My daughter and her husband bought a 13-week old Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel!

[Radio_Lady]

Her name is Ginger. She is really cute... but not housebroken yet... :-(

She looks kind of like this:

[Critters2]

1. I hope they had a physical before buying her

The breed has a genetic predisposition to heart disease.

They are cute as buttons, though!

[Radio_Lady]

2. Yes, yes... we know. They lost a little male, Porter, earlier this summer...

He lived ten years and then collapsed from heart problems. The breeder said that his litter mates are still alive.

They seem willing to take the chance of a shorter life for their newest Cavalier once again. I tried to get them to consider another breed -- or another breeder affiliated with the UKC (the AKC registered dogs are supposed to have a smaller gene pool) -- but no luck.

My Boston Terrier lived 12 years, then we had a Cocker Spaniels that lived to 14, and then another Cocker who made it just 4 years (the latter was hit by a car after a snowstorm).

So, they'll take care of Ginger as long as she lives. My son-in-law is a doctor, and we spoke extensively about dog genetics, but ultimately, this little girl won their hearts.

[China_cat]

5. Are they subject to SAS?

[Kali]

4. are there any pure bred animals that don't have some sort of

predisposition to some sort of genetic defects? Nature of the creation of breeds and exacerbated by greed.

[Wcross]

6. That is a cute dog BUT........

I will never own a pure breed dog. Someone has to love the mutts!

[Radio_Lady]

7. I wanted to adopt a Jack Russell terrier/Rat terrier crossbreed, a rescued dog, but the owner had

second thoughts.

Maybe it's better, since we travel a great deal.

[Wcross]

10. Travel & animals don't go well together well.

I have five now since my girl Angel passed last week. Every time I go out of town its off to the kennel. Fifty bucks a day for six if they can go two to a run, a weeks vacation adds up to 350 bucks before I even leave town! Needless to say I try to limit my out of town excursions.

[Radio_Lady]

11. Thanks, Wcross. I was originally thinking I'd co-own a dog with my daughter, who lives...

in the same town as we do... but that idea didn't fly.

Anyway, my husband used to say to me, "What can we get another dog?" My usual answer was, "When I croak!" -- but then, that little girl terrier turned my heart inside out.

I think I'll go back to my original statement now that I've come to my senses.

Thanks for your comments,

In peace,

Radio Lady

[Wcross]

12. Your hubby could volunteer at the shelter.......

Just to get his "dog fix". Of course if he is anything like me you would end up with a house full of dogs & cats. I find it difficult to allow healthy dogs & cats to be put down if there is anything I can do about it. I can't volunteer down there myself due to this peculiar weakness, I just send money for the spay-neuter program on a regular basis.

[zanne]

16. Wcross-I had forgotten it was you.

I'd forgotten it was you who lost your Angel last week. I'm so sorry--she must have been a wonderful pet. Here's to time smoothing the edges of your grief. Take care.

[RebelOne]

17. I limit my out-of-town trips to places

that I can drive to and accommodations that are dog friendly.

[Radio_Lady]

19. Daughter will board her dog with the breeder, who lives nearby.

They call it "Puppy Camp"!

[Radio_Lady]

9. Kali, you're certainly right. However, I was involved with obedience training and

tried my best to train all of the AKC pet-quality purebred dogs I had. My Boston Terrier "Duchess of Dade," or Dolly, earned a CD (Companion Dog) degree in Obedience and she was pretty smart. There were no real genetic problems with her.

In her prime, Dolly free-whelped seven male puppies and didn't require a Caesarian section to do it (that was NOT the case with most bitches in the 1950s). She lived to 12 and had to be put down due to breast cancer prior to a second operation.

My blonde Cocker Spaniels (both spayed females) had submissive urination problems, but we worked around it all of their lives. "Sunshine Haze of Kimra" (Buffy) lived for 14 years -- she had heart problems but that was because I didn't give her the proper dose of heartwork medication when I moved to Massachusetts. She contracted the disease in the 1980s and her heart was slightly damaged. I felt VERY guilty about that, but she had quite a full and happy life. "Sweet Spice of Alpen Knoll" (Spicy) was purchased from a breeder and was just the best little Cocker. Regrettably, my husband forgot the leash and she dashed out the door the morning after a snowstorm -- couldn't see the road because of the snow -- no vehicles in sight -- but a 4-wheel drive snowplow caught her under its wheels and she was killed instantly in January 1988. She was only four years old. One of the saddest days of my life.

[femmocrat]

3. OMG!! Too cute!

I remember when Porter passed away... :cry:

(I always wanted a Cavalier, but was just too afraid of the heart problems.)

I hope Ginger has a long, happy, and healthy life. Please post pictures when you can!

[Radio_Lady]

8. Thanks, Femmocrat, for your sweet sentiment. We'll have some photos soon.

[ThatsMyBarack]

13. My mom loves Blenheims (red and white)

She's got two of those. :loveya:

[Radio_Lady]

14. Porter, my daughter's last Cavalier, was red and white. I think they choose

the solid red with slight white on chest and toes, so the new puppy wouldn't necessarily remind them of their deceased dog.

[Wetzelbill]

15. for a second I read "Charles Spaniel" as "Charlie Daniels"

Ugh!!!

But that little guy in the pic is completely adorable.

[Radio_Lady]

20. Ginger is a cutie, all right. Spaniels just get to me -- I'm hooked!

She's my local "grand-dog"!

[LostinVA]

18. SQUEAL -- I love them!

Post photos when you have them, please!

[Radio_Lady]

21. Grandpa has his camera ready... he hasn't seen her yet! Photos ASAP.

Thanks for your post, LostinVA.

Nice to meetchu on the DU!

Making peace a priority,

Radio Lady in Oregon

[soleft]

22. Do they make hyproallergenic versions?

I want one!