Boulty
Well-Known Member
Just posting this on the offchance that somebody on here knows of the right people to speak to / has any ideas I've not already thought of.
Basically my mum has recently retired & would like a dog to walk, cuddle & generally spoil rotten. Said dog would have to put up with living alongside Horrid the cat so we're ideally wanting a puppy in the hopes this will give the best chance of them eventually tolerating each other / even becoming friends. We had a Cavalier when I was growing up who was absolutely lovely temperament wise & energy level wise so we would like another. We got her over 20 yrs ago so of course things have moved on since then.
Having spent hours poring over various breed health websites I'd like parents both sides to have had all relevant DNA tests, to have been eye tested, to have been heart scanned by a cardiologist at the correct age (& ideally yearly thereafter), to have had MRI scans for SM (& at least one of them to have been older than 3 yrs at the time) & for both parents to be over 2.5 yrs old at time of breeding. I'm also not a fan of the overly domed heads (which from reading a study Liverpool university did seem to possibly be linked to higher SM risk anyway) or overly shortened noses so am perhaps looking for a more moderate dog than what is winning in the show ring.
How in the name of all that is holy do I find the breeders who health test to the extent I'd like? (I know it's no guarantee, puppy will be insured & I work in veterinary but would like puppy to have the best shot possible of being born healthy)
Have spoken to puppy co-ordinator from the breed club but the breeders being suggested aren't ticking all the boxes I'd like ticked so wondering what my other options might be (other than speaking to other people on the list to see if they can put me in touch with alternative breeders & hope I get lucky eventually?)
Basically my mum has recently retired & would like a dog to walk, cuddle & generally spoil rotten. Said dog would have to put up with living alongside Horrid the cat so we're ideally wanting a puppy in the hopes this will give the best chance of them eventually tolerating each other / even becoming friends. We had a Cavalier when I was growing up who was absolutely lovely temperament wise & energy level wise so we would like another. We got her over 20 yrs ago so of course things have moved on since then.
Having spent hours poring over various breed health websites I'd like parents both sides to have had all relevant DNA tests, to have been eye tested, to have been heart scanned by a cardiologist at the correct age (& ideally yearly thereafter), to have had MRI scans for SM (& at least one of them to have been older than 3 yrs at the time) & for both parents to be over 2.5 yrs old at time of breeding. I'm also not a fan of the overly domed heads (which from reading a study Liverpool university did seem to possibly be linked to higher SM risk anyway) or overly shortened noses so am perhaps looking for a more moderate dog than what is winning in the show ring.
How in the name of all that is holy do I find the breeders who health test to the extent I'd like? (I know it's no guarantee, puppy will be insured & I work in veterinary but would like puppy to have the best shot possible of being born healthy)
Have spoken to puppy co-ordinator from the breed club but the breeders being suggested aren't ticking all the boxes I'd like ticked so wondering what my other options might be (other than speaking to other people on the list to see if they can put me in touch with alternative breeders & hope I get lucky eventually?)
