hi!

Hi!!!
Im Carrie and i am due to view a puppy tomorrow!! Weve had a picture sent to us from the breeder of a ruby boy- he looks like a Bertie to me so if we get him thats what we will call him!! Hes 6wks old at the moment and hes ready to come home in 2wks although the lady is keeping him an extra 2wks till we get paid (such a long wait!!!). He will be the first cavalier ive owned- i do already have dogs though 2 soppy labradors. So i cant wait!!
What id like to know is what are they like as puppies? My two labs were/still are a handfull at times (they are only 11mnths). Are cav pups easy to tain? Mad hyper looneys? Big chewers? Think ive just described my labs lol !!!!
Carrie

icon_welcome Hello and welcome. First, a quick question - have you had a look at the 'before you buy a puppy section' on this board? If not, have a look so you know what you should be asking.

As for what are Cavalier puppies like, I can only speak from the experience of my two, who were quite easy compared to my old Welsh Springer Spaniel Becky.

They both chewed a bit when they were young (especially shoes and newspapers) but otherwise were not particularly distructive. But then Becky was a real high maintenance dog, so by comparison most dogs were going to be easy!

But of course all puppies take a lot of looking after and playing with, and no two are the same. Cavaliers do have wonderful natures though.

Good luck with your puppy viewing.

Hi Carrie

I've been a member here for a few months now. I registered before I bought my cavie as part of my research. There is a wealth of knowledge here!

I now have a 6 month old B&T female. She is very sweet, not especially cuddly unless she's been on her own and you've just returned home or it's bedtime, goes crazy playing with the cat, and she's been very hard to housebreak dispite all good efforts.

Seeing as you already have 2 dogs, are you prepared financially to support another dog. Although I haven't yet purchased insurance, after hanging around on this board, I've come to the conclusion that I MUST buy pet insurance.

Cheers!

icon_welcomeHi and welcome

We have just been spectacularly let down. We just phoned the breeder to confirm the time to view puppy tomorrow and she said hes now already been reserved!! Even though she knew we were coming to pay our deposit tomorrow. Im really upset and keep looking at the picture she sent us. She said we can go and look at a black and tan girl if we want- dont know what you all would do but i dont trust her now.
To answer the person that asked if we can afford another dog- i wouldn't be getting another if i couldn't. I dont spend much money on myself, dont smoke, dont go out so my spare money goes on my dogs and my spare time is spent walking them. We have always had our two labs insured on the life cover so the new pup (if i find one) will be insured too.

icon_welcome

icon_welcome Bertie is a lovely name. I am no expert so forgive me if i speak out of turn, but is 8 weeks not a bit too early for pups to be going to new homes?

Hi and welcome.

Welcome! I am sorry that this happened with your reserved pup. However as frustrating as it is, a breeder has every right to opt for a buyer they know will indeed pay for the puppy at the end of the day-- it can be hard for them to opt for someone who gives a heartfelt commitment but they don;t know what might happen at the end of the day. They do sometimes get left with puppies that people decide against at the last minute-- but there are breeders and there are breeders... a reputable kind breeder would definitely not have done this if they had made a commitment and you had shown your commitment too.

More important is whether this breeder has done proper health testing and showed you the health clearances on parents -- please do check the information in the Library section. At an absolute minimum you want cardiologist (NOT simply vet) heart clearances on both parents and all four grandparents; parents should be at least 2.5 yes old and grandparents all at least 5 years old. I strongly recommend looking for a breeder who will talk to you honestly about syringomyelia in the breed and who MRI scans and can discuss results and why s/he chose the sire and dam pairing... ideally s/he will also have eyes/hips/knees tested.

It may turn out that a different breeder would be a better option healthwise anyway. Be sure you fully understand the breed health issues and incidence in this breed and know what a decent breeder should have done before you even consider one of their puppies.

hi Carrie,

what happened wasnt nice at all and you must feel really let down, but it has now given you the time to really research the breed and it's health problems....and there are a few

Think about it with care before you look again.

take care,

Alison.

Hello again Carrie,

I am sorry that you have been let down about the puppy, it must be so disappointment when you have got your hopes up.

But don't be discouraged, and now that you have joined the board take this time to have a look at all the health information so that you are well prepared for your search. There are lots of helpful people here so post away with questions and somebody is bound to be able to help. Somebody might be able to point you in the direction of a good breeder as well.

I wish you the best of luck in finding another puppy who is healthy and will be a lovely addition to your doggy family. Keep us informed of how you are getting on.

Edit: I've just come back to add this point - if, as Karlin said, you made a commitment to buy this puppy I am not too impressed with the breeder's behaviour. I do think she should have waited for you to see the puppy having made the arrangement for you to come over. When I got Rufus my breeder actually has an offer to buy him the day before. She told me that somebody came to see a different puppy and saw Rufus so offered her more money for him. Fortunately she said there was no way she would do this, as we had first option.

And no, I didn't ask about SM as I didn't know much about it, but I did ask about heart certificates which were all in order. I know all the questions to ask now, so would be asking more questions. As you have got to start looking again, make sure you know what to ask.

Best wishes

This happened to me but it was my fault because I didn't know the system. Breeders expect you to reserve the pup (not just make an appointment to view) and if someone else gets in first then they will let them go so that they know the pup definitely has a home waiting. Next time ask what the breeders system is and reserve or 'book' the pup.

Good luck in your continued search!