Puppy to Adult care
As your puppy grows, so will the number of questions as you go about raising your dog in the best possible way. We’ve added our thoughts and experiences to this page.
Assorted Health topics
Health Insurance - Trupanion Health Insurance. As an approved breeder, all of our Foxwyn puppies leave our house with a complimentary 30-day, no-wait health insurance policy with Trupanion Insurance. We highly encourage our puppy families to continue with this insurance beyond the initial 30 days. We have no financial interest in this business. Trupanion covers accident and illness claims up to 90%, including inherited conditions. (Be warned that many companies exclude inherited conditions.) They have an excellent reputation for paying on their claims. The monthly premium will vary based upon the amount of the deductible you select.
Microchip - Your puppy will be micro-chipped and registered online before leaving the house. We use the AKC/CAR ISO chip, and the registration is for the lifetime of the dog.
Flea & Tick Prevention- Only use this chemical treatment if truly needed. We do not advise applying these chemicals on a routine basis. These chemicals get onto your hands, and are absorbed into your skin.
We strongly warn against using the time-released oral flea pills. Bravecto, Simpirica, Revolution Plus have long been under fire for it’s toxic and deadly reactions. Bravecto is currently under fire and party to a huge class-action lawsuit. Veterinarians still sell these products to pet owners. They can be particularly toxic to Cavaliers and other toy breeds. The FDA has released a warning about this class of flea and tick preventative: FDA WARNING
Only use topical flea and tick products, if they must be used. We recommend Frontline Plus or Bayer Advantix II, or Revolution. Apply Frontline Plus after the dog is 6 months old or 10 pounds.
Heartworm Treatment- Only use this chemical treatment if truly needed. We do not advise applying these chemicals on a routine basis. This product does not prevent heartworm infection, rather it is an insecticide which will kill existing heartworm larva growing in the bloodstream that have “hatched” within the past 30 days. Ivomec is the active ingredient in Heartguard, which also contains a dewormer. This product can be given once every six weeks rather than monthly. Use Heartguard from April-November, only. If you live further south, you may need year-round coverage.
Low Cost Heart & Eye Clinics - As a pet owner, you can easily get your Cavalier checked out at one of the the health clinics sponsored by your local kennel clubs. It’s an easy way to get your dog’s heart checked by a cardiologist once a year. These clinics are available every month at the CKCSC-USA shows as well as the AKC shows. A heart exam, auscultation, by a Cardiologist will run about $60.
Vaccination Schedule - We follow the Dodds Protocol for vaccination. The reason we follow this protocol is because multiple vaccines can adversely affect the immune system of our dogs. Repeated vaccinations can cause auto-immune related illnesses, and damaging the tissues of the heart.
Dodds Protocol:
The following vaccine protocol is offered for those dogs where minimal vaccinations are advisable or desirable. The schedule is one I recommend and should not be interpreted to mean that other protocols recommended by a veterinarian would be less satisfactory. It’s a matter of professional judgment and choice.
9 – 10 weeks of age
Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV e.g. Merck Nobivac (Intervet Progard) Puppy DPV
14 – 15 weeks of age
Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV
18 weeks of age
Parvovirus only, MLV Note: New research states that last puppy parvovirus vaccine should be at 18 weeks old.
20 weeks or older, if allowable by law
Rabies – give 3-4 weeks apart from other vaccines Mercury-free (thimerosol-free, TF)
1 year old
Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV
This is an optional booster or titer. If the client intends not to booster after this optional booster or intends to retest titers in another three years, this optional booster at puberty is wise.
1 year old
Rabies – give 3-4 weeks apart from other vaccines 3-year product if allowable by law; mercury-free (TF)
Perform vaccine antibody titers for distemper and parvovirus every three years thereafter, or more often, if desired. Vaccinate for rabies virus according to the law, except where circumstances indicate that a written waiver needs to be obtained from the primary care veterinarian. In that case, a rabies antibody titer can also be performed to accompany the waiver request. Visit The Rabies Challenge Fund for more information.
W. Jean Dodds, DVM Hemopet / NutriScan
11561 Salinaz Avenue
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Spay & Neuter - Early spay and neuter has many negative health implications for your dog. When you visit your vet, the conversation will eventually turn to spaying or neutering your pet.
