Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

[Kiki]

I'm glad you had fun there today.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I'm glad you had fun there today.

I definitely did!! Now to get a dog to do agility with lol my friend actually wants to set up an agility course in their backyard and/or take classes which is why we went so they could get an idea of how it works and stuff and so the best part is now we’re all even more pumped up to try it lol now to borrow some dogs.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I need one but at the same time I’m still not sure because of all the health issues and they’re kind of expensive/hard to find. But they seem pretty common around here so I might ask some of the agility people where they got theirs haha

 

[ShrekDawg]

Nobody has them? Or any spaniel? I didn’t realize cockers were so small.. apparently not that much bigger than the cavs? For some reason I thought cockers were bigger. My mom doesn’t like cockers though so I’m not sure if those are an option. Still trying to decide between this breed or just getting a Golden after all.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I can only weigh in on papillons. Hubby and I had a papillon as our first dog as a couple, she was even our flower girl/ring bearer at our wedding. I really loved that dog, she was a prissy princess and my baby and I took her everywhere, but all that said...

I'm actually pretty neutral on them - I would totally get one again, but not I'm not planning on trying to get one, if that makes sense? Like many toy breeds they can be a little yappy, a little snappy - mine was never really a barker but she could get going if we let her. They think they're bigger than they are (in fact mine never played with small dogs, only ever spent time with 40+ lb ones). Because my dog was bred for tiny size over healthiness she ended up with a lot of health issues: bad knees (her knee joint would pop out, didn't bother her much but it was disturbing that her leg would twist in weird ways), glaucoma and eventual blindness in both eyes, gum disease and teeth loss (she only had 3 teeth in the end), deafness, hair loss (the signature ear hair fell out in clumps, the vets never diagnosed the issue), incontinence. Some of that was age related but some of the issues like the knees and hair loss plagued her even when she was younger.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I can only weigh in on papillons. Hubby and I had a papillon as our first dog as a couple, she was even our flower girl/ring bearer at our wedding. I really loved that dog, she was a prissy princess and my baby and I took her everywhere, but all that said...

I'm actually pretty neutral on them - I would totally get one again, but not I'm not planning on trying to get one, if that makes sense? Like many toy breeds they can be a little yappy, a little snappy - mine was never really a barker but she could get going if we let her. They think they're bigger than they are (in fact mine never played with small dogs, only ever spent time with 40+ lb ones). Because my dog was bred for tiny size over healthiness she ended up with a lot of health issues: bad knees (her knee joint would pop out, didn't bother her much but it was disturbing that her leg would twist in weird ways), glaucoma and eventual blindness in both eyes, gum disease and teeth loss (she only had 3 teeth in the end), deafness, hair loss (the signature ear hair fell out in clumps, the vets never diagnosed the issue), incontinence. Some of that was age related but some of the issues like the knees and hair loss plagued her even when she was younger.

Thanks for the info!! It’s really helpful!

She sounds like a great dog. The health issues are a bit unfortunate but maybe some of those might be avoidable if I look for a breeder that focuses on health? Was yours smart? Do you think they could learn tricks or agility? That’s good to know about them playing with bigger dogs too!! I was worried about that but sounds like they can hold their own haha

 

[ShrekDawg]

Didn’t get too many pictures cause I was trying to be stealthy but yeah. There was a gorgeous tri (white Black and Tan) that walked by me earlier that I didn’t get a picture of that I should of. That one was truly gorgeous. Though these ones are too. But the other one was truly spectacular. Ha but yeah.

 

[ShrekDawg]

@Texas Kiki

 

[rosemarythyme]

The health issues are a bit unfortunate but maybe some of those might be avoidable if I look for a breeder that focuses on health? Was yours smart? Do you think they could learn tricks or agility? That’s good to know about them playing with bigger dogs too!! I was worried about that but sounds like they can hold their own haha

They are smart dogs and I know people use them for agility but I always had the feeling she was plotting to outsmart me. I freely admit we didn't do a good job training her... we were both probably too busy for a puppy at the time and we let her get away with too much (common problems when it comes to new owners and tiny dogs).

As far as health issues, yes I think a good breeder is key. Unfortunately the guy I picked was specifically breeding for size and since she was our first dog we didn't really think much of it at the time. I've met papillons on the larger side (slightly bigger than standard) and those seem a lot more robust.

 

[Kiki]

@Texas Kiki

Go back an steal this one!

I am joking.