Having lost Rosie who was my beloved CKCS at the end of June - Ive now got financial security for the foreseable future (ex and I finally sold the marital home) and my children and I have finally got to the point where we can now think about getting another dog.  The only breed for us are Cavaliers as they have everything that we love in dogs and the blenheim is our very favourite.  There is a very local respected breeder who has a litter but only has a boy blenheim left.  We have been to see him and his mum (and the other two cavvy adults the breeder has :D) and have fallen in love with him.  But Ive never owned a boy before. Rosie was my first dog.  I know that ths sounds like a daft question but can anyone tell me the advantages/disadvantages of having a boy?  Im particularly worried about him humping everything and marking - and what about a more 'assertive' temperement and what about neutering? He is only six weeks old at the moment and his mum is as soft as butter, (and just looks so much like our Rosie), but obviously his full nature wont be that apparent yet but from what we have seen of him so far hes very calm and comes to investigate you and doesnt mind being touched. His last three generations are all heart/eye cert tested too :D

Different breed but I only kept bitches. I have had a male for the past 5 years and he is so much easier to live with :) No humping at all, no arguing (the girls do tend to face off when in season ;) ) and lots of love and attention required :) The only problem I have is that he wants to stop and pee everywhere

A lot depends on how you treat them when they are young. Humping can be discouraged without putting them off completely if you want to be able to use him later at stud. If he is as nice as you say, and there is no real reason for having a bitch then I would go back :D

I have to add that our little cayyie has yet to hump anything!!!! although i think at just over 6 months he has only just reached sexual maturity!

Yet my mil bitches (different breed) hump everything in sight!!

Hi,

I have two cavalier boys - never had a girl so can't compare. My two do hump teddies occasionally when they get excited playing and are neutered - they were a nightmare before though and humped everything - I do believe that they can grow out of this once the hormones settle but I chose to neuter. Also, one thing I noticed with my boys before neutering was that after the puppy stage when the hormones kicked in, their wee smelt awful and they would catch their leg feathers and tummy fur mid stream and in turn they used to stink - all this stopped once neutered. My boys are my world and I would never be without them!

I've had 2 Cavalier dogs and 2 bitches. The dogs were far, far nicer than the bitches! Much nicer, friendlier temperament. :D

His last three generations are all heart/eye cert tested too :-D

Just please be aware this does NOT mean you are guaranteed to get a puppy that stays heart clear forever. Cavaliers need heart testing every single year and a breeding dog or bitch that was clear one year may not be clear the next -few stay clear for life. It's at what age they develop MVD that matters -the later in life the better. This is why the advice is to check that all four grandparents of any pups are at least 5 years old and still clear.

>His last three generations are all heart/eye cert tested too  :D

That's good but how old are the parents & have they been MRI scanned for Syringomyelia(SM) & is there any history of SM in the lines ?

I've only had male cavaliers & apart from a bit of humping toys when they were very young, they haven't done it since. They don't have any house training problems, except my oldest dog who is on diuretics for his had(he's 11 next month)& if he's left alone(on very rare occasions) he will pee in the kitchen if he needs to go which I don't mind as he cannot help needing to go more frequently. If I'm in he always goes outside as the door is open all the time winter & summer

They have all had very good temperaments & on the whole more outgoing than bitches

As for castration if you do decide to do this please wait until he is fully mature as it can affect the coat & does affect the growth plates in the long bones

As someone who has only ever had bitches full time with boys only visiting, I would only ever have bitches.  You will get an equal number of people who prefer owning boys, and some that like owning both.

I hate the way male dogs pee for starters, and I do find walking bitches so much easier as few other dogs will take exception to them, girls tend to ignore each other and other males are going to like them.  All the people I know that have males always have to be aware even if their own male is fine with males, other males may not be. 

I am talking medium to large breeds here, but of course dogs don't differentiate on size.

My bitch humps far more than my male!!

We had previously only ever had bitches but our first male is now 16 months, so far he has been great to live with...Ive found him to be a lot 'clingier' than any of our previous bitches, he always has to be close to you with a paw wrapped round your arm, I don't mind this, but I think some people prefer more independent dogs (which our bitch is!) This could all just be their personalies and have nothing to do with gender though. Good luck with whatever you decide although I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be yours in a few weeks!

