Puppies
Puppy Care
All puppies are so very young when they go off to their new home, mere babies, and all Cavalier puppies require time to grow up and mature. They all are full of the energy of youth combined with a darling, silly little puppy brains. You will need to be prepared to keep your new puppy safe, happy, well-fed, healthy, entertained, trained, exercised, and loved. It's a big job, and a rewarding one! Don't ever forget that your puppy is 100% dependent on you.
You are your puppy's entire world.
Acquiring a young, untrained puppy will require a significant commitment of your time, energy, and attention. Silly young puppies pose a huge danger to themselves and can easily get into something dangerous that can cause serious harm. When you first bring your puppy home, your puppy should not be crated for more than 2-3 hours at a time, unless sleeping overnight. Initially, your puppy will need to relieve itself every 2 hours or so. Be prepared to take your puppy outside very early first thing in the morning, as well as the last thing, late at night.
As you introduce a new puppy into your household, there will be a period of adjustment. It really takes a good month or so to get into a regular pattern with your pup, as you slowly bond with one another. At first, it is a huge transition for such a very young pup and their owners. Your puppy may cry at night, or refuse to eat, or may go off his/her potty training. This is all normal and it will take time to get into sync.
Remember, your puppy is totally dependent on you for everything, from food to love.
Suggested Supply Shopping
Before your puppy comes home, you will want to prepare, and get a few things set up in advance in order to make the transition both easier and safer.
A Dog Crate - Dogs love their crates, when properly trained. It's like a safe little doggie den. The crate is always used as a positive place. Never use a crate for punishment. Feed your dog in the crate to create a positive association. Crate training is needed if you want to travel with your dog. If your dog ever has to stay overnight at the Vet, then it's better if your dog is already crate trained. Crate your dog for safety whenever you are driving in your car.
It might be convenient to keep two crates…perhaps one in the kitchen and another upstairs?
Never leave your puppy loose in the car or strapped in a car harness. Consider a crate to be something similar to a child's car seat. Other methods to secure the dog, such as harnesses, are just not safe in the event of a crash. (You don’t want to see the video of a dog harness in a crash situation!)
Crate your young puppy at night, unless, of course, that puppy has wheedled herself into your bed. In which case, carry-on!
We recommend a Vari-kennel or Midwest 200 size crate, Medium. Plastic or wire.
Be sure you buy a tough crate pad which has a rolled edge and flat bottom.
Baby Gates - Think about setting up a “safe” area in your house, typically the kitchen. Set up your baby gates in advance.
Bacterial Enzyme Cleaner - Simple Solution Brand, Nature's Miracle, or anything similar that can be used for cleaning up any accidents.
Ex Pen - An exercise pen is a fold-able metal puppy pen which can be set up anywhere. You can buy a couple of ex pens and build an instant, temporary outdoor play yard. Handy and portable. Can be used to block off areas in your home, as well. I highly recommend this! Helps with potty training.
A Gravity Flow Water Tower - We usually buy the half-gallon sized water towers. Your puppy will need to have access to a reliable supply of fresh water. If you feed your puppy dry kibble, then fresh water is a must! The dogs get very thirsty after eating dry kibble.
Food Dishes - Avoid plastic. Best option is stainless steel.
NOTE: When we send a precious puppy off to it’s new home, we will provide a goody bag containing the important essentials. In your Foxwyn tote bag, you will find a full bag of dog food, duck feet, doggie cookies, safe toys, and a well-fitting soft puppy harness with leash.
Potty Training and the 4-Paws Method
We use what we call the "4-Paws" method of potty training with Cavaliers. If you are consistent, it really works great! (Credit for this training method has to go to Anne Eckersley, Chadwick Cavaliers.)
For the first 72 hours after your puppy arrives home, no paws may touch the ground in your home. The puppy is either in your arms, going potty outside, or in a crate. The more time spent in your arms, the better. Not only will this help facilitate potty training, but this technique has other important benefits.
