Adding Retired Bitch to our clan?

Hi All,

Sorry for the absence. Ragnar has been keeping us extremely busy, but not to fear, we will be putting up some new pictures soon.

On another note, the wonderful breeder we got Ragnar from is looking to re-home one of her breeding bitches. We want another Cav, and are interested in an older dog, but we really need to know what to expect.

We will be meeting with the breeder, and also having Ragnar stay in their home for a few nights to see how the two dogs get on. For people who have brought in an older second dog: how has the first reacted? How would it compare to a new puppy (FYI Ragnar was raised with this dog until he was ten weeks old). Ragnar is now ten months.

The second concern is we know the bitch is being retired due to a minor heart murmur (I have emailed to ask what grade), and that as a result she is being spayed. We are also curious what type of fees are associated with the re-homing process. Would someone pay as much for a retired bitch as for a puppy?

We know there are some breeders on the forum, as well as people who have done this, so we are looking for your input and experience.

Thanks in advance! :jump:

I have 2 retired female breeders-in each case the upfront cost was for spay, dental and bringing vaccinations up to date ( neither had had rabies vac.). There was no "adoption fee". Also, neither had had heartworm testing and that was for me to do. One I had microchipped at spay, (I paid) and the other was already chipped and I registered both.
One of mine was housetrained and one was not, both friendly to other dogs and no behavioral issues with either one.
The longer a female goes unspayed the higher the risk for mammary cancer later so that is a "what if" factor and you will probably want to have the murmur evaluated by a cardiologist on a regular basis.

Our Girl was a rehome from a shower/breeder home. We were given her I had her spayed shortly after coming to me my boy had already been done.
When we brought her home he got very excited to say the least he calmed down a few hours later.

Two years ago last October we added Colleen, a retired show dog/breeder to our home. At that time she was about 7. Our other Cavalier, Polka, was 11 1/2. For the first day or so, Polka wasn't so sure and she growled at Colleen. I think Colleen even growled at her once. We were a bit nervous. That was the first and only time Colleen did that. We took them on walks and they were fine together. Colleen was a bit nervous and shy being in a new home. Our main problem is around food because Colleen hoovers it in, and Polka likes to eat slowly. So we separate them. Other wise, all is perfect. They really get along wonderfully. And slowly over about 3-4 months Colleen came out of her shell.

Colleen had just been spayed about two weeks before we got her and had a dental, which we were not asked to pay for. Our breeder just really wanted to find Colleen the proper home. We took her to the vet for a microchip and they checked her out. She did have a mumur about a 3-4, she still is at a 4 now. Polka from the day we got her at 1 had a slight mumur and an enlarged heart. She is now 13 1/2, and for the first time showing signs of feeling old. Honestly, both of our Cavaliers were older, not puppies. They both came house trained, which was a plus! most families i don't think would take in a 7+ year old dog, but it is the best thing we did. She is a wonderful snuggly dog and probably the funniest dog we have ever had. I am so glad my husband surprised me with her. I know that Cavaliers have health problems, but it really can happen with any breed. You just do the best you can, give them the best life you can, and give them the love they deserve. Would i do it again, yes! From the same breeder, absolutely! Even our lab was 1 year old when rescued her. I hope that helps.
mlhirsch

Mlhirsch, I loved reading about Colleen, and gandp, as long as the dogs get on okay, I say go for it. When we took in Lady, others thought we were crazy for not getting a puppy, but the experience has been wonderful. She was housetrained, we knew a bit about her likes/dislikes, and we were able to use the vet she's known her whole life. We paid for her spay/microchip, which was considerably less than if we had purchased a puppy. My main concern with getting an older dog was that she wouldn't bond with us like a puppy would - and I have to laugh now at that thought. Lady is GLUED to me; we have our routines together, and if I'm gone for longer than she'd like, I get a snuggle followed by a lecture (my husband says it sounds like she's talking to me with marbles in her mouth - it absolutely kills me). There was an adjustment at first (she didn't want to eat for a few days, and her potty schedule was off because she didn't know where to go - I think she held her bladder for a world record the first couple of days), but we just kept praising and encouraging her. I feel like I've had her for years now, even though it hasn't been as long. I can't say what it would have been like if we'd already had a dog - in some ways it might have been easier for her as she would have had someone to follow/show her the ropes in her new home.

Hope this has been helpful!

Thank you guys for sharing your experiences. It is always nice to hear about other cavaliers!

I foster cavs for a local shelter and i find that my own mob are very breedist if its a cav they just crowd round sniffing and then escort them round showing them the garden and then the kitchenand were the food comes from. I have occasionally bought in different small breeds but Pip and Emily tend to bark at them until they get used to them.