Cattle

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We begin this article with the basic facts about the breed, then follow up with an in-depth look at their personality.

Group: Toy

Weight: 10-18 lbs

Height: 11-13 inches

Overview

The first Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were originally recorded in paintings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries as small dogs that were regularly found in the houses of royalty and in court. The largest supporter of these dogs used to be King Charles II, and he was usually seen with several of these dogs. During that time these dogs were used to attract fleas, and were also used as a way to cure stress ailments.

Temperament

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have wonderful personalities, and is ideal dogs for families, couples and even single people. These dogs are inquisitive and playful by nature, but also like to just lie on their owner’s lap. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel likes to spend time with humans, and requires a lot of attention on a daily basis. These dogs does not like to be left alone for extended periods of time, and might become destructive or even nervous when this happens. Seeing that this is a dog that loves to chase, they may require proper socialisation to not chase other animals in the home. This is not an aggressive dog, and will get along well with other dogs. These dogs love to please their owners, and are very easy to train.

Care

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should be brushed often with a firm hair brush. Bathing should only be done if it is deemed necessary. The feathered hair on the ears of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a tendency to tangle, and should by groomed often to prevent this from happening. It is also important to trim the hair between the pads on the feet of these dogs, and check their ears for obstructions. It is important that these dogs are warm and dried properly after bath. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is an average shedding dog.

Training

This is an extremely intelligent dog, and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is very eager to learn. These dogs will do very well in hunting and agility if they receive the correct training. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel does well in competitive obedience training, and they also make wonderful therapy dogs. These dogs will respond positively to training that involves praise and fair training methods.

Health problems

Although the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a toy breed, they are amazingly healthy. But there are some serious health problems that these dogs struggle with at times. Many of these can be eliminated if these dogs are bought from a trustworthy breeder. Some of the health conditions these dogs struggle with include syringomyelia , mitral valve heart disease, patellar luxation, Cataracts, otitis externa and an early commencement of hearing loss.

The evolutionary history of the horse is one of the most-covered subjects in modern biology. And no wonder – of all modern animals, the horse has behind it the most intact and visible family tree.Our story begins millions of years ago – with the Perissodactyls.

No, not “pterodactyl” – those clawed flying relics of the dinosaur age as imagined in B-movies and The Flintstones. The “Perissodactyls” are hoofed animals with an odd number of toes on each foot (they are also distinguished by their tooth structure); this group of animals is itself, say scientists, descended from the same ancestor as the tapir and the rhinoceros but, unlike these animals, gradually adapted to life on drier land than the tropical forests preferred, even today, by the rhino.

One creature’s evolution often influences that of other creatures in its environment, and this was true of the equids (the horsey branch of the Perissodactyl family tree), who began eating grass as this new crop began to flourish. Such a diet favored the spread of new sorts of equids who had larger teeth.

Likewise, the equids – adoption of a dry, steppe-like habitat, where predators lived and where the comparative lack of foliage made it harder to hide, encouraged the survival of those equids who ran the fastest. Gradually longer-legged equids with a long third toe (which allowed for greater running efficiency) began to predominate. The Mesohippus species of 40 million years ago reflect this trend.

It’s a common – but disastrous – mistake to see evolutionary history as a smooth straight-line progression from early to middle to modern versions of an animal, with the modern animal taken as the final copy of the earlier animals’ rough draft, as if we were viewing successive sketches of Michelangelo’s David in a line that ended with the real statue.

In fact, though, most equid species lived their day and died, without having any influence on today’s horse; they existed in their own right, and we shouldn’t think of the modern horse as the “goal” of all this equine living and dying. Many genealogical lines simply ran out, while one (leading to our horse) happened to survive; but it could as well have been any, or all, of the others, given slight modifications in some habitat a million years ago or so.

In any case, of the many horselike species whose fossils have been found, it’s thought that Plesippus – a species descended from the earlier Dinohippus – is the father of the modern horse. This species responded to falling North American temperatures by heading, either to South America or across the Bering Strait from North America to Eurasia, about 2 and a half million years ago, with a few staying behind in North America.

Somewhere toward the end of the Tertiary period or at the beginning of the Quaternary – that’s scientists’ talk for the beginning of the most recent Ice Age, roughly 1.8 million years ago – descendants of Plesippus gave rise to offspring different enough from their sponsors, and like enough to our modern horses, that scientists have dubbed them Equus stenonis, the first “true” horse.

They crossed into North America and survived for millions of years, perhaps giving rise to the other ancient horses known to have inhabited the area during this period – the super-sized Equus scottii giganteus, whom the present author swears he is not making up (they seem to have exceeded modern horses in size). But all North American horses died out, rather inexplicably, around 11,000 years ago – at the same time as many other kinds of animals, and for reasons scientists have yet to discover. Was it some mega-virus of the ancient world? Or, a more tantalizing possibility, did humans (arriving on the North American scene, according to some theories, at about this time) hunt them to extinction?