After three days, and only when you have witnessed the puppy fully eliminating outside, you may give the puppy 10 minutes of supervised floor time. As your puppy matures, you will slowly increase the time on the floor in 5-minute increments. You will eventually work up to longer periods of "safe time". It can take a few months for these baby puppies to physically mature to the point where they are safe in the home. Patience and consistency are required.
MORE Helpful Potty Training Hints :-)
Always take your puppy to the same spot in the yard. (Initially, with a baby, the ex-pen area you have set up) Give lots of praise once the pup does their business.
Your puppy will need to go outside immediately upon waking up from nap or sleep.
Your puppy will need to go outside 5-15 minutes after eating.
Running while sniffing the ground, is one classic “potty” pattern...that’s a puppy who needs to go immediately outside! Pick up that pup and run!
Do not give your puppy the run of the house.
Do not correct your puppy for an accident unless you actually catch the pup right in the act and you react precisely at that split second. Timing is everything. Strong “NO” is all that’s required.
Leash Training Notes
If you are bringing home a brand new 12-week old puppy, this pup will have no real experience with leash training. For this reason, I very much recommend setting up a small outdoor potty area for your pup. It will make everyone’s life SO much easier! Buy an ex-pen or two, and temporarily set this up in your yard, near the back door. You will be happy you did!
We send our young pups home with a soft fabric harness and leash set. You can buy these sets inexpensively from Amazon. A young puppy’s neck is very sensitive and delicate. The soft harness vest is nice introduction to walking on a leash. Take everything in small steps. Be very gentle and very positive in your interactions. Lure the puppy with toys and treats, and use lots of laughter and praise. Use your most excited and upbeat voice to train your pup. Over-act…be over the top with your enthusiasm and encouragement. There is no such thing as “too much” when it comes to praise.
If the puppy “pancakes”…do not drag the puppy or pull on the lead. If the pup pulls backwards like a stubborn mule, then release the tension in the lead by moving towards the puppy. Pulling a puppy is very counter-productive and will set back any training gains.
Learning how to go potty while walking on the lead is indeed a skill which has to be learned. It will take the puppy a little time to learn this skill, so please be patient. You will both “get it”, so not to worry.
Other Safety Notes
If you have a fenced-in backyard or run, do inspect the fence regularly. Look for holes that the pup can get through (possibly made by the puppy), poisonous mushrooms which can sprout up overnight, and wasps which can nest in the ground. Trust me, this happens.
Always keep your puppy on a secure leash when not in an enclosed, fenced-in yard.
Do not leave a collar on your dog while in a crate or in the backyard. Definitely a strangling hazard. I could show you grizzly photos as proof of this, but will refrain.
Puppy-proof your home. Remove any accessible electrical cords, books, wastepaper baskets, shoes. Puppies love to shred paper, so move low level books and magazines. Puppies like to chew on furniture. Look out for any decorative objects that are within reach. Watch out for small pieces to kid’s toys. Puppies chew and EAT some very strange things, including rocks and acorns. This can lead to bowel obstruction…which can require very expensive and dangerous emergency surgery (bowel resection).
Look out for poisonous houseplants and toxic cleaning chemicals, too.
More Advanced Training
The best training method for our breed is definitely clicker-training. It works very well to break down tasks and allow you to train a dog in a very positive way.
Positive reinforcement is always 1000x more powerful than negative reinforcement. If you see your puppy doing something right, displaying a good behavior, then be sure to recognize it and reinforce that behavior through effusive praise. Negative behavior needs to be strictly ignored. And by “ignore”, I mean, do not even look at the dog, do not talk to the dog, do not engage with the dog in any way. If you do any of those things, you have unwittingly reinforced that negative behavior, and your dog will definitely do it again.
This is an article, HERE which describes the clicker training method. Try to find a trainer who uses this positive training method.
By the way, I love The Whole Dog Journal and subscribe to it. This is a great publication. Once you subscribe, you have access to their entire library of articles. This is an excellent resource.
