Health

The majority of problems seen in the Cavalier are common to toy dogs in general.
Among the most common problems are early-onset heart murmurs, eye problems
such as retinal dysplasia and cataracts, and luxating patellas (slipping knees). A small
percentage of cavaliers will also develop orthopedic problems such as hip dysplasia,
but since they are a small dog, it is not the catastrophe that it would be in a larger
breed. About 2% of all dogs, all breeds, will develop epilepsy. A newly-recognized
problem in toy dogs is syringomyelia or caudal occipital malformation syndrome, a
crowding of the back portion of the brain that can lead to spinal problems. Reputable
breeders attempt to breed from stock that are free of major health defects, in hopes
that their progeny will have a better chance at a healthy life. Puppies purchased from
pet shops seem to have more problems than puppies purchased from reputable
breeders. Cedarmist dogs benefit from evaluation by veterinary specialists such as
cardiologists, ophthalmologists, and reproductive specialists in an ongoing effort to
improve the overall health of the cavalier.

Mitral Valve Disease

The Achilles heel of the cavalier is Mitral Valve Disease. The mitral valve problem is
caused by endocardiosis, polysaccharide deposits in the valve leaflets. Although
these deposits are common in toy dogs, the problem seems to present earlier in the
cavalier than some of the other toy breeds. The deposits distort the valve, allowing it
to leak, and some cavaliers in their golden years require heart medication to help
them cope with the extra workload on the heart. A rule of thumb is that 50% of
cavaliers will develop at least a very mild heart murmur by the age of five or six, and
over 90% will have a murmur by the age of ten. Cavaliers can still lead perfectly
normal lives for years after developing the murmur, and many are never affected at all
by the disease. If they are affected, it is usually very late in life and can be treated to
some degree with medication. The main thing to keep in mind when looking for a pet
for yourself, is that this problem must be tested for by breeders, and that any breeder
that says they do not have this problem in their bloodline is either not telling you the
truth, or is not educated in the disease. Mitral Valve Disease is in ALL bloodlines of
Cavaliers, but with proper testing and knowledge on genetic inheritance, breeders
can produce very healthy dogs that live normal lives. Much progress has been made
in the last two decades to prolong the life span of the Cavalier. Cedarmist regularly
has a cardiologist to evaluate the hearts of our cavaliers. We use this information to
make breeding decisions, in hopes of delaying the onset of endocardiosis in future
generations. For those cavaliers that do develop mitral valve disease, careful
monitoring and medical intervention will allow them to lead normal lives for many years.

Eye Problems:

While debilitating eye problems are not common, the Cedarmist cavaliers are seen by
board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists to screen for the possibility of hereditary
eye disease such as retinal dysplasia, detachment, and cataracts. Like any breeder,
we have occasionally come up with a problem, but we are careful not to use cavaliers
with debilitating eye defects in our breeding program. All cavalier puppies are
screened before they leave for their new homes.

Orthopedic Problems:

Because their bones are small, many toy breeds are sometimes troubled by luxating
patellas. This simply means that the anatomy of a toy breed dog occasionally allows
the knee cap to slip out of its groove in which it normally rides. While luxating patellas
do not often hinder the dog’s movement, it is not uncommon for toy dogs to receive
surgical correction of the problem. The other orthopedic problem that occurs in a
small percentage of cavaliers is hip dysplasia. This is a condition where the hip
sockets are too shallow for the head of the leg bone. Although cavaliers are usually
not troubled by this condition because of their small size, bone deformity can cause
pain in severe cases.

Syringomyelia or SM:

A newly-recognized and perplexing problem for cavalier breeders around the world is
that of syringomyelia (SM), sometimes called syringohydromyelia, or caudal occipital
malformation syndrome (COMS). This condition is similar to one found in humans
called Arnold-Chiari malformation. In layman’s terms, the bottom half of the skull
develops in such a way as to crowd the cerebellum of the brain, impeding the path of
cerebrospinal fluid movement around the brain and spinal cord. The increased
pressure and pooling of cerebrospinal fluid may cause irritation and damage to the
spinal cord, resulting in symptoms of neck scratching, headache, and in rare cases,
paralysis. No line is safe from developing syringomyelia. Unless and until the gene
marker(s) for this disease are identified, toy dogs will continue to be affected.  It is
hoped that cavalier breeders will be honest in sharing their knowledge of affected
dogs.

Flycatcher's Syndrome

Occasionally a Cavalier will experience a disorder called Flycatcher’s Syndrome in
which the Cavalier repetitively bites or snaps at the air around his head trying to get a
fly.  Flycatchers is thought to be a form of epilepsy and may also be a compulsive-
obsessive disorder. It may be seen more frequently in the Cavalier than in other
breeds. If the condition is severe, medical intervention may be warranted.

Low Platelet Count in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel—not a problem:

Cavaliers sometimes have a lower platelet count in their blood count which worries
some veterinarians who do not know that this is normal in a Cavalier. Cavaliers may
have a lower platelet count, but they also have larger platelets. The platelets must be
hand counted to get an accurate reading.  We are only including mention of the low
platelet count of some Cavaliers so Cavalier owners reading this will be informed just
in case they have a Cavalier with a low platelet count being misdiagnosed by a
veterinarian who is not familiar with our breed.

“Platelets are also called thrombocytes. These are the blood cells that are
responsible for normal blood clotting. Thrombocytopenia is an abnormally low blood
platelet count. Macrothrombocytes are abnormally large blood platelets.

Normal blood platelet counts should be between 150-200,000. Dogs will have
bleeding abnormalities if their counts are below 40,000. However, the Cavalier King
Charles Spaniel (CKCS) may have counts well below 40,000 with no problems.
Approximately 30% of CKCS have macrothrombocytosis and/or thrombocytopenia.
This appears to be a congenital abnormality. The CKCS does not experience any
health problems despite these changes. It is thought that the large platelets of the
Cavalier are able to provide the same function in lower numbers than that of other
breeds. Because CKCS platelets are so large, automated cell counters may
mistakenly count them as white blood cells, artificially lowering the platelet count.
Additionally, these cells may not be recognized when examined under the microscope
on a blood smear because they may not look like the platelets of other breeds.”
Remember, the CKCS does not appear to experience any health problems due to this
condition, which has only been reported in our breed and no others!


Auto-immune (mediated) diseases - very rare

Under ordinary circumstances the body's immune system recognizes an invading
infectious disease and sends cells to attack this disease. In the case of an auto-
immune disease the body's signals become crossed and the immune system
inadvertently starts to attack the body's own tissues and organs. There is much
discussion about the causes of auto-immune diseases, in some cases there are
genetic predispositions for auto-immune diseases, however there are indications that
over-vaccination, drugs, diet may also have some role in these diseases. There are
many diseases which may be considered auto-immune in nature, ranging from certain
skin conditions, to diseases that attack specific organs like hypothyroidism and
addisons or system wide problems such as lupus and AIHA (autoimmune hemolytic
anemia).

Go to http://bccc.pair.com/autoimmu.htm