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Puppy Sharing & a few questionsšŸ©µšŸ£

Maddieandpup

Maddieandpup

New member
Hello! My name is Maddie. I am 21 years old and just got my puppy last week!
He is still nameless, because I am convinced that no name is special enough, but I will settle on one soon and can update when I doā˜ŗļø
I recently went through a traumatic experience. The second I met him, I felt this crazy overwhelm of healing. He is my soul dog. We are still getting to know each other of course, but this baby boy was just made to be mine.
Heā€™s perfection; only one or two accidents in the last few days, sleeping in his ā€œbedroomā€ (crate) through the night, and learning my commands like itā€™s his job!
He is just everything and more. My little heaven on earth babyšŸ˜‡
I want to preface this by saying that I understand that the way I found him isnā€™t necessarily ideal, but I am very understanding of the situation. The woman who I got him from, had purchased him from a reputable and trustworthy breeder about a week prior. She explained how she felt she was impulsive and not ready to care for him. She told me that her contract with the breeder would allow her to return the puppy with no refund. I did not see their contract, nor do I have his pedigree or anything of that sort. But I do have his vet records, and was able to find his breeder from those. On the breeders website, I found his parents, and their DNA testing/ OFAs look really clean, for them and their lines. The breeder also posted him frequently on her page, and the care he was getting looked phenomenal.
Whatever case, he was absolutely made for me. My little, meant to be, angel. He fell in my lap and I wouldnā€™t have it any other way!
I grew up around standard poodles and Persian cats so I am definitely used to a more ā€œhigh maintenanceā€ breed, but I am very much new to the cavalier world. I want to make sure I do everything right for him!!
So, thought I would pop on here and share about us, because I think this is a great resource for me! And I have some questions as well.
Most importantly, I am curious what is the most ideal food for him. He is just about to be 14 weeks, and is 9ish pounds. Right now, he is eating a gently cooked fresh food from a local raw dog food store, with pumpkin on top for his tummy. He eats about 3/4 cup for breakfast and dinner, and has been loosing his mind over a few blueberries and steamed carrot snacks (we are just training with praise for now because itā€™s working for him). But, I am mildly concerned about the amount he is eating. He scarfs down his food and cleans his bowls for about 2 mins, which is why I initially thought he needed a slightly larger meal. But I really want to make sure that he is always at a healthy weight, because of the concerns Iā€™ve been learning so much about. I also would ideally have him on a food that is easier to maintain, cleanliness wise.
I am so in love with this boy that I wouldnā€™t bat an eye at the price, but Iā€™m reading so many mixed things about what is best for him to have, which is where I get confused. I would love some ideas on what to choose going forward!
I also want to share that has a small hernia on his stomach, about the size of a jelly bean. I will likely get it handled during his neuter, but I was curious if anyone had any advice about this, as well as the age I should neuter him.
He has a vet appointment next week for his shots, and I will ask these questions there as well, but I thought Iā€™d check here for stories until then!
Thank you to whoever might have read this rantšŸ˜ I am so new to this, and already in love to the point where Iā€™d chop a limb off for this baby boy, so Iā€™m grateful to have a place like this for info!
Thank you again!!
-Maddie and the temporarily nameless puppyšŸ’Œ



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Hi Maddie and welcome! What a lovely little ruby boy. You'll have to update when you decide on a name :) .

The first thing I'll say is that at his age, he should be getting three meals a day, not two -- puppies are generally on 4 meals a day until about 3 months old, then go to 3 meals a day until 6 months to 9 months at which point you can go to two meals.So for sure one of the reasons he is wolfing down food is that this is a pretty long gap for him between meals. Even at three meals I'd be sure to give a treat at bedtime so he's not going from dinner until breakfast, which is a really long time too for a puppy's tummy to be empty.