DO NOT spay or neuter your pet until he/she is over ONE YEAR OLD.
Female puppies should go through at least ONE heat cycle.
The reason delaying spay/neuter is simple: Removing the reproductive hormones at a young age is detrimental to the long-term health and growth of your dog.
In European countries, there is no tradition of spaying and neutering pets. It just isn't done. This is an American value, mostly driven by shelter (over-population) and animal rights groups. We don’t have a problem with Cavaliers running loose in the neighborhood and producing unwanted litters. We don’t need to apply a “shelter mentality” to our breed.
Some of the major concerns include:
• Urinary incontinence. Studies estimate that more than 20 percent of all spayed females will develop incontinence during their lifetimes. Incontinence can develop shortly after surgery or many years later.
• Cardiac tumors. A Meta study by Ware and Hopper (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, March/April 1999) examined over 700,000 dogs’ records between 1982 and 1995 and concluded that neutering appeared to increase the risk of cardiac tumors, especially hemangiosarcoma, in both male and female dogs. According to the study, the relative risk for spayed females was more than four times that for intact females. The risk for castrated males was slightly greater than that for intact males.
• Delay in growth-plate closure. Sterilization, particularly early sterilization, causes the growth plates of the bones to close later. There are fears that this delay can increase the likelihood of fractures.
• Osteosarcoma. In addition to the growth-plate issue, there is growing concern that the lack of sex hormones in a sterilized dog can foster the rise of bone cancer. A 2002 study at the University of Purdue of 683 Rottweilers – a breed known to be at high risk of bone sarcoma – concluded that the risk for bone sarcoma was significantly influenced by the dogs’ ages at sterilization. According to the study, “Exposure to endogenous sex hormones appears to be protective, as suggested by the high risk for bone sarcoma in male and female dogs that undergo gonadectomy within the first year of life.”
The Purdue study quoted data from a 1998 study (Ru G., Terracini B., Glickman L. T.: Host related risk factors for canine osteosarcoma) that found neutered dogs were at 2.2 times greater risk of osteosarcoma than sexually intact dogs.
“We know reproductive hormones affect the whole body. If the reason for (an animal’s) physical existence is reproduction, it makes sense that everything evolved to support than function,” she says. Dr. Milani is concerned about cutting off the potential effects those hormones may have on the growing animal, in terms of both physical and brain development.
One increasingly popular option available is either an ovary-sparing spay or vasectomy. Many vets will now leave the ovaries in, just as they do for humans. This will help avoid incontinence, "spay coat", weight gain, and more.
Feeding Your Cavalier
There are many different ways you can feed your dog. Some folks feed table scraps or make their own home-made cooked food. Others swear by the raw diet. Many people prefer to feed canned foods or dry kibble. There are pros and cons to any of these diets, so you will need to select the diet that works best for you and your dog.
As for feeding, a young pup may need to be fed several times a day, while adults only need to be fed once or twice a day, in much smaller amounts. For example, I feed my older spayed females a level 1/4 cup of "low activity" senior kibble twice a day. That's all they need to maintain a healthy weight. On the other hand, my young, active "teenage" dogs will get a level 1/2 cup of full calorie food twice a day. You have to tailor your dog's diet to their needs.
Dry Kibble - Kibble is a very convenient and popular way to feed your cavalier. If you decide to feed kibble, you should be aware of a few things. First and foremost, dogs that eat dry kibble need free access to water at all times. Kibble is a compacted food, and the dogs must have water in order to properly digest.
We have been using a core group of Purina Pro Plan foods for several years, now. Our vet recommended this food, and I have to say, most of the professional handlers and industry professionals are feeding this food. Purina has a very good record in terms of recalls. Most importantly, they have research behind their product. Purina hires dozens of professional animal nutritionists and veterinarians. They operate large farms where they actually raise animals and feed their foods. True, Purina puts out some pretty cheap grocery store level food, like Beneful :-0, but the Proplan line is not cheap, and it cannot be purchased in local stores. It’s their top-tier food. You must order it directly from Purina, or from www.chewy.com. Chewy is a great resource for most doggy supplies. Great company.
