Caring for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppy
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
When you first get your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy home your new puppy will miss its litter mates and familiar surroundings of my house the first few days. Your puppy may cry off and on which is very normal. I try not to pick up the puppies when they are crying because it will teach them to cry in order to get picked up. Your new puppy should only cry the first night or two and then will begin to settle into your new surroundings.
Allow your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy to have his own designated area whether it be a crate or I actually like to us particle board partitions that can be purchased at Home Depot for about $5 each. I hook together 4 boards in a square shape using cable ties also found at Home Depot for a couple bucks. The boards are 3 feet by 2 feet high, which gives plenty of room to add a litter box, bed, an area for water bowl and room to walk around a bit. I have tile floors and just place a small rug down that can be washed in the washing machine. It is nice having the litter box just in case they need to go potty, but for the most part I take them outside regularly with the other adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and they do begin to prefer going outside. A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy does not fully have control of their bladder until around 16 weeks of age so by transitioning them to a crate when they are a little older is sometimes easier.
We feed our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Puppy Food. At 10 weeks of age they will be used to being fed 2 times a day with 1/2 cup of dry food at each feeding. When you feed your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy leave the food down for about 20 minutes unless he eats all of it sooner. Once fed, he will need to go outside to potty. If after 20 minutes your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy has not eaten all his food then go ahead and take the food away and take your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy outside to potty. On the next feeding resume with the 1/2 cup as usual. Sometimes Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies know when they are full and it is best to allow them to follow their own clock as far as being full if they do not wish to eat the full 1/2 cup feeding.
Most Cavaliers love to eat so it is up to us to limit their food intake to the amount they actually need each day to protect them from becoming overweight, which is a very unhealthy condition and could affect their health long term.
If I have a smaller puppy sometimes I have found they cannot eat the full 1/2 cup at one time. If I feel they really need to eat more of their food then I add a 3rd feeding at noon until they are older and can eat the full 1/2 cup at one feeding. I never feed more than 1 cup per day. Normally, I will not allow puppies to go to their new home until they are eating twice a day and developmentally ready to make the transition from my home to their new home with their new family.
We feed our adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Pro Plan Chicken and Rice. We feed 1/2 cup twice a day for a total of 1 cup per day.
Once you have taken your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy home you will need to schedule an appointment with your vet within a day or so. Be sure and take the record of shots and worming with you so your vet can record the information in their chart. Follow your vet’s recommendations on continuing your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy shots until the full series has been received (usually 4 shots, 2 of which were already given here). Normally, the 3rd set will be at 12 weeks. We give the rabies vaccination at 6 months of age here at Cruisin Cavaliers, but some vets will recommend 4 months of age for rabies. Also speak to your vet about heartworm and flea & tick prevention.
We do not give our puppies Leptospirosis, which is found in many of the shots used by veterinarians because we have found some of our Cavalier’s have had allergic reactions. When you go to get your 3rd shot we recommend that you ask your vet not to give a shot that includes the Leptospirosis.
We recommend that you take your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy to the vet or to a groomer every six weeks to have their nails trimmed and anal sacs expelled or you can have your vet show you how to do both the nails and anal sacs and you can do them yourself at home.
I also recommend that your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy be given a bath every 3-4 weeks even if it does not look dirty. The overall look and feel of your Cavalier puppy will be much healthier.
Additional information: www.cruisincavaliers.com
