Tracey has sent me some lovely photo's of Roxy who is settling in well after leaving to join Tracey's family last wednesday. Roxy has been settled at night from day one & has had a visit to the vets to check her over & register with them. Tracey has waited a long time for her girl Roxy & I feel Roxy will more than fulfull all that they want in a dog. Looking forward to seeing what she gets upto in the future.
Had a special moment shared by email last night from Toni who has Big Poppy & yesterday they went to the beach with her Auntie & her 14 month old dog Max. Whilst on the beach Toni felt safe & brave enough to let Poppy of the lead & run free with her friend Max. This is a big step for a pup or dog as you are worried they may run off & some people never feel able to let their dogs run free in public due to the fear they might run off. Luckily now that we have the extendable leads which help in training a dog to recall in a public place but also allow a dog a degree of controlled freedom. I am lucky were I live as I can walk places were there is little or no traffic but I have had to send out the search parties & walk miles looking for dogs that have hared off when of the lead so understand the worry about letting your dog off the lease. Poppy though for Toni was as good as gold & she came back to call which is brilliant. Thanks Toni for sharing this big step, great news .

Have had news of Lucy's Cavapoo pups who are now just over 12 weeks old, with the first being Albert. Kym rang me today for some advice about him waking at night as everything else is going well but a hour or two after being put down for the night he will start to cry. The answer to this is leave him as he has a crate with a pen attached to it with an area with a pad so he can toilet if necessary. A pup is not the same as a human baby they will not over heat or vomit if they cry for a long time although they can make some unearthly sounds which really pull at the heart strings it is a good thing for them to learn to be settled on their own as in an emergency they may have to be left on their own in the future & imagine how stressful that would be if they had never got used to their own company. So you have to be cruel to be kind when getting them to sleep on their own.
The next contact was Toni who had Big Poppy who is settling in fine & has been to her first Puppy training class which she enjoyed & a Puppy Party at the vets were she was a little shy to start with as most of the pups were bigger than her. She loves playing with everyone & is growing well.
Then an email from Victoria about Barney who was the first of Lucy's pups to leave. After a few teething problems which Victoria has worked through things are on track. Barney has been to a Puppy Party which he enjoyed but missed his second Party due to a bought of diarrhoea. You have to be careful with pups as they will put anything in their mouths, chew it up & eat it, especially this time of year they will eat dead leaves. Certain plant & tree leaves can be not good for them to eat & also if you live in an area were cats visit your garden they love eating cat poo which can upset their tummies. If your pup is very loose & looking off colour take to the vets as a puppy can soon be very ill losing body fluid through severe diarrhoea & your vet will normally give an injection to slow down the stomach, antibiotics incase bacteria cause & very often charcoal paste which helps to settle the tummy. Barney has already started to sit on command displaying the Poodles aptitude for being trained.
I also have a couple photos of them to see how they are growing & changing

Roxy the last of Lucy's Cavapoo pups left yesterday morning for her new home with Tracey & family. Roxy was nearly 12 weeks old & Tracey & me have been corresponding since back in October 2010 & she had visited & chose Roxy when she was just over 4 weeks old. With the wonder of modern technology I have kept Tracey up to speed on Roxy growing & her personality developing. Now I will be the one waiting for the next installment on this special little girl. When you keep a pup on for a bit longer as in Roxy's case you enevitably become that bit more attached to them. Today it has been noticeable the lack of Roxy's presence in are home but I know though that she now will be fulling Tracey's home with her funny, quirky & very loving presence & she will be rewarded with a doting & loving family who I have no doubt will do everything possible to give Roxy a lovely home. All the best Tracey & family, speak soon.

Tonight is are last night with Roxy's company she leaves tomorrow for Essex with Tracey & family. A couple more photo's of this special little girl who is going to be missed by are children & myself but I know she is going to be so loved when she leaves.

