Cavalier Talk

Our granddaughter, Kylie, loves to check out our Cavalier King Charles Spaniels crate.

I begin crate training at 8 weeks of age using a small crate meauring 18″ x 24″. I place each puppy in their own personal crate in the mornings when I leave to go do errands and expect to return home within 3-4 hours. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies usually cry and exhibit some separation anxiety the first day or two, but at 8 weeks of age they need to experience brief periods of separation in order to avoid separation anxiety issues later on as an adult. Usually by 10 weeks of age when Cavalier puppies are available for adoption they will have experience with being left alone in a crate for several hours.

I believe it is very wise to continue crate training or to create a small area where your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy will be kept when you are not able to give your Cavalier puppy full supervision. A bathroom, utility room, or kitchen where tile or vinyl flooring is more common are also great locations to add a baby gate to the doorway and create a small area for your Cavalier puppy to stay. I would advise adding a few small rugs that can be put in the washing machine because young Cavalier puppies are still developing and slippery floors can be stressful on their bones and muscles forming properly if they do not have proper traction most of the time. Also keep the hair trimmed between their pads so their pads touch the floor at all times.

The crate is still my favorite way to house a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy because they are limited to running around and during the first year while their bones and muscles are forming they actually develop better structurally if they have plenty of rest and get out to run and play for short periods at a time instead of constantly.

For more information about training Cavalier King Charles Spaniels please visit our website at www.cruisincavaliers.com