> I have heard one breeder say 6-8 another 10-12. In your experience, give me > two numbers that you feel are realistic.
I honestly feel that they die on average between 10 and 12 years of age. There is a large enough number that die earlier that it feels worse than this, but there is also a large enough number that die beyond 12 years of age to partially offset that. Everyone I've kept has lived beyond 13 years so far. I agree with Barb on one count--I keep mine thin after retirement! This may be one reason why mine do well--besides genetics of course. At present I have 3 dogs past age 8, not one has more than a grade two murmur (cardiologist checked). One will be 14 next week and another is 12 1/2, the last one is going on 9. I think an even slightly overweight Cavalier is going to fare much worse than a thin one due to MVD. Laura Lang Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "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 2002 by its original author.