Raw Diets - There are several ways to feed a raw diet. Most pet stores sell nutritionally complete raw diets in frozen form. You thaw out what your dog needs for the day. Fairly Simple. The raw diet is completely digested. Teeth will stay cleaner on the raw diet. Cons of the raw diet are cost and convenience. Primal and Bravo are good brands, and also locally K-9 Kravings.
Another option is freeze-dried raw. A great brand is Stella & Chewy's. The Honest Kitchen offers a dehydrated raw, also very well made product.
Home Cooked - Some dogs required to be fed specialized diets for one reason or another, and sometimes home-cooked meals are the answer. Monica Segal has written several books on these topics and is a great resource. Visit MonicaSegel.com for more info.
Dog Treats
Avoid any and all treats made in China
Avoid Greenies. They cause intestinal blockage and are made of corn starch.
Avoid dried chicken jerky style treats
Merrick makes great all-natural chews. We really like the dried tendons.
Carrots and Frozen Green Beans are a great low-cal treats
Thick raw bones are great for teeth
Charlie Bear Crackers and Old Mother Hubbard are other recommended brands
DUCK FEET!
Grooming Supplies
When it comes to grooming, we've tried out many different products. For shampoos and conditioners we recommend two brands: Isle of Dogs and Eqyss. Both will give you excellent results. Show dogs are often groomed on a weekly basis. Pets can be bathed every two to four weeks, depending on the weather. We usually bathe our non-show dogs less in the winter-time
Grooming Tools You Should Own:
Greyhound Style Comb - medium/wide toothed. This one on Amazon.com/greyhoundcomb
A Slicker Brush - We recommend the Bass wooden medium slicker brush.
A Wooden Pin Brush - We recommend the Bass Wooden Pin Brush
Flea Comb - Found at all local pet stores
Nail Trimmer - We recommend the Millers Forge medium orange nail trimmer and the Resco Chrome Original guillotine style
Styptic Stick - Inexpensive. Found in most pet stores. This one on Amazon.com/stypticstick
Blunt-Tipped Scissors - We recommend the Tweezerman ones
Micro Thinning Shears (5 1/2 inch 40 tooth) - Like this one on Amazon.com/groomingshears
De-Mat Comb for underarm mats
Starting with the coat, regular brushing and bathing will keep your dog's coat looking its best, and will cut down on any shedding, as well. If you should find a knot, typically at the base of the ear or under the armpit, try first to use your fingers to pull the knot apart, and then remove with a comb. If the knot is really bad, you can try breaking it up by cutting into it a few times with the micro shears, and then pulling the knot apart and combing. As a last resort, you can cut perpendicular into the knot with the baby nail scissors, and cut the knot into strips. Loosen with your fingers and then comb out.
If your dog has a heavy spay/neuter coat, the Mars Coat King tool, or the Furminator are both good tools for thinning the coat and getting it under control.
Nails - Trim the nails every two weeks or so, and don't forget to trim the dew claws. We have listed two different styles of nail clippers. Both work equally as well and it really comes down to personal preference. There is a product available called "Pedipaws" and it grinds the nail smooth. It actually works fairly well, if you are interested in trying it. Professional groomers often use a Dremel tool to grind down nails.
Ears - Most Cavalier ears stay clean and rarely have issues. YEAST: Sometimes water gets into the ears and creates a perfect environment for yeast growth. It is very important for that reason to keep your Cavalier's ears clean and dry. You can use a chlorhexidine solution to wipe out dirty ears with a cotton square. When blow drying your dog, do make sure to get the underside of the ear leather dry, and put your thumb over the ear canal so that the dryer is not too loud or blowing into the ear canal. British and US breeders routinely use ear powder on the exterior area of the ear. The active ingredient is Idoform, and can be found in “Gold Medal Groomers Ear Powder (30 Grams)”. It keeps the ear fresh and dry. MITES: If you wipe out the puppy ear and it is rather black looking, then you probably have ear mites. These mites are pretty common, and can often be the result of stress, especially if the puppy is in a new home. This is easily treated with pyrethrin ear drops.
