Luke is my first cavalier, but my dog before him was my heart dog. He was so bad, but he was so smart. If I asked him to do something, he would do it. He was so fun to train because he was so willing to do whatever I asked, and to try things. He was a dog who most people probably would have gotten rid of. He bit me more times than I want to say, and bit a visitor in our house once. He was okay if he was told you were permitted in the house, I didn't know the guy was there, so I let him just run upstairs. That dog destroyed so many things too (ate the corners of my mattress, tore up the part of my bedroom door among other things). He became aggressive towards men for reasons I really don't know. I couldn't touch a nail clipper if he could hear it or he would attack. Because he was so bad, it was a relief in many ways when he died, yet I'm still in tears writing this, and it was over 4 years ago. People didn't have to call and warn us before they came over so we could tell him it would be okay. I ordered a pizza, because I hadn't been able to for several years. He died too young, indirectly due to the aggression (he grabbed and ate something when locked in another room due to someone coming over who was not comfortable meeting him, and got blocked). I got Luke a few weeks later, and all that time, we did have another dog in the house, but she wasn't mine. I desperately missed having a male.
Luke is so very different than my other boy. Luke is in some ways like the child I am choosing to never have. Luke does what he wants, and if it fits your agenda, that's wonderful. He's can be a real butt to train, in such a way that I think is not typical to cavaliers. If he doesn't want to do what you want to do, he just walks off. If he doesn't like your treats, he won't play your game. I knew before I got Luke I wanted a puppy, and cavaliers were on my short list. I knew I wouldn't be ready to deal with a dog with issues again after dealing with the previous dog's issues. I knew I wanted a fresh, young puppy, with no issues, with traits that would make it good as a therapy dog. Luke does so much more, and I am so happy that I now have a dog that I can try things with.
I've been thinking recently that I will get another puppy before Luke dies if circumstances allow for it. I will have to retire him from flyball before he dies, though I have no idea how much before that will be. I have another dog in training, but because of her issues, my intention is to retire her as soon as she earns her first title (she can do it in her first heat if the team does well). Maybe I'll change my mind if she does well, but right now, I'll be without a racing dog for a while once I have to retire Luke. I've already been considering whether to go to the same breeder, though getting this little athlete was total luck, or to go to one of the breeders who breeds for agility. Nobody breeds cavaliers for flyball, so I'm figuring one bred for agility will work out. Maybe I could try agility with the next one. The boy I had before Luke I could never take competitive because of his aggression, and Luke thought agility was dumb. Luke thought rally was a dumb idea too.