First time KCC owner

[Valli]

Hi. This is my first time having a Cavalier and also my first time having a puppy. I have had many cats, trained and showed horses, and have had adult larger breed dogs.
Since I am now retired I thought it would be the right time to get a puppy if I was ever going to get one. And since I have a bit of a disability which affects my balance and walking to some extent I wanted a dog that wasn’t high energy.

Dreamboat Annie is six months old today and I have had her for almost 4 months. She is definitely high energy haha. Once she is excited she has a hard time coming down. I have even had a trainer come 4 times. Needless to say, I can’t walk her much at this point especially with the ice and snow where I live. But she does get tons of exercise playing and I take her across to our tennis court where she can run. I think she will eventually slow down.

She has been crate trained since I got her. She does have separation anxiety and barks when I go out but only for a few minutes. I try to go out every day. My concern is nighttime. She has been sleeping nicely in her crate until 5 am which I can manage but two nights ago she started barking and scratching hysterically at her crate. The first night for 45 minutes. Last night, after half an hour I thought I would try her out of the crate but she just ran around jumping on and off the bed and getting into everything for an hour. I finally had to get up and move her crate to another room where hopefully the neighbours can’t hear her. I live in a condo so gave 2 common walls.

I have no idea why she all of a sudden became like this. My only guess is maybe she is getting ready to go into heat? She has also been licking herself more lately. Any other ideas?

 

[Karlin]

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you are having lots of fun -- and a few challenges! -- with Dreamboat Annie .

First off, don't worry at all about her barking for only a few minutes when you go out, as that's pretty normal. True separation anxiety is a much more difficult situation, where a dog has real anxiety at the disappearance of his/her people and becomes frantic, and this continues for a very long time or even the entire time the dog is left alone. Almost all dogs will need to be gradually introduced to being on their own and learning to be calm and feel confident. She sounds like she's pretty much there already, but additional steps might be: introducing hollow, stuff-able toys like an appropriately sized Kong to puppies early on is a great way to help dogs relax and shift focus. Licking something is self-calming for dogs. There are many posts about songs and what to stuff them with in the archive. Many trainers recommend offering all of a dog's meal in a Kong rather than a dish, so that from early on, they associate the Kong (or similar toy) with a pleasurable activity. Also you always want to make sure a dog isn't getting extra food via the Kong rather than a portion of its allocated daily food amount.

At nighttime you could certainly give her something to work away at. One thought is to give her something inside a hollow toy that she cannot actually fully access. Just trying to get at the item will keep a dog busy for a long time. For example, wedging a dog biscuit into a Kong, so that it cannot come out. Or, wedging in a larger piece of a freeze dried meat treat so that it rattles about inside but won't come out and can't really be extracted. Some toys have smaller openings that make this fairly simply to do. Wiping a little meat paste inside a Kong well up inside also works. At 6 months, she should be able to sleep through the night. But dogs are creatures of habit, so if you have set the pattern for 5am she'll likely now routinely wake at that time. You could start to try and make the time later but sometimes that can be a challenge especially in an apt or condo where neighbours can hear barking or whining.

The restlessness and licking could indicate that she's in heat. But might also indicate an infection, say. It might be worth getting your vet's advice not least as if she is in heat she shouldn't really be brought outside except perhaps the tennis court if you are sure no one else will come in with another (male) dog. I'd also keep her on a lead or long training lead (the ones that are say 25 feet long) so she can run around but is under your control. A female in heat of course can draw in males from hundreds of yards away and many will do just about anything to get at her.

The other thing is that she's entering her teenage phase and as with humans, their bodies get kind of disconnected from their brains as their brains rewire. This period can last until around 24 months and you can get issues with restlessness, high energy, lack of self control, seemingly un-learning things the dog 'knew' before, accidents/marking, serious levels of chewing and so on. We've a large breed in this stage right now and there's nothing like a 53kg dog viewing any item of wood or anything on a countertop as an interesting chew toy. The latest victim was a pair of my prescription glasses! Quickly retrieved, but not before one arm was chewed up.

Maybe someone with more experience of a young dog in heat or ideas about nighttime management might comment. In our multi-dog household, new dogs generally settle fairly quickly as there are others nearby. My first cavalier puppy back when he was the only dog, simply moved from a box to (briefly) a crate by my bed then ended up sleeping on the bed!

 

[Valli]

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you are having lots of fun -- and a few challenges! -- with Dreamboat Annie .

First off, don't worry at all about her barking for only a few minutes when you go out, as that's pretty normal. True separation anxiety is a much more difficult situation, where a dog has real anxiety at the disappearance of his/her people and becomes frantic, and this continues for a very long time or even the entire time the dog is left alone. Almost all dogs will need to be gradually introduced to being on their own and learning to be calm and feel confident. She sounds like she's pretty much there already, but additional steps might be: introducing hollow, stuff-able toys like an appropriately sized Kong to puppies early on is a great way to help dogs relax and shift focus. Licking something is self-calming for dogs. There are many posts about songs and what to stuff them with in the archive. Many trainers recommend offering all of a dog's meal in a Kong rather than a dish, so that from early on, they associate the Kong (or similar toy) with a pleasurable activity. Also you always want to make sure a dog isn't getting extra food via the Kong rather than a portion of its allocated daily food amount.

