Cavaliers have a high incidence of acquiring mitral valve disease, MVD and oral health issues. Here are a couple of suggestions and what we do here.
First, is keeping our dogs trim and fit. We make sure our dogs have plenty of time outside with lots of sunshine and walks. We daily throw balls or chase games. If it is snowing worse, raining.. then, bouncing a ball down the set of stairs works as a quick workout. I don’t now, but have in the past used a tread mill. Cavaliers easily learn to walking on a ‘people’ treadmill. Please, never leave your dog unattended on the treadmill!!
Second is the dog food we feed. We have another page about dog food and CLICK here to read it.
Dogs are carnivores and require amino acids from animal meat to maintain healthy muscle function including heart muscle function. Most commercial dry foods contain fillers or starch in the form of potatoes, rice, whole wheat, lentils, peas, tapioca etc. These are unnecessary carbohydrates pet food manufactures use in place of the meat protein that is not necessary. I do feed kibble, however I also add in lean meats, fruits and vegetables that are about half their overall diet. We use vegetables and fruits as snacks and try at least once a week to add in fresh chicken necks. These are also extremely helpful for dogs that have anal gland issues.
SUPPLEMENTS AND VITAMINS
Blogs, Articles, Books and PhD’s are written on this subject and all can be contradictory. However, most agree that L-Carnitine, CoQ10, Taurine, fish oil and now Ubiquinol are extremely important to Cavalier health. I also add in probiotics.
One book I recommend looking at is by W. Jean Dodds - Canine Nutrigenomics: the New Science of Feeding your Dog for Optimum Health. It is available on Amazon.
Shortly, I will add links to the company and how I mix our vitamins and supplements.