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A new dog

Bentley and Me

Active member
Bentley, our now 9 mo. Male cavalier just got a new playmate. I really wanted another Cavalier but hubby found a toy (6 lb female parti poodle) he just had to have. She is just turning one year old. What a Diva. Doesnt like to get her feet wet, has to be on your lap 24/7, super picky eater - all those little dog things you read about.

Good news is the dogs get along great. Compared to cookie (cant changed the name she already had) Bentley at 19 lbs is a horse. But he is pretty gentle with her. I realized after we got Cookie the difference in these dogs. Bentley is so much more adaptable to everything. He is awesome with his house breaking. Never bothers anything in the house except his toys. Likes to be on your lap but isnt a pest about it. Stays clean and smells good all the time. Fun to play fetch with in the yard. He is just the perfect dog. The only thing not perfect is he has bonded with me and pretty much ignores hubby. But Cookie has claimed hubby as her BFF and if he is sitting down she is wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

Day one we got her a week ago she is obviously in heat. Bentley is neutered so no problem but as soon as she goes out cannot wait to have her spayed. She seems underweight as well so we are encouraging her to eat by mixing some canned food with her kibble. She was recently wormed so that is not the issue.

If anyone has ideas how to get her to eat more readily let me know. Having to house break her as well, that's going OK. Have a Vet visit next week to check her out and have her spayed.
 
Her appetite could be off because she is new to the house, or she is eating something different than she is used to. No dog will willing starve itself, so I'm sure her appetite will balance out. If you are really worried, mixing a bit of chicken in with the food may help.

I once had a dog that went into heat within a week of me getting her. Not fun. I think I had to wait for her period to end, and then a bit for hormones to regulate before I got her fixed.

My three dogs all love me best. If I sit on the couch, I'm a dog magnet. Bosco, my ckc, is clearly my shadow and will stick like glue to me. However, if I'm not around, he will willing sit and sleep on anyone else's lap. He's not so clingy that he is annoying, but if I'm home he is always nearby.
 
My rescue ruby Ruby (yes, I know, least original name EVER) came to us and we had no idea when she'd had her last season so we decided to wait and see and spay her after. She went into season a few months in, came out a couple of weeks ago, though our vet suggested we wait until February to get her spayed to let her hormone levels balance out and she goes into the "anestrus" phase.

Mentioning the above as when she went into season she also went off her food. Like Joan said, they won't starve themselves, though I knew a Spitz who went for almost a week without eating when his humum tried to change his food - he was king of the sulks! I got my girl interested in her meals by mixing in a little bit of cheese and adding some gravy made from vegetable stock, she still didn't eat a lot but she didn't completely ignore it either.

I wish I could share my life with a poodle, hubby is mad about his cavaliers and won't even consider another dog - we have three cavaliers and he says "no more dogs"... that is, until I say "but what about another cavalier?" At least you both have a canine companion each and they're getting along! Do share your secret on Bentley's sweet smell, my younger two will bound around in anything, the stinkier the better!
 
I have some shampoo that is aloe based with no chemicals. In the 3 mos he has been here he has had one bath. He reeked when we got him from the breeder at 6 mos and I thought, "Oh no, the house is really going to smell now" but I gave him a bath and no more smell. I think they probably didnt wash his bedding very often. Bsntley keeps himslef clean, always Snow White. Also he doesnt have an ear yeast infection which he had when we got him. That really helps. I see no good reason to bath him very often if he doesnt need it, takes forever for that heavy coat to dry.

He goes nuts if you do anything to his hair coat or put anything on him that has a foreign odor. He rubs himself to death on the floor if you treat his ears or use any kind of spray around him. I bought some doggie cologne and mixed it one part cologne to eight parts water (really watered down) and sprayed it on his brush, then brushed him. Never again, he just went bananas to get the smell off him. His nose is awesome sensitive.

The Diva poodle could care less what you do with her, just let her on your lap and she is OK. She had her bath today and was happy to be wrapped up in a bath towel on my lap like she was at her favorite spa. She acts like walking on grass is stepping on hot coals. Funny thing is the two dogs play in the yard in the early morning and the 6 lb Poodle is a lot faster runner than the Cavalier. No way can Bentley catch her if she is ouside. Guess that extra 13 lbs he is spotting her slows him down.
 
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Sounds like a great new addition! BTW -- it is easy to change a dog's name -- they very quickly will pick up a new one. Sometimes people like to choose one that sounds a bit like the old unwanted one. :) Dogs often associate lots of words as a 'name' if you will -- and most of us call our dogs more than one anyway, given all the nicknames we usually have for our pets! So if you don't like Cookie -- pick a name you both really like, offer some little treats when she responds to you when you say that word, and she will know this new 'name' in a few hours. :D
 
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