cinniespider

Hehehe I reckon a photo of those pups would be great! hehehehehe It would make a good rove "What the???" :D

I've centainly researched the topic and it would seem most vets, breeders and infomational websites and books I have read on the topic reccommend it but I am open to other perspectives on the topic. My mum always fed both so I think both have benifits but recent research has swayed me to belive dry must be best for him.

I recently got a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I was a little concerned about introducing my "only child" cat Merlin to our new addition to the family. I decided to have our pup in his play pen and let Merlin enter the room and investigate himself. He knew something was up as soon as he entered the house. I gave the cat a lot of strokes and praise and although Merlin was a little freaked out about what on earth had entered his home he handled him better than expected. He was actually more scared of the pup than anything but he just kept his distance for a while until he sussed the newbie out. It's been 3ish weeks and they now play together (more on the cats terms) and he has only batted him on the head once without claws when he wanted the puppy to back off and he was in a corner. Overall I suggest a calm introduction with measures to ensure that they are separated by something just in case. Slow and gentle introduction helps the cat adjust to change. I also try and balance the attention of the two as I'd hate Merlin to feel outcast. Merlin still gets his perks of sleeping on the end of our bed and the puppy knows that the laundry is Merlin's area somehow. Let us know how it goes =)

It was my partner that took him to the second vet ( I work during the day and he works at night) I would assume the new vet took it as a infection in the belly (I'll have to quiz my pater on this though as he didn't mention the vet thinking it was anything new) They tok him in overnight, more hydration and injected him with something that would promote him to feel hungry and seemed to work a treat within a few hours. We were given electrolite (spelling???) mixutre to add to his water and he's been a hungry little fellow since. =) He's a quick learner also We've gotten him back on track with his schedule (eating, eliminating, play times) and he's getting to know the word NO ( and acually moving away from object which helps) and starting to get the word SIT. =) We've also started to move him over to the dry food which he actually likes.

Hi again all, Cooper came home from the vet Wednesday night. He is now eating again and is soooo full of energy it's amazing! We've never had him so full of beans before :D So although it's been a busy few days I had to get back here and thank you all for your imput and well wishes. I'm so releived that he's been so super =) He's currently eating canned puppy food but we'll slowly get him over to a quality dry food when he seems ready to try something new Cheers, Carly

Quick update: Cooper went to the vet this morning. He's still dehydrated and he's been admitted as an in patient for 24 hours. He new vet plans to run some blood tests ( my partner said it's for his vitamin and mineral levels) And they'll give him an injection that will encourage an appetite. Poor bugger! Re the cooked minc - I havent fed him it cooked and have thrown out all the mince we were supplied. We plan to get him onto a dry mix once he gets better ( there's no "if's" in that! ) So atleast he's being cared for properly Will update again on any news!

Just though I'd add a pic of Cooper =)

Hi everyone, Your responses are amazing, I think I'll have to print them all out and try the food ideas =) A few things to report. Pup still wont eat. We even tried mashed carrot and peas ( our cat likes peas so we figured it worth a shot???) last night but no luck. He seems to be sniffing about for food but nothing seems to tempt. He did however try to eat our compost yeaterday to which we got him well away from ( a little distracted when going wee;)) Re: food instructions from the breeder: She gave us enough raw mince for a months supply ( most frozen and transported in a cool esky home) that she has specially made for her dogs. From memory I think all her dogs are fed this mix. She's actually a registered breeder on this website ( how I came to find her litter) She suggested to start him on the raw chicken then suggested moving to adding carrot and non nightshade foods mixed in and even some puppy dry food ( I think she called it the Hills brand but I find what we have doesnt soften well at all). She did suggesst we could cook the mince and introduce that later. We had planned to slowly move his diet to the dry but wanted the pup to settle into our house before changing his diet. He fell sick before we started to implement the change. ( 5 days with us) So far the different food mixes we've tried to get him to eat include: cooked chicken breast and rice, normal wet puppy food ( he only tried eating this once but never tried again) different brand of dog food, carrot and peas, plain chicken no rice, rice, chicken and the given dry food cooked together. I tried the suggestion of leaving food out and leaving the room. He remains good at waiting for me to return not moving from the door of his pen. I'll keep trying though. He's really fond of his water bowl atleast which helps. I'll definately try the soup too. **edit** I'll have to be more mindful of our cat..he stuck his paw into pup's pen and pulled his food bowl over to the edge and ate his food whilst I wasn't there... sneaky boy! I have thought to call the breeder. 2 things bop around in my head. 1 that she'll think I've neglected him or something along those lines - to which I wonder why I care so much of what she thinks? Perhaps cause I've taken him into my care and within days he falls ill. 2ndly I dont want to come across as making her feel like I think she's done something wrong cause I couldn't say where it went wrong or by who. She seems to care alot about her pups and I've done my best to keep him. I guess if she frequaently reads this forum she might find out before I call her but I do plan to give her a buzz soon. The vet did not test for salmonella, it took the second visit to get him to test for parvo. At times it seemed the assistant nurse knew more about his needs than the vet. In any case, we went to that vet because it was a Sunday, we always planned to go to another vet which we've booked into. I'm hoping this new vet will investigate a little further. I ponder if a bit of bone in the mince ( it's the type that they mince bone and all in) might have done damage in there and might be obstrictive? I guess I've had a lot of time to use my imagination though. I'm wondering if an xray would help solve what is going on? Seeming he only has eaten off our rug ( my partner gave it a try just as an idea) we've tried scattering food over it to see if he'll do what he did before. unfortunately he only sniffs and walks away or avoids the smell like the plague. I also worry about it being left out too long and making him sick again. Again, just so impressed as to how great this forum has been. I'll definately let you know of the results from tomorrow. Thanks! Cooper has been a real trooper as he's still wagging his tail and engaging in light play again =) It amazes me that after all the feeding we do, he doesnt hold a grudge against us. We feel so bad about doing it but know it's the only thing keeping him going. I think I could ramble on for hours. Carly

I'm looking for any advice on how I can help my new puppy. On October 15th my partner and I picked up our 8 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy from a breeder. We got him home and fed him as directed ( raw chicken mince supplied by the breeder 3 time a day) and found by Saturday 21st he became ill. Symptoms included at first lethargic, food refusal then on Sunday moved on to diarreah and vomiting aswell. We took him to the vet to which he thought it could be a stomach infection due to perhaps salmonela from the chicken mince. He was given many injections ( one for diarrah, one for vomiting, one for the pain, 2 of water under the skin) and we were sent home with antibiotic tablets twice a day and liquid medication for the diarreah. He continued to vomit that afternoon but stopped vommiting on the monday. Still refusing to eat and still lethargic we took him back to the vet to which he was given 2 more injections ( vitamin suppliments I think) and a injection of water directly into the belly. We were also given precription food to force feed him with a seringe. Since Monday we have force fed him 3 times a day after offering him alternate food to eat ( vet suggested cooked chicken breast with some steamed rice) before the seringe feed. He's taken no interest in food at all. On Friday morning he ate 2 spoons of food but only off the floor and would not eat from a plate or bowl. We haven't been able to get him to eat again since. The vet says to continue with what we're doing and he should eat eventually. He also tested for parvo which was thankfully negative. The forced feeds are helping with his energy levels and he now has good stools. So the only thing left is getting him to eat and it's been over a week now of only a single voluntary small eat. Which was some of the food we've been feeding him. We're out of antibiotics tonight and should be finishing the use of the diarreah liquid medication soon. Tomorrow we plan to see another vet for a second opinion but would appreciate any ideas or help on getting our pup back to normal. Carly