Meet Howard

This is Howard (or as he also gets called...Pickle...Lord Picklington...Howie-Bear....the list goes on!)

Howard is a tri-colour Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and was born on the 6th of September 2011.  

We got Howard after our beloved labrador cross, Mia, who we'd rehomed earlier in the year, died of kidney failure at the tragic age of two.  I was early in my pregnancy with Hugo and whilst trying to cope with the grief losing Mia brought us we had to decide pretty quickly whether we should get another dog or miss our chance and wait a few years until the baby was old enough for us to cope with a new dog.

After a few sickeningly quiet days at home without Mia we made the decision that our house was no longer a home without a dog and so we started looking into the options.

Tom has always wanted a Spaniel.  When I told him I'd found a spaniel pup I'm not sure Howard was what he was thinking of. ....Tom does clay pigeon shooting and was after a working Springer or Cocker.  The tiny little "toy" spaniel wasn't really what he'd imagined.

Of course I had my reasons.  I adore Springers and would love to have one in our family one day but they're just too energetic.  I was imagining having to walk for hours and hours a day, every day, with a newborn baby in tow.

No...not what I wanted at all.

What we needed was a nice, calm, easy to train dog who wouldn't bounce off the walls if he went without a walk for a day.  Who wouldn't knock over an unsteady toddler in excited play.

So, after explaining all this to Tom...and then completely ignoring all his complaints...I went to visit the litter of puppies.  There were two puppies left, a little girl and a little boy.  I immediately spotted the one I wanted, and YES, he was the boy!  (Well...I had to let Tom win on something!)

Howard came home with us a few days later and settled in at once

He has been the perfect addition to our household and is the best companion we could hope for.  We have no regrets.  He's well behaved and doesn't bounce off the walls when at home.  On walks he runs about like a mad man, but as soon as we get home he flops out for the rest of the day

Oliver and Howard adore each other, and no, he's never knocked him over…yet

I did wonder how Howard would take to the arrival of little Hugo, but he's never tried to sit or walk over him, although I frequently find him lying next to him. (I think it's a "food" thing!)

As for Tom...well...he has told me that he wants an entire army of Cavaliers!  (Yes, a complete turn around!)  I'm not sure he'd ever be able to carry a pheasant, being so small, but we're working on training him to do everything a working gundog would do.

It made sense to name my blog after Howard as he's such an important part of our families life.

Lastly, but most importantly...

Cavaliers can have some horrendous health problems.  We're lucky, so far, and have an extremely healthy pup, but know the statistics are against him so have the most comprehensive insurance going!

If you'd like to read up more then there's a fantastic organisation Cavalier Matters.