our first cavalier....

Hello all, just wanted to stop in and introduce myself and say hello. I've been reading the forums for a few months now with the anticipation that our family will be getting a cavalier soon.

We had tried adoption of a rescue, however we were not a match for anything available near us. So I set out to find a puppy and came across someone near by that had one left in the litter.

I of course asked all the standard health questions, asked to see the parents and living conditions and met the puppy. Though there is no formal documents, i have checked her Facebook and reviews of other puppies and no one has had any indication of any medical problems. From what I can tell, she isn't a broker or breeder, but someone that has a couple cavi's on her farm and she just happens to sell the pups when they have a litter, (which doesn't seem to be very often, maybe oncea year). I have done exhausting research to find any type of link to her pups with any problems and wasn't able to find any. With that said, we are not going to breed him and he will be neutered quickly. We know the risk we are taking, and will also be getting pet insurance just in case.


When i meet him, he instantly came over and greeted me along with his mom and dad. He has been raised around younger kids and I got to meet them and see how he acted with them. Such a great disposition.

I will be picking him up next week, but our daughters have no clue this is going on. We have gotten pretty much everything ready for him to come home. We are very excited and can't wait.

I want to thank everyone on this site with all of the great info that has been put together here. We really feel prepared to take this journey with him because of this site and the members here.

I will try to attach some pictures of him, we haven't picked out a name yet, but the ladies kids have been calling him Red. We aren't fond of that name, so if anyone has some suggestions, we are open to them.

My wife is leaning towards Conner, but I'm not sold on it. She mentioned Cooper to, but that seems like a VERY popular name for a Cavi, so I'm not caring for that one much. I would like to somehow come up with a name that represents his Ruby color.

Thanks for reading and I/we hope to get to know many of you on here and maybe even in person (if you're in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area).

Jeremy and family


p.s. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures that was recently sent to me...

Welcome and I am sure you will get much joy out of your new cavalier! It is good that you have read about the health issues and know about the risks; unfortunately people who breed without testing really take great risks and it would be very hard to track the cavaliers of breeders like this, where they aren't showing or registering them with a recognised registry. Most cavalier genetic problems come later in life as well, when most buyers tend to have gone their own way.

But as you have said, you made an informed decision and it is good that you know what to watch for over your cavalier's life. Many of us have rescues of unknown background and so many of us live with that higher degree of uncertainty.

It does make me sad though that some people breed without seeming to care to learn enough about the breed to be aware of good breeding practice (you can hardly google cavaliers without coming across the health issues and links to testing advice and health protocols, as you did! ) or else deliberately ignoring all the information, research and evidence of serious health issues that could be substantially reduced through breeders testing and following protocols.

We'll look forward to pictures and maybe some will have name suggestions. The name is always a hard bit for me!

pictures added!

Karlin said:

Welcome and I am sure you will get much joy out of your new cavalier! It is good that you have read about the health issues and know about the risks; unfortunately people who breed without testing really take great risks and it would be very hard to track the cavaliers of breeders like this, where they aren't showing or registering them with a recognised registry. Most cavalier genetic problems come later in life as well, when most buyers tend to have gone their own way.

But as you have said, you made an informed decision and it is good that you know what to watch for over your cavalier's life. Many of us have rescues of unknown background and so many of us live with that higher degree of uncertainty.

It does make me sad though that some people breed without seeming to care to learn enough about the breed to be aware of good breeding practice (you can hardly google cavaliers without coming across the health issues and links to testing advice and health protocols, as you did! ) or else deliberately ignoring all the information, research and evidence of serious health issues that could be substantially reduced through breeders testing and following protocols.

We'll look forward to pictures and maybe some will have name suggestions. The name is always a hard bit for me!

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thanks for the warm welcome!

i agree 100% about how some breeders dont care. i know its not limited to the Cavalier breed, but it's so sad to see the decline of so many breeds because of bad breeders.

at this point, i feel that we have found a "good one" and hope that he will be with us for a long long time. no matter what though, when i saw him, i knew that i wanted his forever home to be ours, good or bad. each puppy deserves a great human to be with to provide a good life to, not matter how long or short.


2 days and a wake up before i can pick him up. my daughters are going to be sooooooo happy!

Welcome and congratulations on your puppy. Your little guy looks adorable and I'm looking forward to hearing more about him. Have you downloaded Ian Dunbar's free books......Before Getting your Puppy and After you bring your Puppy home. You can find them here. Lots of great info and training tips.

http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

As far as names....how about Copper or Chestnut?

