Anathea & Ray: First, congratulations on your wisdom! Cavaliers are an excellent breed. Your lives will be forever enriched for the addition of a cavalier to your family. After two and a half years with my Lizzie I can share the following insights:
Our neighborhood is blessed with three cavaliers and a park. More than anything else-- and they love to run -- they all three LOVE to play in the snow. I've always thought it was due to the British origin of the breed - of course that is based upon my assumption - perhaps erroneously - that England regularly experiences a winter blanket of snow. Here in the middle of the US, our weather varies greatly from winter to winter, so serious snow is not a guarantee. The last two winters we have enjoyed several good snows and the cavaliers did enjoy them. Even if the weather is near zero, Lizzie will go out to conduct business and add in a little romp. When the snow is seriously wet, she comes back with balls of snow stuck to her tummy, and a big smile on her face. Last year, she actually drew me a heart in the snow right near valentines day --- I kid you not!!!! Then again, I'm a cavalier romantic! Your question reminds me of one of the funniest experiences I've ever had on this list serve... last winter we were discussing our dogs snow escapades when a member related her worry about forgetting to remove some stuffed toys from her cavalier's runs before a foot or more of snow. She shared a "blow by blow" account her husband attempted to clear the runs with a snow blower. Her accounts of her husband's behaviors as he discovered first one and then two stuffed toys spewing from the blower were hilarious. Although that humorous tale of human behavior expired a world wide exchange, the strategic prescriptions of caffeine and alcohol based strategies from fellow cavalier owners and fellow spouses all over the world warmed my heart as well. This list is truly a close family of very special souls. I hope you can enjoy your future cavalier's joyous personality in snow and sun. As for Lizzie, she's not a swimmer. She will tread in into the water's edge to cool her paws or explore the texture of the water, but never dives in to natural bodies of water, and as for a real swimming pool...forget it, give her sunglasses and the shade of an umbrella... but after all, it does get to be a 100 degrees often here. Who could blame her. You also asked about how to train a cavalier to adjust to large groups of people. This is a good question, and one where I am not aware of a "breed" answer. As for Lizzie, she does not like crowds, and particularly NOT AT OUR HOUSE!!! I was on our town's garden tour a year ago and had 800 plus folks comes through in one day. I had hope she would assume her usual garden posture of posing under the tree amidst the hostas and heuchera's, but no.... she was in the corner as sheltered as possible all day. In retrospect, I should have brought her crate out for her. Even in a situation like this, however, her loyalty was evident and she was rarely far away from me. On occasions where I've had parties or whole families spending the night or weekend - or my whole family in for Christmas, Lizzie often seeks shelter in her house, aka crate. The moral here, I suppose, is to keep the crate available when company comes and bring it close to me when there's a crowd! This behavior may be specific to Lizzie or to our small Tudor home, who knows. Just thought I would share our insights. Oh yes, as for babies, Lizzie does quite well with them, which seems to be instinctive. They also love her and she doesn't mind their touching approaches. My year old great niece won't let Lizzie out of her sight when they are in the same room and I'm anxious to see how they do together once Rebekkah can walk in a sure-footed manner and approach Lizzie on her own. Lizzie does go everywhere with me and in small crowds - even of strangers - simply finds a spot on the floor near me to settle down for a nap. When I can't find her, inevitably she is three feet behind me out of sight but well within range. As for dental care, I do have a suggestion. Lizzie came to me at the age of 5 1/2 and had six teeth pulled on our first day together with two more soon to follow. Since she has been a regular users of Greenies to keep the dental calculus down. As I sell the product on the internet, I will send you a separate message with the details. Again,. Congratulations, on your cavalier decision and keep us posted on your progress. Jolene Grabill [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Anathea B. Waitekus Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 6:45 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [CKCS-L] New to list, plan to get a Cavalier--I have MANY questions :) Hello, My husband and I are new to the list. I apologize ahead of time for asking questions that may have already been asked! My husband and I have been looking for a toy breed, a friendly, affectionate dog, easy to train and willing to go on long walks, occasional hikes and likes to swim. We narrowed our choices down to three breeds, the Pug, the Toy American Eskie and the Cavalier. After much research we decided on the Cavalier, the only hesitation I have is the propensity for the Cavalier to run. I am nervous about our Cavalier, when we get one, running away or into traffic. This leads me to my first question. How have you dealt with your Cavalier's love to run? Is there any sort of training or socialization techniques that help prevent this? The running issue is my biggest concern. Another question: My husband and I are very quiet and for most of the time our dog will be with us, however we have 12 nieces and nephews and more on the way. Do you have any suggestions for helping our dog adapt to big get togethers? In general, what has been your experience with the Cavalier dealing with big family get togethers? My husband comes from a family of eight children, now all married with kids so the bigger family get togethers are on his side. I am most concerned with his side of the family as they are not dog owners and I am extra cautious with introducing a dog to his side of the family, as they may only accept a well behaved dog. Personally I grew up in a family of dog owners, I always had a dog (labrador) growing up and so did all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...so family get togethers on my side of the family are more accepting to a dog misbehaving etc. Also, my husband and I don't have children, but may have a baby in a year or so, has anyone on this list dealt with introducing their cavalier to a new baby in the house? My husband and I have been thinking about getting a dog for years and right now happens to be a great time as we have time to train and socialize the dog. We used to think we would get a dog after having a child, but getting a dog before having a child seems more practical. A weather question, we live on the coast in New England. How do Cavaliers like the snow and beach? What is the best method for cleaning the Cavalier's teeth? I know if we get a dog I am going to be adamant about cleaning its teeth! Finally, are there any sort of training techniques you recommend for the Cavalier? Any books on training that you have found helpful? Any toys you suggest (I am starting a collection of toys already)? I am interested in agility training, not for competition, just for fun. I am sorry for all the questions. If you have any input for just one two questions I would love to hear from you. Thank you in advance for your help, ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author. ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
