Ah My Puppy Aboption Fell Thur

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this forum (posted in the intro) anyway I was expecting a new puppy in Mid March but... that is not gonna happen now. My breeder (who I fully checked out-even talked to her vet) had 2 litters of puppies born within days of each other both litters had 2 girls 2 boys. FYI- I want a female I have house full of boys already. Well one little puppy didn't make it she died a week within being born. I was told this is normal sometimes it just happens for whatever reason. Even my own vet told me so. Well my breeder is keeping the other 3 girls sooooooo no puppy for me either of these litters. However my breeder has plans to breed another litter very soon.
My questions for you are #1- Is this a "sign" that this breeder isn't for me? Again I checked her out.
#2- Should I simply wait for her new litter? My breeder is willing to give me a full refund on my deposit.
I am so looking forward to getting a cavalier. I'm really disappointed that I have to wait longer. This waiting process is for the birds!!! Just tell me it's worth the wait.

Thanks for reading my rant"ish" update.

I wouldn't fully discount the option to get a male puppy. I know you said you have a houseful of boys already, but from my experience my little boy JB is the sweetest loving little guy there is. I can agree to the statement that the male Cavaliers will fall in love with you, as my guy definitely has with me.

So while this might be a sign in some ways maybe if it is possible you might consider one of the males in the litter(s). They truly are fantastic and I wouldn't change having JB for anything, even though I originally wanted a female too.

Good luck finding your pup.

LovesJellyBeans said:

I wouldn't fully discount the option to get a male puppy. I know you said you have a houseful of boys already, but from my experience my little boy JB is the sweetest loving little guy there is. I can agree to the statement that the male Cavaliers will fall in love with you, as my guy definitely has with me.

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So true. I have two boys and I wanted girls each time ... just didn't work out that way. LOL

Maybe see if there are any males in the litter who are available. Perhaps you could meet with them and give them the opportunity to win you over.

When you said you checked the breeder out what do you exactly mean by checking her out? Have you been to see her where the puppies are kept? Have you seen any health certificates for the Sire & Dam?

Sabby said:

When you said you checked the breeder out what do you exactly mean by checking her out? Have you been to see her where the puppies are kept? Have you seen any health certificates for the Sire & Dam?

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Yes, I have seen health certificates of not just the Sire and Dam but one of these litters is 3rd generation for my breeder so I have health info back to grandparents on them. I have been in contact with her since August just emailing sending pix ( at the time I wasn't ready for a puppy just yet- I called it my research stage) she has been great to me with info and being honest about the medical problems cavaliers face and how she cares for her dogs. And yes I have visited her home. I'm just disappointed and needed some input.
Thank you so much for "looking" out for me tho I know everyone here only wishes all cavaliers are healthy and happy ok and spoiled and loved to pieces.
Melissa

Lani said:

So true. I have two boys and I wanted girls each time ... just didn't work out that way. LOL

Maybe see if there are any males in the litter who are available. Perhaps you could meet with them and give them the opportunity to win you over.

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Ok so maybe this is a "sign" I need to stick to boys???? I will think about it. I do want a dog who thinks I hung the Moon. I really appreciate your input.
Thanks,
Melissa

I think the sign is "go with the boy" :xctly:

I agree with going with the boy. I was set on wanting a girl and got the same advice and though I have not had my little one very long now, I am more than happy with my little boy. I do think you will have a hard time getting a girl out of a good reputable breeder as they don't easily let them go. I don't think you would regret for one minute a little boy!

hi
ive had 4 boy's over the past 30yrs and they have all had different characters
1st boy blenhem (sam) bought from a puppy center died at 14 weeks with distemper never got to no him
2nd boy tri(sam) bought from a breeder was a very loveing boy and died at 12.5 yrs old
3rd boy blenhem (rowley) was not a loveing boy but had a fantastic character
4th boy tri (louie) is the most loveing boy i've have ever had he is just like a baby always wanting kisses and cuddles (simply the best) so its boys for me

MomObvious said:

Yes, I have seen health certificates of not just the Sire and Dam but one of these litters is 3rd generation for my breeder so I have health info back to grandparents on them. I have been in contact with her since August just emailing sending pix ( at the time I wasn't ready for a puppy just yet- I called it my research stage) she has been great to me with info and being honest about the medical problems cavaliers face and how she cares for her dogs. And yes I have visited her home. I'm just disappointed and needed some input.
Thank you so much for "looking" out for me tho I know everyone here only wishes all cavaliers are healthy and happy ok and spoiled and loved to pieces.
Melissa

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Hi Melissa

Sorry for the question about the breeder (I do remember now you posting about the breeder before) Sorry
I am very passionate about people going to a health testing breeder as 2 out of my three have MVD, Luxating Patella, Degenerated Disks and CM/SM. My breeder done the heart and eye tests with the Cavalier Club but no MRI’s for SM. I would only buy from scanned parents now IF I would ever have another Cavalier.

