Nosy !

My Merlin has a habit of cimbing on the kitchen table! Whenever I leave him for even five minutes I come back in to find him on the kitchen table. I think he thinks he can see out the window to see where I am. I worry that he ha been there all the time! He never moves/breaks anything just stands there! Its very bizarre!

Has anyone else got such a nosy ckcs?

Lol.

On holiday one year in Newquay, we were walking up a steep hill. There was a restaurant set into the side of the hill.

Facing the pavement was the kitchen window, which was open. Because the restaurant was below pavement level, the kitchen staff got a big shock when Misty's head appeared at their eye level through their window.

Kirsty,

How does Merlin get onto the kitchen table? Does he jump? We had a foster that was a jumper. We used to put things 'out of reach' on the window sill in our lounge. Well, until we had Holly come to stay - she used to jump like a Harrier jump jet, straight onto the window sill, eat what she wanted and jump back down again.

Fran,

Can just picture that scene :lol: but how lovely to have a darling little cavalier face looking in to say hello to you :l*v: :lol:

My cavalier mattie now at the bridge used to go into the kithen window siting there waiting till someone came to the door then bark at then he was at about head height his greats joy was to make people jump :badgrin: Aileen

Went for a walk in Cappagh Park a few evenings ago. While there, a car filled with youths entered the park. Two of them ran out of the car and appeared to run into a building owned by a sportsclub there. Squad car arrived almost immediately. Youths were stopped by the police, questioned, searched (even their socks and shoes). At this point, my cavalier legged it 100m past the police, past the youths, over to the youths' car, then inside it.

A policeman returned the dog to me.

Another thing I've noticed about my cavalier. If I put herself and my cocker outside for a few hours, and shut the patio door, and then watch them from the window upstairs, I'll notice that the cocker will make the most of the opportunity and go play with something or other. The cavalier will join in. However, the cavalier will keep looking back towards the house. Her thoughts turn constantly towards the indoors, towards the people inside, while the cocker will be thoroughly engrossed in the task at hand. Cavaliers are very people-oriented dogs.

He manages to jump onto the table somehow - even if the chairs are pushed right underneath it. He does the same at his grannies. he never destroys anything on the table - just stands on it!

:lol: :lol: :lol: Another one with springs in his legs then :lol: :lol: :lol:

It amazes me how incredibly careful they are not to damage anything. Holly never did and it took us a while to figure out how our fruit was being eaten and the kids' sweets too. Especially when not one of my cavalier ornaments were out of place :lol:

At this point, my cavalier legged it 100m past the police, past the youths, over to the youths' car, then inside it.

A policeman returned the dog to me.

Another thing I've noticed about my cavalier. If I put herself and my cocker outside for a few hours,

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Two thoughts: Very advisable to always have puppies on a lead. The alternative scenario here could have been, puppy legs it 100 meters and car comes in and runs over pup. Cavaliers generally have no road sense (nor does any dog with any level of reliability, but cavaliers are particularly bad as part of their breed description is to be fearless, and they truly do not have any sense that a car would kill them). Puppies as well can bolt and that's it, you won't see them again.

Second is -- I hate to keep stressing this, but it is so important -- a few hours alone in a garden is really not suitable, ever, for a cavalier (that is why she keeps looking back at the house -- and wondering why she is outside). t's fine to put them out maybe to have a run around or with door open while you are there so she can come in and out, but no puppy should be out for several hours like this and especially not a cavalier. This is also particularly risky with two puppies left like this for a few reasons. Setting aside the issues of the rash of stolen dogs across Ireland in the past year, this is leaving two puppies to form bonds that are closer than they will ever form with you. That can lead to some very difficult behaviour problems as they grow to adulthood. I'd really recommend reading through these suggested approaches to raising two puppies together, and reconsider leaving them out in a garden for such long stretches. Cavaliers simply are not outside dogs -- every one of the behaviour-problem cavaliers I've had come into rescue were dogs left outside for most of the day by well intentioned people who didn;t understad this about this breed in particular. Tara helped me in homing these dogs after she assessed them, but they had guarding and aggression issues amongst other things and had to be specially homed to people who could work with them, to homes without children to be safe.

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1956

Having two requires a considerable extra effort of care to train each separately and not give them huge amounts of time together, or especially, alone together for long stretches as puppies, when they really need to clearly have their primary bond go to their owners, not to each other.

Tara and Lisa have a good example of the problems that come with two puppies raised together in their training classes (where I have seen the difficulties they are trying to work through with these dogs). They are so closely bonded that training them has been a challenge; they constantly look to each other rather than at their owner/handlers; they cannot be separated for any reason, even out of sight of each other, or they have severe separation anxiety; they only pay attention when it suits them. The work needs to be done in the first year to make sure this doesn't happen.

Karlin,

Thanks for posting that. I have only just seen cockerspaniel's post and was going to say exactly the same things that you did.

My patio door is left open all day long for my two as it's so hot here but they come in and out at free will. The only time it's shut is if it rains or we all go out for a while and leave the dogs inside, oh yeah and bed time too!!!!

My Belle started jumping on the kitchen table at around 2 years old. She also will sleep on the top of her crate on a large mat that I have placed there from the time my two were little puppies. Now Beau has also learned this trick and they see out of the kitchen windows. I think she likes height. She does it effortlessly. He is bigger but it is much harder for him.

They are very well behaved , because when we eat, all I have to do is say "crate" and they run into their separate crates while we eat. I can leave them unlocked and they won't come out until I start to clear the dishes andd say OK. They get zero food from the table or our dishes.

It is just a peculiar habit that Belle started and Beau has followed.

Thanks for the advice, Karlin. I'll take that on board.