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I am set to adopt/purchase a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from a AKC Marketplace breeder, but am having second thoughts after reading all the online stories about their health problems. It sounds like it's impossible to find a healthy Cavalier. What is you advice/experience with this breed? Thank you.

I am set to adopt/purchase a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from a AKC Marketplace breeder, but am having second thoughts after reading all the online stories about their health problems. It sounds like it's impossible to find a healthy Cavalier. What is you advice/experience with this breed? Thank you.

Updated On March 19th, 2020

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

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Cavaliers are great dogs but they do have quite a few health issues but so do many other breeds. My experience with the breed is that a high percentage due succumb to heart disease (mitral valve disease, MVD). It can start as early as 3-4 years of age. Mitral valve disease is about twenty times more prevalent in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel than other breeds of dog. The number of Cavaliers with heart murmurs characteristic of mitral valve disease increases at a rate of about 10% each year so that by five years of age 50% have a murmur and by ten years nearly all do. That's a lot! So, they can be quite an expensive dog.......

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