Enrolling him in puppy kindergarten is a great idea! There's always got to be a little bitter in the batter, right? Here it comes: The Cavalier King Charles spaniel has a number of health concerns.
Not all of them are severe or life-threatening, but several of them are absolutely rampant throughout the breed. In short, if you have a Cavalier King Charles, he almost certainly has one or more of the following issues.
First up, there's mitral valve disease. This is a heart condition that results in the weakening of valves and can lead to heart murmurs. Those murmurs can worsen as the dog ages, ultimately leading to heart failure.
Mitral valve disease is polygenic it is affected by more than one gene , which means that every Cavalier, regardless of place of birth or bloodline, is susceptible. A survey conducted by the Kennel Club found that mitral valve disease was prevalent in nearly percent of the dogs tested, and that it was the cause of death for nearly 43 percent of Cavaliers. Mitral valve disease is a degenerative condition, so as the dogs age, symptoms can become more pronounced.
Statistically, roughly 50 percent of Cavaliers will show symptoms by the age of five, and by age 10 virtually all Cavaliers will have a heart murmur of some type. Next up, there's Syringomyelia SM.
SM is a condition affecting the brain and spine, where a malformation in the lower back of the skull reduces the space available to the brain, compressing it and often forcing cerebral spinal fluid out into the spinal cord. Symptoms can range anywhere from mild discomfort to severe pain and partial paralysis.
Much like mitral valve disease, SM is stunningly common in Cavalier King Charles spaniels, with international research numbers showing that over 90 percent of Cavaliers have the malformation that can lead to SM. SM can present at any age, but in nearly 85 percent of cases, symptoms show up between the ages of six months and four years. While SM can cause a Cavalier a great deal of pain in the most extreme cases, it can be corrected with surgery and the majority of dogs going on to normal lifespans.
Cavalier King Charles spaniels are also fairly susceptible to a condition called idiopathic asymptomatic thrombocytopenia , which is an abnormally low number of platelets in their blood that can affect clotting.
According to surveys, there is roughly a coin flip's chance that your Cavalier will have thrombocytopenia. Luckily, there is absolutely no adverse effect on your Cavalier's mood or lifespan, but vets will need to be made aware of the existence of the condition if the dog requires any kind of surgery or stitches for a wound.
But the good news is that a very large number of the Cavaliers who carry SM or mitral valve disease still go on to live happy, healthy, symptom-free lives. While the conditions are all highly common in the breed, Cavaliers still have an average lifespan of up to 15 years.
So while all these health concerns are conditions to be aware of, if you're buying from a reputable Cavalier King Charles spaniel breeder and have a vet you trust, don't let any of these conditions scare you away from this delightful breed.
It was at that time that King Charles I and his son King Charles II both took particular fancy to a black-and-tan toy spaniel that was eventually named after them. Over the ensuing two centuries, the King Charles spaniel was crossbred with Asian toy breeds, most notably pugs and Japanese chin , resulting in a more domed head and a flatter face. The breed became what is today known as the English toy spaniel or, in the United Kingdom, the King Charles spaniel.
The prospect of prize money drove breeders to revive the old style and these dogs were dubbed Cavalier King Charles spaniels. The first Cavalier Club was formed in , and the dogs steadily gained in popularity. After the War, however, breeders set out to restore the Cavalier's numbers. The dogs began to make their way to the United States in , and the AKC recognized the breed in Tiny, noble, and extremely friendly, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel has become one of the most popular breeds in the world due to his ability to fit into almost any living situation.
By Chad Taylor Updated September 03, Breed Group Group Breed Group herding hound hybrid non-sporting none sporting terrier toy working. Since the breed has an instinct to chase most things that move including cars, "street-wise" is a description most Cavaliers will never acquire. Also, since the breed tends to regard all strangers as friends, they usually do not make good guard dogs. The three most common health issues for the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, based on Nationwide pet insurance claims, are mitral valve degeneration which leads to heart failure , ear infections and skin allergies, all of which are eligible for Nationwide pet insurance benefits.
Here are five things you may not have known about the Cavalier King Charles spaniel: 1. Breed Mix-Up The U. Royal Favorite to Outcast The original King Charles spaniel originated — experts think — during the early 17th century. After King Charles II passed away, the popularity of the breed began to fade, and other dogs like the pug stepped into the spotlight. The King Charles spaniel was bred with these dogs , giving it a shorter snout and domed head. These features continue to live on in today's King Charles spaniel, which is a different breed from the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
By the s, King Charles spaniels had domed heads and short stubby snouts. While these traits were desirable for some, American fancier Roswell Eldridge longed for the spaniels depicted in paintings with King Charles II. Breeders were not interested in rising to the challenge, as they had spent a long time perfecting the short-nosed version.
The first few breeders that did make the attempt were ridiculed. Eventually, however, interest grew, and a small core group of breeders took up the challenge. The newly created variation was dubbed the Cavalier King Charles spaniel to differentiate it from its puggier counterparts. Unfortunately, Eldridge did not live to see the results of his project—he passed away in Called comfort dogs, Cavalier King Charles spaniels were often brought into beds. They were meant to attract fleas and be bitten instead of their owners, thus saving their humans from the plague or other diseases.
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