TLDR: Thanks for being here. I’m Robyn—and Cavaliers make me happy.

These royal little dogs captured my attention many years ago. I was hooked by their beauty, but reeled in by their entire way of looking at life. Simply put, I’ve never encountered a Cavalier who didn’t instantly love everyone they met. These are irrepressibly sunny, sweet, fun dogs that are a joy to look at and to live with. Warning: they’re addictive.

About Seaborne (Sh*t you won’t read)

I’m a second-generation breeder and exhibitor. My parents had German Shepherd dogs (my adult sons call them “real dogs”) and I learned to walk by clinging on to them. One of my earliest memories is being knocked flat outside a specialty ring somewhere in the Delaware Valley by someone reeking of smoke, frantically double-handling a dog…good times.

I was that kid lolling in the back of a stifling car obsessively reading dog magazines and show catalogues with a sandwich in one hand while my mother was hastening off to a ring. I formed my nascent taste in dogs by spending countless hours watching them, and then I discovered horses (an abiding love story); I consider type, impression, structure and movement critically important as a result. I may not always get all those things in a litter, and no dog is perfect…but I try. If a dog doesn’t present an elegant outline standing and moving, it’s not for me.

Seaborne was the name given to our original house years ago in Maine. A lot of old houses there have names, and ours was no different. My husband was (and still is) a professional mariner and we lived on the coast; we spent as much time on the water as we could, and so the name made sense. When we started showing dogs, I kept it as our affix.

Want to know something weird—and funny? There is a dumb—and I mean really—romance novel out there called Seaborne…when it was brought to my attention, first I was alarmed—and then mad—to discover that there were a lot of unmistakable coincidences in there. The heroine lives in an antique saltwater farm on the coast of Maine (check), she has horses and rides (check), and the author is from Delaware—where my husband is from (hmm). I kept expecting one of my sisters-in-law to come clean and admit the joke, but…so far, no dice. You can find my testy review on Goodreads.

In which…more sh*t

When my kids hit elementary school, I started venturing slowly back into the dog world. I was your average idealistic twenty-something. Within a year of joining a large all-breed club I was thrown headfirst off a pier and voted in as president (in order to spell all the long-suffering members who’d already done it). I did rotations as show chair, public education chair, all the usual stuff: setting up, taking down, this fundraiser and that one. Since most of the membership was made up of far older, far more experienced people—mostly women—it was sometimes a trial by fire. I’ve never forgotten how some of them treated me at the time, and have carried that forward all these years—not to nurse a grudge, but as a rejoinder to not be a sour ass to anyone who is new, learning or needing help. AKC conformation showing has always held a bit of notoriety for being somewhat unwelcoming: it’s not everyone, but it’s unacceptable and sucks when it happens. I will always speak up.

I did a stint as VP for another all-breed club and got serious about Cavaliers in 1996, not long after the breed had been officially recognized by the AKC. If you know anything about that period, then you know it wasn’t the easiest or most optimal time to try and find a nice dog. There was unfortunately a lot of infighting and gatekeeping going on, to the point that I gave up and went to the UK and met a number of British breeders (and huge thanks to my husband to this day for being so supportive and not thinking I was crazy). I came home and waited two years for my first dog, a nice little Blenheim from wonderful people who were UK breeder-judges; in the meantime I kept going to shows and meetings and learning everything I could. That really wasn’t easy as the internet was still a pretty new thing, and a lot of the grand old breeders here and in the UK—many long gone now—steadfastly refused to do anything other than talk on the phone or in person.

Work brought my family to Texas in 2008. I already knew some people here from (surprise) prior dog shows; I was delighted to finally have access to other serious Cavalier hobby breeder-exhibitors, as well as a specialty/repro veterinary group, which most of us still use today. I owe all the serious Houston breeders and my vets a debt of gratitude: they took this introverted Yankee in and shared everything. Hard-won knowledge, understanding shoulders to cry on when things got rough, even dogs—you name it. These people are gold and I am so fond of them.

…And more

With very limited breeding and showing—this is a hobby, and I adore my dogs, but family comes first—I have produced and finished a number of nice Cavaliers in Texas. I’ve been a Regular member of the ACKCSC since 2000 and am an active member of the CKCSC of Greater Houston. I really enjoy my little handful of puppy people and am here for them for their dogs’ entire lives.

I don’t have a kennel. This is not a business. My dogs are all pets and very much underfoot, in the car and on the furniture. Because of this I have to make really careful breeding choices and curtail my numbers. I will occasionally have a few puppies or sometimes older dogs to place in exceptional permanent homes.

And speaking in general, one question I get a lot is: Why should I buy a puppy from a show breeder? I just want a pet! Well, the fact is that Cavaliers have become very popular in recent years: more and more people are discovering how great they are, especially as companion and family dogs. Backyard breeders and commercial producers figured that out fast, and, Hello: most Cavalier producers in the greater Houston area are not anyone I would feel comfortable referring anyone to. This is not a snob thing. This is years of experience talking…Cavaliers do have some potential health issues that can be catastrophic in the wrong hands. Most Mom-and-Pop breeders breed only for profit, with little to no knowledge of what’s lurking in their dog’s genetic backgrounds. They don’t belong to organized dog clubs that require members to adhere to a Code of Ethics, they don’t do CHIC testing* (which many of us go well beyond), they don’t know which things to avoid…or even why. They don’t participate in Cavalier studies, don’t attend seminars, and don’t stay current on health issues or new research. They’ll tell you the litter parents have been vet checked and had DNA testing. This means very little. DNA can’t predict longevity and can’t tell you a thing about heart disease, the most common killer of cavaliers. DNA testing is really a tool for breeders, not for puppy owners. Don’t even get me started on puppy brokers or commercial USDA breeding operations. And we have a load of puppy brokers in Houston!

(*A lot of people don’t always submit all their OFA tests to be posted online. After several ethical breeders got doxxed years ago, I generally stopped. I do all the health testing and have reams of hard copies here for each dog, though, which are easily verified by the specialists who did the tests. Never be afraid to ask a breeder for proof of their CHIC tests.)

Did you really make it this far? We can be friends

Finding the right puppy can be frustrating and involve a long wait. And good Cavalier puppies are pricey due to everything that goes into them. But I promise you they’re well worth finding. And…buy the breeder, not the puppy! A good breeder should be there for you for the life of your dog, not just the day you hand them a check or Venmo them.

These days I have a puppy of my own I’m hopeful about. I fight a constant battle with dog hair, my schedule and keeping some semblance of a lawn, but my friends and the dogs are so worth it.

Believe it or not, I have a ton of other interests.