Thumbs up from VET!

Hello everyone,

I am very excited that Bella had her second round of shots today and a check-up. The vet said she is very healthy. My veterinary hospital is very knowledgeable about purebreds and the VET checked her thoroughly. He then went through the health concerns that Cavaliers can have (which I knew about) but it was so great that he was thorough and really knew his stuff. I have recommended this them to friends over the years and my parents too and they are all really happy. I have been so worried over the last few weeks about her getting one of the seriousness illnesses that pups can get and now I have a great weight lifted from my shoulders.

Well done! So glad that Bella is fit and healthy and you can relax and enjoy her.

That is great she checked out well on her puppy exam! That's a great beginning!

As you clearly know, as does your vet, the things you really need to be aware of healthwise though are not things that will appear on early puppy exams, though a clear checkup is of course a great start for any puppy of any breed or mix . For purebred dogs, as your vet explained, problems tend to be genetic and risk is inherited (along with generally, some environmental components) and appear over time, generally much later in a dog's life.

Almost all the very serious problems cavaliers have are progressive -- they appear over time -- and most cannot be picked up by vets (as opposed to specialists) on an exam either (vets miss half of all early heart murmurs, and most are totally unfamiliar with syringomylia, which will affect about 70% of cavaliers eventually, but fortunately most will not be symptomatic).

For anyone with a new puppy and a vet who might be less familiar with the breed than Alana's, there are some documents people can print out about SM for your vet at www.smcavaliers.com and on Clare Rusbridge's website, and there's extensive info too on www.cavalierheath.org, www.cavaliermatters.com, http://www.cavaliercampaign.com, and http://cavalierpuppy.co.uk -- all sites we use regularly here and highly recommend!

The best start for any puppy is a great breeder, but not all of us have that if we got a rescue dog; didn't know about how to find one or how important this was or were tricked by some breeders and their websites which imply they do far more than they do; got our dog as a gift etc. After that the thing that makes the most difference is a caring and informed owner , a good vet, and a loving home.

Hopefully one day these serious health issues will be reduced or eliminated in our breed -- the goal of research and funding through projects like www.rupertsfund.com, a Cavalier Talk initiative supported by so many of you out there!