October 2007
Edited by Tina & Dennis Homes
SHOW VERSUS PET
Whilst combing and grooming my Cavalier at the Richmond Championship show which was held at Losely Park near Guildford in September, a young couple approached and asked, “Do King Charles Spaniels make good pets?”
“Yes of course, all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make good pets,” said I, making sure that Cavalier was stated firmly. (I do hate it when people will insist on calling them King Charles). The couple then said, “But these are show dogs and they are different”. I couldn’t believe I heard this correctly and so went on to explain that my show dog was also a pet. The man continued to say, “But show dogs have different temperaments to pets”. “Well,” said I. “My dogs live in the house with us, so I suppose they are pets. They enjoy our company as we do theirs, and they equally enjoy going to shows and showing off. Admittedly they have to have an outgoing demeanour to do well, but I know all Cavaliers have good manners and that is why they are so popular both inside and outside the showring.”
The lady grinned and said she would like to buy a puppy because she liked the temperament of my little bitch. I then pointed her in the direction of the person who keeps the puppy register. I didn’t see them again, so I don’t know whether they actually saw my show/pet bitch take the Challenge Certificate and Best Bitch that day.
My girl may be a show champion but, she is my pet and beloved companion first.
Whilst combing and grooming my Cavalier at the Richmond Championship show which was held at Losely Park near Guildford in September, a young couple approached and asked, “Do King Charles Spaniels make good pets?”
“Yes of course, all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make good pets,” said I, making sure that Cavalier was stated firmly. (I do hate it when people will insist on calling them King Charles). The couple then said, “But these are show dogs and they are different”. I couldn’t believe I heard this correctly and so went on to explain that my show dog was also a pet. The man continued to say, “But show dogs have different temperaments to pets”. “Well,” said I. “My dogs live in the house with us, so I suppose they are pets. They enjoy our company as we do theirs, and they equally enjoy going to shows and showing off. Admittedly they have to have an outgoing demeanour to do well, but I know all Cavaliers have good manners and that is why they are so popular both inside and outside the showring.”
The lady grinned and said she would like to buy a puppy because she liked the temperament of my little bitch. I then pointed her in the direction of the person who keeps the puppy register. I didn’t see them again, so I don’t know whether they actually saw my show/pet bitch take the Challenge Certificate and Best Bitch that day.
My girl may be a show champion but, she is my pet and beloved companion first.
A NEW TV STAR!
There’s much written on this website about dog shows, so it’s really great to hear about other events that Cavaliers are involved in. I recently heard from Tracey Masters from Sussex who told me how her Cavalier Charlie is turning into quite the TV star. This is her story:
“When a friend showed me the application form for the next series of Animal Planets Top Dog programme that she found at Crufts I thought I would have a go and enter. My eight and a half year old Cavalier Charlie already does a bit of agility and as he is a member of the Clever Cavaliers display team I thought he would be able to do a few tricks as well. We entered and waited to see if we heard from them.
It was in June that I received a letter from them asking me about Charlie and would I send off his application form. Ten days later I was having lunch with my friends when the researcher rang me to arrange for Charlie and myself to go to an audition in Wormwood Scrubs playing fields the following Wednesday. So my friend Mary, Charlie and I set off for London. I took with me some of Charlie's favourite tricks.
There was about twenty five people there and we all had to do a bit of agility and tricks. Charlie was brilliant, doing everything I asked of him and I said to Mary on the way home, “that if we didn't get picked we couldn't have done any better.”
Five days later I had a phone call from a camera man called Jack who wanted to come during the following week to film me and Charlie doing all the things we enjoy doing at home. Apparently a lot of people choose agility or obedience clubs so they asked for something different from us. I had already told Shauna Lowry, who was conducting the auditions, about the Clever Cavaliers doing their tricks to entertain the elderly and she was very keen to film Charlie doing that. As luck would have it we had a demo in Horsham that Friday so Jack came to film us. It took all afternoon to film enough to get ninety seconds of TV. Next I got in the post a list of all things we needed to practice for our heat. It involved agility, food manners, scent tests, obedience and a party trick to end with. Well Charlie never knew what hit him. We were training like mad at all different locations. Luckily Charlie loves training of any sort and really enjoyed himself. I was a little less laid back but we worked hard together.