Today was another big day for my dogs & myself. It was are annual vet check of all are breeding dogs & vaccinations. After finding out a week ago today that at over 5 Charlie has a heart murmer I was expecting the worst but all were clear of any sound of a heart murmer today. We have two other Cavalier boys Oscar who is two & Bobby who is nearly one they were both okay & all are girls Bonnie, Lucy, Lucinda, Millie, Ysabel & Dolly were given the heart all clear. All will have heart certificates filled in with me keeping a copy & the other copy going with a copy of the dogs 5 generation pedigree to the Cavalier heart research vet team & this information is used in research & data for this breed hopefully helping towards improving this health problem in the Cavalier. Also Pupster are nearly 7 year old neutered boy was vaccinated & heart checked & at nearly 7 his heart is clear of a murmer.
We also had are new boy Reginald microchipped & first vaccination with the vet just checking him over with no problems to report.
Rocco are Toy Poodle was heart checked to & is just over 1 years old. Although heart murmers are rarely seen in young Poodles, a dog which is going to be used for stud & especially being crossed with a breed which this is a big problem should be annually vet checked for this problem as well.
Health checking your dogs is quite an intense time especially when it comes to checking their hearts. My vet has a very good poker face when listening to my dogs hearts & there is the silence as they listen & in a moment you have either a dog with or without a heart murmer. Its tense stuff but when she nodds & says he or she is fine I breath again.
The statistics for Cavaliers & Mitral Valve Regurgitation (heart murmer) is sad reading. Since 1990 in the UK we have been keeping records of this problem & from records being done now from all over the world the statistics go like this at 1 years old 10% of Cavaliers have a Mitral Valve Regurgitation ( heart murmer) this increases by 10% each year so by 5 years old 50% of Cavaliers have this heart condition & nearly all Cavaliers have this heart condition by 10 years old if they live that long. This problem in this breed is a big one & unless breeders take great care it is a up hill struggle. All breeds can get this problem but it is seen mostly in old age were it should be as an old age problem but the problem we have in Cavaliers is how young they are getting it & the younger they get it the quicker they succumb to it. Mitral Valve Regurgitation should not be confused with puppy murmers that can go when heard in a pup at 6 to 8 weeks old, if your dog is diagnosed with Mitral Valve Regurgitation it will not get better but in some cases rapidly get worse but in many cases if 5 or over will slowly get worse until medication is needed to help them. My old boy Smidge was diagnosed with a heart murmer at 9 years old & at nearly 14 years old was only on medication for his athritis when he died from a tragic accident & I had another girl Jemima many years ago who had a heart murmer at 4 years old & lived to 13 years old & only needed medication in her last 6 months. One of the biggest helps to a dog diagnosed with a heart murmer is to keep their weight right down, regular exercise & good diet. I feed Royal Canin. They do a diet for Cavaliers which is meant to help with heart function so I asked my vet about this thinking wild claim & she has said that it will help in the long run as omega oils & L-carnitine which are in this food have been proved to help heart function so she feels it will help a Cavalier. Please try not to wrap them in cotton wool because of this condition as its about quality of life for your dog.
Do not let any Cavalier breeder pull the wool over your eyes unless they have certificates & records of parents & Gran parents of a puppy they can not even estimate when or if your pup will get this problem & they must make you aware of this problem in this breed. You may think after reading about this heart problem in this breed why do you breed these dogs but that answer would only be apparent once you have owned a Cavalier as they are one of the most loving & friendly breeds of dog you can get. They get under your skin. Thirty odd years ago when my Mum got Kerry are first Cavalier, we had always had working dogs on the farm with collies & spaniels but along came Kerry who could give any of are working spaniels a run for their money in the field & then she would come in the house muddy & wet with her beguiling look of innocents & plop herself on the nearest lap giving a look of total love & admiration to the person whos lap was now very muddy because Cavaliers are never selfish with their love.
Crossbreeding to me now every day seems ever more the right thing to do. As out breeding in breeds that have big health issues is a way forward to improve breeds & is excepted in other species like cows & horses, also other dogs breeds that are not recognised by the Kennel Club like the Patterdale Terrier & Huntaway who have breed clubs & keep ancestral records for their breeds use out breeding (crossbreeding) to improve the breed or rectify a problem in the breed. The Kennel Club needs to recognise the merits of crossbreeding with a crossbreed register recording ancestry of these dogs & that it can & will benefit purebreeds. In some purebreeds it maybe the only way they will survive. Crossbreeding though must proceed with care & done for the right reasons with the right crossing of breeds. Health & temperment must always be paramount when breeding pure or crossbreed.

Got some photo's of Little Poppy from Debbie & Mike. Poppy is one of Lucy's Cavapoo pups & Roxy's sister. She has settled right in with the Plater family already becoming a valued member of their family. They call her Whirlwind Poppy Plater & that she is growing in size & stature. Mike says " That to say she rocks are world is an understatement, she is binkers so she fits right in. She went out for her first walk today & she loved it, today she visited the beach again loving it. She is well & truelly a family member."
Thanks for the update & photo's. Always great to hear that one of are pups is settling in so well with its family.

