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Advice please.

Ciren

Well-known member
before i ask any questions i would like to state clearly that when i am ready to get a dog i will sign up with one of the rescues, allow them to conduct a home interview and pass on any references they may want.

the thing is i have never owned a dog and whilst my husband grew up with them, i will be the primary owner and i want to be sure i do a good job.

i have quite a few questions so please bear with me.

i do not work and am at home most of the time, but we do go out on weekends sometimes all day and we are not sure it will be appropriate to take a dog with us. as long as i made sure the dog was walked properly before we go out and when we get home would it be okay to leave them at home (with food/water obviously)?

i have heard some horror stories about kennels, but my step dad used to leave his boxer at them when he and my mum went on holiday. are they really that bad or is it ok to leave dogs there?

how hard is it to train a dog to the point you can happily take them off the lead? (i am not afraid of hard work and persistence)

i have been reading alot today about training dogs and they say using food treats is a good way to start. this may sound daft but what sort of food? or does it come down to what the dog likes? also how would i know that i wasnt over feeding them by treating them? would cutting down what i feed them in a bowl be okay if i was using food as part of the training?

thats all i can think of but any advice/guidence would be appreciated. already today someone has made a suggestion to me that i simply hadnt thought of and i have been looking into.
 
Hi:)

I think that being able to leave your new dog all day will depend upon your new dog, what age it is, temprement etc. Whether or not, it gets anxious when left, or if its old enough to be left all day without having a potty accident. We leave Murphy alone while we work, I leave him at 08:30, his papa lets him out at 13:00, and my O/H gets in at 16;00, or his nana puppysits on her days off. He's never whined or barked when we've left him cause we set a routine when he was young.

We've never used a kennel I know Murphy would not settle being in a kennel, but that's just me, he goes to his nana's for his holiday if he doesn't come too:lol:

We really worked on Murphy's recall, but it's still not perfect:rolleyes:, we only let him off when we're no where near any roads. He comes back better when we're out and about, but ignores you when he's in the garden.

Feeding treats to help with training really helped us, we fed small dog treats or meat. We just cut down on how much he got in his regular meals.

Hope this helps a bit:)
 
Welcome to the forum Ciren!
It's good that you're here because you will get lots of good advices in this forum.
I just have a suggestion on your first question..
Where do you live? My suggestion is to look and see if there is a local Cavalier meet up in your area. These ppl may be willing to babysit your dog when you want to go out on the weekends etc.
 
i live in bristol england, now thats a idea i hadnt thought of i will have to investigate it.

see your all helping already! thanks!

A
 
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