In any case, horses had no purchase on this continent until after European colonization of the Americas began in 1492; for this long period, then, from 11,000 BCE to 1491, the horse’s development took place in Eurasia instead. (Another tantalizing thought – after the colonizers had reintroduced horses to Mexico, the southwestern US, and Peru, some indigenous tribes told stories about how “the grass remembers” these new animals.

Did these people groups retain some memory, perhaps through myth and legend, of the long-gone North American horse?)

The outline of horse-history given here is just one sketch, based on one strand of scientific theorizing. Like those ancient Perissodactyls giving rise to many species of not-quite-a-horse, most of which flourished in their time and died without contributing in any way to the development of modern horses, scientific speculation as to the origin of any species will include many interesting, intelligent “dead ends.” So who knows.

A popular theory, the “Four Foundations” theory, suggests that at some point long predating the horse’s disappearance from North America, four basic types of horses developed in Europe (from those Plesippi, perhaps, who crossed from North America to Eurasia before the last Ice Age began). Warmblooded, forest-dwelling horses and draft horses of northern Europe, plus taller, slimmer Asian horses and pony-sized Tarpans, are considered, in this theory, to be the “basic” horses from which all others are descended.

Numerous studies have shown that more Americans are obese today than ever before and, interestingly, we’re not the only ones. Not only are Americans fatter than ever, so are their dogs; and the phenomenon can have serious ramifications for both groups. Obese dogs run a lot of the same risks that obese people do. When a dog is over weight it is at higher risk for heart disease, respiratory ailments, weak joints and other problems. In short; it is every bit as dangerous for a dog to be carrying extra weight as it is for a person – perhaps more so due to the shorter lifespan that dogs have. An overweight eight year old dog is akin to an overweight fifty-six year old man and subject to many of the same health risks.

Fortunately for us and our dogs; the equation is associative and works the same in the opposite direction. Just as a healthy diet and plenty of good cardiovascular exercise can trim down a chubby man; it can take the extra weight off of a dog.

Doggie Diets:

To reduce the overweight or obese dog’s body weight, a program of diet and exercise should be introduced. It is important to visit a veterinarian as the doctor can determine whether the dog’s obesity is simply due to high caloric intake or some other medical concern like diabetes. The vet can also give you the best suggestions about diet and exercise. There are many brands of dog food on the market that are specially balanced to help a dog lose weight.

Despite what food or dietary supplements you’re using, there is no substitute for the support and commitment of the family. Each member must agree to help control the dog’s caloric intake, feeding exact amounts at exact times and limiting the intake of snacks. Feeding the dog extra treats or table scraps on the sly will not be doing the pooch any favors.

Doggie Exercise Programs:

Exercise is important for any dog. A dog that doesn’t get enough exercise quickly gains weight and may become extremely keyed up or very lethargic. Fortunately, most dogs love to exercise by nature. They love to run and play with their people. The overweight dog my be reluctant to exercise at first, but if you persist in taking him for walks or to play games like “fetch” (most dogs love to run after a thrown tennis ball or other object), the pup will soon come around and start exercising more frequently and for longer periods of time.

It Takes Time:

People don’t get to their ideal weight overnight when dieting and neither will a dog. Remember that Rover didn’t put on those extra pounds all at once and they won’t come off that way either. Most dogs take between ten and twelve months to reach their ideal weight goal, depending upon how much extra weight must be lost.

Diabetes in dogs is a very serious issue and if left untreated can cause severe affects to your dog like extreme thirst, blindness and general deterioration in your dogs health and quality of life.

Puppy toilet training can be a thankless task and if your puppy is persistently messing in the house, here are 5 tips that will help you out.

Take your Puppy For a Checkup

The first thing you should do is to take your puppy to the vet for a quick check up. There could be an underlying health problem that is making your puppy unable to control himself and that could be the reason for him messing in the house.

Have A Regular Feeding Pattern

Always have a regular feeding pattern for your puppy. Feed him at the same times each day and always pick up his food bowl when he has finished eating his meals. Take him outside to his toilet area around half hour after he has finished eating.

Give Your Puppy Regular Toilet Breaks

Take your Puppy outside to his toilet area at regular intervals. When he is a very young puppy you will need to take him outside every half hour to an hour as puppies have weak bladders. Also take him outside first thing in the morning, after he has eaten and after he has been running around. Watch out for the signs that your puppy needs to go to the toilet. If he starts sniffing the ground and going around in circles, this is a sure sign that he needs to go.

