A New Adventure; A New Best Friend :)

Hey Everyone!

I'm a young woman, and I've had pets all my life- but mostly cats, and, the past year, I came to realize that what I was looking for in a companion, just didn't seem to be things that a cat is capable of- and a lot of them have passed through my household- (I used to rescue them from families who were going to put them in a high-kill shelter, and then vet clear them & find new homes) so I do know what I'm talking about here. It's not that I don't love them, but anyway..

I did some research, talked to a lot of people, and read everything I could get my hands on (that was recommended by people hailed for actually knowing what they're talking about). There was no contest- the Cavalier was the most wonderful breed I'd ever seen; not just appearance-wise, though they are incredibly beautiful. It was the fact that they had such a sweet temperament, were so attentive, loving, and loyal, had that amazing ability to be calm, without lacking the playfulness that's present in pretty much all dogs. They're intelligent, wonderful dogs- and I knew that in my search for a puppy, I'd made the right choice- it had to be a Cavalier.

Now, after months of research and searching, I'm incredibly excited to announce that, in a few weeks time, I am going to be bringing home a little Blenheim girl! She comes from a breeder who loves his dogs- owns both the mothers and the fathers, and all have a clean bill of health, and are just absolutely the sweetest dogs I've ever met- a trait that does, as far as I've seen, pass to the pups- the father was even with us and the six week old litter I had visited, my first time up there (of course the Mom of the past litter is NOT the mom of the babe I'm taking home- actually, her sister is the mom) and he patiently walked among the energetic little babies, snuffling at them and passively tolerantly allowing their playful tugging of his ears, and rolling between his feet. To me, that was astonishing..When I was little, my mother had basset hounds, and when the girl had puppies, we HAD to keep the father separate at all times, until they were big enough and weaned.

Anyway, my journey or adventure is just shy of beginning-- I still have a lot to learn, and a lot to do, to get this place set up into an environment suitable for the little girl who's about to become a member of the family- I have seven weeks to go!

I can't wait!!

Hi and welcome! Yes, we think this is a pretty amazing breed. too. It is always hard waiting for the final countdown til you get your puppy.

On fathers -- as nice as the breed should be if bred for the proper temperament, I actually think this probably isn't particular to the breed, and there are cavalier dads who definitely would have to be kept away from the litter (and to be honest, some breeders would likely never let either other bitches or fathers or other males in to wander around young puppies -- it would really depend on the individual temperament of the adult dogs and the approach of the breeder). Some dogs like puppies, some do not (I have two males and a female who don't particularly care for them and I'm sure would actually avoid having to go anywhere near a litter :lol. So you probably simply met a male that likes pups and is safe around them!

On health clearances-- you probably have seen the post on searching for a breeder and finding a puppy in the Library section -- as a general point for anyone looking for puppies, these should mean at a minimum, cardiologist (NOT vet!) heart clearances for parents within a year of the mating; parents should both be at least 2.5 years old, and all 4 grandparents should also have cardiologist certs showing they were heart clear at at least age 5. Next up -- you should have been able to see hip scores and eye certs. And ideally -- (and in my opinion, an absolute necessity) -- MRI information for both parents. The problem is that too many breeders say they have 'health clearances' and all this means are relatively valueless notes from their vet on their hearts and some vague 'clean bill of health'. This is a problem in particular of those who say they 'breed only for the pet market', which is often a red flag as it generally means they are doing no meaningful health testing at all and breed dogs with no known health history. You really want only ever to be seeing certs from specialists particularly for hearts and from a neurologist or radiologist for the MRI cert.

Puppy buyers are so important -- they are the front line for this under-pressure breed to make sure breeders do proper testing -- if people don't get puppies from those who are not good custodians of breed health, and tell them why, then those people will either go out of business or have to change. So I always encourage every puppy buyer to be absolutely sure that health certs are truly the right health certs, that the dogs were of the right age to have been bred (in accordance with two health protocols), and then the buyer can know they have the best possible chance of a healthy adult. :jmp:

Thanks for the Warm Welcome, Karlin!!

Thanks so much, Karlin, for the warm, warm welcome .

I'm so glad for the information that you posted- it gave me exactly in answers I was looking for, and guess what! The breeder passed with flying colors! I'm thrilled!

Oh, and I know that just because that particular dad is great around puppies doesn't mean all of them will be . I'd just never seen that before, and I've been around a lot of moms and litters--of all breeds! (Don't worry- not in my home, and certainly not in anything like a mass breeder or- heaven forbid- a puppy mill...). In fact, when I first went to see the breeder, it was about the litter that my pup's mother's sister, Ashley (insert joke here- I have the same name as the mommy). The breeder told me that Angel, (my pup's mom) doesn't like to be around anyone's babies but her own, so I understand what you mean .

Thank you again for your advice, it's so, so reassuring to know that people here are willing to share their knowledge with other new owner's like me . It makes me far less nervous just having this network available--I'll be coming back very often.

Take care, and thank you so much, again!