Both Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Beagles should have their hearts checks before breeding.
CKCS should go one step further and have theirs checked every single year, since our breed is plagued with a heart disease that can develop over time.
Hearts, while they can be checked by a general practitioner, *should* be checked by a cardiologist. Cardiologists train to hear the difference in the clicks and ticks that hearts make and what these noises make. They are trained to see things on echocardiograms to understand how the heart valves work and blood flows.
To know if your breeder is having their hearts checked properly, check their documentation. Have a look to see what is written. I will show you two examples.
This beagle was seen by a cardiologist as you can see on the bottom right.
This cavalier was seen by a regular vet (unfortunately).
As I mentioned earlier, heart clearances for cavaliers are only valid for 1 year. If your breeder is breeding dogs that haven’t got current clearances, you should ask them why not.
Not every breeder posts the results online – it can get expensive to do so. So, they can just show you the paperwork that would be submitted to www.ofa.org. Below are some examples for you to look at.
If you want to know more about what a heart murmur is, there is a little video about it here:
2 weeks flies by so quickly. As a breeder, I can breathe a little sigh of relief as it means I can start getting a little more sleep. I don’t have to wake up every hour or two through the night anymore to check on them. Not that I mind – but my bed is calling after 2 weeks of broken nights of rest.
The puppies are thriving, and by all accounts a little on the advanced side. Because cavalier puppies are born “early” (by dog standards), they tend to be like preemie human babies that can be a little developmentally delayed – they get there eventually but maybe a month or two behind their peers sometimes (or in puppy cases a few days or a week behind what i would expect a beagle pup to do).
However, these little guys, the two blenhiem pups decided day 10 was the day to start opening their eyes. This means that they are also starting to hear and they are moving around the whelping pen more. The two tri girls are not far behind and at 14 days both have slivers of eyes opening.
I can’t wait till we start seeing their little personalities emerging. For now we are just enjoying their little blobby snuggles. Enjoy the photos of them growing up.
*please note that they are not available at this time. *
Time flies when we are having fun and our Easter gift this year is that Charlotte’s puppies turned a week old. They are all thriving and active. They are nursing well and gaining weight like they should. Charlotte is healing well from her c-section and is a wonderful mother, taking great care of them. They are clean and bonny. What more could we ask for?
Without further ado, I know what you are here for – photos of the little dumplings. Enjoy.
*please remember that none are for sale at this time. *
Now that Charlotte’s babies are a few days old and starting to fill out a little, I took some time to photograph them with my phone tonight before doing their dewclaws. I usually use my “big girl” camera, but I couldnt be bothered – sorry. But they still look cute anyway I think.
*please note that none of these puppies are available at this time*
Charlotte’s due date was Friday the 26th. We had done the xrays on Wednesday the 24th and we knew there were 4 puppies on board. True to timing, she started panting and nesting Friday evening around 7pm.
I woke up every 1.5 hours through the night to check on her. I walked her, and pottied her but there wasn’t much action happening. This is normal. Stage 1 can be long (just like a human – they are opening the cervix to “10 cm”). Around 4am she cried a lot so I ended up sleeping beside her from that point, with my hand on her as she slept and panted and shifted.
Saturday was much the same – watching her, but not much happening. we went on lots of walks/potty breaks. That was, till about 4:30pm. During one of our potty breaks, her water sack came out and she proceeded to pop it. “Awesome”, I thought. “We will have a puppy soon.” But, as the afternoon wore on, Charlotte kept panting and then would do an occasional push, but nothing worth noting.
In the dog breeding world, you start to worry when your dog has been pushing consistently for an hour. She hadn’t been doing that, but after 3 hours of waiting, it just didn’t feel right. By this stage, Molly and Abbey arrived. Molly is Charlotte’s ‘other mom’ (Charlotte lives in a guardian home with one of my closest friends).
Around 8pm, we spotted a little bubble – YEAH – a puppy was on it’s way, but then we saw feet. UH OH – that’s not usually a good sign. Feet without a sack means a dry birth, which is harder for momma to push out, and a bubble usually means there is another baby competing for space. We did the “wheelbarrow” technique to try to reposition the babies and called our vet. He said since there was a puppy so close, we should grab a towel and try to gently pull the puppy out. We tried to do this, however, Charlotte kept sucking it back inside making it near impossible to grab. I made the call to Dr Anders to do a c-section – he agreed.
