Be very cautious about judging people on whether they appear to be 'nice' and 'very helpful' and 'well informed'.
Some work very hard to appear this way, especially on the public lists and boards (you should have a read of the things they say on Allaboutcavaliers, their private list
), because it is to their benefit to sow FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about the actual situation regarding health issues. Some of the posts here indicate how successful they occasionally are at doing so.
Some of those who try very very hard to be sugary sweet-nice (though the mask does fall in some of the free-for-alls!) are those who have the greatest interest in keeping the breeding situation as it is. Some have lines that have serious problems which *will* emerge over time to other breeders (at least, those that care) as they seek EBVs for prospective studs or dams -- and these people know they have these problems, know they have been told of affected dogs from their lines, and in several cases, publicly lie about it (I have the evidence, 1st hand, not second hand or third hand like some of the gossip that gets circulated about on this dog or that by these same 'nice' breeders)... but as I have said before, they are also amongst those that have knowingly turned a blind eye to known, affected dogs and either put them to stud despite knowing they are throwing SM offspring, sold the affected dogs on outside their home markets to unsuspecting buyers who then put them to stud abroad, allowed people they KNOW are correct on key health issues and KNOW have given fully truthful accounts of their actions to be put under attack, and in other ways I have recounted to some privately, with evidence to fully back my claims, regularly adopt a 'do as a say, not as a do' approach to health and to advising pet buyers on how to choose a health-focused breeder.
To no great surprise many of these people initially support the latest vet specialist who is doing this research or that, but as soon as it becomes clear that truth about given lines is going to emerge, or a need for far more restrictive, controlled breeding practice than is now being done, then the researcher is suddenly rejected (either publicly as some can see by what is now being said about EBVs by some initially supportive breeders, or privately, as they know they continue to breed as they wish beyond public scrutiny... for now. Not, I believe, for too much longer).
Personally, I've always been a great fan of CavalierChat
because when the mask slips, as it regularly does for several of the 'nice' breeders, you see many of these people for what they are truly like; and also, it has supplied so much extremely useful evidence for past parliamentary enquiries into dog breeding, breed health, etc.
Because of that, the site (ironically) makes several aspects of working toward actual breed health much easier though they may not be obvious.
There are some great breeders out there all right, and many want the system to change. Many of these people are appalled by the 'nice' breeders and what they do.
I'd go by actual actions rather than whether people appear nice or seem to say the right things. Believe me, there is a great chasm between what some say, and what they actually think and do.
Never forget that some of the 'nicest' breeders out there -- as many on this board can testify -- are the worst commercial breeders with their friendly websites and slightly cheaper dogs, because they know that many show breeders can be difficult to approach and are intimidating. It pays -- literally -- to appear to be nice, for some. Look for what people are actually doing, ask for the actual CURRENT health certs; look up the breeding *history* for a dog, not just the current litter (as the dog may now be of the right age for the health protocols but may have been bred many, many times outside of it previously).