Introducing Ourselves.

[Anomoley]

Hi everyone! My first post, and I'm very happy to be here: After extensive research, my husband and I have finally settled on a CKCS for our new furbaby.

Took forever, primarily due to the fact that while all of their characteristics (and certainly their looks) stood out above all the other breeds we were considering, once I looked into them, I realized how many potential health issues they may develop. The ones that really scared me (and still do) are CM and SM.

Had dozens of conversations with breeders about these issues, and after interviewing several responsible ones, we finally decided to take our chances and go with the one who's most passionate and responsible when it comes to this beautiful breed. We're still petrified that our new baby may develop one of these problems, but keeping our fingers crossed that all will be well for many years to come.

We're picking him up in a couple of weeks, and I've already ordered everything I'll be needing by the time he gets here. Crate, eye/ear/teeth cleaning supplies, toys, chews, heartbeat pillow/warm water bottle pillow/soothing stuff to help get through the initial adjustment period, other grooming supplies, car seat, etc, etc... I intend to crate train as that's worked well for me in the past.

I do have a couple of questions (and then I'll post some pics for you guys ;)):

1. Who here feeds their cavs a raw diet? If you do, would you please tell me more about how you went about introducing it, at what age, and whatever other resources you can direct me to?

2. Knowing that this breed is generally extremely "needy" in terms of attention and companionship, I'm concerned about the fact that I once in a while will have to leave him alone for 3-4 hours at a time. I do work from my home office, which is great, but there are times when I have to go to meetings in person.

Any thoughts on how to address this? Any of you who work away from home and leave the pup home alone, I'd love some input for these time periods.

Thank you very much for this wonderful resource. I've been lurking around for months and have learned quite a bit from you all... excited to continue the process. :)

[Anomoley]

Not sure why this post doesn't appear anywhere, but figured I'd bump it up and see if I can get it to show up somehow (tried PMing a mod, but couldn't as I'm a new member... so as much as I'd like to participate in discussion, I can't seem to make that happen).

[Karlin]

Hi and welcome! :) Sorry the post got a bit buried -- initial posts are on moderation as a spam control effort and there are just a couple of us to make sure they go through. :thmbsup:

There are lots of raw feeders here, who take a few different approaches (as there are many -- some avoid raw meaty bones for example, or use commercial raw, or prepare their own -- all can be very different)-- if you try searching on 'raw feeding' you will get lots and lots of threads. :)

I wouldn't describe the breed as needy :lol: ( a bit negative!)-- just as doing what it is bred for, to be a close companion. :) They can easily be left for a few hours or even a work day though generally I would never advise leaving a singleton dog at home alone every single day -- and definitely, NEVER to crate a dog all day while at work, for example. Nor should this breed in particular ever be left outside alone, which can be very distressing, nor given the very high rate of theft in the breed, would I ever leave a cavalier with access to a garden when no one is home. :thmbsup:

But it is actually a very good idea to begin to train your new cavalier to be on its own for short stretches, working up to longer stretches, from the first week he is at home. A dog that cannot be content when alone is going to be a lifelong problem dog. Crate training and using a puppy pen helps start this process and is good for housetraining too.

I'd be sure to go to www.dogstardaily.com (http://www.dogstardaily.com) and download the free copy of Ian Dunbar's seminal book 'After You Get Your Puppy' as it will be a constant guide and help. I also think you can now get his 'Before You Get Your puppy' as a free download too!

I recommend getting a puppy pen to use with crate to create a safe area to leave a puppy when you are out -- see Dunbar's book and website for some examples of how to set up.

I generally recommend always confining a dog to a room (eg kitchen area, easy to clean for accidents) for its first year or more as it goes thru the chewing phases and so on. Some dogs eventually become OK to have free rein in a house but there are always some risks and also, people need to keep in mind that if it is accessible to a dog, any item can be damaged/destroyed including expensive shoes or leather jackets, edges of books (great for gnawing esp. by puppies!!), cords, wires, string, items in low cupboards, potentially poisonous plants... which is why people both need to know their dog and need to dog proof the house.

[ashleighelizabeth]

Welcome and congratulations on your new puppy! I was really worried about leaving my puppy because of all I had read too. I work part time and have to leave my puppy for 3 hour spans of time. Sonny has done great with his crate. He doesn't cry any more when we put him in and sometimes he puts himself in the crate when he is tired. Sonny is now 13 weeks and we recently had to leave him in his crate for 4 1/2 hours and I was really nervous, but he did great! On the days that I am home all day I sometimes put him down for a nap in his crate for an hour or two just so he stays on some sort of a routine. We just make sure to take him to potty before putting him in and immediately when taking him out and we really try to run him around both before he goes in and when he comes out. It sounds like you are very prepared for your new little bundle of joy! The download that Karlin suggested is AMAZING and really answers a lot of questions! icon_welcome

[mobbs75]

Hi, I am new to this, so bear with me. I am the proud owner of a 5 month of male blenheim. BUT... I have encountered a few issues that I would like some suggestions on. He is still messing in the house, he stopped for awhile, but is now starting to do it again. Is this his way of rebelling because we are at work all day?:( or does he just need to grow out of it? And just a question, how long before he grows a longer coat? He seems to be short haired, but both his parents who I saw at the breeders weren't. can someone enlighten me? thank you for spending the time to listen to this uneducated CKCS owner!