Working and still keeping a happy cavalier?

[yaelelish]

Can anyone share their experience with combining working and owning a cavalier? what do you do with them when you go to work? Ideally they would like to be with their owner every minute, but when you do have to go to work, what would the max number of hours per day that a cavalier can be left alone and still be a happy dog?

I have had my cavalier for almost 3 months now. I can take her with me to work sometimes, which is not ideal.

Also, I was advised to leave her at home in a closed area, rather than in the garden. Any idea why? it feels to me like it would be more interesting for her to be in the garden. Your thoughts and experience would be helpful. Thanks.

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

Hi,

I work full time and my cavalier is almost 5 months old.

We walk him for half an hour in the morning, my dad pops in around lunch time and walks him for half an hour and i'm back at tea time, and he's fine with it, mainly as he's been used to it from being small, might be harder for an older cavalier to have to get used to being home alone.

even on my days off Harry will sleep at the same times i'm normally out

to keep him busy while i'm out i have a "talk to me" treat ball that plays a recorded message, a kong and all his teddy bears, i also leave the radio on for him to listen to, as silence must be boring.

would love to have the option to take him to work, that would be great, but no work would get done ha ha ha ha.......


the 2 reasons i can think of for NOT leaving her in the garden are....
she could be stolen, and you don't want that, and 2 if the weather turns bad she would be cold and anyway cavaliers like their home comforts

Heather

[Karlin]

They definitely are not outdoor dogs (like most toy breeds) -- very much an indoor dog that loves being outside but that is with the companionship of the owner. Many people leave their dog in the kitchen though you need to be sure cupboards cannot be opened as many food items are poisonous to dogs, including raisins, grapes, chocolate (especially dark chocolate, cooking choc or cocoa powder -- a quite small amount will kill a cavalier); macadamia nuts, etc.

I keep mine in an upstairs bedroom when I am out. They clearly mostly sleep though they have a couple of safe (eg nonbreakable) toys to play with. My neighbours say they rarely bark except at cats out on the roof!). I leave them water and I always give them a tripe stick to chew -- if I take the tripe out they both run upstairs as they know they get this very spoecial treat ONLY when I am going out, and in 'their' room.

If you are gone all day you need to find things to keep her busy when no one is there. Kong toys are good for this (espeically frozen ones), leave the radio on, etc. At five months a dog generally finds it very hard to hold its urine/poop for longer than an hour per month of age so she really should not be left alone longer than about 4-5 hours maxiumum. In general this should be the max time any dog is ever alone during the day. Many people either come home at lunch to give a walk and toilet break, or pay someone to walk the dog, or leave the dog at 'day care' with someone.

A companion animal goes a long long way to help relieve the boredom and loneliness of being home alone. It doesn;t have to be another cavalier of course though that is ideal! But in general a single dog home alone all day is not a very interesting life for a dog unless you work to make it so for them as per advice above. This is of course the reality many of us face because we DO work -- but I work with a lot of dog rescue groups and in general, all strongly advise getting two dogs if you have a household where no one is home all day long. I know my two are so much more content to have a companion and they are actually *easier* to care for because the focus of the dog's life isn;t solely on you. As cavaliers bond so closely annyway I think it is healthier for them to have another point of focus rather than only the owner as they are more prone to separation anxiety (IMHO).

Oh yes to conclude I totally agree with Heather's warning -- they are at high risk of being stolen too if left outside. A lot of people like this breed and they are easy to snatch. I'd never leave a purebred of any breed outside because they offer a target for the unscrupulous, often people who want to breed from them. :cry:

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

Hi Karlin,

please don't give me a reason to get another dog

Harry gets out about every 4 hours, out with me until 9am, then out with granda at 1pm and then grandma takes him with her to collect my kids from the after school club at 5pm then he has constant companionship until 9am the next day as he sleeps on my bed with me at night (we have our cuddles then)

Heather

[Jen]

If not another dog, a cat works too!
Abbey is our only dog, but we also have two cats. The three of them keep each other company while we work, and she also has the radio and different frozen Kong or Kong-like toys that I switch out each day to keep her interested...there's a container full in our freezer!
She's not contained in a room, but she's 3 and pretty mellow. From what it looks like, she pretty much sleeps on the couch all day! She has her walk in the morning before we leave, then her walk when we get home and then after our meal we usually take her to the park.

edit to add, it's VERY important to take their collar off when they are home alone!

[Maxxs_Mummy]

Hi Yaelelish,

I used to leave Maxx from 1.30pm until 5.30pm a couple of afternoons and he was fine. I did used to leave the radio on and also give him a treat before I left. If it was hot, my neighbour would pop in at lunchtime and check up on him, let him out for a wee etc.

I also used to leave the radio on for him (as I do if I ever leave him alone). Maxx has always had the run of the house and we've never had a problem with chewing or messing whether we're in or out

I do agree that Cavaliers prefer to have company though (any excuse for more eh?) and most definitely as Heather has said, don't leave them in the garden. At least if they are indoors they can find a cool/warm spot - they are xposed to the elements and theft if left outside

[yaelelish]

That's helpful thanks. Karlin - regarding the frozon kong toy you mentioned; could you clarify? is it the regular Kong that is being first frozen? do you put anything inside? other than when I play with her, I never saw her showing any interest in the Kong.

Also, I notice that she doesn't touch the chew toys I leave for her when she is alone. So I conclude she is not comfortable when I leave. I do leave the radio on, and she also does get a special treat when she goes into her little room when I leave. From what I read it seems I am doing the rights things, so maybe it should take more time to get her used to it.

I thought about getting another cav... but as Heather wrote... please don't give me a reason to get another dog...

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

go on you know you want too!!!!

i'm thinking about getting another dog, either another cavalier or another small dog, but i've just moved house (2 days ago) and i'll have to wait until we are settled first

[Maxxs_Mummy]

I don't need an excuse, I just want another Cavalier

[Karlin]

I changed my first post where I'd said it was Donna's waring on stolen dogs and of course it was Heather's...

Kongs are designed to be stuffed with food items and they have to work to get them out. These can be bits of dry food or veg bits packed in with peanut butter, cream cheese, even yogurt if it is to be frozen. Freezing it makes it last much longer and it is less messy. See www.kongcompany.com/ for ideas but search on kongs and you'll find lots of ideas. Just remember to subtract that food from overall rations.

yes cats are good company too if you have a cavalier that is fine alone with cats! Mine live with four cats.

I put mine into a single room as Jaspar is far more comfortable in a smaller space that he knows means I am leaving. When he has the run of the house he runs around barking and whining for me. Leo would be fine with the run of the house but Jaspar just isn't so they go into a single room. I never liked the idea of crating a dog down to such a small space as a crate for hours -- why do that when you can offer a room where there's a bed or sofa, toys, water and room to relax and play? I think crates are great for certain tasks and roles but I find it depressing that many dogs get crated for entire days on end while people are working -- their lives are so short as it is. Crate training sure is valuable though -- mine are great at travelling, and go on the back of my bike in a crate, in the car, on trains -- and sometimes like going in their crate for a time out if there are other large dogs around on a visit.