Tonight some fun video's of Roxy with her Mum Lucy & friend Primrose. After my last blog & the news of Charlie's heart murmer I thought something a bit light hearted was called for. Charlie was neutered yesterday, he was a bit sleepy yesterday evening but was in fine fettle this morning & is not aware that two things are missing. I have had young & older dogs neutered before & other than stopping them being doggy like pee marking & being very aware of the girls it does not change them, they are still the chirpy loveable character that you dropped off at the vet before the neutering.
Roxy has had her second vaccination a week ago now so today she had a little drive in the car to pick up my children from school & we had lots of ahh's & can I hold her from all the children outside the school as my childrens school is about 45 children so we tend to all know each other. Roxy took the experience well & seemed to enjoy all the attention. Roxy has just under a week left with us now as she leaves us on the 23rd of this month for Essex & to join Tracey's family who have been waiting patiently for this special little girl.
The first video is a bit of footage of Roxy playing with Mum Lucy. Please be careful with the volume as the background noise is a bit loud & please excuse Alan Carr's joke although very funny if you know who he is talking about.

Just a bit of footage of Primrose & Roxy messing about.

This video is quite interesting as it shows Primrose & Roxy playing at the start & it gets a little rough with one of them letting out a cry & then the other realises that they are hurting them, as this high pitch cry is amongst pups like the safe cry & if you watch pups play & they get a bit fierce if one lets out a high pitch cry this tends to stop the other being rough & breaks the play up. This can be employed by humans & when your pup bits or trys to chew you a bit hard,  if you let out a high pitch cry they will in the majority of cases stop biting or chewing at you.

Lastly just would like to thank people for your messages & support after my last blog they are much appreciated. Alison especially your phone call & words of care & support as you have one of Charlie's babies has lifted my spirit & spurred me on. Its nice to know what lovely people there are out there & that I am fortunate to know some of them. 

Well today has been a dark day for me. The weather has been yuk, with it raining & overcast all day, so the news from the cardiologist who examined Charlie today that he has the beginning of Mitral Valve Regurgitation or its commonly used name heart murmer has been like a lead weight in my head & heart since hearing the news this morning & now I will try to purge myself on my blog to find some positive from this.
Charlie is now over 5 years old & is are main Cavalier boy. Over 5 years old it is recommended by the Kennel Club & Cavalier King Charles Club UK to have breeding stock cardiologist tested over 5 years old. A cardiologist vet is a specialist in hearts & I am very lucky that the one I saw today is one of the top heart specialists in the UK.
On examination of Charlie it was found that he has a Grade 2 heart murmer & although 6 months earlier their was no sound of this on his heart today their was. This murmer is not effecting his health now & may not cause him any problems until later life but on the advice of the vet we will not breed from him again. Some Cavalier breeders would still deem him okay to breed with as over 5 & only just starting to have a murmer but this in the long term will not improve heart health overall within this breed, so with a heavy heart I have booked Charlie in tomorrow to be neutered as it would be unfair to keep him entire & very frustrated for the rest of his life.
With great sadness we will look to rehome Charlie as it would be fairer on him to go to a home were he will not have memories of being a stud dog & the smells & sights of the girls on heat, so that his new life as a neutered dog will be an easier transformation for him. We will rehome him to the right home for free but the home will be vetted & lots of questions asked as Charlie is a very loving, easy going, active, athletic, friendly & all round sweet boy. If you know or feel that Charlie could make your family complete please contact me by email [email protected] or phone to find out more about this amiable chap on 01769560969. He is microchipped, vaccinated & has a recent clear eye certificate. 
The fall out from this today with Charlie is that the pups that we bred from him have a chance of developing a heart murmer just over 5 years of age. All his pups have been bred from girls who have parentage with heart murmers when occuring being in old age which is exceptable as all breeds can get this heart condition but it is the Cavalier & a few other breeds that the problem is that a high proportion of them are developing heart murmers in far to early an age. My hope & statistacally looking at it is that most of Charlie's offspring will not if they get a heart murmer get it until later in life.
Today has been hard to digest for me & to talk to the cardiologist vet & for him to say he is actually seeing the problem with the murmer presenting itself earlier & earlier in Cavaliers & feels little improvment at this time is being seen in the Cavalier is a great disappointment to me. If you look at the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club website & look at the list for Cavaliers with cardiologist clear heart excaminations over 5 years of age you will see only around 29 dogs in 2010 made that list & from this figure you can deduct that either a lot of Cavaliers are presenting with heart murmers at over 5 years old or breeders are not testing their breeding stock. I feel it is a mixture of both these things as it is hard to put your dog up to be tested & then learn the worst but it is not the end of the world & if breeders do not test & record how are we to improve things as at the moment we have a small nucleus of breeders trying to improve Cavaliers health so we have a small nucleus of Cavaliers that we can breed hopefully for better health but then breeding from a small foundation of dogs is what has lead us to the problems we have now, so we need all breeders to health test, record results & not breed a Cavalier who has a problem or once they know a health problem has arisen.  
I will try now to draw positive from today. I have taken council with my husband & mum. I also talked to my vet who does all my regular vet work & I have come to the decision to breed predominantly Cavapoos as although heart murmers are present in some Toy & Miniature Poodles when presented in a Poodle they are in older dogs & rarely seen in young Poodles so by doing this cross I feel that I am breeding a lovely companion dog who has a much higher chance of not having health problems that we see in Cavaliers or Poodles. All Cavalier girls will have their hearts anually listened to & results recorded by are GP vet & anually eye tested. Then for the first couple litters we will crossbreed with the Poodle producing Cavapoos. Then when the bitch is 5 years of age we will cardiologist test & if no signs of heart murmer over 5 years old only then will we breed a litter of Cavaliers  & hopefully this will help to breed Cavaliers with a higher chance of a healthier heart.We will use male Cavalier dogs that have both parents over 5 years old with a clear heart or they are over 5 with a clear heart. This is a long term plan so we now will not breed any Cavaliers for the next 12 months with 3 of are girls hitting 5 years old next year they will be cardiologist tested & fingers crossed we will then breed a litter of pure Cavaliers Summer 2012.
Hope this all makes sense & if you would like to know more about what I am trying to do & are breeding program please feel free to contact me by email howarthmurch@btinternet or phone 01769560969.

