Summer Grooming for Cavaliers

When it comes to coat, the breed standard for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Canada reads the following:

 Long, silky and free from curl, though a slight wave is permissible.  Feathering on ears, legs and tail should be long, and the feathering on the feet is a feature of the breed.  It is common and permissible for bitches to carry less coat than dogs.  No trimming, scissoring, clipping or artificial colouring is allowed and this should be severely penalized. 

We know this, and yet we also know that some Cavaliers just tend to grow a ton of coat!  I've often been asked how I maintain the coats on my dogs, and my common response is always; do what works for your home and situation.

I'd never recommend clipping a Cavalier as short as possible, however I do feel strongly about neatening, thinning, light clipping, and scissoring on Cavaliers who are not in the show ring.  It just makes day to day living and grooming so much easier. 

Spayed and neutered Cavaliers especially tend to grow more coat of a different texture than their intact counterparts.  For us around here I try and keep them as neat as possible, but still have them looking like a cavalier.

Zoey is my heavier coated girl.  She can grow her skirt to the floor, and has earned her nick name of "furball" honestly.  Since being spayed several years ago this has only gotten worse.  She now receives at least two thinning out sessions starting when the weather becomes nice.  I usually let her be during the winter as I figure she can actually use it then. ;)

I took this series of photos for a friend who was struggling with the decision on if she should trim her cavalier or leave him au naturel.  She was concerned that she would ruin his coat or do a terrible job.  The good thing about learning how to do it yourself is that it costs way less money and if you make a mistake it always grows back for you to try again! 

Zoey in her furball glory, coat down to the floor with very heavy and thick leg feathering


Going in every direction with a very hairy tummy


My frisbee crazy girl seemed to be getting very hot very fast


Definitely time for her first post winter hair cleanup on the deck.

For Zoey we use a combination of thinning shears, clippers, and a mars coat king, but find that thinning shears do most of the work around here.

We cut her skirt at least two inches, took over half of the feathering off her back end, and thinned out a ton of her leg feathering.  I always leave her ears and tail, but you can shorten them if you wish. 

This is her after it's all done.  Can't tell right? 


It doesn't look like I did much, but that is the point.   My not doing much actually consisted of a shopping bag full of fur.  With less hair overall, she takes less than half the time to bath, and doesn't have to be brushed out nearly as much. 


A bare tummy - clipped short


Mostly don't be afraid to try.  Your cavalier may look a bit funny for a few days, but it quickly grows out and becomes less noticeable over time.  I know Zoey feels better with less grooming, and she seems to cool down faster with a bare tummy.  What I love the most is that she still looks like she has a natural coat with that cavalier look that we all love.

Mylee of course demanded to be put on the table and have her picture taken, even though she didn't need a trim.


All pictures should feature me!  I'm so cute and adorable!


Pretty Zo Zo after her trim, you'll notice her top coat is now fairly short and all going in the right direction


Loki seemed to think that he was going to get shaved bald.  In his defense I do warn him of this quite often!


Noooo don't do it!


Phew.. no trimming for me, I have to look my best for our June specialty show.


Happy summer trimming and neatening! 

Loki - Level 1 Puppy Class

I haven't blogged in a long time.  A combination of time, and really not feeling like sharing a whole lot.  After a wonderful vacation away and a line up of things that I'd like to share, it's time to get re-acquainted with this blog. 

I've been home a week from vacation.  We visited Las Vegas and the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  Paradise and complete bliss!  While shopping we stumbled across a Hawaiian doggy calendar with this cover.  Since the only picture in it of cavaliers was on the cover it didn't come home with me.  So adorable. 



Prior to leaving on our holiday, Loki and I attended a 7 week Puppy Level 1 training class at Campaign Dog Academy.  I'd really like to compete in some other avenues of competition with my cavaliers, so taking an introduction training class at a facility known for working with performance dogs was a great way to start.

The only photos I managed to take were on the last day of our class, graduation.  The quality kind of sucks, but I decided to share them anyways.  Too hard to take pictures and try and focus on training!

Campaign Dog Academy focuses on teaching through positive reinforcement methods of training.  This is the only method of training I would ever recommend for any breed of dog.  Since our favourite trainer and the incredible facility she works at are several thousand kilometers away, we had to find something just a bit closer!

Like all dogs, Loki loved to train and spend time 1 on 1 with just me. 

I looooove training class!  Look at my smile.


This 7 week session laid the foundations he'll need to further his training, or if we never take another session again(not happening, we loved it!), he has learned how to be a very mannerly little man. 

I'm very good at doing sit/stay, and settle/stay.  During my graduation I won the award for having the best settle/stay!  


