Healthy Cavalier Puppies Start With Healthy Parents
Has your breeder health-tested your chosen puppy’s parents?
Using an online tool, you can check that the puppy’s parents have been health tested and check their inbreeding (‘COI’).
Why Health Test?
Breeders should health test to give you a healthy puppy.
Cavaliers, like many pedigree dogs, can suffer from a number of health conditions.
These are the essential health conditions for which both of a Cavalier puppy’s parents should, at a minimum, be tested for:
- Heart disease: Mitral Valve Disease (MVD)
- Curly Coat / Dry Eye
- Episodic Falling (EF)
- Eye conditions
- Chiari-malformation / Syringomyelia (CM/SM)
Only by carrying out these tests can a responsible breeder make a well-informed decision about which Cavaliers to breed from, to most likely produce a healthy puppy.
What is COI?
The COI percentages of a puppy’s parents help determine the likely health of their puppy.
COI (Coefficient of Inbreeding) measures relatedness – lower is better. 0% suggests unrelated parents, 12.5% equals grandfather/granddaughter or half-siblings, and over 25% is like father/daughter or full siblings. High COIs accumulate over generations and can impact overall breed health.
Always check how many generations were used in the calculation. If only three generations are complete, interpret the results with caution. COI is typically cumulative and serves as a guideline based on pedigree data. The most accurate way to determine COI is through DNA testing.
Check Health Test Results Here
Visit the Health Test Result Finder to check your puppy’s parents’ health testing and COI.
You will need both parents’ pedigree names or registration numbers to use the tool. Pedigree names need to be entered precisely including any apostrophes (‘).
If you need assistance please contact us.
Puppy Buying Advice
Please also see our easy-to-read guide on buying a Cavalier puppy.
What to look for and what to ask when you are buying a Cavalier puppy from a breeder. The guide puts the health of the puppy foremost.
The Law and Dog Breeding
‘No dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype1, phenotype2 or state of health that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or that of its offspring.’
In principle, therefore, such protection is enshrined in law.
- Genotype = Genes, genetic makeup
- Phenotype = Observable traits