Cavachon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise Mix

The interesting crossing of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed and the Bichon Frise led to the birth of the Cavachon cross breed, also called by some a designer dog breed. The Cavachon is a sweet presence for the person fit to own one, from both physical and personality point of view.Given it is a crossbreed, there aren’t any officially recognized standards for the Cavachon, but the Cavachon Club of America has put together a few guiding lines to describe the desired physical and temperamental characteristics of this breed of dogs.

Small in size, the Cavachons fit perfectly in the lives of people living in smaller houses or apartments. As adults, the Cavachons are around thirty five centimeters tall. Their coats are fluffy, soft and usually come in waves and can be of rather few colors such as plain white or black and combinations of white and apricot, or black and tan.

Personality of a Cavachon

A Cavachon would never make a good watchdog, due to their friendly, gentle nature. This qualifies them as good choices for homes with children or other pets.Due to their friendly nature and easy going personality, the Cavachons adapt easily in families, becoming much attached to its members. It’s not a lazy type of dog and they like being in the center of the attention.

Activities

Cavachons have moderate activity levels, so they won’t behave hyperactively. However, daily exercises comprising walks and a few fetching games would do the trick for the Cavachons to burn any potential excess energy, but also keep them mentally active.

The Puppies

With the parent breeds being also small in size, the puppies are pretty small too. When they have the proper age to be given away they weigh around two kilos. In this instance, it’s best to handle them very carefully and consider a separate crate just for the Cavachon puppy as they need to have a safe place for sleeping.

Training Process

The Cavachons are easily trainable, but the sessions need to start very early and to be consistent so that the message is clear to the puppy. These will ensure the efficiency of the results.

Tips for Choosing a Cavachon Puppy

Probably the most important thing to consider when wanting to get Cavachon puppies is for them to be healthy, so avoid puppies that show signs of health issues. Some marks to look for when wanting a healthy puppy are the pale pink inner ears and gums, showing no traces of dirt, clean and dry coat and tail, but clean and moist noise, etc.

Grooming

The Cavachons shed moderately and are believed to be less exposed to allergies, as well as their owners who are less likely to be affected by this dog’s presence even when having dander allergies.

Despite their moderate shedding level, frequent brushing is a must for this dog with quite a dense coat, in order to prevent matting and getting dirty. Either dedicating time for brushing or turning to paid professional grooming can do the trick from this point of view. Sometimes trimming comes as a necessary action for this breed of dogs.

Health

As a lot of the other small dog breeds, the Cavachons are potential victims of ear infections, especially due to the inner ear growing hair. This can be prevented with good, frequent (on a weekly basis) ear cleaning, along with a careful look for any sign of infection. Vet-approved ear cleaning products must be used, but a visit to the veterinarian must be paid should any unwanted potential infection occurs. Other health issues the Cavachons are exposed to are the flea allergies, heart murmurs and eye irritations or ulcerations due to longer hairs rubbing against the corneas.

Professional Cavachon Breeders

Since there are no breed certifications for the Cavachons, unlike other breeds, there are no reputable breeders on the list of Cavachon Club of America. This means that any interested person is on her or his own to find a good breeder to get a puppy from.

Cavachon Parents’ Overview

Being a cross breed, the Cavachon will inherit and display most of the traits found in the parent breeds, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Bichon Frise.

Bichon Frise

The latter of the two was meant to be a companion dog, being extremely affectionate and able to play all sorts of tricks which make the Bichon a funny dog and a good option as a circus dog. Nowadays, the only entertainment the Bichon now carries out is the one at home, inside a loving family.

Fairly resembling a big, white cotton ball with glittering, dark, alert eyes, the Bichon Frise is an adorable presence and, probably, one of the most affectionate types of dogs. Given the past of entertainer in circuses or royal audiences, the Bichon still loves to be in the center of attention. So don’t ignore him when he’s asking for a small share of your food, as receiving it will make this dog very happy both because of the food and the attention. Although very suitable for living indoors, the Bichon is not like this by default, as he needs to be house trained even from the early ages in order to understand and accept his role in the family.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Even if still one of the toy breeds, the Cavaliers are probably the largest dogs in this section. Loyal and affectionate, they will gladly lie down in people’s laps or follow them for long walks.

This Cavalier Kind Charles dog is the image of the well known Spaniel which was a usual presence in the European nobles’ residences during the fifteen to nineteen centuries. Loving and friendly, these dogs adore the presence of people in general and will quickly make a friend out of anyone they meet. They are trusting dogs and they are almost always happy. Today, this dog is more and more popular and chosen as a companion dog because of all the good things he manages to display.

Their attachment towards people is so intense that the Cavaliers prefer to follow their masters everywhere, instead of just sitting alone; therefore the ideal home for this dog is the one of a family having a member staying at home most of the time. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a very reputable participant in contests such as fly-ball, rally, agility and obedience. Cheerful dogs, the Cavaliers will be excellent companions as therapy dogs or playing partners for both adults and children, knowing very well to be both silent and playful in different situations.

It’s easy for the Cavaliers to fit in families having children and they will exchange their friendship for a few ball throws or tricks. However, younger children may be a small threat for them if they want to pet them a bit too enthusiastically, so it’s best to keep an eye on them all the time when left together. Although the Cavaliers are typically sweet and easy going, they can be stubborn as well at times. Although they somehow got a reputation of even being dumb sometimes instead of trainable and sweet, the Cavaliers are smart and if properly trained they will turn out to be the companion everyone wants. Positive reinforcements are recommended to be used during training, as harsh corrections will discourage them and may even determine them to fail the training lessons.