MITRAL VALVE DISEASE: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are prone to Mitral Valve disease. Responsible breeders screen their dogs annually by a canine cardiologist who will perform an auscultation and exam on the dog. Many Cavaliers develop mitral valve prolapse (MVP) by the age of 5. The best way to avoid MVP is by careful selection of breeding stock. It is wise to use an older sire when possible and use bitches that come from heart healthy parents and grandparents. In addition to good breeding there are other things that can be done to help prevent MVP from developing. A healthy diet, lots of exercise, omega 3 fatty acids or fish oil capsules and keeping your dog slim and trim are all things that can help prevent or delay onset of MVP.
CANINE RETINAL DYSPLASIA: Cavaliers can have some inherted eye diseases. Most of the eye problems that are hereditary can be found on an early eye exam. A CERF or Canine Eye Registry Foundation exam should be done on your puppy at around 8 weeks of age as a preliminary screening by a Veterinarian Opthamologist, This should be repeated at one year of age and then annually if the dog is to be used for breeding. Again, only healthy dogs should be used for breeding.
CANINE HIP DYSPLASIA: This is a disease that is predominantly afffecting larger breed dogs and sporting dogs. Cavaliers often have it but may not ever develop symptoms since they are a smaller breed and do not carry such heavy weight on their bone structure. If a dog is used for breeding then an OFA hip xray should be done after the age of two. If severe hip dysplasia is present then this dog should not be used for breeding. Dogs graded as having "fair", "good" and "excellent" hips graded by OFA are used for breeding and if possible one should breed to better hips, for example breeding fair hips to excellent hips. The same recommendations for diet, exercisee and weight control for MVP apply to hip dyplasia. Some dogs with hip dysplasia can go on to develop severe osetoarthritis of the hip. Most will live long healthy lives and never suffer from progression of the disease. All cavalier owners should be aware of this condition.
PATELLAR SUBLUXATION: Toy breeds in general have a tendency to have patellar subluxation. This is when the groove that holds the patella, or kneecap, in place is not deep enough. The patella then slides out of placeor dislocates and can cause pain and lameness. There is corrective surgery available but again, the best treatment here is prevention. All breeding dogs should be screened for thsi condtion. A simple manual exam by an experience veterinarian is all that is needed to evaluate for this condition.
SYRINGOMYELIA: This is a malformation of the base of the skull that allows some of the brain stem and spinal cord to herniate through the opening in the skull where the spinal cord extends from the brain down into the neck. Currently this is a poorly understood, underdiagnosed ailment. It can cause severe and debilitating pain for your dog and mysterious symptoms of scratching of the neck, "air scratching". The only way to truly diagnose this is by MRI and currently there are no reliable screening tools. Breeders are anxiously awaiting a genetic test for this disease.
There is abundant information on these and many other conditions that may affect cavaliers on the club websites and widely available on the internet. I have attempted to just give the brief version here to raise awareness to newcomers to the breed.