atghylin

Okay, I'm going to add my two cents here... maybe I'm a little bias too, but as you said cost is really not an issue, I suggest a Cavalier King Charles Spainel. The Cavalier is considered a toy breed but it is taller then most other toy breeds. They reach about 18 inches at the shoulder and usually wiegh between 12- 18 pounds when they reach adulthood. They are also skinny, my parents keep telling me Felix needs more fat on him as they can feel his bones when ever they pet him but I can't make him eat if he's not hungry. They love human companionship and have been said to be unable to live without it. I don't know if that is true but my Felix wont go outside to use the bathroom without me standing in the doorway. Of course, Felix also thinks he's cat. :roll: As for apartment living they are as perfect for it as most other small breeds. They love to cuddle and prefer sitting in your lap. They are also said to be very loyal (i.e. Queen Mary of Scotts is said to have been beheaded with her Cavalier hidden under her skirts because the dog refused to leave her, even after her death). I agree with you on high pitched barks. Fortunately, Felix's bark is bigger then he is. By that I mean he sounds like a medium sized dog not the toy breed he is. The biggest turn off for most people (I will be honest here) is the up front cost just purchase one. For a pet quality male you are looking at about $1200 from a breeder. A pet quality female will average about $1500. From there the price goes up. The highest price I have seen for one of these dogs is $2200. Health wise these dogs are as hardy as any other, IF you get one from a responsible breeder. The best part about these dogs is their expressiveness. You can see it in their eyes without looking too hard. Their thoughts are right there for the whole world to see. I often get the "But Moooooooom" look from Felix and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Not even the kids could top it. :lol: On a side note, these dogs love to travel... ANYWHERE! Even if it's only to your postoffice box or down the street for a short walk. Doesn't matter, they are enthusiatic about everything and everyone. Well that's my two cents. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Good Luck! Blessed Be! Amanda

LMAO!!!!!

Ask her to wait a few weeks or months. She'll get her puppy but it would be best to wait a while first. Her other option is to adopt an older puppy(6 months old at least) or young adult dog. If the dog has been cared for properly she would have less training to do and more playtime with both baby and puppy. Just so you know, I too wanted a puppy while pregnent with Kurtis, my youngest. But my husband convinced me to wait. However, when an opertunity for a 6 month old male Cavalier, a breed I've wanted for years, came up he took the chance to adopt Felix. Kurtis was 5 months old and firmly established into a rutine while Felix came from a loving home that had housebroken him for me. All I had to do was obdience train him. That fortunately for us proved almost too easy. Felix was pretty much out of what I loving refer to as the puppy stupids stage. This stage differs for each dog and should be seriously considered when adopting a new puppy or dog into a family with infants. With the best of luck, Blessed Be, Amanda

Okay, went to the website. What they are advertising is a puppy store located on a ranch outside of Ellensburg, Washington. They claim extensive medical checks on all puppies they receive. They do not breed themselves apparently. This address will take you a page they did to tell their clients about themselves. [url]http://dogvalley.com/?page=about[/url] But I still don't like it. Where are they getting their puppies from? And how do they know that the puppies are not from puppy farms before they purchase them? I still stay they are running a puppy farm only without breeding themselves. They are buying and selling puppies at too large of a rate for me not to think they are in this for the simple love of the dogs. No, I think they are probably turning a very nice profit on every puppy they buy and sell. If I'm wrong, please say so. It won't hurt my feelings none.

Found this ad in a local paper today... ENGLISH BULLDOGS 8 new champion pups every week! Pet/ show/ breeding quality, shots, dewormed, vet checked/ 1 year guaranteed, some red/ white, some brindle, $1250-$1500. Visa/MC. We make buy ing a Bulldog fun and easy. Visit our ranch by appointment or [url]www.dogvalley.com[/url]. De livery possible. **********. Se habla Espanol. New puppies every week and major credit cards accepted. Ummm... this sounds very, very, very, very wrong to me. I will take a look at the website they have listed for more information. I gotta tell you guys... as of right now this sounds like an ad for a puppy farm to me. :-? Blessed Be, Amanda

Alright, I'll add Felix, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. So now we have... Scottish Terrier: 2 Rottweilers : 3 Doberman Pinscher : 2 Shetland Sheepdog : 1 German Shepherd : 4 Keeshonden :3 Shiloh Shepherd : 1 Boxer : 2 Kelpie : 1 Labrador : 8 Mini Poodle : 3 Papillon : 1 Foxhound : 1 Standard Poodle : 2 Toy Poodle : 1 Lhasa Apso : 2 Mini Schnauzer : 1 Chihuahua : 1 Pit Bull : 2 1/2 Malamute : 2 Border Collie: 6 Maltese : 1 "Heeler"(Blue and Red) : 4 Samoyed : 1 Saint Bernard : 2 Staffordshire Bull Terrier : 2 British Bulldog : 2 American Eskimo : 1 Jack Russell Terrier : 5 Golden Retriever : 1 Springer Spaniel : 1 Collie : 1 Black & Tan coonhound : 1 Irish Setter : 1 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: 1 Blessed Be Amanda