Have had more photos & updates on Lucy's Cavapoo pups that have left for their new homes in the last couple weeks.
Firstly a photo of Albert I forgot to post with his update a couple days ago & he is doing really well.
Sammy who left last Saturday is proving to be a fun pup with Rachael & family. He is sleeping through the night & is a playful rascal in the day loving to play with their two children. Their son now plays his Xbox less as prefers playing with Sammy when he comes home from school so thats a plus I never thought of before. Thanks for the lovely photo's Rachael & look forward to updates as time goes by.
Big Poppy left us two weeks ago & has had her second vaccination today & had been itching her bum abit which turned out to be her anal glands being abit full so where emtied which is abit of a smelly job but easy to do. Sometimes you see this in young pups & is very common in older dogs especially unneutered males, if your pup is itching its bum, has a strong smell coming from around the anus & you know they have been regularily wormed this maybe the problem. I empty my own dogs anal glands but I have been shown how to do it. If you think your puppy or dog has this problem a quick trip to the vets & it can easily be sorted do not wait to long as they could get an abscess in the gland & then it is very painful for them & a course of antibiotics will be needed.
Big Poppy is settled in & is out & about on the lead around the farm. Toni & Joe are doing a brilliant job with Big Poppy & will look forward to their next update. 

Look whos had his first haircut ! Alfie who is one of Dolly's pups from 2010 & is now 6 months old has just had his first trim up. He looks so cute & love the Apricot colour he is. Thanks Vanessa for the photo. Vanessa was told by the groomers that he was a star pupil & they all loved him.

The last couple weeks I have not been blogging so regularily. I have had pups leaving & my children have been struck with a nasty viral thing which has meant high temperatures, cough & then spasmodic tummy pain because their glands swelling in their stomachs or as some say tummy flu. My Molly who is 3 has had tummy pain for over 10 days & finally now seems on the mend, so hopefully will catch up on my blog as I have lots of news from the pups just left to pups that left alittle longer ago.
Yesterday Alison contacted me who has Smudge's sister who's Mum is Millie. She has just started her first heat & they are going away. These things always happen at the worst time but as she said they will manage. Maddie their beautiful girl is the image of Mum & she is also so good & gentle being a bit of a poser, also very quick at learning just like her Mum & sister. Maddie I know has the best of homes. Alison & Ray really care & love Maddie & this is a big factor in a dogs life in making a valuable member of any family. Look forward to hearing from you again. Thanks ! 

