Im thinking of getting a Cavalier...

I need help. Im thinking of getting a Cavalier but Im not sure its right for my family. I have 3 children 4, 9, 13 years old. I dont want alot of shedding and I want a friendly dog. The 13 year old is out 6 hours so we thought when she comes home she can walk the dog but can a Cavalier stay in a kitchen/hallway and bathroom (all together) for 6 hours alone? I need help to see if a Cavalier is the right dog for my family.

Hmmm...I work from 8:30 to 5:00 but my 13 year old doesnt have after school activities because she has to come home at 3:30 and pick up the 9 year old from school at 3:45. I was actually thinking of getting a cav or MAYBE two cavs during the summer and we would housebreak it as much as possible. We would put a dog litter in the bathroom and we would let it go do its "buisness" there. So when the new school year starts and when we go to work that we wouldnt come home with as much accidents then if we just left it alone. I have made a schedule for my 13 year old if we get a dog because she has chosen to do most of the work and she is expierienced (more than me. hahahaha) and she knows ALOT about dogs and dog care. Umm I will put the schedule if I can figure out how to put it on this post..hahaha...Thank you soo much for the replies and as for the shedding? I think I can spend 15 bucks on that swiffer vacum...

definently think that six hours for a pup is too long but I was thinking of getting a pup right now-ish (my kids are bugging me sooo much.haha) and it would be 2-4 months old and then summer vacation together, get it house trained alot. and then september it would be either 4,5,6 months old.. So do you think that would be okay to leave a 4, or 5, or 6 month old Cav alone for 5/6 hours?

Sorry for the long post..but Info is important and all the experts out there should step up to this challenge and help me. LOL! :lol:

Well cavaliers are brilliant with children. cookie adores my nephew who's 2 and they follow each other around.

I'v found that Cookie shed's quite badly and she does it all year around rather than in the spring, but I suppose a puppy wouldn't shed that much. We have to hoover at least once a day, especially since she has been spayed. Cavaliers are very homely dogs too and, i'm not sure about other peoples, but cookie hates being restricted in the house. She's happiest on the sofa and likes to wander around the house to get comfy.

I'm not sure that a cavalier would be best for you as you are at work for quite a bit of the day and although your daughter said she would do alot of the work looking after the dog she's only 13 and soon she'l be wanting to stay later at school or go out with friends.

I begged my parents for a dog for 14years and i got her on the condition that i would look after her, do the hoovering, take her out on all of her walks, and be home on time so that she wouldnt be left on her own for too long. After a while it was really difficult as cookie would cry, attack the door and would sit on the bottom of the step until i got back from school it's not fair on her, so in the end we had to make sure that she had someone there the majority of the time. so 6hours would be the ultimate maximum i would leave a cavalier at home for as a major characteristic of their breed is just wanting to be at home with their owner 24/7. I'v sacrificed alot for taking the responsibility of havin cookie, it has definately been worth it but I'm a few years older than your daughter so I'v lived the whole teenage thing.

Maybe a more independent breed would be appropriate?

Cavaliers have a fabulous temperment for a house. I am a teacher so am off a lot but during the school year Phoebe is on her own until around half three. She sleeps through it as I've spied on her through modern technology!!Ideally I would like a playmate for her .
Miniature schnauzers don't shed and are a good house dog too but apparantly they bark a bit more.
Good luck,
Brid.

Of course, all of us on this forum are crazy for Cavs. With that said, I do feel they require more attention and human contact than many breeds. And, in fact, some do very poorly when left alone for hours on end.

I have a friend that has a Powderpuff Chinese Crested dog. What a marvelous gal she is - funny, smart, doesn't yap, and does not shed. (the dog, not my friend :badgrin The only downside (if there is one) is that she either must make trips to the groomer every 6-8 weeks and requires daily brushing. Although I brush my Cavaliers pretty much every day, we still could make hair bales all year long.

Good luck on finding that perfect companion.

JaneB

Start here:

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2304

You will find pointers on whether a cavalier is the right breed for your family and some links that should be helpful.

On your individual points:

Cavaliers do shed quite a bit so it is probably not the right breed if that's an issue. Breeds that don't shed much include poodles, bichons, some terriers.