Other Medical Concerns
Teeth - Let's face it, brushing your dog's teeth is not a fun job for either of you! Nevertheless, the teeth must be kept reasonably clean. One thing that really influences the condition of your dog's teeth is heredity. Some dogs will inherit better mouths than others. Second reason, is the stickiness of the food being fed. Raw food sticks to the teeth the least, and canned food sticks to the teeth the most. Kibble lies in between the two.
After many years of trying different teeth cleaning products, we never found any product which really kept our dogs’ mouths clean and healthy. We have finally found the holy grail of clean Cavalier teeth! No brushing required! What is this miracle of healthy canine mouths, you ask? Duck Feet. You heard me right, Duck Feet. We start all our pups on a duck foot every other day from about 6 months, on. We have never had a dog choke or have any issue chewing on these things. You should only buy the feet from K-9 Kravings, in Baltimore. They use human-grade feet, which are simply baked, with no added chemicals or preservatives. If you feed your dog a foot every other day, and you do a little light hand scaling on the canine teeth (a groomer will do this service for you) then you can avoid the expensive dental, pulled teeth, and anesthesia risks. All my puppies go to their new homes with some duck feet, and a sheet with ordering information.
Anal Glands - Cavaliers sometimes need to have their Anal Glands expressed. If you see your dog "scooting" quite a bit on your carpet, that's probably your dog trying to get those glands clear. If you don't know how or just don't want to clear those glands yourself, first consult a Vet or dog groomer. Once you start manually expressing those glands, you generally need to do it for the lifetime of the dog. A better approach may be to simply add fiber to your Cavalier’s diet. Occasionally, anal glands can become infected and even rupture. This is a medical emergency and you should see you vet immediately. We have not had it happen here, but it happens in Cavaliers.
Eyes - Cavaliers often get running eyes, especially young puppies. Part of it is their growth phase, hormones, and the skull maturing. Sometimes the runny eyes develop into a yeast infection, and leave red yeast stains on the fur. Diet can also be a factor, and often environmental causes are to blame, like carpet cleaning chemicals and tree pollen.
Treatment for runny eyes: There are many products that claim to take care of this eye issue, but the majority of these products are a waste of money. The best active ingredient which actually works is called Tylan or Tylosin. Tylan works. What it does, is it binds with the red yeast bacteria to clear up the staining and the running eyes. Tylan is a narrow spectrum low-grade antibiotic, which is safe to take over a long period of time. You have to give it about a month, and the eyes will clear up. If you stop giving your dog the Angel Eyes, the staining may or may not return. I have had good experience with the staining not returning.
While the Tylosin will stop future staining, it will not do anything to remove pre-existing stains. Again, many products claim to wipe off the stains, but most do not work. We mix our own paste using (white) milk of magnesia, corn starch, and hydrogen peroxide. Carefully brush the paste onto the stained fur without getting any directly into the eye, and let dry. You may need 2-3 applications in order to significantly fade the stain.
Diarrhea - So this happens: You wake up in the middle of the night to an awful smell. Yep. It's diarrhea. Ugh. You get your dog, bedding, and crate cleaned up- what next?
In any case, you are prepared ,and you can start with these 3 basic steps:
Withhold all solid food for 24 hours, but give free access to water
Keep old-fashioned Kaolin Pectate on hand, and give that to your dog. Be careful, as the new (human) Kaopectate formulation has Aspirin in it. You want the old-fashioned formulation, which can be found on Amazon made by Duravet.
Probiotics will help a lot, too. If you don't have doggy probiotics on hand, the human kind will do. Probiotics help firm things up. Do not buy the Fortiflora from your vet. That probiotic only offers 1 strain. Buy: Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics for Pets - Helps Develop A Healthy Digestive Tract - 14 Beneficial Bacterial Strains - Made In The USA - 90 Grams Probiotics Powder from Amazon.
Slippery Elm can be purchased at Whole Foods, and really helps to coat and sooth the intestines naturally. It’s inexpensive…so pick some up next time you are there!
Add fiber to the diet. Use Psyllium capsules.
Vets can prescribe “Tylosin”. This is a narrow spectrum antibiotic used to treat diarrhea in birds. It is highly effective.
General Upset: As to the possible causes of the diarrhea, most commonly it is something your dog ate, and will pass in a few days. If your dog has any other symptoms, like fever, vomiting, disorientation, then you should seek medical attention. Blood in stool in very common for dogs. If you see bloody stool, do not freak out. Normally, if a human has blood in their stool, they should be worried. Not so with dogs. Blood simply indicates a very irritated bowel. No food for 24 hours.
