Patience is a Virtue

I have been asked to answer the question "what is the minimum amount of dogs needed to develop a breeding program?"

Given the current state of affairs in Cavaliers with many new to the breed in North America buying in, in my opinion, excessive amounts of dogs on a continuous basis with no real purpose except to buy a "winner" I think it is a pertinent question. Developing a successful breeding program takes careful planning, time, luck and patience. Too many are on a fast track and think that buying lots of dogs will get them somewhere fast.

Breeding someone else’s dogs together and having a successful litter does not mean you have a breeding program. It is the result of someone else’s hard work. The true trick is to have successful litters after several generations of your own breeding.

I suppose the flippant answer to the "minimum amount of dogs" would be 2. One to supply eggs and one to supply sperm.

Conventional wisdom says the needed dogs to develop a breeding program has usually been 2 bitches. A well bred foundation bitch and a secondary bitch of similar type and lines. Those bitches can then be bred to different outside studs, related or outcrossed and the best puppies retained. By breeding back and forth between the two bitch lines and going out to different studs as needed a breeding program can be developed.

Any kennel’s true strength is in its bitches! So choose your bitches well. I will address the need for stud dogs in a later post.

No Slippers in my house, except on my feet

Somewhere along the way feathering on feet has gone overboard into the massive "slippers" which some Cavaliers sport. Too me this excessive hair on feet looks ridiculous and indicates a dog that is not getting enough exercise other than out in a garden to do its "business". A Cavalier with the correct pretty soft head, beautiful large eyes, long ears and tail, proper body type and size is what is needed to make it distinguishable from other breeds, not the massive "slippers". A Cavalier with large "slippers" is only a messy looking Cavalier.

There is no shame in trimming a pet Cavalier's feet, despite what your breeder might have told you, the trick is to doing it right so that there is still some feathering on the feet. In other words, when you take your Cavalier to the groomer tell them you do not want a clean foot like a Springer Spaniel but some of the featherings left.

I groom a lot of Cavaliers as a professional groomer and a breeder and this is how I groom a pet Cavalier's foot ...

All the hair is cleaned off the pads of the foot. I then take rounded scissors and from the pads of the foot upwards I shape the foot around fairly closely. Any hair that can be pulled down between the pads is cut off but the hair between the toes on top of the foot is left. I then take thinning shears to tidy the foot around to take away the "cut" look. I brush the top of the foot pulling the hairs up between the toes so that it is sticking out and if there are any excessively long straggles I take a small amount off with the thinning shears to neaten. You still have feathering on the feet but just a small amount.

Excessive hair on a Cavalier's foot is only good for collecting dirt and wet, so go ahead and get those scissors out and start trimming your pet Cavalier's feet. You, your house and your Cavalier will all feel better for it!

Toenails and Hardwood Floors don't go!

Toenails and Hardwood Floors don't go!

Recent trends have homeowners putting in hardwood or laminate floors like it is going out of style. Unfortunately if you have dogs (and even cats) toenails click and clack and scratch ....

We often have dog owners coming in wanting the toenails cut as "short as you can get them because they are clicking on the hardwood floors". Guess what? No groomer can get the average dog's toenails short enough to prevent noise. Even my own dogs nails click on the wood floors!

A dog’s (and cat’s) toenails have a “quick” or a blood vessel. This “quick” grows as the nail grows. Generally speaking the more often you cut the toenail the further back the “quick” will be located. If you cut a toenail into the “quick” then it will bleed. While no dog has ever died from the “quick” being cut it can sometimes difficult to get stopped. Though groomers and veterinarians use a styptic powder to stop the bleeding occasionally the bleeding will start up again when the dog walks on the pavement or carpet or gets the toenail wet. So most groomers attempt to cut the nails without hitting the “quick. Besides the mess involved it is also often painful for the dog to have the “quick” cut. Also we find as groomers that nothing upsets an owner more than having a dog return home and jump on the clean white sofa or bed covering and start leaving bloody smears everywhere!

There are two methods of cutting a dog’s toenails. One, which most groomers and veterinarians employ is using a toenail clipper and just cutting off the end of the toenail. There is also something called a “Dremel” tool which is an electric grinder which grinds or files down the toenail. This method takes some time and needs to be done on a regular basis to keep the nails short. With dogs that have their nails cut by a “Dremel” tool this usually involves starting a dog at a young age so that they can get used to the noise and sensations of having their nails cut with this method.

Part of the reason for long toenails (beside the obvious of not having their nails their nails cut regularly) is the average pet dog’s sedentary lifestyle. Toenails will generally file down naturally when the dog is walked on a hard surface such as pavement. A brisk walk on pavement several times a day will be far more effective in keeping toenails short than anything else – besides it is healthier for you and the dog so get out there and walk!