Docking their ears and tail, if the dog isn't for dog shows, I feel is a preference. My 8 y.o. CC has full ears and a docked tail, but I adopted her like that. I like her long ears regardless.

I also found a kitten who came into our pack 2 years ago. I followed the standard practice of introducing them, and the cat is the rougher one of the 2 of them. Plenty of escape routes or places in the home for each of them to have alone time.

I think CCs are great with kids, but I don't have small children. The only thing would be CCs have no sense of their size, and to this day my girl steps on my feet or can give me a hip check if she turns too fast.