At this stage, I will say a HUGE thank you to Dr Anders Thoreson from Klahaya Animal Hospital for being on call – I know this is not normal and it is SO appreciated.
As irony would have is, just as we pulled in the the Klahaya carpark, Charlotte gave birth to that birth puppy on Molly’s arm. In the breeding world we call that “bumpy road protocol” 🙂 haha.
Inside we talked about it – between the lack of pushing and the long labor, we decided to go ahead with the c-section and get the babies out. Better to have healthy babies alive than wait too long and have them die.
I was in the surgical room (far back from the clean area) to “catch” puppies and then i ran them out to Brianna, Molly and Abbey so they could rub them down. All 4 are healthy and strong – at first a little tired from surgery but it didnt take long to get them nursing.
We got 3 girls and a boy. 2 tri girls and 1 blen girl and 1 blen boy. 🙂 Born just before 10pm on Saturday the 27th. Mama and babies were able to come home an hour later and so I got up all through the night to check on their progress.
We are so thankful for these precious little lives and look forward to them growing up.
Since Charlotte is named after Princess Charlotte, it seemed only fitting we did a “Royal” litter in her honor.
Blen girl was born at 6.17oz. We are nicknaming her “Fergie”
Blen boy was born 6.49oz. We are nicknaming him “Archie”
Tri girl 1 (with the larger blaze) was born at 6.53oz. We are nicknaming her “Victoria”
Tri girl 2 (with the smaller blaze) was born 6.67oz and we named “Kate” since she looks so much like her mom.
**please note that none of these puppies are available at this time**
We are so happy to announce that the first Kazuri litter for 2021 will be (all going well) cavaliers. We expect them to be born late March/early April.
Miss Charlotte is in whelp to German import Est/Lat/Germ CH Angel’s Pride Zakkary.
This is a tri x blenheim breeding and we could get puppies in either color from this litter.
*please note that we have an existing waitlist and so these puppies will all be spoken for*
Here at Kazuri, we recommend delaying spaying and neutering till 18 months (or till your dog’s growth plates are closed which can be determined through an x-ray).
Allowing your dog to grow to full maturity, will allow him or her to be healthier socially, mentally and physically. Studies have concluded that neutering before puberty increases a dog’s risk of:
Behavioral issues such as noise phobias, fearful behavior, and aggression
Cardiac tumors
Bone cancers
Prostate cancer
Abnormal bone growth and development
ACL ruptures
Hip dysplasia
Urinary incontinence
Hypothyroidism
There are many studies that show this. You can visit Reproductive Specialist Dr Marty Greer’s website https://www.smallanimalclinic.com/ and she has a whole section dedicated to articles about spaying and neutering so you can research yourself. There is evidence that talks about dogs living longer when spaying/neutering is delayed and things like that.
Dr Judy Morgan talks about it in this video here:
If you feel like you cant keep your male from wandering or your girl from getting pregnant, then please know that we will support you in getting them spayed / neutered early – as I certainly an not an advocate for unwanted pregnancies and adding to the pet population without meaning to.
You do have another option though if you need to spay or neuter earlier than desired. Vets can do vasectomies on males or ovary sparing spays on females meaning they can still get the hormones they need, but there is no risk of unwanted puppies. Please consider this if you cant wait till 18 months to get your dog spayed/neutered.
Because of COVID, we have all been starved of going to going to shows. The State-wide restrictions have made it almost impossible all year to get together.
The Cavalier of Puget Sound (COPS) show, which are usually held mid year, were postponed till this weekend in the hopes that the numbers would be smaller. They were able to join with the shows at Richfield WA and have back to back specialty shows the day before the All breed shows that were happening on the weekend.
So, Phoenix and Summer and I, met Susan and Alisha from Lockestar cavaliers, who brought along Sirius, James and Christopher, and we had a day full of fun with our fellow cavalier fanciers. There were rules of course – stay 6ft apart and wear a mask at all times, but we all complied – anything to be able to do what we love 🙂
Our brilliant judges were Mrs Patricia Hastings and Mr Gary Stiles.