I have two girls and a boy, and I would only have a boy again as I find them more loving, the girls are more my husband’s dogs. My boy is my shadow he follows me everywhere and he is always ready for a cuddle, my two girls don’t cuddle at all.

My Mindy was a lovely girl - they don't come more loving. She was attached to my hip from the the day we brought her home. With Max I wanted a girl but was convinced that sex doesn't really matter with this breed and I have come to believe that. Max and Rylie are both loving dogs although all three of them have totally different personalities. With Rylie I still thought I would like a girl but one breeder took the time to explain to me that when breeders take the time and expense of all the health testing for generations they really want their girls to go to other breeders to carry on healthy lines. So unless a litter has mainly girls it was unlikely for me to get a puppy. Some of these girls become available later on if the breeders decide that they aren't quite what they are looking for. That's how we got our Mindy at 8 months and she was a lovely, healthy girl until she got cancer at 12 so I didn't regret that decision for an instant.

Another plus with having a boy is if you ever decide to get a second Cavalier, boys are perhaps a little better at accepting a newcomer, either male or female - at least in my experience. Girls can be fine together, but occasionally female hormones can kick in and they don't get along at all. My Oliver was an only dog for 7 years and we did everything together, but he really had no problem about accepting an 18-month-old male rescue - even if he gently makes it clear that he is No.1 when it's a matter of who sits next to me on the settee!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

I'm sorry this fell through for you. I wouldn't get hung up on the sex either - I'm the only female in my house, really wanted a girl puppy both times, and ended up with two boys, who are very loving and give me a lot more time than my human boys:grin:

What are the health certs? These can vary hugely by breeder, And very often are not the certs you actually want to see.

You definitely want to be seeing heart information from a cardiologist–not a vet.

Ideally, you want to see the MRIs for both parents and any other immediate relatives possible (grandparents are ideal–and in many ways, are at least as preferable to MRIs on the parents if they are still fairly young dogs as syringomyelia is a gradual–onset condition. Knowing what dogs over 5 in the direct lineage's MRI is like is perhaps as good a guide as the immediate parents if they are only 2.5 or 3, or if they are older dogs but only had their MRI back when they were younger... the lack of MRIs on older digs is a real issue for this condition! It's like breeders only cardio-testing their dogs once at age 2.5 and having no idea what their heart health is like for the rest of their lives for a gradual onset condition like MVD... ).

A good breeder will also be testing eyes, and ideally doing hip scores and can also tell you about patellas.

Puppies often die when they are still very young, sadly. Sometimes they just are not strong enough or large enough to survive, or sometimes there are health complications, or sometimes they get some kind of an illness and at this stage, their immune systems are very weak.

I would be a little concerned that you are talking to a breeder who just had 2 litters and is already immediately planning another. That suggests she has a lot of breeding dogs. There could be good reasons for why this is happening now, but on the other hand, it could also be that she is just producing lots and lots of litters and borders on a commercial breeder. Or is a commercial breeder. Which goes back to the nature of the health certificates you have seen and whether they are proper health certificates, or whether she is just showing you something from the vet for hearts, no MRIs, and no real proper health testing. And the other question would be, how old are the parents? They should all be at least 2.5 years old.

Females are always more difficult to get from good breeders, because they are more likely to hang onto females for their own breeding program. On the other hand, it is also common for those puppies to become available when they are a bit older–and in my opinion, it's nicer to get older puppies then really young puppies because they are not nearly as challenging and time-consuming by that point. Lots for you to think about! Myself, I actually prefer the boys but it is all individual and differences are slender in this breed by gender.

Honestly , thank you all for your wonderful input. You have both help me out and given me a lot to think about. I really do feel grateful and welcome on this forum. Maybe I do need to rethink this boy/girl issue. As for now I'm going to continue to wait on my breeder however I'm also going to go back and chat with other breeders I met while researching for a breeder in the first place. As a side I have a written sign contract with my current breeder that I can recieve a refund on my depoist until I actually pick out a puppy during it's 6th week of age. So I feel like I have time to actually decide. Plus thanks to you guys I would like my own vet to actually see the health certificates and medical reports on my breeders dogs. Just in case.... plus in the long run I'm willing to lose my deposit rather than buy a puppy that I shouldn't be. Again thank you all of your input and I will keep posting with updates as I go.


Melissa

We 'rescued' a male and female a few weeks ago... so now we have three male Cavaliers, one female Cavalier, and two female Cockers. The new male is exactly like the other two... a complete snuggler that wants to be on a lap at every opportunity. The female likes a lap, too... but she's perfectly content to sit by herself somewhere else. Despite having read this for years, I pooh-poohed it. Now I'm a believer.

Just to throw another opinion your way, Melissa. I was set on a girl Cavalier - tri girl specifically - because I love the look of tri's, and I wanted to have a ton of pink things for my baby - pink harnesses, coats, sweaters - you name it. I almost settled for a boy because I couldn't find the tri girl I wanted immediately. It took several months and sifting through several breeders to find one who I believe was ethical and had a girl tri for me - eventually.

So, depending on your reasons for wanting a girl, I would make sure you hold out for what you want.