The heats were held in August in Shropshire. The TV company put us up in a hotel the night before and Mary, Charlie and I drove up and tried to relax. When we woke my worst nightmare came true. Everyone who knows Charlie knows he hates getting wet, this is a dog who won't go on grass if there is dew on it and there it was, rain! We got very wet during the filming and it lasted all day. I won't say where we came in our heat but I can say that I was very proud of Charlie he even managed to resist roast beef and Yorkshire pudding in the food round which I was amazed at!
The programme will probably be on in the spring 2008 so tune in to Animal Planets Top Dog to see how we got on. And for those of you that think you can’t teach an old Cavalier new tricks, ask Charlie!”
We wait with baited breath to see the programme!!!!
There’s much written on this website about dog shows, so it’s really great to hear about other events that Cavaliers are involved in. I recently heard from Tracey Masters from Sussex who told me how her Cavalier Charlie is turning into quite the TV star. This is her story:
“When a friend showed me the application form for the next series of Animal Planets Top Dog programme that she found at Crufts I thought I would have a go and enter. My eight and a half year old Cavalier Charlie already does a bit of agility and as he is a member of the Clever Cavaliers display team I thought he would be able to do a few tricks as well. We entered and waited to see if we heard from them.
It was in June that I received a letter from them asking me about Charlie and would I send off his application form. Ten days later I was having lunch with my friends when the researcher rang me to arrange for Charlie and myself to go to an audition in Wormwood Scrubs playing fields the following Wednesday. So my friend Mary, Charlie and I set off for London. I took with me some of Charlie's favourite tricks.
There was about twenty five people there and we all had to do a bit of agility and tricks. Charlie was brilliant, doing everything I asked of him and I said to Mary on the way home, “that if we didn't get picked we couldn't have done any better.”
Five days later I had a phone call from a camera man called Jack who wanted to come during the following week to film me and Charlie doing all the things we enjoy doing at home. Apparently a lot of people choose agility or obedience clubs so they asked for something different from us. I had already told Shauna Lowry, who was conducting the auditions, about the Clever Cavaliers doing their tricks to entertain the elderly and she was very keen to film Charlie doing that. As luck would have it we had a demo in Horsham that Friday so Jack came to film us. It took all afternoon to film enough to get ninety seconds of TV. Next I got in the post a list of all things we needed to practice for our heat. It involved agility, food manners, scent tests, obedience and a party trick to end with. Well Charlie never knew what hit him. We were training like mad at all different locations. Luckily Charlie loves training of any sort and really enjoyed himself. I was a little less laid back but we worked hard together.
The heats were held in August in Shropshire. The TV company put us up in a hotel the night before and Mary, Charlie and I drove up and tried to relax. When we woke my worst nightmare came true. Everyone who knows Charlie knows he hates getting wet, this is a dog who won't go on grass if there is dew on it and there it was, rain! We got very wet during the filming and it lasted all day. I won't say where we came in our heat but I can say that I was very proud of Charlie he even managed to resist roast beef and Yorkshire pudding in the food round which I was amazed at!
The programme will probably be on in the spring 2008 so tune in to Animal Planets Top Dog to see how we got on. And for those of you that think you can’t teach an old Cavalier new tricks, ask Charlie!”
We wait with baited breath to see the programme!!!!
Tracey Masters with Charlie
AUTUMN READING
The long sultry summer evenings of taking your dogs for long walks have fast faded, so what better way to spend the dark autumn evenings than curling up with a good book, (no doubt with a dog asleep on your lap!) For the Cavalier enthusiast there are three excellent books that have recently come onto the market, all of which I highly recommend.