The second COPS show was dedicated to the late Nancy Rice Waggoner who passed away earlier this year. She was incredibly dedicated to the sport of cavaliers – what I mean by that is what she didn’t just see them as “pretty” lap dogs, but saw them as capable working dogs also, and many of her dogs worked on other titles as well – they got therapy titles so she could give back to others and agility titles so they could show they could move and keep their brains active. She tried to breed to the standard winning many accolades over the years – Best of Breeds, Group Placements, Best in Shows – her hard work showed in her placements. And she was a really lovely person. I always remember her smile greeting everyone at every show I went to. I was glad this show was dedicated to her memory.
Here are some of the many wonderful memories from the show – obviously not everything is here – thank you to Becky Smith’s husband Steve for taking photos ringside.
Our show chairs Becky Smith and Kathi Ogle
The table dedicated to Nancy and her achievements
Alisha (breeder/owner/handler) and Christopher (Lockestar Hundred Acre Wood)
Christopher won Winner’s Dog and a major!
James (Kaszuri East Of Eden) and Susan (owner/handler) – he won his class this show
Kathi (owner handler) on the move with Donny (BISS GCH Covington Hopjack at Kendallkastle)
Summer (Kazuri’s Sweet Summertime Kisses) on the move with me (breeder/owner/handler)
Ember (Lokazuri Star’s Ember Waves Of Flame For Elleme) doing her down and back with owner / handler Megan.
Emma and Averley (Beckwith Believe You Me) who won winners Bitch and Best of Winners for a major!
Susan (owner handler) and Sirius (GCH CH Lockestar ‘Cause I’M Up To No Good RATM CGCA CGCU TKN) on the move
Carla (owner handler) and Denny (GCH Covington Designed By Time)
Donna and Hogan (who won BISS in the first specialty show) (GCH Brookhaven’s Here Comes Hogan)
Julia and Simon (CH Orchard Hill Say it’s True)
Becky (breeder/owner/handler) and Violette (CH Beckwith Violette)
Kathi and Donny won Best In Show (Specialty) from the Veteran class – sometimes Covid rules go out the window temporarily to celebrate such a wonderful victory!
Today I’m writing about a topic that makes me want to reach for a blood pressure pill: the annual (over) vaccination of dogs.
Annual vaccination is unnecessary and dangerous for your dog. Despite what we know about the risks, it seems to be what most vets recommend to all dogs.
Experts like leading veterinary immunology researcher Ronald D Schultz PhD proved decades ago that most dogs will be protected for many years – and probably for life by one round of core vaccines as puppies – as long as they are completed about 16 weeks old.
Only Rabies is actually legally required. Parvo is highly recommended as it can be lethal if not treated quickly and effectively.
Dr Schultz reports:
“The patient receives no benefit and may be placed at serious risk when an unnecessary vaccine is given. Few or no scientific studies have demonstrated a need for cats or dogs to be revaccinated.”
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have announced publicly that annual vaccination is unnecessary and can be harmful.
But unfortunately, often these studies do nothing to stop vets from vaccinating more often than necessary. Dog owners need to advocate for their dogs and be the ones to say “no” or ask for a TITRE TEST.
A titer test is a simple blood test where they look at the immunity level of your dog’s blood against the virus. If your dog has low immunity, the vaccine is recommended. If they have high immunity then it is not.
Over vaccination has be attributed to auto-immune disorders, allergies, epileptic seizures and neurological issues and cancer.
I love watching my puppies play – they are a constant source of joy and laughter. I wanted to share a couple of out-takes that I happened to catch this week and share the joy.
The little faded tri boy colliding with my little 6 month old cavalier Summer. No cavaliers or beagles were injured in this 🙂
My other out-take was Miss “Katherine” from my Vixen x BJ litter – she was trying to jump onto the back of a chair, but she mis-calculated. Well, you can see the results 🙂
Just like the first image, she was just fine and dandy – but it made for a good giggle for me.
