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Older Pup

Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Well-known member
Hi everyone!
I am new to this board...we are getting our first Cavalier on March 21...a tri...her picture is to the left...and we are very excited.
I have had larger dogs all my life and currently own a lovely Brittany Spaniel named Behr. I wanted somehing smaller next time around and since of adore spaniels, I decided to get a Cavalier after reading about them. They seem to have such lovely dispositions!

Anyway, we are getting an older pup from a kennel which was going to keep her to breed, but think she is a bit on the small side, so have decided to let her go. She is currently seven months old and weighs 8-9 pounds. We are waiting to pick her up until after we return from a previously planned vacation so we can devote a great deal of time to her.

I was wonder since she is a bit older what we might expect at her stage development? (she'll be 81/2 months old by then) Any insight would be useful. And if she is only 8-9 lbs now, what might she be full grown? (I realize it is all just a guessing game).

Thanks and I love this board and enjoy reading all the stories about your wonderful dogs!
 
She may be full size now, depends on her nutrition, and environment as well as genes. Is she coming from a kennel or a home breeder? I ask because the picture appears to be an indoor kennel.
 
That is great! You may need to socialize her , often even the best of breeders don't have time to take them out and about,but she is adorable and may get a little bigger but probably not much.
 
I fully expect that I will need to socialize her. She will be getting a ton of love. Fortunately, my husband and I own our own business and already bring our Brit to work...so she'll be coming too.

I'm not too concerned about that. Behr was six months old when we got him and had been left by his previous owner in a crate for 12 hours at a stretch, usually five days a week. Poor little sot was starved for attention!

For me, the biggest thing will be how she responds to Behr - he's 13 now and has only limited patience for young pups, which was why I wanted one who was a bit older. He's great with them as long as they know their place and don't try to pounce on his sore hips too much. Mind you, she probably couldn't reach them anyway...lol
 
She'll probably be pretty playful still, but it usually works out best when the older dog puts them in their place themselves.
 
We want photos of your new puppy and of your Brittany spaniel as well please---Aileen and the gang(Jazzie--Barney--Sam)
 
We got our Cavalier Buddy when he was six months. He weighed 14 lbs. and now at two years weighs almost 21 lbs. and is at a good weight for him, although he is above standard (13-18 lbs.). Your little girl may be full grown now but more likely will grow another pound or two, not much more. At eight and a half months she should be easy to housebreak if she is not and will be ready for longer walks, to take beginners obedience, etc. If you want to try Agility she would need to wait until she is at least a year. You will enjoy her!

With respect to introducing her to your older dog, go carefully. I brought home a 12 week old Clumber Spaniel to my 13 year old English Cocker Spaniel. It was harder on Abby, my ECS, then I thought it would be. Our life saver was that a small dog park opened two blocks from our house right at the time we got Hadley, the Clumber. Both dogs loved to go and both got fussed over, Hadley for being an adorable wiggle butt puppy and Abby for being a grand old lady. I also kept my bedroom, where Abby had always slept at the foot of my bed, just for her, no Hadley. I cannot say they ever became fast friends but they did tolerate one another and would snuggle to sleep on the sofa, their dog beds or back seat of the car. Only a couple months after Hadley came home, Abby was diagnosed with canine cognitive dysfunction and we had to have her put to sleep when Hadley was not quite a year old. I hung Abby's collar on the doorknob to the basement (not sure why) and for a week or so after Abby's death Hadley would go sniff the collar and look around for Abby. Although there were times in the beginning when I questioned bringing a puppy into a house with a geriatric dog, in the long run I was glad I did. With care on my part, they ended up being fine, and when Abby did have to leave us I was ever so glad Hadley was there. Introducing Buddy at six months to Hadley at thirteen months was not as difficult but had its own challenges.

Good luck to you. You are right, Spaniels are the best!!
 
Thanks everyone. Here are a couple more pictures...not the best, but what I have at the moment. The first is of my Brit....and the second is of Porsche, the new addition.
behr2.jpg

Behr --

backporsche.jpg

Porsche

Behr has been around quite a few dogs. I use to also have a golden retriever who lived with Behr for almost three years, but we lost her about 4 years ago. I also pet sit dogs of friends of mine and they get along fine once the pecking order is established. Behr also hangs out with the two dogs brought to work at the neighbouring office.

My vet seems to think that because he is in such good shape, he will adapt quickly.

Also my 20-year-old stepson is insanely attached to Behr and they spend every free moment together, so sometimes I feel like there is not enough dog to go around!
 
