I live in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio, USA. with the Roycroft gang of Cavalers and my 8 year old son, Steven. I also have a 23 year old son who is now living on his own. I recently became a single mom again and may just stay this way for a long time. So far no luck at finding a husband who likes the dogs--who can even tolerate the dogs--so I said bye-bye to both of them.
I found out about Cavaliers back in 1974. I had had two very bad experiences with mixed breed dogs (really terrible health and temperament) and decided I wanted to breed and show in a way that would make a positive difference to a breed. The obedience class I attended with my second mixed breed dog was run by some people who showed in both conformation and obedience and bred as well. They told me to go to the library and research to figure out the right breed for me. I did so and discovered the Cavalier. The same people who ran the obedience classes told me to get a pet first, show in obedience and attend both AKC shows and breed specialties to learn about the breed before I got into conformation showing and breeding (smart people!). I then set about the enormous task of finding a Cavalier in the U.S. in 1975 (never even thought of going to England at that time). Finally towards the end of the year I found a breeder with a litter on the way and got on her list. Lawmaker came home in spring 1976 and by 1980 he had gone all the way to his Utility Dog degree (no agility back then!). I attended several CKCSC specialties with him and just a couple of years after I got Lawmaker, my first show puppy came to live with me. Josie was a lovely girl and lived with me for nearly 15 years. She also became the beginning of my breeding program--such as it was. Due to my partial involvement with Irish Setters (which were my then husband's breed) I tested Josie's hips, eyes, heart and patellas and have continued to fully test every dog in my breeding program since then. I believe fully testing is an essential part of breeding because I would no more wish to accidentally *double up* on hip dysplasia than I would wish to double up on ticking, cataracts, small eyes or lack of bone. It was very slow going at first. Several dogs didn't pass this or that test and it was very hard to find stud dogs that were tested so even in 1990--14 years after I started--I still only had 6 Cavaliers (some babies, some retired) and did VERY little breeding and very limited showing. Finally I decided to *just do it* and in my normal way I set about trying to figure out *how* I was going to do it (really begin a worthwhile breeding program). I began to research pedigrees big time and study statistics to see who was doing what and talking to successful breeders for the next 5-8 years (slow and steady is me!). It also helped that right about that time there was a Cavalier being shown that was to me the prettiest, typiest Cavalier I had ever seen in the U.S.-- the type I wanted to breed for--she really spurred me on! I purchased my lovely Sanickro boy in 1998, and had purchased a couple of nice bitches. And so by 1999 my breeding program was finally starting to get in gear--only 23 years after my initial start. I laid a careful foundation and it is now starting to come to fruition--hopefully with typey, wonderfully temperamented and healthy Cavaliers who are successful as pets, in the show or performance ring, and in a breeding program. So far, so good--each year since 1999 has been more successful than the last--2002 is the best yet! I have done several rescues over the years, did a bit of therapy work about 10 years ago--plan to do more in the future, and will be getting into agility next year as well. I want to do it all! Have NO interest in a second breed! After 26.5 years in Cavaliers, I'm permanently hooked on this breed alone. 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.
