Re: Choosing The Right Puppy
Hi
I have been looking for some months for a cavalier puppy or older dog to live in our family.
We all adore cavaliers and we have regularly looked after my friend's 8 year old female cavalier for the past few years - she is gorgeous and we all adore her. I have been in contact with the Cavalier club and have also joined, but am looking for a companion who we can take everywhere with us just like the cavalier we look after. When we owned a cavalier a few years ago however, he was very hyperactive, shrieked all the time when we took him out of the house in spite of puppy training and became dominant aggressive as he reached adolescence. As I have children we had to rehome him with a very nice couple without kids but obviously this experience was very traumatic and we still miss him terribly.
I am very wary about getting a puppy again as I am concerned that the same thing might happen again(although we found out later that the breeder was a puppy farmer and the pedigree was false). I am aware that it is not just breeding that affects a dog's temperament - it is also upbringing, but our children are not particularly noisy or active, they are sensible round dogs and we always made sure our cavalier had his own space and was never disturbed in his bed or his crate. I have been on the rescue list for some time as I felt it would be nice to give a dog a home and also we would be able to see if he had a calm temperament but it is hard to find a rescue dog who is going to be ok with kids and many dogs in rescue would not be happy in that situation.
We even went to look at some pups from a renowned breeder with an excellent pedigree but I was horrified to find that the dad of the puppies, who is a very successful show dog, growled at my children even though they entered the room quietly and did not touch him. Obviously in spite of the fact the pup was gorgeous, we did not even consider buying him - the breeder said the dad was not used to children but in view of our previous experience I did not want to risk it. Also you often can't even see the dad if the breeder has used a stud dog, which is often the case.
Please can anyone advise on this - we desperately want a cavalier again but want to do it the right way this time. Thanks.
Hi
I have been looking for some months for a cavalier puppy or older dog to live in our family.
We all adore cavaliers and we have regularly looked after my friend's 8 year old female cavalier for the past few years - she is gorgeous and we all adore her. I have been in contact with the Cavalier club and have also joined, but am looking for a companion who we can take everywhere with us just like the cavalier we look after. When we owned a cavalier a few years ago however, he was very hyperactive, shrieked all the time when we took him out of the house in spite of puppy training and became dominant aggressive as he reached adolescence. As I have children we had to rehome him with a very nice couple without kids but obviously this experience was very traumatic and we still miss him terribly.
I am very wary about getting a puppy again as I am concerned that the same thing might happen again(although we found out later that the breeder was a puppy farmer and the pedigree was false). I am aware that it is not just breeding that affects a dog's temperament - it is also upbringing, but our children are not particularly noisy or active, they are sensible round dogs and we always made sure our cavalier had his own space and was never disturbed in his bed or his crate. I have been on the rescue list for some time as I felt it would be nice to give a dog a home and also we would be able to see if he had a calm temperament but it is hard to find a rescue dog who is going to be ok with kids and many dogs in rescue would not be happy in that situation.
We even went to look at some pups from a renowned breeder with an excellent pedigree but I was horrified to find that the dad of the puppies, who is a very successful show dog, growled at my children even though they entered the room quietly and did not touch him. Obviously in spite of the fact the pup was gorgeous, we did not even consider buying him - the breeder said the dad was not used to children but in view of our previous experience I did not want to risk it. Also you often can't even see the dad if the breeder has used a stud dog, which is often the case.
Please can anyone advise on this - we desperately want a cavalier again but want to do it the right way this time. Thanks.