Felix and I will think positive thoughts you and Cookie. :angel: With love, Amada and Felix :wink:

Bad idea! I was once baddly advized to use baby shampoo on Felix. (I'm getting rather tired of my sister's advice.) It dried is skin out so bad he dandriff. Everytime I brushed him his beautiful black coat turned white from the dandriff. I ended up buying Veterinary Formula Sensitive Skin Treatment and Shampoo* to correct it. Try finding a hair and coat product that'f formulated for dogs. Amanda

TOYS! Oh Boy! Felix loves toys! Of course his favorites are the ones that belong to the children. ugh! Then there is the garbage. Which I have hidden under the sink but I still find shredded trash all over the house. And lets not forget laundry. Not dirty laundry as I use tall upright laundry baskets, no I'm talking about clean, fresh out of the dryer laundry. I use a smaller basket to put clean clothes in as I pull them out of the dryer. Only sometimes the boys distract me and I have to put the basket down before I can fold and put the laundry away. By the time I return to the basket my four legged theif has made off with some clothing and I have to find out where he hid it before he destroys it. He doesn't overturn the basket mind you, he shifts the clothes around until finds what he's looking for (generaly something of mine). :-?

Thank you both so much! :lol: Your suggestions have been very helpful. Nancy, your websit was the most informatitive I've seen yet. Thank you for putting your training techniques on it. I hope Felix and I will be able to use them as successfully has you have.

Spay and Neuter! Especially if you KNOW you have a puppy-farm puppy. A few years ago my aunt, who adores Shiz-Tzus, found one she fell in love with at a pet shop. Sign said AKC registered so she bought. A couple months later she found another at the same store. She called my mom who was on the look out for Shiz-Tzu herself. Mom wired money and my aunt went down and bought the second puppy. Mom planned to possibly breed for emotional reasons. Only when she tried to register the puppy, Sammy, she discovered multiple errors in the paperwork and to top it all off her vet informed her that Sammy was most likely from a puppy-farm because his front feet are twisted and other noticably wrong features. After talking to my aunt she discovered similar problems with the other puppy. Mom neutered Sammy without a second thought. She continually tells me puppy-farms are about the money only, so she took the money out of the equation. This set of events opened my eyes so much so that when I was in a position to look for and buy a puppy of my own I was extremely careful to buy one from a caring breeder. I thourghly looked Felix over before I agreed to buy him. I also asked tons of questions about him, his parents, his litter-mates, and the breeder's home and family life. I made sure that I received a written health gaurentee in which I would get my money back if the vet saw something that I missed, just in-case the breeder wasn't truly honest with me. It pays to be extra careful when looking for an addition to the family. Amanda

Thank you soooooooooooooo much! Now I have somewhere to start. :D

Greetings! :) In March my husband and I adopted a 6 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Felix was fully house-broken at the time. THANK GOD! I have taken him through an obideance course, which he did wonderful in. I just have a few problems. 1) I would like to be able to attend dog shows and agility trials with him. I have contacted my local dog club with no luck. :( They were supposed to call me back when an agility training class took place this summer. They have not! 2) I grew up in the miliatary and have had no chances presented to me to work in junior clubs like 4-H. I'm not saying they weren't there, it's just that they were never presented to me. Therefore, I'm a first time exhibitor with NO training in the area myself. I was hoping to ask someone in the local club to help teach me to train Felix. As they have not contacted me back all summer I have been left to my own devices. i.e. books and internet 3) I would love to learn from books if I could find the right books. However, although we have a Hastings in this town, it does not have a good selection of books to choose from. Everytime I attempt to order a book, whose title I found online, from them it never arrives. Those books are always on back order. :x 4) My biggest problem is I'm stuck in a farming cummunity that is big on the hunting breeds. I'm not saying anything's wrong them, grew up with a Britany. It's just that everyone whos sees Felix falls in love with the beautiful Cocker Spaniel-Terrier mix. He's a pure-bred Cavalier King Charles Spaniel! The more time passes the less people I find who know what breed of dog I have and who are willing to take the time to help me if I ask. This forum is my last hope for finding the help I need. Please, if any of you can help me find the books or web-sites with plenty of pictures and details on training Felix in agility and show, HELP! I'm getting desperate! :-? Amanda and Felix