Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Our Goals

Since there are many different goals in the world of dog breeding, and many different ways of getting there, I want to provide a brief insight here what  “Carsan” have set for themselves as goals.

First of all, I want to mention the issue of enjoying being around the dogs. In order to ensure that both the human and hence life partner of the dog, as well as the Cavalier, enjoy a high quality of family life, it is important that the dogs are of good health.

This is why I decided to build my breeding stock from old and tried lines that has been passing on good health and strong character for over 45 years and has been undergoing a stringent selection process for these traits. Many relatives and ancestors are still alive at the old age of 14 and are in good health even then. Our breeding stock all undergo regular veterinary checks. Our dogs participate in the KC Heart doppler and Auscultation scheme a long-term project. This scheme relies on an ultrasound test and exam in order to examine especially the mitral valve for certain defects.

Since our breeding stock, as I have already mentioned, are checked for heart disease before breeding with them it is very important from a breeder’s point of view to continue the process and only use healthy cavaliers in the breeding program.

But we are not only concentrating on the hearts of our cavaliers. There are more health problems that we are checking here at Carsan that are lying hidden in the genes of our beloved breed and other breeds as well.

What exactly is this CM/SM?

Many Cavalier fans, as well as newly interested persons in the breed, have been asking us this question lately, and they are seeking answers, and rightly so. I thus want to briefly outline the symptoms, because it is important to me to set out the classical signs, as normal dog scratching has nothing to do with this genetic defect, which is abbreviated as “SM”.
The most important symptom is that it is really a type of phantom scratching, meaning that the dogs do not actually touch themselves with their paws but scratch in the air. Hence, typical dog scratching must not be misinterpreted as “phantom scratching” or SM
During the attack, the entire dog looks very tense. The attacks rarely happen without provocation but mainly during times of stress such or when playing. It is especially strong also when the dog is put on a leash, which is when symptoms worsen. This type of nerve reaction can also be brought about through massaging or petting in the neck region, precisely where a normal dog collar is located.

Before this noble breed of ours, which has made it all the way from the 15th century into our modern time, is pushed into a corner where it definitely does not belong, we are being called upon as breeders.
There is definitely a need for clear information. If we look at the genetic defect in terms of the overall population, we can see that in its worst form it only appears in about 1.5% of dogs. While this may not be a reason to breathe easy, it is also not a reason for panicking out of control.

Our breed clubs included this disease into its optional health check. All our Stud dogs are MRI Scanned for C/M and S/M.
DNA is now available to eliminate several serious conditions within the breed all our stock is now clear or hereditary clear for the following conditions
Curly coat. Dry eye, episodic falling and Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD)
Eye testing is also done annually.
This is a very important aspect for our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed.
I hope to have broken a bit through the tabu zone of that subject for us breeders.
We here at Carsan inform and give copies of health tests to our puppy buyers.
 
In summing up, I would like to emphasise that we are not hysterical by any stretch of the imagination!

Being informed is still the best method to solve a problem. With our voluntary selection process, we are on a good path.

Our litter planning process is always based on the background that we strive to keep undesired genetic factors, such as heart problems or Syringomyelia, as small as possible.