It also gave Loki the opportunity to socialize with many different breeds in a controlled environment.  This gave him a better chance of making sure his experiences with other breeds were good ones.

There were many different breeds in his class.  Everything from a tiny white Pomeranian full of spunk, to a very sweet Newfoundland.  Funnily enough, it was the little white pom Loki was unsure of!  My big brave boy was terrified of the little outgoing ball of fluff.  By the second week in he seemed to realize that she was a girrrrl dog, and that he could go from being unsure to in looooove. 

That little corgi was so smart!


A very typical golden, always wanting to please his owner


We had two wonderful and patient instructors.  There were owners with all types of experience levels and they did a good job of tailoring the class to meet our needs


Sit, wait, COME!


Recall with distractions.  For some this was a real challenge.  Loki never looked at the toys once, like most Cavaliers he's focused entirely on where I am!


Adorably cute and smart, ut oh a new breed to love


Loki's other favourite woman


What do you mean training is over?  When do we get to come back?


It's never a waste of money to invest in a good training class with your puppy.  I encourage my puppy owners to take a good introductory puppy class.  Even if you think you won't learn anything, it is an invaluable part of having a well socialized and mannerly cavalier.  Make sure to check out the facility and instructors carefully.  Training methods should include patience and fairness, with no methods that will cause harm or fear.

Happy training!  Puppy Level 2 will be starting for us soon. 

Our Winter Soldier

One of the best benefits of having a good friend own one of your dogs is that you can switch dogs around if needed.   Last week Bucky stayed with us for a few days, and Jen and her husband took our super stink (Loki) for a few days. 


For the past several months, Bucky has been learning how to show in conformation.  He's high energy, super smart, and a ton of fun.  He reminds me so much of his mother.  He's very athletic and when it comes to play, no just isn't an answer.

The weather here has still been very much winter.  We've had lots of snow, and spring is no where in sight.  It's actually the perfect setting for a mini photo shoot with our Winter Soldier! 

Bring on the play!  Is this a mischievous little face or what? 


Come'on Zo, let's play!  I'm not going to leave you alone until you give in!  You can say every nasty word in your vocabulary but I know you are a softie who will eventually give in and play with me.


FINE I give in, let's go!  You better keep up young fella!


You gotta be faster than that to keep up with this girl


Your turn, you better RUN


Ears and bodies mid flight..zooooom


That old girl definitely put the run on me!  Look what all that wind did to my beautiful ears.


No matter what I do, I can't convince this one to run.... she's so pretty though


Is it time to go inside?  My feet are getting cold!


I'm growing up, but my face looks so much like it did when I was a puppy. 


Can you tell that the picture above is me?


Jen and her husband (and Booster)have done an incredible job with this high energy, smart little man.  I can't wait to see what the future has in store for them.

A Champion Princess

We have a new champion in our family.  Princess Molly found her elusive last point, and received her Canadian Championship on the weekend by going Best of Breed on both Friday and Saturday (the only days she was entered).  She's officially now known as CH. Mysticmoon's Danika.  Our girl sure  knows how to finish with a splash!  The icing on the cake was the grand championship points she picked up.  We won't be aiming for her GCH. but those points definitely don't happen every day!

I did not have an official photo taken at the show.  I wasn't happy with the last show photo I had taken with the company doing the photography, and I wasn't about to pay another $50.00 for a similiar result.  I plan on doing some professional photos with a different photographer.  For now.. you'll have to put up with the ones I took today.  Not in a show groom, but still looking gorgeous! (I'm allowed to be biased)




Molly's the first dog that I have put points on, and I thank her for teaching me that showing can be fun.  She thrives on the show scene and even if I don't particularly enjoy it, she puffs up her chest and prances around like she knows shes incredible. (she is)  How can you not enjoy her?

I can't take all the credit for her Championship.  I owe a big thank you to my friend Ivan (Fabina Shelties) for handling her to her last point while I was at work.  He did a fantastic job and I'm sure they looked amazing together.  Molly definitely thinks he's wonderful!  I also need thank my friend Marianne Creary (Cempa Cavaliers) for showing Molly to her first two points. It seems like it was a long time ago!



Black and tans are a bit of a challenge to show at all breed shows.  Blenheim's dominate the rings, and there just aren't many wholecolours being bred and shown.  They have to be extra special to get any attention at all, and it certainly isn't uncommon for them to take longer to become pointed. 

My biggest thank you goes to her breeder Karen Murray at Mysticmoon Cavaliers for parting with Molly and giving me my foundation.  Molly is in every way a credit to her breeder, and without her generosity "Embee Cavaliers" would not exist.  Our future generations will be incredibly blessed to have Molly's name behind them. In my eyes she is the perfect combination of an incredible temperament, beautiful type and structure, and thus far stellar health. 