I brought Mia home at 6 months and I also have a Golden that is 2-1/2 years old--so they're both pretty young. They get along great---Mia loves Wrigley and Wrigley tolerates Mia--ha! Getting a six month old puppy was a great experience for me! She was past alot of the puppy-ish problems like chewing and getting up in the night to go potty. She wasn't complete potty trained and needed some socialization with people--she got along great with dogs. She's still sort of shy around new people but is coming along nicely.

I'll bet Porche will be a good fit in your home. She's quite a beauty!
 
Hi, I think Porsche is beautiful And I think Behr will be just fine. You might even find he has a new lease on life having a younger companion permanently around. I no my old dog did when I brought my pups home. Good luck with it all anyway. :flwr:
 
Behr and Porsche looked wonderful. Congratulations on Porsche.

I brought home Pippin at 5 months old and he was mostly housebroken and he learned his obedience training quickly. He lived at the breeder's Mom's house with one other cavailer, before coming home to live with me. So he was used to house sounds.

My friend obtained an English Bulldog last year that was 3 years old and had lived in a kennel at the breeder's house. That dog is scared of the refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, etc. So my friend is working with Buster to get him accustomed to everyday things.

So the advice about socialization is very important. Porsche may not know what a lot of the things around the house are. Also, getting her out around lots of other people and pets will help her learn about the bigger world. She'll probably need to learn how to cope in all these situations.
 
I am sooo glad I found this forum. Such useful information and wonderful people who get how important our pets are to us.

There are so many questions I have about grooming, training socialization, foods etc... I will do some more reading here before I post any questions so I don't repeat everything others have already asked.

Thanks so much for your feedback and advice so far...looking forward to being part of the Cavalier Community!
 
Porsche looks so adorable in her photo. Bet you can't wait for her to join your family. Welcome aboard.
 
When I brought Scout home she was 10 weeks old. I already had a 9 1/2 year old Newfoundland. Scout is now 10 1/2 months old. She still jumps on breeze and chews on her ears and tries to attack her neck. She is only playing though. At least Breeze and I think she is. Breeze is very forgiving and tolerant and never, ever growls or snaps at her. As a matter of fact she often 'calls her over' when she wants to play. :lol:

They really do love each other. At least that's what I think!!

There might be an adjustment period, but I'm sure it will work out.
 
Hi Scouty,
I'm sure they will adjust. The fact is Behr used to be the one who was all over other dogs. but now he does tire easily from excited dogs. He plays for a bit, all waggy and happy, but eventually he gets weary and if the other dog continues to get in his face or tries to jump on him, he will bark and sometimes snap. But it is only a warning and the other dogs usually get it right away. Mostly this occurs with large, youthful dogs who don't realize the old poop is not the spring chicken he used to be and pouncing on him actually hurts. Sometimes it takes a couple of his cranky warnings before they realize he means it. With small young dogs it usually scares the beejezus out of them and one warning is enough. My stepdaughter has a young shit-zu and a pomeranian and they both roll over for him. They co-exist peacefully.

A few months ago, I pet sat for a friend of mine for a month. The other dog was younger than Behr and they got along fine. Although, Behr gathered every single toy he could find (including some I hadn't seen around the place for more than a year! :yikes - must have been in that mysterious place socks disappear to) and teased poor Shack them. lol!

I expect Behr to give Porsche a bit of a hard time at first, but eventually grow to love her.
 
Hi! It seems you and I are in similar situations. I just picked up my first Cavalier this weekend. She was a dog the breeder kept onto in hopes of showing but after acquiring a few other dogs decided to let her go to a good home. I just got my darling Ellie this weekend and she is 6 months, almost 7. I have never had a puppy before, and we were slated for a puppy this June until circumstances changed, so I was a bit sad as I felt at 6 months I had lost out on the puppy aspect of raising a dog but boy was I wrong. Ellie is still very puppy like, curious, playful, and downright adorable but on top of all that she is so great because she is so well trained having stayed with her breeder for so long and housetrained already. She is amazingly well behaved and such a doll. I told my husband I still want a puppy puppy next time as I want the experience but after that Im all for getting older dogs ;) She is a doll and Im sure your new baby arrives youll be as happy as we are. PM me if you have any questions Best of luck and cant wait to see your new arrival
 
Duncan and Artie came to us at 16 and 17 weeks, respectively...still very much puppies although older and more experienced then 8 wks. At 9 months Duncan was a much older acting dog than Arthur at 9 months (now). Artie is still such a puppy! I think it depends on the dog. I will say that a Cavalier at any age is such a joy and you will certainly get to experience all of the stages of growing up.

Welcome aboard...Artie certainly thinks your Porsche is gorgeous!
 
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