At nighttime you could certainly give her something to work away at. One thought is to give her something inside a hollow toy that she cannot actually fully access. Just trying to get at the item will keep a dog busy for a long time. For example, wedging a dog biscuit into a Kong, so that it cannot come out. Or, wedging in a larger piece of a freeze dried meat treat so that it rattles about inside but won't come out and can't really be extracted. Some toys have smaller openings that make this fairly simply to do. Wiping a little meat paste inside a Kong well up inside also works. At 6 months, she should be able to sleep through the night. But dogs are creatures of habit, so if you have set the pattern for 5am she'll likely now routinely wake at that time. You could start to try and make the time later but sometimes that can be a challenge especially in an apt or condo where neighbours can hear barking or whining.

The restlessness and licking could indicate that she's in heat. But might also indicate an infection, say. It might be worth getting your vet's advice not least as if she is in heat she shouldn't really be brought outside except perhaps the tennis court if you are sure no one else will come in with another (male) dog. I'd also keep her on a lead or long training lead (the ones that are say 25 feet long) so she can run around but is under your control. A female in heat of course can draw in males from hundreds of yards away and many will do just about anything to get at her.

The other thing is that she's entering her teenage phase and as with humans, their bodies get kind of disconnected from their brains as their brains rewire. This period can last until around 24 months and you can get issues with restlessness, high energy, lack of self control, seemingly un-learning things the dog 'knew' before, accidents/marking, serious levels of chewing and so on. We've a large breed in this stage right now and there's nothing like a 53kg dog viewing any item of wood or anything on a countertop as an interesting chew toy. The latest victim was a pair of my prescription glasses! Quickly retrieved, but not before one arm was chewed up.

Maybe someone with more experience of a young dog in heat or ideas about nighttime management might comment. In our multi-dog household, new dogs generally settle fairly quickly as there are others nearby. My first cavalier puppy back when he was the only dog, simply moved from a box to (briefly) a crate by my bed then ended up sleeping on the bed!

Thank you for replying! Yes, I am not too worried about the few minutes of barking when I go out. It is the nighttime that concerns me. She slept quietly for 4 months then suddenly changed to a howling, scratching crazy pup haha. It wasn’t quite as bad last night so we will see. I’m not sure that she is in heat yet and am thinking probably not as an intact male lives about 50 feet away. I’m sure he would be more frantic about getting to her if she was. We both have fences plus an additional barrier on our fences and I have her on a lead and am always watching when she gos out. I will see how things go in the next few days. Thanks.

 

[Nicki]

Welcome, sorry to hear you are having a few challenges with your beautiful puppy. Is the crate in your bedroom? If not, maybe try that - Cavaliers want to be as close to you as possible. Many people let them sleep on the bed as that is where they are usually most content.

It sounds like your puppy is unsettled about something, if nothing has changed in your home, it may be that she is coming into season. It is usually about 10 days from the start when most boys dogs would be interested. You would notice her licking her vulva more, the vulva swelling [it looks enormous at the first season!], if you touch a white tissue to the opening you can usually see a drop of blood. Often they are extra clingy, go off their food, looking for more comfort.

If puppy is peeing more often and especially if her tummy feels a bit warm to the touch, I would take a sample into the vet to rule out an UTI

 

[Valli]

Welcome, sorry to hear you are having a few challenges with your beautiful puppy. Is the crate in your bedroom? If not, maybe try that - Cavaliers want to be as close to you as possible. Many people let them sleep on the bed as that is where they are usually most content.

It sounds like your puppy is unsettled about something, if nothing has changed in your home, it may be that she is coming into season. It is usually about 10 days from the start when most boys dogs would be interested. You would notice her licking her vulva more, the vulva swelling [it looks enormous at the first season!], if you touch a white tissue to the opening you can usually see a drop of blood. Often they are extra clingy, go off their food, looking for more comfort.

If puppy is peeing more often and especially if her tummy feels a bit warm to the touch, I would take a sample into the vet to rule out an UTI

Thanks for replying. Yes, the crate is in the bedroom. I tried letting her out but she just jumped on and off the bed and ran around the bedroom looking for things to get into for half an hour. But she was better last night. She started barking and I had tied a double leash to her crate door. I wiggled it to distract her without getting up and going over to her which worked. It distracted her and after a few times doing this she stopped barking and went to sleep
I think she may be getting ready to go into heat. She has been licking herself and not eating as well. No swelling yet. Today she is pretty active. Still not eating a lot but ready for treats at any time haha.

 

[Nicki]

Sorry for not getting back to you and thank you for the photo of your beautiful girl. How are things going now? Do hope you're getting a bit more sleep!

 

[Valli]

Sorry for not getting back to you and thank you for the photo of your beautiful girl. How are things going now? Do hope you're getting a bit more sleep!

Thank you and yes, she is sleeping better. 6 am now! And that is fine with me. I am an early riser anyway. She is not in heat. I don’t know what the issue was but it seems to be resolved. And, I think the reason that she wasn’t eating well was because she was getting so many treats while training. I cut them back and she is eating her food better.
I just got a fantastic offer from an old friend. We used to show horses together. She saw a post I made on Facebook and reached out, They have an acreage about an hour away. They have a few horses but also two Staffy’s. She offered to help me train. She has shown in obedience for 30 years, has a fully enclosed, escape proof yard for them to run, and an actual building she uses for training. It is an hour drive each way but well worth it I think.

 

[Nicki]

So pleased to hear that things have improved.
oh how fabulous to have a friend and space to train with, that sounds great fun, and will tire Annie out physically and mentally which will help her settle better at night, too. Don't forget that reward based training methods always work best with Cavaliers, it sounds like you were doing that anyway, with lots of treats