Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

anyone have one of these?

Also, do they shed?

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

i knwo they dont shed.

they are very very expensive, but thats about all i know.

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My friend has one. He does not shed a lot but requires special grooming for their ears?

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I heard they have a short life expectency for small dogs. With ears like that they are def. prone to infection.

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My Aunt and Uncle just got one, he is SO cute and he sleeps all day long. I dont even think he has barked yet.

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

From Wikipedia:

Mitral valve disease
Virtually all Cavaliers eventually suffer from mitral valve disease, causing progressively worsening heart murmurs leading to heart failure. This condition, in which the 'hinge' on the heart's mitral valve loosens and can gradually deteriorate, causing a heart murmur (as blood seeps through the valve between heartbeats) then congestive heart failure, can begin to emerge at an early age, and is present in more than half of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels by age 5. It is rare for a 10-year-old Cavalier not to have a mitral valve heart murmur. While heart disease is common in dogs generally -- one in 10 of all dogs will eventually have heart problems -- MVD is generally (as in humans) a disease of old age, but unfortunately, the cavalier is prone to early-onset heart disease, at as young as age one or two. It is the leading cause of death of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the reason the breed's expected life span is only between seven and ten years. Veterinary geneticists and cardiologists have designed breeding guidelines to eliminate early-onset mitral valve disease in the breed, but it is unclear if a statistically significant number of breeders follow these guidelines. Reputable international CKCS clubs all recommend that puppy buyers seek breeders who have cardiac clearances for their breeding dogs from a vet cardiologist, and who follow the MVD breeding protocol (parents should be at least 2.5 years old and heart clear, and their parents (eg the puppy's grandparents) should be heart clear until age 5).



I'm not trying to knock the breed, I'd love one. I wanted to get one but one of the reasons we didn't is because our Pug had just passed at 8 and I tried to find a dog that had the least amount of health problems.


This website says their expectancy is 9-14 years: Dog Breed Info

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

I just lost my maltese of 15 years to mitral valve disease. I read up on so much of the disease and took her to a cardiologist. Like the last post stated, I read so much about the Cavalier and how prone they were to getting this disease too.

Message edited 7/31/2007 8:53:18 PM.

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Dh's aunt has one and he is deaf and has some other problems...he is very young but not doing so well.

My aunt just bought one from a breeder here in CT...they are SO $$$$ but super cute and sweet.

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

I love these dogs but my cousin (who is a vet) talked me out of getting one because of the health issues that many experience.

Re: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

thanks everyone I appreciate it..
we are narrowing our dog search down!