The Roycroft Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Breeding Philosophy

. . . is to attempt to breed the healthiest, best tempered Cavalier King Charles Spaniels of the highest possible quality but not overdone in any way.  Therefore Roycroft only breeds from and to dogs that have had hips x-rayed by specialists (OFA and/or PennHIP), eyes tested by board certified ophthalmologists, patellas veterinarian checked, and especially hearts tested annually for Mitral Valve Disease by board certified cardiologists.  DNA has been done to the extent that our dogs are now DNA clear by parentage for all the breed issues, except MCADD--which is very new (later 2023). The plan for the next generation will be to DNA for MCADD and genetic COI. Roycroft has also MRId several dogs.  Of those that have been done, all were graded not only "A", but also were graded to have very little to no CM (chiari malformation).

Special emphasis is put on breeding from and to dogs with ancestors known to have lived 13 to 15 years and/or to have been completely free of an MVD murmur of any grade until at least 5 years of age.  Emphasis is now being put on breeding a slightly more elongated skull with more back skull (since about 1990) as well as this is being shown to result in less CM which seems to also result in less SM.

Please do not buy your new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy from a pet shop, broker or backyard breeder as nearly ALL the parents come from a Puppy Mill situation where adults live in cages every minute of their lives, are treated only as breeding machines, are not tested for ANY inherited genetic defects, and neither adults or puppies were properly socialized.  Reputable breeders almost always sell ALL pets on Restricted from Breeding registration, so if someone is breeding and not showing, they could not have purchased their breeding stock from a reputable breeder.  Buy only from reputable breeders who are breeding to improve the health and quality of their dogs and who care about the welfare of their breeding stock and the puppies.

Also PLEASE do not expect to buy a 'Toyota' puppy for a 'Yugo' price.  If you want to buy CHEAP, EXPECT to get a 'Yugo' puppy.  A 'Yugo' puppy is one in which the parents are substandard in quality due to poor ancestor breeding (poor materials) and have had little to no hip/eye/heart/eye/DNA testing (poor quality control), which results in substandard puppies.  A 'Yugo' puppy, just like the car, will 'run' fine and 'look' good at first (be healthy and look robust), but is more likely to require frequent maintenance (have health problems earlier and more severely than their well-bred counterparts) and quit 'running' early (die an early death).  In the end you will find these 'cheap' puppies often end up costing more in the long run and have to be replaced years before their better-bred counterparts!  Even worse, both the puppy and the owner will have needlessly suffered more than they should have.  After all, these are live animals--not inanimate objects like a car or a television.   Yes, even the best breeders will occasionally produce a puppy with poor health, but they have put their heart and soul into trying to produce the healthiest puppies possible and therefore the chances of this happening are lessened.  Believe me, if the Yugo were cost effective, it would still be sold in the USA!  I mean, who wouldn't like to be able to buy a good product for less?!!

You are much better off spending the money up front and buying the 'Toyota' puppy.  Plus you know FOR SURE that you are not supporting the Puppy Mill industry in any way.

As they say, "you get what you pay for", and this is even more true when talking about purebred animals.