Next: puppies generally will not over eat at this age -- the point at which that becomes something to be careful about is from around 6 months onwards (because you really do not want a puppy or adult carrying extra weight). So you never want to free feed but you definitely want to be feeding what he needs for his weight. You also probably want to be feeding a puppy food and not just an adult food, because puppies tend to need some levels of extra nutrition. Blueberries and carrots have almost no calories so while these are healthy and nutritious and are great treats, he isn't getting much from them that will count towards whatever calories he needs. The place where you buy the food should be able to tell you what you need to feed daily for his current weight (keeping in mind that you'll need to keep increasing his food in accordance with the percentage of his weight at the time that he should be given in food; all foods differ) -- and then that should be split across 3 meals, evenly spaced -- eg 7am, 12 noon, 6 pm. The food company should have such information on the packaging also, and you want to be feeding the correct amount for a puppy, not an adult.

TBH honest there's no one 'best' food (though many will dispute that!!! ;)) and what to feed is sometimes vigorously argued over! My own approach over a couple of decades of dogs, giant breeds and cavaliers, is to give puppies a quality dry mixed with a quality wet whether tinned or raw or cooked. It's more challenging to create your own raw or cooked mixes, despite what many claim; it's very easy for these to miss out nutritionally. Some people don't like raw or raw for puppies, and feel it has some extra risks for puppies. I know some experienced cavalier breeders who swear by dry, or dry and tinned, or raw, or dry plus raw... so lots of views. I use a quality dry food but I don't get the most expensive -- I do spend a lot of time checking out ingredients on everything I feed. I don't feed things like raw chicken wings because I've had two different cavaliers cough up very sharp shards and just don't trust the bones. Also: one consideration is avoiding any raw poultry generally right now especially in the US as some commercial raws have been the source of fatal bird flu infections in cats. Dogs don't seem to get as sick but they could get it and pass it to cats, which are very vulnerable to it.

To slow his eating you could pack his meal into a puppy Kong or other hollow toy and let him work away at it, which is also good for them mentally and a calming activity. Our you could use a slow feeder bowl or licky mat -- all of these are sold at most good pet supply stores.

On the hernia -- these are extremely common in cavaliers and unless they are really large, generally do not need to be fixed though vets will often do it when a dog is neutered, as you have suggested you might do. Often they close up on their own by that point -- I'd not neuter a cavalier until over age 1 when their bone growth plates close.

FWIW there was probably a requirement in the original puppy contract for the woman to return the puppy rather than to sell it on. On the other hand, it would be strange for a good breeder to give no refund at all of at least some amount on a puppy that is still so young. That's neither here nor there except that... the situation sounds a little strange and am just flagging it. The odd bit may well be that the person you got him from was not quite being honest with you -- or the breeder. That said -- sometimes dogs do get moved on to a new home for various reasons or even to rescue. And though two honest parties will aim to comply with a homing contract, in reality they are very difficult to enforce (as I know from running a rescue) but they are better than having nothing in place for seller and buyer.

I hope that's helpful!
 
Hello!
I am sorry I didnā€™t reply sooner, puppy daysšŸ˜
But I read this when you responded, and I wanted to thank you for the time you took and the wonderful advice!
I went with Archie for his name! And he is doing amazing. Canā€™t believe how much Iā€™ve fallen in love!!!
Iā€™ve started feeding three times a day since you let me know, and Iā€™m doing a mix of fresh food and kibble. Itā€™s working so great! Heā€™s definitely slowing down with his eating, maybe because he isnā€™t getting as hungry in between! I got so paranoid after reading things about cavalier weight problems, but after seeing the vet, Iā€™m totally relaxed about the weight stuff.
I am so endlessly grateful about your advice on the hernia. I will definitely be waiting for his neuter, and it didnā€™t even occur to me that the hernia could sort itself out!
And youā€™re totally right, something odd definitely happened with the lady who had him before me. I definitely did not get the whole story. Either way, Iā€™m glad I got his current health all double checked, and just grateful he is mineā˜ŗļø
Again, thank you so so so much!!
 
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