About Us and What We Do
Welcome to Country Life Cavaliers of North Carolina. My name is Jamie Pritchett. As a teenager, my mom and dad started breeding Chihuahuas and Dachshunds. We strove to produce the best of quality in our dogs. I absolutely fell in love with learning about breeds and studying them. Training, raising, grooming, and pampering puppies became my passion. Sadly my mom's health went downhill, and my parents were faced with the hard decision to put all of their babies up for adoption to good homes. I was heartbroken, but my dream continued. I was determined to one day raise puppies again.
In 2013 I purchased my first Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was a Blenheim and as sweet as can be. I fell in love with the breed and knew one day I was going to start raising them and producing quality puppies for others to love. I was devastated when Patrick passed away in 2017.
My husband and I bought our first Cavalier together in March of 2019. Honey is a ruby Cavalier with the sweetest, most loving personality. Our first little girl is a very petite Cavalier, weighing only 8 lbs at almost two years old. Beings she was SO small, and not having passed her DNA testing, we found her an amazing home. She is now being spoiled by her Mom in Alabama.
We have since then added twelve more babies. Benji and Penny are also both ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Sisu, a ruby cavalier, was born to Penny and Benji in 2022. Ootie Booty is our black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Grogu is our tri color male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We are also adding Skyler (Booty's Slinky), to our family. We have two red poodles. One is our Miniature Poodle, Belle. The second one is our toy poodle, Lil Man. Lastly, we kept our first F1 Cavapoo from Benji and Belle in 2022. We hope to have some F1b Cavapoos between her and Lil Man in the future. Belle and Benji gave us another litter of cavapoos in April of 2023. We didn't plan to keep one, but Flopsy won our hearts, and is now a spoiled little girl here at Country Life. I also added our first two female chocolate carriers in July of 2o23. Winnie is a ruby cavalier, and her sister, Minnie, is a black and tan cavalier. All of our babies are raised in our home in Statesville, NC. They get plenty of outside time with the family, as well as plenty of snuggles on the couch.
In 2013 I purchased my first Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was a Blenheim and as sweet as can be. I fell in love with the breed and knew one day I was going to start raising them and producing quality puppies for others to love. I was devastated when Patrick passed away in 2017.
My husband and I bought our first Cavalier together in March of 2019. Honey is a ruby Cavalier with the sweetest, most loving personality. Our first little girl is a very petite Cavalier, weighing only 8 lbs at almost two years old. Beings she was SO small, and not having passed her DNA testing, we found her an amazing home. She is now being spoiled by her Mom in Alabama.
We have since then added twelve more babies. Benji and Penny are also both ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Sisu, a ruby cavalier, was born to Penny and Benji in 2022. Ootie Booty is our black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Grogu is our tri color male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We are also adding Skyler (Booty's Slinky), to our family. We have two red poodles. One is our Miniature Poodle, Belle. The second one is our toy poodle, Lil Man. Lastly, we kept our first F1 Cavapoo from Benji and Belle in 2022. We hope to have some F1b Cavapoos between her and Lil Man in the future. Belle and Benji gave us another litter of cavapoos in April of 2023. We didn't plan to keep one, but Flopsy won our hearts, and is now a spoiled little girl here at Country Life. I also added our first two female chocolate carriers in July of 2o23. Winnie is a ruby cavalier, and her sister, Minnie, is a black and tan cavalier. All of our babies are raised in our home in Statesville, NC. They get plenty of outside time with the family, as well as plenty of snuggles on the couch.
I am a firm believer in Early Neurological Stimulation for our puppies. As a teenager I practiced this method with my mom on all of our puppies. Puppies were handled twice every day from the day they were born. We could definitely tell a difference in our puppies from puppies we purchased from other breeders who didn't practice this method. This method is typically performed during days 3-16 of life. As they grow, we transition into puppy massages, where we get them used to being touched in mouths, paws, ears, etc. In doing this, your puppy comes to you without any fear of getting groomed, their nails clipped, or even blow dried.
Click on the above picture to follow the link to read up more on this method.
Click on the above picture to follow the link to read up more on this method.
Behavioral Training
By the time our babies are three weeks old we begin potty training and working on basic commands. We work on teaching them how to sit and walk with a leash or harness. Puppies are given gentle grooming each week including baths, nail clips, and blow-drying to get them accustomed to the process. As they grow we work on things like bite inhibition and crate training. While your puppy will come to you crate trained already, please keep in mind that transferring to a new home and surroundings can be quite stressful to a puppy.
Novel Experiences
All of our puppies are introduced to appropriately challenging experiences as they mature. Examples include learning to climb out of their whelping pen themselves, or learning how get to their food dish when there is something small blocking their way. These experiences help pups learn to problem solving while staying calm in new circumstances. It trains both their body and brain.
Socialization
Puppies are interacting with humans of all ages on a daily basis. They are also around other dogs to help train them. We provide them with novel experiences each day. These things include a vacuum cleaner, music, water, car rides, new sounds, people wearing hats, etc. We also make sure to give them new configurations in their pet pen like stairs, new toys, and slides.
In Memory of Our Baby Sylvester
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Our Standard Poodle Asher Loves All of Our Puppies
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All of our babies are raised around other dogs and cats to make sure they are well socialized.
Click on the picture of Sylvester to see more of our feline babies.
Click on the picture of Sylvester to see more of our feline babies.
The Rule of Sevens
The Rule of Sevens method is another method of socialization that we at Country Life Cavaliers strongly believe in. This method states that by the time a puppy is 7 weeks old it should be exposed to the following situations:
- Been in 7 different, safe locations
- Eaten from 7 different containers
- Met at least 7 different people
- Ridden at least 7 miles in a car
- Been in a crate at least 7 times
- Played with 7 different kinds of toys
- Been exposed to 7 different contexts
- Been played with or taken somewhere alone (without mom or litter mates) 7 different times
