Health Issues with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

This is a response to 'The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Makes Perfect Pet' published on September 7, 2006.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is indeed a great little dog as mentioned in the article, ideal for families with older children. However, because of their small size, you will find very few responsible breeders willing to let them go to homes with small children without assuring themselves that the child knows how to handle such a small dog. If you are talking to a breeder who doesn't ask a LOT of questions about you, your family, your lifestyle and your home, you are talking to either a backyard breeder or a puppy miller. No ethical breeder will sell a dog without making sure that the dog is going to a good home with people who understand the importance of taking good care of the dog. They will probably also have you sign an agreement that you will return the dog to them should you not be able to keep it for any reason. Again, this is in the dog's best interest. Good breeders like to keep track of their dogs and follow their progress through life.

Another thing you should be aware of if you are considering purchasing a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is the number of genetic health problems these dogs have. True, there are no purebred dogs without genetic faults, but you will find that Cavalier breeders are much more open in talking about them than other breeders. One of the more common health problems you find in Cavaliers is congenital heart disease. Heart disease is so prevalent in these dogs that twelve is considered a very old age for them. There are four common heart diseases. These are pulmonary stenosis, mitral valve disease or MVD, aortic stenosis and patent ductus arterious. A health symposium sponsored by the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club in 1998 found that Cavaliers were 20 times more likely to suffer from mitral valve disease than other breeds. Roughly half of dogs aged five have mitral valve disease and that jumps to 98% for Cavaliers aged 10 and over. To try and reduce the number of dogs afflicted with this hereditary health problem, the panel suggested the following protocols to be followed by the breeders.

The female should be, at a minimum, 2 ½ years old and be heart cleared by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. The parents of the female should also be heart cleared by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist and should be a minimum of five years old.

The stud dog qualifications are the same as for the brood bitch.

The panel strongly recommends that all Cavaliers be auscultated (examined with a stethoscope) at 2 ½ years of age by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist and the results sent to the Health Registry. Even if your dog is not a show dog or breeder, having this information allows the breeder to follow the health of every dog they sell. This in turn helps them make decisions about what dogs to use for their breeding programs in the future. You can find a list of board-certified veterinary cardiologists at http://www.acvim.org/Specialist/Search.aspx.

Cavaliers are also prone to hip dysplasia and patella luxation, (knee) both fairly common in almost every breed of dog. The severity of these diseases varies and most grade 1 or 2 stages do not severely affect the dog or cause them pain. If they do have moderate pain, you vet can usually prescribe medication to control it.

Another disease that was first diagnosed in Cavaliers in 1997 by Dr. Clare Rusbridge (a veterinary neurologist in England) is Syringomyelia, (SM) a progressive neurological disease that is also an inherited condition. Once again, our beloved Cavaliers are affected by SM more than any other breed of dog. It has been diagnosed in all four colors, in every line and both sexes. The signs of SM usually show up in young dogs between six months and three years, but it has also been seen in dogs ten years old. The only sure way to diagnose SM is by an MRI, a very costly procedure. A well-informed doctor may be able to diagnose just on the clinical signs, but the MRI is the only way to know for sure. The main symptoms of SM are, excessive scratching, general pain, sometimes set off by cold weather or storms and weakness in the legs and paws, causing lack of coordination. Secondary symptoms are restlessness, head shaking, lip-licking, head rubbing and digging or pushing. Again, a dog could have any of these symptoms without having SM. That is why it's so important to have a vet see your dog. SM occurs when a dog's skull is not large enough to contain the back of the brain. The fluid surround the brain in forced back into the spinal cord. Some people call SM the "neck scratcher's disease" because neck scratching is so often a symptom. SM is very similar to the human disease, Chiari type 1 malformation.

Medication can help in dogs with mild SM, but surgery is the only option for a dog with a severe case. Surgery, however, will not cure the disease; it will only stop its progression, which is why it's important to seek medical help right away.

Dr. Rusbridge and her team, in conjunction with a neurogenetics lab in Montreal, have established a worldwide DNA collection of over 800 samples that are being utilized to help isolate the genes responsible for SM.

So if you think you might like to have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for a pet, do your homework. Find a breeder who follows the Code of Ethics established by the parent club. Some of these breeders can be found on the Cavalier website at www.ckcsc.org