The first one, “My Life With George” by Judith Summers, (published by Michael Joseph), was recommended by one of our online readers, Sheena Lamont, (thanks Sheena, in fact a good friend sent us a copy a couple of days later). In the summer of 1998 Judith Summers lost both her husband and father to cancer within the space of two weeks. Life seemed so dark and bleak for both Judith and her eight year old son Joshua. But then George, a five month old Cavalier, bounced into their lives. A very loving dog, he soon brought back the joie de vivre into their lives. But life was never plain sailing with George, he was also wilful, possessive and preferred to only eat organic roast chicken. He also preferred to travel by car than to go walkies and enjoyed tearing up tissues whenever he got the chance. He was also extremely accident prone and seemed to suffer from no end of allergies, hence a regular at the local vet. He also became as jealous as a spurned lover if any man showed an interest in his owner. This book is touching, heartbreaking and also extremely funny. It can move you to tears and then to laughter. A thoroughly enjoyable read recounting how the loving and adorable George filled the void in Judith and Joshua’s lives, while driving them barking mad along the way.
The long sultry summer evenings of taking your dogs for long walks have fast faded, so what better way to spend the dark autumn evenings than curling up with a good book, (no doubt with a dog asleep on your lap!) For the Cavalier enthusiast there are three excellent books that have recently come onto the market, all of which I highly recommend.
The first one, “My Life With George” by Judith Summers, (published by Michael Joseph), was recommended by one of our online readers, Sheena Lamont, (thanks Sheena, in fact a good friend sent us a copy a couple of days later). In the summer of 1998 Judith Summers lost both her husband and father to cancer within the space of two weeks. Life seemed so dark and bleak for both Judith and her eight year old son Joshua. But then George, a five month old Cavalier, bounced into their lives. A very loving dog, he soon brought back the joie de vivre into their lives. But life was never plain sailing with George, he was also wilful, possessive and preferred to only eat organic roast chicken. He also preferred to travel by car than to go walkies and enjoyed tearing up tissues whenever he got the chance. He was also extremely accident prone and seemed to suffer from no end of allergies, hence a regular at the local vet. He also became as jealous as a spurned lover if any man showed an interest in his owner. This book is touching, heartbreaking and also extremely funny. It can move you to tears and then to laughter. A thoroughly enjoyable read recounting how the loving and adorable George filled the void in Judith and Joshua’s lives, while driving them barking mad along the way.
In recent years quite a number of books about Cavaliers have been published, some written primarily for the new pet owner while others have been aimed more towards breeders and show exhibitors. I firmly believed that the subject had been well and truly covered and that there was little room for yet another publication. But how wrong could I be! “The
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Fact and Fancy” by Barbara Garnett-Wilson is an absolutely excellent volume, covering virtually every aspect of our wonderful breed. Beautifully laid out, with nearly 300 pages containing over 450 full colour photographs and illustrations, the book takes an in-depth look at so many facets of the cavalier, many of which have never been covered by previous publications. As well as highly informative articles on rearing, training, health issues, whelping and caring for the oldies, there are also numerous articles on other aspects of the multi-functional cavalier including agility, obedience, tracking and also the use of cavaliers as pet therapy dogs. An enormous amount of research must have gone into the chapter on the history and development of both the breed and indeed of dogs in general. So highly comprehensive and rarely covered in other books. This has indeed been a marathon labour of love for the author, and her love and enthusiasm for the breed shines through in sheer exuberance in her wonderful writing style. Over the years I have accumulated quite a number of excellent Cavalier books, but this one most surely takes pride of place. A book that you simply cannot put down.