Clean Up Thoroughly

Always clean up thoroughly when your puppy has urinated or defecated indoors. Use a suitable cleaning fluid that will also remove any traces of smell as if any smell remains your puppy will continue to use that area as his toilet.

Use Positive Training

Always praise your puppy when he goes to the toilet in his designated toilet area. If you get angry and shout at your puppy when he messes in the house, you will make your puppy timid and nervous. This will have a negative effect on your relationship with your puppy. So give him lots of praise when he gets things right and reward him with treats and cuddles. If you catch your puppy going to the toilet indoors, say a firm NO and then pick him up and take him straight outside to his toilet area. When you give your puppy praise for getting things right you will find he will try his best to please you.

Consider Puppy Crate Training

If there are times when you have to leave your puppy at home unattended, you may wish to consider crate training your puppy. Once your puppy is crate trained, you can leave him at home unattended for short periods of time safe in the knowledge that your puppy won’t get up to any mischief.

Puppy toilet training doesn’t have to be a thankless task. If you follow the above advice you will soon have a toilet trained puppy and a messy house will be a thing of the past.

The use of electronic training devices has become increasingly widespread. In 2006 pet owners worldwide purchased more than 500,000 remote training collars, over 1,000,000 containment systems, and almost 900,000 bark collars.

Why the popularity? These training systems have become much more affordable, and pet owners are finding them to be a safe, effective means for controlling the various behaviors that they find unacceptable.

As sales of these products increase, so do the not so favorable opinions about them — that they make dogs aggressive, that there is a greater chance of failure than success when using them, that the shock they deliver is painful, that they will result in significant injury to your pet.

These can all be classified as “myths”, since there is very little hard data available to prove or disprove them. However, recent studies are providing results that allow for a more reasoned analysis of this technology.

Last year, one of the major manufacturers of electronic training products retained an independent laboratory to compare the level of correction produced by a pet containment system receiver to the shock produced by other common circumstances and devices. The evaluation demonstrated that the “shock” produced by a containment system is nowhere near the intensity that some people believe.

The “shock” produced by the containment system is nearly 40% less that than that one would receive from walking on carpet. (Please note that static shock will vary greatly depending on the relative humidity: the lower the humidity, the higher the shock.)

Further, this study demonstrates that the training “shock” is one-fourth the level of a cattle fence and one-twentieth the level of a stun gun, two devices to which electronic training equipment is often unfairly compared.

But even this study tells only half the story. It compared the voltage put out by these devices…the intensity. You also need to consider the duration. Reputable brands of electronic training equipment correct for only a short period of time. The brand that has the UL mark of approval on its receiver features a correction that lasts only 1/40 of a second — less time than it takes the average person to snap their fingers.

But what this study does demonstrate is that not all “shock” is the same. And that the correction in question is not “painful,” “powerful” or even “uncomfortable.” “Surprising” maybe, but none of the above.

Still, every animal will react differently to the correction. So you should always approach a training situation with caution when using this kind of equipment. As is usually the case, education is the answer. When you are training a pet, you need to have as much information as possible…and a behavior management plan to support you, as you would with traditional training techniques. When looking at selecting a product select one that provides you with both instructional manuals and videos.

If you choose a product that supplies you with these necessary educational materials you will greatly increase your chances of success when attempting to improve your dog’s behavior. To help demonstrate this fact let’s look at a survey that was recently completed by a leading manufacturer of electronic training equipment.

This company surveyed 1,025 dog owners that had been using one of three types of electronic training equipment (remote training collar, bark control collar or containment system) for a period of not less than 90 days.

The most significant findings came as the result of asking the pet owner the following question, “Since using the electronic training product how would you describe your pet’s overall behavior?” The owner was asked to respond with one of the following: a) better behaved (and specifically how), b) no change in behavior or c) worse behaved (and specifically how).

The results are staggering. Slightly over 2/3 (860 of 1,025 dog owners) responded that their dogs overall behavior had in fact improved since using the electronic equipment.

Reasons that these dogs would show an overall improvement in their behavior would include that the owners used the equipment correctly. Correct use includes spending a significant amount of time working with and socializing with your dog. When a dog receives an increase in time and attention, his behavior will usually change for the better.

This survey also helps to dispel another myth about the use of electronic training equipment – that it causes dogs to act aggressive. None of the dog owners surveyed purchased the equipment for the purpose of eliminating aggressive behavior. However, approximately 12% stated that another positive side effect of using the equipment was that their dog no longer exhibited occasional aggressive behavior that had been seen in the past. Also, of those owners stating that their dogs behavior worsened in some way since using the equipment, none reported the worsening being in the form of aggressive behavior.

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