 News from Lucy's Cavapoo pups has been coming in since the first one left us just over a week ago. Some sleepless nights have been reported but with some support & hopefully useful advice all seem to be settling happily in there new homes.
Barney was the first to leave & travelled to Yorkshire sleeping most of the way stopping once for a pee. Barney though has taken a bit of settling over night but hopefully Victoria is getting through this & Barney is settling into the routine.
Big Poppy left next & she only travelled a little way with no problem & she seems to be settling into her new home & routine very quickly & has been quick to settle at night.
Next was Little Poppy. She travelled to Exmouth about an hour & a half journey. She got a little sick on her trip but has settled in straight away & is taking everything in her stride but Debbie & husband have had dogs before so are experienced in what to expect & how to deal with it.
We then had Albert leave & he travelled home okay being only a short trip away from us. He has cryed a bit to be left but a little advice & Kim useing her own intiative in changeing were his crate & pen are & they think they are getting him settled when on his own. She has said he is very sociable & loves playing outside.
Then we had Bailey leave. Another one who has gone to Yorkshire. Sue told me that he got sick a little about 20 minutes after setting off but then slept most of the rest of the way stopping once for a wee. He has been one who has taken a little longer to settle at night but they think they are getting him settled now on his own. Everything else he is taking in his stride & is proving to be a sociable pup to.
Sammy left this last Saturday.Rachael told me he got a little sick on the way to Somerset but then was okay. He was soon bombing around the place chewing their daughters fingers & toes. He seems to be settling on his own at night reasonable well.
That just leaves Roxy who will leave us on the 23rd February. Will, catch up more tomorrow as very late here with me.

Got some video footage of Roxy for Tracey to enjoy. The 23rd February will not be long now for you & you will have the fun & love of Roxy coming into your family. She is a little angel & we hardly know we have her. She goes to bed at night on her own without a squeak at around 10.30pm until my husband gets up at 5.30am he puts her out & she has a little play & runs around abit while he makes his pack lunch & eats his breakfast. She then happily goes back in her crate & pen until I come out just before 7 am. At the weekend though she happily went 11pm to 7am. She is very sweet & playful. My children are really taken with her so she will be a little harder to hand over come the time.
The first video is just Primrose & Roxy looking at me & then Roxy following me.

The next video below is the two playing & then fighting a bit. This is socialising & they will tell each other of now & again so each know the boundaries with each other.

I just took this video a few minutes ago. My husband said to me "Sssh, quick catch this on camera ". It is Pupster allowing Roxy to lick his feet. Pupster is a nearly 7 year old neutered Cavalier we have & this little piece of footage pardon the pun is just cute.

Today Sammy who is the second to last pup of Lucy's Cavapoo's to go left with his new family. Rachael & her family came & picked him up this morning. He seems a confident chap & he will make a lovely family dog for Rachael's children. Will look forward to his updates & photo's of him. Best wishes to you Rachael & family.

Couple photo's tonight & for some reason I can not title them so I will give a brief description of them. The last photo of Sammy asleep with Roxy on his last night with us. Roxy enjoying having the dog bed all to herself & also she likes sleeping in the shoe rack. My 2 boys this morning with Smudge relaxed inbetween them whilst they were watching telly. Smudge is a real softy & just loves human contact & is a very laid back girl for 8 months old but her parents are very good tempered & this does help when breeding as some is nuture but a lot is nature & if Mum & Dad are calm cuddly dogs then their offspring will tend to be. Lastly a photo of Lucy in mid yawn. Lucy is still letting Roxy have the odd comfort suckle & has come through having her pups & rearing them in really good condition as it does help that she is a bit of a piglet so easier to keep the condition on.

Tracey & family this is for you. Roxy is the last pup with us now of Lucy's Cavapoo litter & in 2 weeks time Tracey is picking her up so hope to show how she is getting on without her siblings by posting videos of her over the next couple weeks. Tonights offering is Roxy trying to get 2 of my boys out of view in the video to take notice of her but they were playing with Lego & you know what boys are like when playing with Lego nothing else exists.
Have news of Roxy's siblings & will post on next blog as very late & very tired.