Hi

[Geekyteachy]

Hi all,
Im just researching King Charles Cavillars before I adopt which wont be until January. I am used to German Shepards but my husband is afraid they are too agressive for a family which we are planning in the next few years.
Can anyone give me any advice with King Charles Cavillars?

Thanks

 

[Dogster]

It REALLY is important to choose the RIGHT breed for you. You need to take into consideration how active you want the dog to be (how active you are, lol), how much time you spend away from home, how much time you want to devote to your dog, and how BIG you want the dog to be. AND.... Please try to consider rescuing a dog!!!! A lot of us here are big on rescuing. Then you will SAVE a dog in need. There is a GREAT site: http://www.petfinder.com/index.html
Where you can find dogs in your area, waiting to be adopted.
Also, here are some quizzes on what breeds might be the best for you (it's fun!!!! )
http://www1.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm
http://www.selectsmart.com/dog/
( I don't know anything on King Charles Cavallars, I think this is a pretty good cover-up.)

 

[sara]

CKCS are wonderful little family dogs! I quite like them! Unfortunately they have very bad health issues, so finding a breeder who makes health their top priority is essential. I've got a big soft spot for spaniels, and honestly, if my Mom ever gets another dog, she'll be buying a CKCS. She figures that she's rescued her fair share of dogs, now she'd like a puppy

 

[tigerlily46514]

CKCs are so so cute, but wow, it's really really hard to find one who does NOT have any of the crippling disorders so rampant among CKCs, that even the CKC who is winning ribbons in dog shows has health disorders, from 100s of years of inbreeding, and extreme body mutations (like breeding dogs to have that super rounded head causing painful and crippling syringomyelia cuz their brains no longer fit into that skull shape).

do research the multiple common health disorders, like heart disorders, in that breed first, and good luck.
http://www.cavalierhealth.org/
Dogster, i LOVE your post-------adopt, adopt, adopt!!http://www.cavalierrescueusa.org/

 

[tigerlily46514]

also, i do think a GSD would be extremely protective of the child they grow up with, btw. Most dogs who have no issues, ('normal' dogs)
are very tolerant, gentle and devoted to a child placed in their home that they grow up with.


If you did sadly end up with a CKC with constant headaches , no telling how THAT dog might tolerate a child all up in his face.....

 

[tigerlily46514]

 

[tigerlily46514]

If you DO truly love GSDs, try hard to adopt one with more SQUARED hips,
not the fashionable, super-sloped hips that became a fad a few decades ago. That way, there is maybe a reduced chance of the GSD having hip troubles later in life.

 

[Dogster]

AWWWWWWWwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!! SOOOOO CUUUTE!!!!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

that said, though, i can see your point, Geekyteachy, maybe maybe a smaller dog running by a child might be slightly less likely to knock the child over inadvertantly, something to think about maybe, (?)
but, it's unfair to label german shepherds as "aggressive". My point above was, most any dog who likes people and children can learn to accept and even love their new housemate.

My last dog loathed children, avoided them whenever. Toby was a friendly outgoing happy dog, just was never around small kids.

He rarely saw children, actually. Whenever we did have kids over, i usually put Toby outdoors (or indoors, wherever the kids were NOT playing) and told all the kids to leave him alone.
Then, my stepson married a gal with children, and they had a baby, so then, we had children in our home regularly. Well, Toby didn't like it.
But, i spent some time with Toby, giving him treats for watching the kids, advancing along slowly, and overtime, the kids could pet Toby, and give him treats, etc etc. I never ever left Toby alone with the kids without me in the room, as he was a giant sized Newfie mix, a 130 lb dog who had arthritis by then, and was not quite "himself" in his old age.

Still, Toby learned to love those kids, and greated them with a waggy tail. Once, the toddler fell right on top of Toby and Toby just looked up at me, with sad eyes, like, "Can you get this baby off of me?" even though, i knew that had to hurt his elderly bones.


so the point there is, even a dog who is unaccustomed to children, can be helped to love children. (if they are normal dogs and NOT a shy dog)

 

[tigerlily46514]

Slightly off topic, but cute story, was our late dog Toby, always wanted to be a cop. That was our joke about him. When the kids were teens and would wrestle, Toby watched closely and intervened now and then if Toby felt it was getting out of hand.

Once some boy was tickling my daughter too hard, and she started to scream about it, and Toby lightly nipped that boy. I felt the dog was correct.
lotsa lil stories like that, okay.
Toby was very very unbiased in his judgement, he never hesitated to intervene, even if it was his own master, Toby would get in there and give you a look, or even show a growl, a lip lift, or 1 light nip in extreme situations.. "settle down here!"

so once, the toddler fell over and was screaming his head off, so i picked him up, and was holding him, leaning over the toddler, had him all folded into my arms, rocking him.

and i realized, Toby was watching ME closely, and kinda glaring, very very slightly lifting up one lip, and i realized-------Toby thinks *i* am hurting the toddler!!! and Toby was signalling that he wanted me to stop hurting the toddler!! I suddenly realized how this looks to a dog-------big person holding small person, and small person is screaming. (Toby wasn't much yet used to crying and screaming from kids, not yet, it was all still new to him. Toby found kids screaming alarming back then. )

so i had to 'tell' Toby, it was all fine, that yes, this lil person IS screaming and hurt, but, i'm comforting the toddler, not hurting the toddler! Hard to explain how i "told" that to my dog, but, i did!! I talked calmly to Toby, and petted him, and talked to him, and he sat down and relaxed, even though the child was still crying loudly. Toby did learn that kids scream and cry sometimes, and stopped getting so worried whenever they did.

i was amazed, that Toby, who once disliked that toddler, was now protective of the toddler!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

Geekyteachy, that is one thing you might want to avoid choosing, is a shy puppy. Puppies who duck away from human hands, or puppies who seem to want to move away from strangers,
might not be the best pick if you plan to have a child.

A child comes with friends, and your home will be filled with a steady parade of children, for decades. A shy dog might not enjoy so many running, screaming, shrieking, fast moving unpredictable small strangers in their home all the time.

do google "shy" dogs, and how to spot a "shy" puppy, and realize, a "shy" dog might not enjoy lots of children in his home.





ANY breed of dog can have a "shy" dog in the litter, and shy dogs usually have "normal" parents, who are outgoing, friendly dogs.--------so you can NOT tell if a puppy will be shy by the puppy's parents, at all.

 

[Dogster]

GREAT advice, Tigerlily!!!! I agree!!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

well, i hope GeekyTeach is even reading any of this....(?).