Any additional health issues with "teacup" Cavs?

[Lisa_T]

Sometimes it can just be bad breeders- Holly's original breeder basically stopped feeding her mother and Holly herself- result- a very tiny fragile puppy. At 14 weeks she was smaller and thinner than some 8 week old pups I've seen and heartbreakingly uncertain of things- you can see if in the photo of her when I first had her. Even now if she gets stressed she becomes quite nervous. Always been very healthy and now although petite, she's not a teacup. My vet reassured me by telling me she'd seen smaller Cavs than Holly and that Holly was simply a 'very pretty, dainty example of the breed.' You can't argue with that!

Basically while I think it's wrong to deliberately miniaturise, it's possible that a smaller puppy will develop very nicely. Holly's 'issues' are socialisation related, because we don't think she had any litter mates (if she did, they died or were PTS) and so missed out on that puppy play thing. Perfectly alright now though- I wouldn't even consider a second dog if I thought it would make Holls chuck and major and permanent wobbly

[Karlin]

Basically while I think it's wrong to deliberately miniaturise, it's possible that a smaller puppy will develop very nicely.

And small puppies often catch up to become within breed standard dogs anyway. Puppy size isn't always a very good yardstick (so to speak! ) for guessing adult size. Check out Bruce's forum on his two litters and you can see the smallest puppies tend to catch up and sometimes surpass littermates eventually.

An ethical breeder knows the breed standard and breeds to it; always prioritises health issues first and then equally, temperament and conformation; and ideally, is involved in the dog world showing and with the regional and local clubs because then they are easily able tostay on top of breed health issues, latest news, and know how their dogs stand up against the benchmark dogs winning in the rings.

It's also really important for folks to know that there is no such thing as a teacup cavalier so they can buy a puppy wisely. This is a marketing ploy to breed non-conforming dogs and sell them to the unsuspecting -- and any breeder aiming for undersized dogs without regard to how this affects overall breed and individual dog health is sure unlikely to be breeding for health, temperament or conformation generally. Which means potentially costly health issues for owners, and very unethically, producing undersized puppies that may have truncated lives and suffer due to health problems (as posts here indicate, small size can be due to serious liver problems, hydrocephalus, and other potentially major problems that no one would want passed to new generations). If buyers are asking for teacup cavaliers, it's definitely a great opportunity for breeders to be really supportive and educate their potential buyers about why they should avoid same, and what they should really be looking for from a breeder -- like cardiac, eye, hip and patella clearances for dam and sire (and potentially, SM MRI for breeding stock).

Cavaliers are so wonderful just the way they are (need I persuade anyone? ), and many naturally fall over or a bit under the breed standard without breeding outside of it -- and there are many options for people to select a miniaturised breed that has been miniaturised over decades -- even centuries -- of careful breeding for health and conformation. That's what is wonderful about dogs -- if one breed doesn't meet one's desires there are always others.

The UK standard incidentally runs 12-18 lbs so takes in a slightly smaller cavalier.

I have a feeling Lily is now down around 12 lbs herself (from a whopping -- for her -- 18lbs when she came from the pound) ... might get a chance to weigh her at the vet tomorrow. She is definitely a BYB or puppy farm cavalier though and has a really tiny head. It's just not right.

[Kingofthehouse86]

the "toy" "teacup" breeds arent they just a runt breed wit another runt and so on and so forth??? That's kinda what I've heard....just wondering?

[Mic]

platelet inconsistencies,

Mic are you aware that cavaliers can have oversized platelets which vets unfamiliar with the breed will totally misread as a serious platelet problem? It is very important not to treat for this, and have the vet handcount platelets when it appears that they don;t have enough platelets. There's more info stickied to the top of the 'Health' section of the Cavalier Library section.

Karlin:

Yes, my vet and I went over that and he was very knowledgeable on the issue. Since Cosmo was pretty skinny, the vet wanted to see some consistent blood test results before his neuter surgery. Each sample was hand counted at two different facilities: the vet's office lab and the local hospital lab. I think we had to wait/delay the surgery 5 months (and make some diet modifications) until he felt his levels were stable. I appreciate your concern.

I didn't select Cosmo because he was the runt or small; his personality just matched what I was looking for (black and tan, NOT the alpha) and what the breeder felt would work best with our family. She is a very ethical and knowledgeable breeder, is a regional officer on the CKCS-USA board, and her dogs do very well in shows all over. We communicated during each of his medical situations and she helped pay for his knee surgery. After reviewing his medical history, she decided not to mate his parents (don't know the breeder's term) again...first and last litter. So I truly don't blame anything on her. Cosmo was high-maintenance, but such a love!! I miss him!

~Mic

[molly+charlies mum]

my cavalier is tiny she is the same size as my cat everyone thinks she is a pup but she is 3 she is a bad eater has skin problems, and is very slow at walking,she dosent play much just likes to sleep but she does get a lot of cuddles outside because she is so tiny and a lot of people say they like the little ones better they dont make a fuss of charlie as he is bigger