How about Rusty? I've never seen a ruby cav in person so not sure just how red they are. The pic looks a little "tawny" but that sounds feminine.

I thought about rusty, which is my current fav.

I want to come up with a list and have my girls add to it and then as a family pick one.

Copper is on the long list, he really isn't a copper color at all though.

We also may include Hawaiian names as well. My wife and I met in Hawaii and have given our daughters Hawaiian middle name. We like themes I guess :0)

Wow -- if that was the last pup remaining I can't imagine what the others looked like! He is beautiful.

I'm the worst with names too. I always liked the names that they came to me with, so I stuck with them. I don't like RED either, though. I think your kids will want to be in on the naming process and I'm sure they will come up with some good ones.

Lots of luck with him. He really is gorgeous!

Joan

joandesan said:

Wow -- if that was the last pup remaining I can't imagine what the others looked like! He is beautiful.

I'm the worst with names too. I always liked the names that they came to me with, so I stuck with them. I don't like RED either, though. I think your kids will want to be in on the naming process and I'm sure they will come up with some good ones.

Lots of luck with him. He really is gorgeous!

Joan

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Thanks Joan, when she mentioned he was the last, i asked what was wrong with him to make him the last. she had no idea why, there is nothing wrong with him. he was the same size as the rest and wasnt the big boy or the runt.

my hunch is that he was the only Ruby male. all the others were Blen's and female Rubies.


and with that sentence, i put another name on the the list.... Rube


as far as the kids, i/we want their input for sure, but we have to be careful what we ask for. they have had a bad influence with the neighbors kids that got to name their cats. Lets just say that "TurkeyHam" is not and will not ever be coming out of my mouth for a pets name. I always ask myself, "where were the parents, and why didnt they say no when the kids decided to name their cat TurkeyHam", seriously.



so the name short list right now...

Rusty
Conner
Rube



long list....

Cooper
`Ula (Hawaiian for red)
`Ula Nui (Hawaiian for Big Red)
`Ehu (Hawaiian for Reddish Hair)
Luki (Hawaiian name for Rusty)

"TurkeyHam" -- that is way too funny. I know someone who named their dog "Baked Ziti" What are people thinking???

I look forward to hearing what you call him and how the kids react. I surprised my kids with Bosco. Upon seeing him in the house, my teenage daughter thought I was watching him for someone else and was not too pleased when she heard he was staying with us. We already had 2 dogs, and I guess she thought I went off the deep end with number 3. He' s a charmer though, and I will admit it -- my all-time favorite dog!

Joan

If I can be blunt, turkeyham is absolutely ridiculous for a name. When I heard it for the first time, I had to have them repeat it twice just to make sure I heard it right.

I personally think I am more excited for the kids. They have been asking for a long time. I think they know something is up but I don't think they know exactly yet. Tomorrow is the big day!

"turkeyham"... :rotfl:

Yes, it is pretty ridiculous!

Jeremy said:

.

I personally think I am more excited for the kids. They have been asking for a long time. I think they know something is up but I don't think they know exactly yet. Tomorrow is the big day!

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It is best that YOU are most excited about the pup, because chances are that once the novelty wears off YOU will be one walking and taking care of the dog. I absolutely love dogs, and we never would have gotten three dogs if I thought the kids were going to be responsible for caring for them. They love the dogs but seem to disappear when it is time to walk them, feed them, or visit the vet. LOL! And the kids wonder why the dogs like me best!!

joandesan said:

I know someone who named their dog "Baked Ziti" What are people thinking???

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If someone has never seen a Sbarro restaurant, they might think the dog was named for a bad acne outbreak.

He is home and boy has it been an adventure.

He's just now getting used to us and wagging his and playing with the kids. He was so exhausted he just crashed, hard.

Joan, just to clear this up, there is no doubt that he is my dog and I am very excited to finally have him. But don't think for a second that this isn't about the kids to. I grew up with dogs and I want my kids to experience the same companionship that I had. My dog and I had a very good friendship. As it should. She was with us for almost 18 years. Even if they lose interest I know I won't.


Pics will be coming soon.

Of course the pup is for the whole family! There is nothing like a dog for kids to grow up with! Enjoy every moment. What did you name him?

We ended up naming him Cooper.

I know I know, I said we probably wouldn't name him that, but that was the only one that all 4 of us liked. Rusty was the first pick of mine and the kids, but the wife veto'd that one.


I have lots of pics, I just need the time to upload them. Hopefully tonight.