Hi and welcomeicon_welcome, and I hope we can all give you some ideas and direction for getting your first cavalier!
The best basic advice is: I would read through all the links that I have posted in the column on the right of the board in the area that says 'looking for a puppy' (second blue box from the top on the right of the homepage). I think these will answer your questions, mainly because I think you will find that the breeder you are talking about will be missing the single most important element–they will not be able to show you a single significant or meaningful test done on any of their breeding dogs before they bred them. For cavaliers, they should all be heart murmur free as certified by a cardiologist, and all four parents of the breeding pair should also be at least five years old and certified murmur free again by a cardiologist (not a vet!) at a minimum of age 5. Because of the now significant risk of syringomyelia in this breed, I would consider an MRI scan also to be a necessity on each parent. I am so sure that the breeder you are talking about has not done most if any of these tests that I would wager the price of a puppy on it! :lol:
But quite seriously, I have a feeling I know who this breeder is and would not recommend anyone making claims about crosses being healthier–not least because they are basing their ideas on breeding on some false assumptions and I would argue, deceptions about what actually is needed to make a healthier cavalier or even cavalier cross. One reason is that no reputable health testing breeder of any breed would sell dogs of their own breeding to someone they know would go on to breed their dogs themselves–they are generally only sold under strict spay and neuter contracts. So what you are getting are puppies from two parent dogs that won't be properly health tested–forget what the breeder says, what you want to see are their actual formal certificates of health clearances and I can guarantee you there won't be a single person doing this type of breeding who will have done MRIs, as they cost over $1000 generally in the US.
The second issue is related to what I said previously–that unless these people are doing breed appropriate tests with the right specialists on dogs that themselves come from lines where the health background is known (all of the major health issues in cavaliers are genetic and some of them, like MVD and SM, only appear over time so just testing the parents and having no idea of the overall health history of the line, and health test results of related dogs going further back, means there's still a lot of risk. Knowing parents' and grandparents' health makes a big difference). Lots of genetic issues are not immediately apparent especially in dogs used for breeding, which are younger dogs. And a vet definitely will not pick up 90% of these issues in a puppy. That is why a so-called vet health clearances actually mean little except that the puppy has no obvious surface issues at that moment in time.
I am afraid that puppies from health focused breeders do cost up around the amount you're talking about–it is because they put the time and effort and cost into the proper testing for this breed which has relatively small litters. as many people here will confirm, opting for the lower-cost puppy often means opting for a lifetime of massive vet bills. it is much better to pay a relatively small premium upfront at the time you buy your dog than to start paying hundreds and hundreds on up to thousands of dollars in vet bills after. Consider that a knee surgery would run between $500-$1000. Testing properly for heart problems quickly runs into hundreds of dollars as well. With SM, you are looking at $1000-$2000 just for a diagnostic MRI, and then if needed, several thousand for a surgery or alternatively, for medications to deal with the discomfort over the life of the dog. It just makes sound financial sense to work with a dedicated breeder -- and to save your money and get a puppy when this is possible if it is too costly for you right now.
On the other hand, there are many other ways of acquiring a cavalier
. First off, there are rescue dogs–either from national or local breed rescues, from Lucky Star rescue, or on Petfinder. If you are going to go the route of taking a dog of uncertain breeding anyway (and looking after your dogs well and giving them lots of love is not enough to make for a reputable and health focused breeding practice) then please don't give money to breeders who are continuing to support the decline of this breed through their indifferent breeding practice–opt for a rescue dog!
Another option is to work with a reputable breeder who may be retiring dogs from their breeding or show program–sometimes these may be older puppies that just are not shaping up as show dogs, or sometimes they may be retired breeding dogs. My oldest cavalier, Lucy came to my family at close to age 7 as a retired breeding girl. She is now 11 and remains the most wonderful and rewarding dog! Her, we were only asked to cover the costs for her spay and her transport.
If you wish, I can PM you the contacts of a couple of breeders that either may have puppies, or should be able to direct you to a reputable health focused breeder. If you are opting for a puppy, I would not consider any other option than working with a breeder who was actually health testing
properly AND
can show you the proof.