questions for website members

[gamefanz]

I've really enjoyed reading every response to the questions. Thank you all for participating. I really feel for the families that have cav's with illnesses. I truly hope they live long and happy lives. I've learned so much about all of you and your Cav's.
I can't wait to get my pup home and share all the fantastic and lovable things he does with all of you.
Bet, I don't know what qualifies as a BYB. I am not sure if my breeder is part of a club but I did not find her that way. She has never said anything about a club and we've spent hrs with her. I just know that she does what she can to research her dogs background and will exhaust all avenues to find out info on all the lines. I've watched her closely with her dogs and they are her kids. She lost her son a long time ago and these dogs have helped her through it. They are great dogs and very happy. Granted she has not tested for SM but none of her dogs have given her a reason to, I just have to take it for what it is.

Becky

[GreenDenmark]

1. Coco is 1 next week and Luna is 6 month. about 2 weeks.
2. No.
3. Coco has been showed 1 time as puppy and more to come. Luna has not been showed yet.
4. Are there any funny or unique things your Cav does that just makes you smile or melt? If there is please share.
5. I knew alot about their health issues.
6. Parents were tested for heart, eyes and knees, but not SM. So far, no symptoms.
I've just ordered DNA test to both dogs to test for Curly Coated Syndrom og Episodic Falling Syndrome. Eyes and knees is upcoming for Coco. The heart may wait 6 month yet.
7. They aren't
8. Too many to list, but maybe the kindness. And of cause to meet all other people worldwide with CKCS.

[Reptigirl]

What I would like to find out from the List Members here is, how MANY of their Cavaliers with SM were bought from CKCS CLUB BREEDERS or from Puppy Farms and BYB's.

The Cavaliers' SM and MVD Problem is always blamed on those Cavaliers that have come from Puppy Farms and BYB'S but have as many come from CKCS CLUB BREEDERS.
Bet

While my pup came from an obvious puppy mill or as she openly calls herself "puppy farm". This parents originally were acquired by a much smaller scale "mill/BYB". They were produced by Cavalier "breeders" who are not part of any club. The Cavalier breeders breed several litters of cavaliers a year without any intent for showing and no health testing. In my opinion all of these places are mills but I never got to know the original breeders well enough. Once I brought up the MRI results of SM they quit contacting me.

I found it interesting that Holly & Blitz parents (although owned by different breeders) were all imported to the USA. So i can only assume those imports were probably out of mills too. I often wonder if those imports were out of mills too.

Most people I meet who learn about there terrible struggles with such sever CM/SM always say "I bet they are really inbreed" Funny thing is I can go back many generations in there pedigree and not find common ancestors. They seem to have come from very diverse locations without similarities. I believe it was 7+ gens back before I was able to even find the same name used twice.

There are even lots of Champions & Inter. Champions once you get 3+ gens back from Holly & Blitz.

So although they came out of a mill there are still many well known dogs in there pedigree.

Just a little bit of interesting information I have learned over the last couple months.

[Love my Cavaliers]

My severely affected SM girl and my male with CM and a congenital heart murmur came from a respected CKCS Club breeder. My 10 year old male with no SM (documented by MRI at age 9.5 years) and no murmur (documented by a cardiologist before his MRI) is from a BYB.

[MadPip]

Thank you everyone for replying. I love getting to know people and their pups better.
Madpip, I will have to look up more on what the grade mean for agility. I don't know much about it but would love to see a competition one day.
All this talk about sighing makes me hope my cav will do this. On our visits I really didn't hear any of her dogs do this.

Becky

In the UK the Kennel Club has a grading system for agility. If you are new to the sport you start at grade 1, a win at that grade in an agility course (includes the contact equipment ie dogwalk, seesaw, a-frame) or three jumping wins (jumps tunnels and weaves only no contact equipment) moves you up into grade 2 and so on through the grades until you are in grade 6, when I think more wins are needed to get to Grade 7, the highest grade. I'm not sure of the details because I don't expect to reach those dizzy heights. The complicated bit is, if the owner, dog or handler has previously won into grade 3 or above then any subsequent dog has to start in Grade 3, not grade 1. Again, not something I expect to have to worry about.
There are organisations other than the KC that run shows and have leagues and progression through grades. These have different progression rules (and some have different jump heights). In my area most shows are KC run.

[gamefanz]

WOW thank you for explaining the system. Sounds like so much fun! I do think its unfair that a new dog would have to start above its level just because the owner is at that level.

Becky

In the UK the Kennel Club has a grading system for agility. If you are new to the sport you start at grade 1, a win at that grade in an agility course (includes the contact equipment ie dogwalk, seesaw, a-frame) or three jumping wins (jumps tunnels and weaves only no contact equipment) moves you up into grade 2 and so on through the grades until you are in grade 6, when I think more wins are needed to get to Grade 7, the highest grade. I'm not sure of the details because I don't expect to reach those dizzy heights. The complicated bit is, if the owner, dog or handler has previously won into grade 3 or above then any subsequent dog has to start in Grade 3, not grade 1. Again, not something I expect to have to worry about.
There are organisations other than the KC that run shows and have leagues and progression through grades. These have different progression rules (and some have different jump heights). In my area most shows are KC run.