murieics

I ended up with my Jack Russell in a similar situation to yours, it sounds like. She belonged to a neighbor who couldn't keep her anymore, and she was such a sweet dog- the neighbor ended up giving us to her. It was only after we got her, and started having issues with her health-wise, that I looked further into where she came from, etc. Looking up information about the breeder, I found that (at best) she came from a byb, and at worst, the kennel seemed to me like it had all the makings of a puppy mill.

Dixie, who is now 11, has had problems with epilepsy, low thyroid, mild-moderate hip dysplasia, cataracts, and is starting to have arthritis issues as well. So far, she has made it over three years past what the vet said my "best case scenario" was for her life expectancy, and she is still going strong, considering all the issues she has had. She loves life, likes all people, enjoys going with me on car rides to the barn, and loves to swim.

She's also the reason why I have been researching poodles for several years now, and why I will only get a puppy from a breeder who is well-recommended, tests, and breeds to improve the breed.

As far as Cavaliers go- when I was a little girl, I did quite a bit of research on the breed, as I thought they were exactly everything that my family needed in a dog- at that time, they were a relatively unknown breed (this was about 11-12 years ago). They still had health issues, but they didn't seem to be as prevalent as they are now. I still feel that, with enough research, it would be possible to find a good, quality breeder who is actively working to improve the breed (and get rid of the health problems that are so prevalent).

The biggest problem that I've read about with Cavs is their heart issues- like tina mentioned, I've read the same statistics about the heart problems.

I'm sorry I don't have anything specific to offer- hopefully things will start to go better with your little guy!

debjen

Robbie (Cav) just had a dental..he seemed to go from okay teeth to caked on mess of a teeth..he had 6 teeth removed..He is my problem dog..he has one eye that does not produce tears..when I brought him home we knew he had an eye infection but didn't know the extent of it..it is controlled with drops and ointments but it isn't the usual dry eye associated with cavs probably a birth defect. He also has had 2 bouts of pancreatitis..again not usually associated with cavs...which is controlled by watching his diet..when he had the pancreatitis problem we found out he has a small liver..no problems but it is something to watch when do anesthesia and other meds..he recently hurt his back after being attacked at an agility trial and we couldn't put him on anti inflamatories because of his liver. He might have a real mild case of SM .. I've never tested him for it but just occasionally he seems to have some symptoms of it..

Cedar my other Cav has really had no health problems other than a real severe case of colitis where he was literally dripping blood from his rear end..when I took him to the vet they initially thought he might have been poisoned but luckily I guess just turned out to be colitis..

For the teeth we are using a new spray that a friend highly recommended..I don't have the name here at work but I will find out..Haven't used it long enough to say if it is doing anything

flufflvr

I love, love, love this breed and would love to have one as my next small breed dog. The health problems really do scare me though. I've done a ton of research and it does seem like there are some breeders out there who are working really hard to improve their health. When I get one, I'll be soooo picky about the breeder. All of you out there give your little cavs a hug from me. . . I'm a wannabe cavalier person.

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boyblue

We had a caverlier king charles spaniel from a puppy who lived until he was 16 years old with no health issues at all, until he was very old.
He was the sweetest dog ever.