You have purchased this book, and that means you already know that careful research and preparation is the only way to be sure you get a family pet who will be a joy in your life. Your new dog will be a vital part of your life for the next decade or more. It’s important, then, to make sure you choose your
Cavalier wisely. There are many places to find a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and some are definitely better than others.
Reputable Breeders
Finding a reputable breeder of Cavaliers takes careful research, and your efforts in this regard will be well worthwhile. The definition of a good breeder is one who, first of all, takes excellent physical and social care of the dogs they own.
Next in importance is the emphasis the breeder places on the good health and temperament of the dogs they produce. A reputable breeder will be taking young dogs they are thinking of breeding to AKC conformation shows to prove that these Cavaliers are close to the breed standard and are able to obtain AKC championships. AKC judges are indeed well qualified to determine if a dog is worthy of championship points, but in the end it is the breeder who has the picture of the perfect Cavalier in their mind’s eye, and it is they who are striving to produce that picture in the flesh. A reputable breeder has studied the genetics of the breed, health-tested all their breeding stock and chosen the sire and dam of each litter carefully to complement one another.
Since the Cavalier is such a versatile little dog, some breeders also enter their Cavaliers in other canine activities, such as obedience or agility trials, where owner and dog must work as a team.
When a breeder is willing to spend their time in this way, since any training is quite intensive, you know that they really love their dogs and want to see them use their minds as well as their bodies.
You want to get a puppy from someone who will be there for you
in the future. A reputable breeder will be readily available to answer questions for you as your puppy
grows up. On your visit to the kennel, the breeder will introduce you to the dam (mother) of the litter and perhaps the sire (father) as well. It may be that the breeder has used a fellow breeder’s dog at stud. In this case, the sire will not be on hand, but you should be able to see his pedigree, picture, and a copy of his health clearances. This information will give you a good idea of your future puppy’s temperament and eventual size as an adult.
Although it’s impossible to predict the future, you will be able to take some comfort that the breeder has done everything possible to make sure you have a strong, healthy, well-adjusted puppy. Your puppy will have been introduced to friendly people and will have heard a variety of household sounds. She will have had her first worming and first set of vaccinations. You will not be allowed to
bring her home before 8 weeks of age, and some breeders will want to keep the puppy until she is 12 weeks old and has had her second vaccinations.
Finding a Breeder
How do you find a reputable breeder? The first step is to get in touch with as many breeders as possible in your area and arrange a visit for the whole family.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club USA and the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club both have breeder referral resources (their contact information is in the appendix), as does the American Kennel Club. If you have a friend or neighbor who has a healthy, well-behaved Cavalier, you might want to ask them for the name and telephone number or e-mail address of their dog’s
breeder. You can also attend dog shows to meet Cavalier breeders. A word of caution is necessary here: Never approach a breeder/exhibitor at a dog show when they are about to go into the ring, but only after the competition when both exhibitor and dog are more relaxed.
First Contact
E-mail is an easy and inexpensive way to get in touch with breeders, but I recommend that you actually telephone to get some impression of the personality and knowledge of the breeder. If you are satisfied with the information you get, the next step is to make an appointment to meet the dogs.
Most reputable breeders do not have puppies available for sale. Litter size in Cavaliers is relatively small—an average of three. Also, reputable breeders do not keep a lot of dogs because Cavaliers should be living in the house with their owners and puppies should be born in the house, either in the kitchen or in a room the breeder has designated for this purpose.
Beware if the breeder tells you they have a large stock of Cavalier puppies to choose from. This information may well be the first sign that this is a large commercial breeder, a puppy mill, or that the so-called breeder is actually selling puppies as a middleman or broker. Puppies from such a source often come from unregistered stock, possibly not purebred, and have been raised in poor conditions with no socialization.
A good breeder will invite you to visit so they can to meet you to determine if you will provide a suitable home for a Cavalier. You will also have the opportunity to decide whether this is the breeder from whom you want to purchase a puppy.
What to Look For
When a kennel visit has been arranged, here are some questions to ask and points to consider:
• The breeder’s house and surrounding area should be well kept and clean.
• There should be no doggy smell when you enter the house.
• Ask if it is possible to meet all the dogs. The dogs should be friendly enough to receive visitors happily.
• Do the dogs have the run of the house? If not, can you actually visit the rooms they live in? This will tell you a lot about the environment in which they are raised.
• Are all the dogs happy and sociable?
• Are the dogs well groomed?
• Have the sire and the dam of the litter had health checks for genetic disease?
• Does the breeder have a purchase contract?
• What kind of health guarantee comes with a puppy?
• Are all the dogs registered individually as purebred with the American Kennel Club, The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Inc. USA, or the Canadian Kennel Club? (These are the only three registry bodies that are acceptable in the USA and Canada.)
A reputable breeder will also have questions for you. He screens the people who come to buy his puppies because he’s concerned about the pups’ future. He may ask you to fill out an application, ask for references, and will certainly want to know if you have owned dogs before. If you don’t sound like an ideal Cavalier owner, he will not sell you one. His decision is not about you as a person, but
about the best home environment and living conditions for his puppies.
