Cavalier Health

The foundation to good breeding is health.  Without good health a breeding program will NOT have a future.   With four generations of Master Agility Champions, Daisylane Cavaliers has and will continue to provide positive health testing only by the Orthopedic Foundation of Animals of it's breeding stock.

Cavaliers are known for two major health issues.  Mitral Valve Disease (MVD) and Syringomyelia (SM).  
Breeders for many years have been battling to reduce MVD, which shortens the life of a Cavalier.  MVD is a
degeneration of the Mitral heart valve.  Cavaliers may develop MVD at any age which will be indicated with a murmur in the heart beat rhythm.   Murmurs are graded as low as one and will increase with the severity of the murmur.    Once a murmur is identified, it may increase in grade gradually or rapidly, there is no known fact to its increase development.  Cavaliers have been known to live well into their teens with  grade two murmurs, but the possibility of enlarged hearts and cardiac failure is higher.

It is recommended that cavaliers under the age of five not be breed if they have indication of MVD.  A
cavalier will usually develop MVD by the age of five.  Most breeders start to breed dogs less then five years,
so as a buyer one must look back in the pedigree at the grandparents and great-grandparents.  

Recently increasing diagnoses of SM in cavaliers is emerging as a severe inherited condition.  SM cannot be
easily diagnosed without an MRI.  For more information on SM, please visit the CKCSC-USA or ACKCSC web site and refer to the health link.

Hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, eye diseases and DNA identifiable disorders are also genetic problems in all breeds, not just cavaliers.  The Orthopedic Foundation of Animals is the leading organization for canine health clearances to insure future research and healthy breed development.