Last month we mentioned the recently published book entitled “The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a Tribute in Art”. This is also written by Barbara Garnett-Wilson in collaboration with Roy A. Wilson, and is the companion book to “The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Fact and Fancy”. I have now received my copy and what a gem this book is. Elegantly produced, there are nearly 200 full colour pages of paintings depicting Cavalier type spaniels from the last seven centuries. The paintings are more or less in chronological order starting from the fourteenth century gothic period through the renaissance, baroque, rococo, romanticism periods right up to modern day paintings. Although some paintings show small toy spaniels as mere ancillary subjects in the background, it is quite amazing just how many others feature cavaliers as the main subject matter. It of course proves just how much these dogs meant to the person that commissioned the work, quite often members of grand European aristocratic families. It may sound like a contradiction, but browsing through these pages one can see just how much the breed has changed over the centuries but at the same time just how little they have changed. All in all this is a superb quality production, both from the printing point of view and also the stylish layout and design. For art lovers and Cavalier enthusiast alike this book is a must that would grace any coffee table and should surely be the top of your Christmas present list.
For a preview of these two books and also for orders please visit www.LaughingCavaliers.com
YOUR E-MAILS
Candida Stevens asks, How much exercise should an 8 week old puppy have?
The answer in short is that no puppy should be out in parks or the street until at least two weeks after the pup’s final vaccination which is approximately 14 weeks of age.
Please do speak to your Veterinary Surgeon in respect of this. Playing in the garden and around the house is all one would need until then. However, you can still socialise the puppy by taking it out in your arms so that it can see and hear the sounds of the world around. Also do take puppy for short drives in the car. Try to introduce as many things as you can into its life, hoovers, washing machines, radio and television noise. Try to introduce other people to it beside the present family.
All these experiences will help to bolster confidence and an outgoing temperament for the future.
Candida Stevens asks, How much exercise should an 8 week old puppy have?
The answer in short is that no puppy should be out in parks or the street until at least two weeks after the pup’s final vaccination which is approximately 14 weeks of age.
Please do speak to your Veterinary Surgeon in respect of this. Playing in the garden and around the house is all one would need until then. However, you can still socialise the puppy by taking it out in your arms so that it can see and hear the sounds of the world around. Also do take puppy for short drives in the car. Try to introduce as many things as you can into its life, hoovers, washing machines, radio and television noise. Try to introduce other people to it beside the present family.
All these experiences will help to bolster confidence and an outgoing temperament for the future.
* * * *
Thank you Mike Coggins for your comments they were very much appreciated. As you rightly say “Until puppies come with an operating manual, there will always be need for advice.”
We also hope that Henry gets into good practice soon!.
We also hope that Henry gets into good practice soon!.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.
Roger Caras
AND FINALLY
James Limborg is a singer/songwriter, rock guitarist and keyboard player from Minnesota. He also loves Cavaliers. At the end of 2005 he wrote and recorded a song called “Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Dog breed song)”. For those of you that have broadband connection and audio speakers connected to your computer, this song can be heard and you can also see the animated Cavalier video that accompanies the song by logging on to YouTube. The website link is www.youtube.com Then type in Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Dog Song into the search box. On this page you will also find links to various other video clips that Cavalier owners have put onto YouTube. Maybe if you are enterprising enough you could put on your own video!
James Limborg is a singer/songwriter, rock guitarist and keyboard player from Minnesota. He also loves Cavaliers. At the end of 2005 he wrote and recorded a song called “Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Dog breed song)”. For those of you that have broadband connection and audio speakers connected to your computer, this song can be heard and you can also see the animated Cavalier video that accompanies the song by logging on to YouTube. The website link is www.youtube.com Then type in Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Dog Song into the search box. On this page you will also find links to various other video clips that Cavalier owners have put onto YouTube. Maybe if you are enterprising enough you could put on your own video!
If you have any questions about owning a Cavalier
then click on the envelope to email Dennis and Tina who will only be too pleased
to try and help you.
However please remember that we are not Vets or Lawyers so questions on these topics should be addressed to the professionals for advice.
Questions and answers that are of interest to other owners may be published on this page.
However please remember that we are not Vets or Lawyers so questions on these topics should be addressed to the professionals for advice.
Questions and answers that are of interest to other owners may be published on this page.
Material Copyright © 2007 The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club