Waiting for Your Pup
After visits to several breeders, you may well decide which one you would like to deal with. If there will not be a puppy available in the near future, ask if you can put your name down on a list, and then wait as patiently as you can. If you find that two or three of the breeders you have visited are good people from whom to buy a puppy, you may wish to go on those waiting lists as well. This way, if the
litter you are waiting for does not happen, or if there are deaths among the puppies, you will still be in line for a pup. It is best to tell these breeders that you are on more than one list, and when you know definitely that you are going to get a puppy from a specific breeder, let the others know right away.
Puppy, Adolescent, or Adult?
If you can’t decide whether you want a puppy, an adolescent, or an adult, know that each age has its pros and cons. It is easier to acquire a young puppy 8 to 12 weeks of age, but there is an intensive housetraining, socialization and behavior training period that will require much of your time for at least the first six months. Puppies begin to shed their baby teeth at the age of four and a half months, and your possessions, particularly leather shoes left on the floor, will be fair game for those sharp
chewing needles. As with a young child, all hazards must be removed from a puppy’s environment, and you must know where your puppy is and what she is doing all the time.
If you haven’t the time or facilities to cope with a very young puppy, an adolescent or a young adult may be more suitable. Cavalier puppies are much in demand, and since pet-quality puppies usually go to their new homes early, obtaining an older one requires a much longer search. Occasionally a breeder will keep a puppy for six to twelve months to see whether she will meet the requirements of the show ring. If she does not measure up for this purpose, then the breeder will let her go to a pet home. The advantage here is that the older puppy or adolescent is already housetrained, has had regular grooming and socialization, and has generally become a good canine citizen. This essential early training is compensation enough for missing the very cute and cuddly stage of
the small puppy’s life. If you decide that an adult Cavalier is your choice, there are advantages and
disadvantages. On the plus side, what you see is what you get: The size, the pretty face with its big brown eyes and sweet expression will be the same for life.
An adult is housetrained, has had all her vaccinations, and is used to interacting with people and coping with the general commotion of family life. Provided that an adult has lived in a normally run home with plenty of affection, she is easy to live with and will have no destructive habits. If the adult Cavalier is from a reputable breeder, she should have no problems adapting to your home.
You will find a great variation in price when it comes to puppies, adolescents, and adult Cavaliers. Young puppies from 8 weeks and adolescents up to a year or so old are the most expensive. Depending upon the age of the adult, price usually decreases as dogs grow older. It is not uncommon for a reputable breeder to place their retired dogs in pet homes, and in this case, the price is usually minimal because all the breeder wants for the dog he has loved and nurtured is a happy home for the rest of her life.
Where Not to Get a Cavalier
If you go on the Internet and type in the name of the breed, you will find hundreds of web sites. Be aware that any Cavalier breeder, whether reputable or not, can put up an attractive web site. You will need to screen these breeders, as I have already described. Never buy a puppy sight unseen. Anyone who offers to sell you a dog without ever having met you is not a reputable breeder.
Backyard Breeders
A backyard breeder is someone who produces puppies for sale but does not have the knowledge (or desire, or energy, or finances) to do what is necessary to produce the best dogs possible. This could be someone who has a female Cavalier and simply breeds her to the nearest Cavalier male he can find—perhaps to another pet down the street who has not been neutered, or he may even crossbreed her with a dog who just looks as though he may be a Cavalier. The backyard breeder may not be able to give you any proof of the puppies being purebred or registerable with any kennel club. He has done no health or temperament checks and can tell you nothing about the dogs in the puppies’ background.
Backyard breeders may produce some nice puppies. But they are just as likely to produce dogs with problems. In addition, once the puppies are born, the backyard breeder rarely knows what nutrition and exercise the puppies need to grow up well. They may not be handled enough or correctly, may not have the socialization they need, and may not have their first sets of shots. Backyard breeders often sell their puppies as soon as they are weaned, which may be between 5 and 6 weeks of age; it is far too soon for the pups to leave their mother and littermates. The backyard breeder rarely has a waiting list for his puppies, and as they get older, they are often turned over to the local shelter.
Why Not Buy from a Pet Store?
The only advantage to buying a Cavalier from a pet store is that you can have a puppy the day you walk in. There are many disadvantages. A pet store does not sell adults or rehome abandoned dogs. They’re selling Cavalier puppies strictly to make a profit, and their source might be puppy mills where these poor babies are produced en masse for the market without regard to any other consideration.
You will also pay a lot more than you would from a breeder. You won’t be able to see where or how the dog was raised, you’re unable to meet the dog’s relatives to see if they are the kinds of dogs you would want to have, and you won’t know the dog’s health history. Pet store employees won’t be able to show you how to groom your dog and cannot answer any questions you have as the years go by. And if you have to rehome the dog, a pet store will never take her back. A reputable breeder will
always stand behind your purchase because the Cavalier’s welfare is his first concern.
Sex and Color
Are you flexible as to the sex and color of the puppy you want to buy? Nine times out of ten, when I get an inquiry the potential puppy buyer will say, “I want a Blenheim female.” It seems there is an old wives’ tale that females make better pets than males, but this is definitely untrue concerning the Cavalier. Males in this breed are just as sweet natured and devoted as females, if not more so.
I believe this general bias against males is based upon the notion that they lift their legs to urinate on everything vertical and that their urine is strong-smelling as they mature. A good breeder will require you to neuter your puppy, and this will certainly take care of the sexrelated behavior of the male, since, when the hormones are no longer working he will not have the same urge to pursue females or mark his territory