Tylosin works very well in dogs with diarrhea. You can always give a little to help calm things down. The liquid version is still available over the counter. There is still one resource available for the OTC powder version.
Protozoa: If your dog has diarrhea that won’t go away, and has a very bad strong smell, then your dog may have Coccidia. Coccidia is a protozoa which exists naturally in our environment. Most vets are still prescribing Albon to treat Coccidia, which can take weeks to suppress. A much better product has been in use by breeders for a very long time called Toltrazuril. You can buy it at www.horseprerace.com. This drug will actually kill the protozoa within hours. It is a much better product, and hopefully your vet will be aware of it. (Please note that the fecal test for coccidia very often yields a false negative. If it looks like coccidia and smells like coccidia, it is very likely is coccidia.)
Another troublesome little protozoa is Giardia. Again, naturally occurring, and not uncommon. The typical veterinary treatment for diarrhea is a very strong and potentially dangerous antibiotic called Metronidazole. I do not use this medication. It may temporarily help with the diarrhea, but the antibiotic wipes out the healthy gut biome, and the dog ends up getting sicker in the long-run.
I have written a much longer document on how to properly treat a dog with diarrhea and/or giardia. Begin a 5-day course of Fenbendazole (Panacur) which has been shown in studies to be as effective as metronidazole. Equally as effective for treating giardia is Drontral Plus, which is prescribed by the vet, only.
Do not use Metronidazole. It is a “slippery slope” to weeks upon weeks of digestive issues with your puppy. The drug obliterates the digestive biome in the gut of your dog for weeks. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32363202/
Equally as important in treating diarrhea is to maintain a spotlessly clean home environment and dog. You can use medications to treat protozoa and worms, but if the egg cases are in the fur of your dog or in your house, then the dog will quickly become re-infected, and the cycle begins again. You must bathe the dog frequently and maintain super clean bedding and floors. Coccidia in particular is fairly impervious to most disinfectants, except hydrogen peroxide. Giardia can be disinfected with bleach.
Worms can also cause digestive upset. Deworming with Panacur (Fenbendazole) often takes care of things.
Sometimes, but not too often, diarrhea can be a symptom of something much more serious (HGE, Pancreatitis) so always keep a very close eye on things. If things are going downhill fast, then get to a vets, pronto! Any diarrhea that is profuse, grainy, like bloody ground up red raspberries, requires an immediate trip to the emergency vet. Treatment for HGE must be swift, or you will lose your dog.
As things calm down, and you start your dog on solid food again, try to avoid fat and sugar. Stick with high fiber foods like canned pumpkin and cooked potato. You can even add some psyllium to the food. Steamed white rice is fine, as is cooked lean ground turkey or lean white meat chicken breast. Stick with multiple small meals.
The Reverse Sneeze - Cavaliers do this funny thing, and it is called the “reverse sneeze”. It can be quite alarming if you have never seen it before and don't know what it is. Here is an informative example of the reverse sneeze,Video 1 and Dr. Karen Becker explaining what it really is: Video 2.
The best way to address a reverse sneeze in-progress is to take your thumb, and cover the nostrils of your dog, sealing off the airflow. Tip the head upwards, to elongate the throat. Allow the dog to breathe through his/her mouth. Hold the nose, until the dog’s breathing returns to normal. Repeat as needed.
Delayed Closures, AKA Umbilical Hernia- Cavaliers are commonly prone to a thing called an “umbilical hernia” It’s an opening in the abdominal wall where a little piece of fat (omentum) sticks out. It’s really a delayed closure, and often this resolves on its own. When the delayed closure doesn’t naturally close on it’s own, then it is addressed at the same time as the spay/neuter. Sometimes, veterinarians may confuse this with a true hernia, like an inguinal hernia. These are two very different conditions. An inguinal hernia, where intestine is visible in the inguinal fold, is indeed a medical concern and usually requires immediate surgery. Do not be alarmed by a standard delayed closure. If your vet gets these two things confused, refer back to your breeder. It’s easy to get this straightened out.