Cavalier Puppies Blog

If you are brand new Cavvie owner, chances are you get a bit psychotic on how to take care of your pup properly, and you can even ask questions as the one above. Don’t stress.
1. If you’d like to feed your dog commercial dog food, that is the easiest, as you can find the instructions of feeding on all dog foods.
2. If you have a bit more time, it is great if you feed your dog home-made food. This is really the best solution. You can find all necessary information about this in Dog Food Miracle.
3. If you do not have the possibility to feed your dog with home-made food, the two most important requirements a dog food must have are:
- all ingredients have passed USDA inspection
- the first two ingredients mentioned are pure meat

If you still have doubts whether your dog is well-fed or not, here is a useful tip to check:
Put the dog between your legs while you are standing and check the ribs. If you can see the definite waist line while you are looking down at your dog, that means that he is underfed. In case you can’t see them, but you can easily feel the ribs with your fingers, that means that your dog is just in perfect shape! However, if you can’t feel the rib with your fingers, that means that your pet is overfed.

One of the first problems that usually occurs after having a new pet is housetraining it. It seems like Sharda Baker knows something that we don’t – she promises to potty train our dog in just 7 days! She’s so confident that she’s ready to give back the whole price of the book, if the training wasn’t succesful!

The content of her e-book and audio package is based on real life experience, she had struggled as much with potty training as anyone else, and she summarized her experiences.

She promises that any kind of dogs can be housetrained in as short as 7 days. Go ahead and find out more about her secrects!

You can check out “The Complete Potty Training Guide” Sharda Baker’s other products by clicking on the picture on the left.

The narrow line between training and abuse

Many dog owners think that their Cavalier is the smartest in the world. There’s no problem with this, up to certain a point. This point is when the owner expects as much from the dog as if it really was the most intelligent creature the world has ever seen. They expect them to learn everything right away, whereas dogs need time to learn things, the same way as we, humans do. Just in a different way Well, the point is, that training requires time and patience. It can be different for all dogs, but we do have to keep this in mind and take the time and energy to train our Cavalier.

Another common mistake (also because of the lack of patience) is to give up. Many people think that they have already tried everything but the dog doesn’t want to learn. In this case, maybe the methods are not the best, or they need more time. There are no dogs who wouldn’t be able to learn at least a few commands. Giving up is never a solution.

So, if we have the time and the patience we can avoid the next, and maybe the biggest mistake: to turn training into abuse. Probably you expect me to tell you where this line is. I can’t. This is something the owner should know. Training is all about communication. If you know your Cavalier, if you pay attention to him, you see how he feels. Unfortunately many dog owners don’t have this ability, because they only keep pets for entertainment, while a dog is much more than that.

Going back to training, a very important rule is that your goal should be that your Cavalier obeys to commands because he is keen to do so. NOT BECAUSE HE IS AFRAID. Many-many owners forget about this, and feel the training successful, but actually they are making their dog unhappy. How can someone live happily in fear? No way. These owners are only keeping a dog to make themselves happy, and don’t feel the responsibility they should.

So the point is, that ‘positive training’ is possible. Actually, that’s the only way.

The first difficulties most Cavalier owners face is potty training their puppy. As with general training, the main principles remain the same: a positive, rewarding approach and a lot of patience is required. There are, however a few tips and tricks that will make the whole process faster and easier for both puppy and owner. Find out what Sharda Baker has to say on the topic, who has developed her best practices by years of trial and error.

Please comment if you have something to add.

Is it normal, anyway?!

Yes, it is. Just imagine the situation from the point of view of your Cavalier King Charles. He is part of the family, often treated as “the kid”, and then, suddenly, a new creature arrives and takes all the attention of his beloved family. It is quite similar to what older children feel, when a little brother/sister arrives. One of the differences is just that the dog can’t speak English

Actually, if we are aware of this ‘problem’ in advance, the situation can be handled, but it needs consciousness and to be started in time, long before the baby’s arrival. Let’s see how we can prepare our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for the new family member.

If your dog’s daily routine has to be changed with the baby’s arrival (it probably will), you should start changing the rules much earlier, giving him plenty of time to get used to the new set up. This way it isn’t going to be so sudden and shocking. If your Cavalier hasn’t really been trained before, it’s high time to start. He should learn at least a few commands, like sit, stay, etc. This way, he’ll be easier to handle.

Many families worry about their dog endangering the health of the child, so the best thing to do is to take your pet to the vet, get him checked and get some advice. Get your Cavalier used to the new smells, sounds in advance (blankets, lotions, toys). It’s also a good idea, that just after your baby was born, send home a blanket that the baby had been in, so your dog can experience the child’s smell in advance. It is very important to know that your  Cavalier King Charles will get a lot less attention from the mother, so when taking the baby home for the first time, the mother should greet the dog, so it is better if someone else is carrying the baby.

It is also a good idea not to leave them alone together at the first times, until your Cavalier feels comfortable with the baby, because, for example, it is very possible that the dog won’t tolerate the child’s crying very well in the beginning. You have to teach him that this is a normal sound, and you should motivate him not to bark (with treats, for example).

And the most important rule for last, maybe it seems too obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning: try to give as much attention to your Cavalier as you can. The point is that he has to feel that you do care about him. If you keep this in mind, most probably there will be no problem. You could also try Preparing Fido, which is an amazing collection of Baby sounds designed especially to get your dog ready for the arrival of the new Baby!

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is one of the UK’s most popular breed and it has been increasing in popularity in the US since 2000 too. The Middle East is catching up fast and this cheerful toy dog is considered to be one of the most popular family pets in the Middle East. Read more about popular dogs in the Middle East here.

Check out this video about the beautiful family friend, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Due to it’s charming personality, this energetic but friendly dog is a perfect choice for families or elder people. It can live a happy life in apartments and houses as well.
If you want to know how to buy a cute puppy like this, check out this article.