency to get overweight so you will have to watch their weight and make sure your children don't give them too many treats!

But honestly, I wouldn't have any other dog now I have cavvies!

Good luck with whatever breed you choose.

love

MN

I had a cavalier, she lived to the age of 12, the kids came along after the dog and she took to them no trouble, she was so gentle and I trusted her 100%

Hello again,

I am so glad I found this site, it is with great pleasure and interest to read about people's views, opinions and advice.

I have found a few breeders but unfortunately they do not have anything for me at the moment. I am also worried about how would I cope with having a puppy.
It must be like having a baby all over again !!!!
Questions are will I cope, how would i train him, when do they have jabs, do i have him "done" (pardon the expression) etc etc.

I have researched a few breeds and the cav keeps coming out on top for our needs as a family pet. I know we want a dog and would prefer blenheim but this is not compulsory for colour.

Anyway will keep you posted. Thank again. x

hi,It sounds to me that a Cavalier would be an ideal dog for your family. But I would second what other people have said, they can have health problems, so please make sure you go to a reputable breeder who is knowledgable about the breed & who has had parents relevant health tests done.
Training - the breeder could give you some advice as a good starting point. Then I'd recommend joining a training club, & do a little each day at home.(basic obedience). If you make it fun, you & your dog will enjoy the sessions.
Jabs - Your pup may have had first jab with the breeder, in which case the breeder could say when the next one would be due, if not you should register pup with a vet who will advise when to have the first jab done.
Neutering - Well decide if you are having a dog or a bitch & I would say yes get him / her neutered.
Puppies are very time consuming, need lots of care & can be demanding, but in return you will have a lovely companion & if you put the effort in with the training when your pup is growing up he/she will respect you. Like children, dogs need boundaries & they need to know what's acceptable & what isn't.
I've worked with lots of different breeds of dogs & when people ask me what breed of dog to get, for a family pet my answer is usually - a cavalier.

Hiya,

Me again.

My boys are littermates so I had two puppies running around trying to housetrain at the same time!

I found them really easy to housetrain, even with two of them. They respond very well to positive reinforcement. I haven't taken my boys to training classes because I broke my leg at an innapropriate time and obviously couldn't take them but I did and do a little bit of my own training and as I said in my previous post they learnt very quickly.

If you do go for a cavvie, why not join www.ckcsforums.com
It's a forum set up by a well-known cavvie breeder Delhaze and there are hundreds of members both breeders and owners, all cavvie-lovers who can give you masses of advice and insight into this special little dog.

Oh and on the neutering point, neither of my fellas are neutered and I have no problem with them at all. I have heard that neutered cavvies coats tens to go woolly rather than stay the lovely silky way they are if unneutered. If he has no problems with undescended testicles then there's really no reason he needs to be neutered in my opinion. But go to the forum above and ask for advice, you'll get masses of it!

By the way if you do go there, I'm Jasperooni!

Good luck

MN

Thanks again cavvie lovers !!!!!!!!!!

I am determined to find our blenheim boy before Xmas.

xx

Hi....me again !!

Well thought I would update you on my dilemma on a cav. I have today just homed a 4year blenheim cav bitch. She was with a lady who I knew and her owner has had a fall and damaged her hip basically meaning she cannot give her the full attention she would like.

We bought her home today the children are besotted with her and so far we have had only a small wee on the hall carpet......fingers crossed.

I am really looking forward to taking her out for a walk tomorrow and to show her off. I know it's cheating not starting from scratch with a puppy, but feel I have given a good loving home to a dog in need, otherwise she would have been homed who knows where. Would you recommend that I take her for a check up at the vet etc etc. Any other advice gratefully received.

Bye for now from a very happy new cav owner !!!!