When we got Rosie nine years ago I did my research about MVD and ensured that her relatives were all five year cert'd and Id not heard of SM at that time.  Rosie didnt develop any heart murmur at all until she was nine and then we had three months left with her, so its something Im really passionate about with any new puppy. One of Rosies Grandparents is on the list of Long Term heart clear as well I think from memory. This breeder has said that the little boys mum is 6 and heart murmur free, and her maternal grandmother (owned by the daughter of the breeder) is now ten and still murmur free.  I know the Dad is definately free, but Im not sure yet who the paternal grandfather is.  I know that the chances of never developing a heart murmur are small, but if we can delay it for as long as possible with keeping him slim/exercised and with yearly check ups (it was on Rosies annual MOT that heart murmur was spotted at a grade 2) then Im trying to keep the odds in my favour as much as possible.  The breeder seems to be a very responsible knowledgeable and caring person, and Im sure if she had any instances of SM in her pups or adults she would stop breeding but I will ask her about it. 

Thankyou for all your help in the boy girl question - I think he will be coming home with us :D we will just have to hide any large teddies lol and keep some wetwipes handy for when he does the "I can wee my front legs"

Sounds good to me -good luck!!!

>The breeder seems to be a very responsible knowledgeable and caring person, and Im sure if she had any instances of SM in her pups or adults she would stop breeding but I will ask her about it.

She should have had all her breeding stock MRI scanned as this is he only way at present to determine if a Cavalier has SM or not as many have it with no symptoms. The Cavalier Club recommend treating not scanned dogs as having SM & not to be bred from

This is an extract taken from the report dated Jan 07

That both the sire and the dam of a proposed mating are screened (any unscreened dog should be assumed to be "D")

So therefore the recommendation is that an unscreened dog can be mated with a grade "A" dog

Is there a later report that states different ?

ETA Obviously with this is assuming the bitch is over 2.5 and asymptomatic

This is the latest Syringomyelia breeding guidelines in full

I should actually have written that unscreened dogs that are asymptomatic are to be treated as affected & not bred together rather than simply not bred from.

So unless one of the parents is MRI screened clear they should not be bred from together. I personally would not consider a puppy from unscreened parents & in fact I have a puppy booked from such a litter next year

It is not enough for a breeder to say their is no SM in their lines as the genetists consider that ALL Cavaliers have a line to an affected or a carrier of SM even if they themselves are clear

Yes I agree all Cavaliers have a line to an affected or carrier, my A grade boy included

Just wanted to make sure the OP had the full picture on the breeding guildelines from the club, it's confusing enough once you have done the research never mind to someone just learning

My hoped for puppy is from two screened clear parents-doesn't mean they don't carry it though sadly

Henry does wee on his front legs and tummy I must admit, but if I sponge him down every couple of days, and use dry shampoo between full baths he doesn't get too yellow and stinky! And he's so loving and cuddly! He does hump Ellie, but he's never humped people or cushions or toys, and he's never marked in the house even when she's in season, and he is entire. :-)

I suppose one advantage to having a boy this time is that there will be fewer comparisons made to your girl, as boys are just so different.

hi i have a boy and a girl (springers tho) and everyone told me the bitch would be much nicer, more loving and easy to train and that the dog could be very head strong, but my boy is perfect and alot easier to train and alot calmer and easier to control than my bitch,he does not hump or anything like thatm so sometimes i think it makes no difference on the sex and sometimes just the nature of the dog itself. im sure whatever you chose if you give it the right training it will be perfect for you.

I have had a dog and bitch Cavalier at the same time and the boy was definatly the most reliant on me he was a real mummys boy.

yes that exactly like mine.

Well Alfie as he is now known is home and he's already a snuggle monster.  I definately agree with the comparison with my Rosie post - even though he is the same colour and has the same markings and is already a snuggle monster - he definately has a little boy face (if that makes any sense).  Watch this space

Wish you all the happiness in the world with your new companion.

Congratulations on your new addition :) :) :)