Our son Aatos and Harrison, summer 2002 |
| Health is of utmost importance to us |
Our Cavaliers in the past have reached a good age (12-14 years) and enjoyed their life in full. This is what we want every Cavalier owner to have - a healthy, happy Cavalier for many, many years. Here are some of the ways which help us to breed and have healthier dogs.
HEART
Cavaliers are known to have a hereditary heart problem, mitral valve disease (MVD). This simply means that a dog with MVD develops a heart murmur at an early age and slowly grows weaker in heart and eventually dies much too young. Mitral valve grows old too quickly in these affected dogs, hence the heart problem.
We were one of the first breeders to talk about this problem and start doing something about it some 20 years ago. Although we cannot wipe out this problem in the breed, we all can do our best to reduce it. Best way is to breed from OLDER dogs and NOT to breed from dogs with parents and relatives who died at an early age or who developed murmur at an early age. And to have your dogs heart checked annually and keep records. We are confident in saying that we are doing our very best in this matter. HEALTH records are more important than show records for us when planning a litter. All certificates can be seen.
EYES, KNEES
We check all our breeding stock for eyes and knees, and breed only from healthy dogs. Again, all certificates can be seen.
FOOD
We believe in feeding fresh organic food. All our dogs are fed according to BARF diet -natural diet based on fresh raw meat with bones and fresh raw vegetables. As a fully trained homeopath specializing in dogs natural health topics, I know how to take care of them. We use natural supplements and all our dogs are treated homeopathically for optimum health.
EXERCISE
Although Cavalier is a small dog, it needs regular exercise for both mental and physical health. As a horse person I know the value of proper exercise for any animal. Our dogs get their walk and run every day in the woods and greens.
LOVE
Cavalier needs a person to love. Our dogs are loved by the entire family and it surely is an essential ingredient to their well-being. |
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