weight for 8 week old pup

We got Lois at 8 weeks and have had her just over a week now. We took her the vets the day after getting her and she weighed 2kg. Is this about average for an 8 week old cav? We got Sally at 12 weeks so she was much larger. Lois is still on 3 meals a day and feeding on JWB. She is feeding very well and has loads of energy. When is best to swap to 2 meals a day? Also what type of entertainment did you provide in the house when your pup couldn't go out? Lois has lots and lots of toys and chew Nylabones. She has to wait 3 weeks in between injections and then a further week until she can go out. During the day I give Lois a stuffed kong while I walk Sally so that Sally can still get out. The vet has advised us to keep Lois in and not to even walk her in our arms in case people have germs on their hands and touch Lois. Apparently there are some nasty tummy bugs about at the moment. Just wanting some advice and reassurrance really.

Sparky was just under 2kg when we got him at 11 weeks

Hi
My pup who is 6mths just now weighed 1.8 kilos at 8 weeks.
My adult cav who is built bigger than other cavs i have seen was 2.4 kilos at 10 weeks and 3.3 kilos at 13 weeks
hope that helps.

That's a normal weight.

On feeding:

www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I'd recommend as always getting a good puppy manual asap for quickly answering questions like these and the many others that will arise. I always suggest Dr Ian Dunbar's Before and After you get your Puppy -- easily ordered from Amazon in the UK. The easiest time to shape the adult dog you want and avoid a problem dog is in the next 6 months -- and the next two months are especially crucial. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good book like this by your side to make sure you make the most of this critical window of shaping time.

I think your vet is wrong about taking her out in your arms. If she isn;t exposed to lots of people and noises and things in the next FOUR WEEKS you lose a very important socialisation period forever and it cannot be duplicated for an older dog. The chance of a puppy getting a bug from someone's hands is minute.

Max weighed 2.72 kilos at 9 weeks. His parents weigh about 7.3 kg (if my math is right) 16 pounds.

We have LOTS of chew toys for Max. His favourites are probably the big blue stuffed dog that squeaks (he kills it nearly every day), an empty paper towel roll, a vegetable brush with soft bristles, and Mindy's tail (that doesn't last long). Right now he's chewing on a nylabone They actually have puppy classes in our area starting at 10 weeks although I'm not going to take him until he is done his shots and has an attention span longer than a gnats. We have taken him on short walks because he has SO much energy to burn. Our vet isn't against this. Luckily he likes the snow so he also amuses himself running around the snow packed section of the back yard - most of it is too deep and soft.

I'm not going to take him until he is done his shots and has an attention span longer than a gnats. We have taken him on short walks

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I'd disagree with your vet on this one. Parvo and distemper ARE a serious threat to any puppy's health and in general rescue we routinely see pups dying from this that come in unvaccinated. I would definitely say take a pup out in arms to experience the wider world but would never advise walking a pup anywhere except in the backyard until 10 days AFTER shots are completed -- a puppy needs that time to build resistance after the shots are actually given.

Actually dog trainers routinely advise starting training as soon as a puppy comes home. They do have an attention span longer than a gnat's and the time spent now on gentle, fun training (not demanding, as obviously a pup will not remain in a downstay for example) pays off big time as the pup gets older and has a solid basis of training already and is learning self control from the very start -- and bonding better with you. Ian Dunbar thinks any puppy should be able to sit, lie down, roll over, relax, and follow other cues by *eight weeks*. So they definitely -- and very happily -- like to learn even at very young ages.

Puppy classes are generally considered pretty safe and very good for socialising at 10 weeks -- that is why they are done then as they are so valuable for a well rounded, well adjusted dog. There's far smaller chance of a pup being exposed to anything in a puppy class compared to being walked out where adult dogs carrying contagious diseases are walking around. Even snow and ice will not necessarily kill parvo.

We couldn't take Bailey out for months as due to her being poorly her shots wre delayed and we had to restart, she was nearly 5 months old when they were finally completed. To keep her occupied I would do short little sessions of teaching her so sit and come to her name. Also with Lois being so yung, she'll prob sleep qute a lot.

I did find that giving Bailey too many different toys meant she wouldn't play with them so i would keep them tucked away and give her a ifferent one every few days so it seemed 'new' to her and exciting.

As for weight, I have certainly learne that every cav is different, as ong as she is eating and healthy then don't panic about weight. bailey was a tiny 1.15kg when i picked her up at 8 weeks old (i saw it on her vet card whilst sorting things out yesterday and was shocked!) She is still tiny weighing just 3.85kg at nearly 8 months, but she's happy and the right weight for her 'skeletal size' as my vet says.

Hope your having lots of fun with Lois x

Karlin said:

That's a normal weight.

On feeding:

www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I'd recommend as always getting a good puppy manual asap for quickly answering questions like these and the many others that will arise. I always suggest Dr Ian Dunbar's Before and After you get your Puppy -- easily ordered from Amazon in the UK. The easiest time to shape the adult dog you want and avoid a problem dog is in the next 6 months -- and the next two months are especially crucial. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good book like this by your side to make sure you make the most of this critical window of shaping time.


I think your vet is wrong about taking her out in your arms. If she isn;t exposed to lots of people and noises and things in the next FOUR WEEKS you lose a very important socialisation period forever and it cannot be duplicated for an older dog. The chance of a puppy getting a bug from someone's hands is minute.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that Karlin I already have this book along with numerous Cavalier specific books. I agree that a puppy should be taken out in arms before they have completed their vaccinations and I was shocked when the vet disagreed. We took Sally out like that and it did her the world of good. Anyway we have been taking her out in our arms. We took her to 'Pets at Home' the other day and walked her around the housing estate wrapped up in a fleecy blanket. I'm starting to do short training sessions with her. The training is difficult because if Sally (our other 22 month old cav) sees the treat she has already done the command and wants the treat!! Bless her. I tend to do training when the OH is home to occupy Sally. I must say I am looking forward to the 22nd December when we can take Lois on her first adventure :lotsaluv:

Oh we are training Max - and you're right - his attention span is longer than a gnats - I was being a bit facetious. When I say we take him for short walks I mean very short. We don't go to dog parks etc. Just down our street. When he went to the vet I carried him in and will continue to do so. The puppy class I'll probably take him to is associated with a major pet store chain - with a lawn beside for people to walk their dogs and let them do their business before going in. I'm not really comfortable with exposing him to that yet. IMO I might as well take him to a dog park and let him run around. I know the dogs in our neighborhood and they don't run loose. I have no idea whether the dogs that frequent the pet store have ever been vaccinated. If our snow melts a bit or packs down our backyard is huge and we could play there for ages and burn off some energy.