Neither Cavy nor Cavie faux pas

Herm... I put a y on the end of everything.... I would have liked to see the breeder's face when you said cavy.

Funny you posted this -- my daughter was making a major pitch for a guinea pig, so I was doing all sorts of online research about them and kept seeing them referred to as "cavvies." I thought it was very strange and coincidental. I had forgotten about this until I saw your post.

I have to admit....that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. If I'm going to shorten the name I'll shorten it to Cavalier. I know that anything shorter isn't considered proper. I was politely corrected the first time I said it and I appreciated the person pointing out my error. I would have to pronounce a word the wrong way over and over and never have anyone correct me.....same thing with anything I become avidly interested in, I like to use the correct lingo. But...there are times people can be downright rude about it....that I don't like at all.

maneumann said:

We are getting a 2nd Cavalier soon, and I made the mistake of referring to them as Cavys. The breeder was a bit miffed by this and respond back with the below definition and requst to not call Cavaliers a Cavy or Cavie. Ops! Never heard this before, probably a bit purest, but I guess it makes sense in lieu of the below definition. Anyway, I thought it was sort of funny, so sharing and correcting my bad form.​

Cavy kā'vē, name for 14 species of South American rodents of the family Caviidae, including the domestic guinea pig. The wild cavies are usually small, rounded, and tailless, with fur of a uniform shade of brown. Nocturnal animals, they occupy a variety of habitats, especially dense vegetation. An unusual, large species is the Patagonian cavy, or mara (Dolichotis patagonum), a long-legged, harelike animal that reaches a length of about 212 ft (76 cm) and lives in arid regions. The capybara belongs to a related family. Some cavies are hunted for food in South America. Cavies are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Caviidae.​

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rotfl-- YES, this is a common irritant. lol... The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel gets shortened to 'cavalier'.

O my....and I picked it up here on the board. They are allways refferred to as cavaliers in Iceland but I thought it was hip to say cavi and chose the name ice-cavi.....I feel so dumb

OMGoodness! I often shorten it to cavvy out of fondness for my own cavaliers. :lotsaluv: Whoops, will have to change my ways.

haha, I'm busted too!

I've only heard the word since I've been visiting this site, too. I'll stop using it. Honestly, it makes our beautiful dogs sound cheap anyway!

Aw we loved the fact that we have Cavvie dogs and Cavy guinea pigs, i dont see what harm it is most dogs names get shortened or have ies on the end ie Westies, Staffies, Rotties etc etc.....................
I thinks its human nature
I never introduce them as cavvie though - people always TELL me that they are King Charles Spaniels but I always politely correct them and insist on Cavalier's not King Charles and not cavvies

ice-cavi.....I feel so dumb:biggrin:

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I LOVE your sign in name!! I think it's so unique and fits so well.

ice-cavi don't feel bad - I love your sign in name too!!, I think it's ok to use it like that.

I'm a purist and hate them referred to as Cavvies in a conversation - also hate them being called King Charles Cavalier Spaniels GRRR

Pet owners often use the term cavvy in Ireland and the UK.

But to put in in context -- a lot of cavalier owners and especially breeders hate the term 'cavvy/cavvie' as much as people from the San Francisco area hate the term 'Frisco' for San Francisco.

I think it was a bit stupid to give the breed a name as long as Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in the first place, especially as there's already a breed called King Charles Spaniel, and so another usual term for cavaliers in UK/Ire is to call them a 'King Charles' which is confusing to those who know the difference and like each breed. 'King Charles' is actually a far more common term for a cavalier than cavvie over here. This isn't as confusing inthe US as the King Charles is called the English Toy Spaniel. Only breeders tend to call CKCS 'cavaliers' here!! I wish they'd just called the breed 'cavalier spaniels' from the start :lol:.

I don't know why it is OK for some breeds to be referred to by shortened names by breeders, and other terms like cavvies are disliked!

Personally, if someone corrects you and it isn't your mother...then I think it's rude. In the grand scheme of things....does it really matter what term we use to shorten the breed name?

Knowing it offends some people of the board then I'll probably stop using the term Cavi...at least till I forget about it and let it slip out again! So I'll apologize to each and every one for my future 'fauz pas'.

I happen to think 'Cavi' is cute, as are our dogs....don't care that it also is the name of a rodent. When my son was a baby I used to LOVINGLY call him 'My Little Boogie' but because that offended my mother, I stopped. ('Boogie' my mother said was too close to the word 'booger' ....a slang term for snot) Had that happened today, I'd just try to stop saying it front of my mother and keep on saying all other times. Life is too short.....

Lynn said:

Life is too short.....

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So true, so true!!! As long as we love our Cavaliers and take good good care of them ....does it really matter. Will the world end if sometimes people shorten their breed name!