I'm very distracted by someone cooking bacon!


Our princess is done showing for awhile.  We may do a bit later on just because she loves it so much, but for now its time for her to go back to being a scruffy farm dog.  She has several months to run the fields, be spoiled rotten by my Mother, and give Rusty (the neighbours dog)  you know what for daring to step on her property before hopefully expecting a litter of puppies in the summer.  

Me?  I get to start all over again with Sadie, Loki and Ebby!   Oy.. yes it is a sickness.

These belong to me

Loki, the former yak?

It's no secret that Loki has a lot of coat for a cavalier his age.  In fact, both of us have been teased about it often!  A lot of it fun, some of it not so fun, but at the very least all you could say was that he was very cute. 

So we've been working on it. I've been brushing him out daily, and bathing him a lot (being a stinky boy with bad aim necessitates this anyways), trying to encourage all of his puppy fluff to come out on its own.

I think our hard work is starting to pay off.  Imagine my surprise when I bathed and blow dried him on the weekend (nothing else)

Who is this gorgeous little man?!





Still some work to do, but what do you think?  Do you recognize him? ;)

A few months ago, looking very yak/ewok like

A year in review - Part 1

2012 has been in one word, breathless.  It came and went so fast that I am still wondering what happened!

At this time of year I always like to go back and look at the pictures in my album, and the posts that I've made.  It's a great time to reflect on what you've done, where you are going, and what you want to do.

What we've done:

2012 started with us taking a dream vacation to Maui, Hawaii.  It was in every way a dream, and there WILL be a next time.. and a time after that, and a time after that... a hui kaua (until we meet again)

Kaanapali Beach


Taken somewhere on the road to Hana


In March, Molly and I attended the Purina National where she went Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex on the Sunday of the show.  For the first time the Cavalier Fanciers of Southern Ontario's education initiative pamphlet about purchasing puppies from responsible breeders was given out at the CKCSCC and CFSO meet the breed booth.

March also marked the month that Molly officially completed all her breed health testing successfully, and we started putting plans in place to breed her.

Molly's show photo from Purina.  Me edited out on purpose!


Very proud of this


April began with with Mylee and I coordinating CFSO's meet the breed booth at the All About Pets Show.  Despite being a ton of work and completely exhausting, it was a huge success and we're looking forward to this year's event.

The cutest breed ambassador in the entire world


24 hours after the breed booth came down, we found out that Molly was ready to be bred.

After a whirlwind trip to NENY with a good friend, a major discrepancy in lab results, and the best hospitality that two of the classiest ladies in the breed could offer, we returned home to patiently wait.  Thank you to Carol Rose and Darlene Petralia (and Rebus) for making my first litter a successful one.

58ish days later, Molly had a text book natural delivery of 5 beautiful black and tan puppies. 4 males and 1 female


Less than 24 hours after Molly's delivery, we realized that the little girl was having trouble latching and nursing.  A check by me, and my Vet did not reveal any severe issues, and Molly was not rejecting her, so we began the task of bottle and tube feeding "Kismet" every 2 hours around the clock.

Every day I expected her not to survive, every day I questioned myself if I was doing the right thing by saving her, and every day she surprised me with her will and determination to live.

Kismet in the middle of her huge brothers!


She was full of attitude and sass from the beginning. NO pictures


Against all odds, with days on end of no sleep.. Kismet not only survived, she began to thrive.

At 5 weeks


At six weeks


At nine weeks


And after several Vet checks, blood work, and completely clean bills of health, Kismet left for her new home.


Did we do the right thing?  I'm not sure.  Would I do it all over again in the same situation?  Absolutely.  Do we know what was wrong or what happened?  Not really.  The suspicion was a pin hole cleft, however as Kismet grew, eating and drinking became no issue and with a true cleft that wouldn't have been the case.  What matters most?  She is a sassy, healthy, 6 month old puppy who completely charms and melts everyone she meets.

Molly's handsome men of course thrived from the beginning with her attentive care


Bucky, so squish-able cute


Handsome boys!


In fact, Molly made it her priority to feed them at least 2-3 times a day, right up until the time they left for their new home.  She adored her babies.


From this breeding we have Loki and are running him on as a future prospect.


And at just over 6 months, he has turned into a beautiful but incredibly hairy little man.


Look for us at a few upcoming shows, where I hope to make Loki's first ring experiences positive ones.

Part 2 coming soon...!

Also please excuse the incomplete website at the moment as I transition my blog and website into the same space.  My pages will return soon with updated information and links.