Be sure you do not make the decision to get a dog, based on what you expect your daughter to do. Children, including/especially teens, have a habit of initially really wanting a dog and promising to do the work involved with keeping one, but then lose interest especially as the cuteness of a puppy wanes and the dog becomes 'just another chore'. Friends often become more interesting than doing the duties for the dog, especially for a teen coming into high school when life tends to get very social. And: what happens to the dog in four years if she chooses to go to college or moves out of the home to go work? That said, a dog is a wonderful companion for children of any age. BUT: A parent should only choose to get a dog on the full understanding that THE PARENT will have 100% responsibility for the next decade or so of that dog's life, through sickness and health. You might assign jobs to a child, but the responsibility is ultimately on the adult, as getting the dog is the adult's decision, not the child's. See: http://www.sfspca.org/adoption/Kids-and-Pets.pdf

You would not be advised to get two cavaliers puppies at the same time, though two dogs is a good option for their own companionship. For why, read more here: http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1956

You would be getting most cavalier puppies at 3-4 months of age but be aware that there's usually a waiting list for a good breeder of healthy dogs (be very careful of anyone who has puppies from this breed available right away. Cavaliers have several very serious health issues that are also potentially costly, and anyone who has puppies always available is NOT breeding for health). Most waiting lists are up to a year so it is unlikely you would be able to find a puppy as quickly as you are planning. At the very least you'd likely be waiting til the end of summer or autumn at this point.

6 hours is a workable amount of time to leave a dog on its own, if you provide for it to be happy on its own during that time through a good environment, toys and so forth. However I don't think using litter in the bathroom is a very good option and is only going to cause housetraining problems. Maybe looking for an older puppy (eg 6 months or older, from a breeder) or an adult cavalier would make more sense for your situation? At this age the dog can be left alone more readily, but someone should really have two weeks off or so when the dog is first acquired to acclimate him or her and work on housetraining and settling in.

Also are you sure it is a dog that you really want? Esepcially when you will have it for at least 10 years, up to 14 or so? All dogs are very sociable, and spending most of its day alone most of the time, reliant on a young teen who may only be around for the next few years, would be a fairly uncertain environment for any dog, not just a cavalier. However cavaliers are more people-inclined than many breeds and can have separation anxiety if left alone much of the time. They are best described as very clingy dogs -- and if the dog is to be mostly your daughter's, this is probably not the breed you want. The dog will want to follow you everywhere around the house as well, and can't be left out in the garden for example as they are housedogs and lapdogs and a dependent, rather than independent, breed.

Cats have more of the flexibility you are talking about but again, any animal is by default going to end up being *your* dog or cat in a few years' time as you can't rely on your daughter taking it with her to wherever she goes. So be sure to include that prospect of whether YOU personally not just want, but would love having a dog for the next 10-14 years of your life, in your equation.

All of us here love this breed but we'll all readily confess that owning a dog requires a sacrifice of time, money and effort that doesn't suit everyone.

A lot of the cavaliers I end up homing through rescue come to me because 1) they are too clingy for the people who own them; 2) the people decide they don't have the time for a dog; 3) a teen moves away and the dog was 'theirs' and now needs a new home; 4) arrival of a baby.

Hope that helps.

My cav goes to grannies every day I am at work. If they are are on holiday he does fine for about 7 hours on his own but he has a good long walk be fore I leave and he has the whole house to himself. When I get back I sneak in to find out where he has been and sure enough there is always a warm patch on mum's bed where he has spent the day. He never crys or barks when you leave him he seems to understand that if you have certain clothes on and you perform a specifc routine he knows that mummy and daddy have to go to work to buy more treats and food - thats what I tell him anyway! I always reward him also when I get home for being a good boy and we have never as yet had any accidents or chewing of anything he should be.

I certainly don't advocate leaving cavs on their own which I why I am thinking of getting another.......... but mine seems fine with it now and again but I have spent a fortune on interactive toys to keep him entertained !!!!!

Sometimes though I think he is glad of the peace!

Are we all that sneaky, I have locked the door to Busta barking and barking, parked the car down the road, gone back home and jumped over the fence to see them all on the sofa settling down to sleep - and when I do get home and they haven't heard the car they are still there, I keep trying to catch them out.