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Fussy Cavalier King Charles


pmiller
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Hi All.

Found this forum whilst my partner and I welcome our new addition to the family, a gorgeous Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Have found it very interesting and comforting to see that some of my concerns as a new puppy owner are shared by others.

I picked him up on Wednesday. He slept like a log for the first night (in a crate in the lounge room). He barely touched lunch or dinner that day. We were a bit concerned but put it down to the nerves/excitement/new environment/missing his mum and litter mates.

The problems started the next day. He ate a boatload of his lunch on Thursday (Royal Canin...he was eating it at the breeder). An hour later he threw it up, and about 15 mins later threw up again. I promptly took him to the VET, he was checked out and was ok. The VET recommended rice and steamed chicken diet, anti-nausea tablets and anti-biotics.

By lunchtime the next day he was doing ok, ate a big meal of rice, chicken and a bit of Royal Canin mixed in without needing an anti-nausea tablet. I've been trying to increase his Royal Canin content since. He hardly touched his dinner last night, showed a little interest at brekkie and then barely touched his lunch (I diced up some small bits of chicken fillet and he mainly concentrated on that). He still is pretty spry, which I find suprising given the very little he has eaten.

Am wondering if you would advise to stick with the Royal Canin or is there something else we could try feeding him? Is he just settling into his new place? Recovering from his tummy bug? I'm just worried about the little man

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

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I wonder if he over-did it on Thursday when he had a big meal? Maybe he just had too much so he threw up. If he checked out fine I don't know why the vet would have put him on antibiotics :thumbsup: If you think how tiny his tummy is at this age he needs only small amounts. If he were mine I would be giving him small meals of chicken, rice and Royal Canin and see how he goes on that and then gradually do away with the rice and chicken.

And you must come and join us in the Cavalier thread and post pictures :laugh:

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Hi and welcome to DOL !

Congratulations on your new puppy !

I'm no expert on stuff like this let alone with puppies, but when we first got Joey (he was about 11 months), he had a very sickly tummy for the first few weeks... It was just put down to him leaving his home and mum, and that he does tend to have a sensitive stomach at times ( apparently 'some' Cavs are known too) There is nothing wrong each time, but with him it's always been more stress related...

I did very slightly change his diet from breeders, which in hindsight I shouldn't ....

He still get the occasional upset tummy .... but nothing has ever been found wrong with him when he's had tests in the past..

Hope your puppy gets over it soon. People in the Cav breed thread will also be more than happy to help you with your questions ! :thumbsup:

Edited by JulesLuvsCavs
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I wonder if he over-did it on Thursday when he had a big meal? Maybe he just had too much so he threw up. If he checked out fine I don't know why the vet would have put him on antibiotics :thumbsup: If you think how tiny his tummy is at this age he needs only small amounts. If he were mine I would be giving him small meals of chicken, rice and Royal Canin and see how he goes on that and then gradually do away with the rice and chicken.

And you must come and join us in the Cavalier thread and post pictures :laugh:

Absolutely agree with Gretel. I would be feeding a lot of small meals throughout the day. Pups won't starve themselves so providing he is drinking he will be ok on what we perceive as a small amount of food.

Welcome! And yes - you must come to the Cav thread and post piccies!

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Hi, thanks everybody for the prompt reply. We are first time puppy owners and are a bit nervous! Shiraz was fed about 1/2 hour ago, we put rice back into his meal, diced up some chicken maryland and a little bit of some Royal Canin. He demolished the majority of it.

Being off the Royal Canin, I wonder if that is why his poo is a little on the runny side?

I'll continue with this diet for the next week or so, slowly trying to increase his kibble content.

Do people find their pups will eat different amounts during different meal times?

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What about feeding him some raw meat? Get rid of the rice, dogs dont need rice, its just a filler

Add his dry in with his raw meat...

Sardines in oil are also good.. But id add them slowly so it dont upset his tummy...

He maybe also still settling into his new home too.. its all new to him

Here's the link to the cav thread :thumbsup:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...p;#entry3338416

Edited by SeaMonKeY
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Hi, thanks everybody for the prompt reply. We are first time puppy owners and are a bit nervous! Shiraz was fed about 1/2 hour ago, we put rice back into his meal, diced up some chicken maryland and a little bit of some Royal Canin. He demolished the majority of it.

Being off the Royal Canin, I wonder if that is why his poo is a little on the runny side?

I'll continue with this diet for the next week or so, slowly trying to increase his kibble content.

Do people find their pups will eat different amounts during different meal times?

Yep absolutely. Particularly as puppies when they get distracted by everything!

Yes being on a different diet with less of the kibble can definately be causing looser stools but you'll find they should firm up again. Royal Canin is a good dog kibble - my 2 have it as part of their diet and they have done well on it.

Just one question - are you feeding him plain boiled chicken or BBQ? If he has an upset tummy you will be better off with plain boiled chicken breast. BBQ chook can cause upsets in some pups.

Please come and join us in the Cav thread - we'd love some pics of your gorgeous boy. Shiraz is such a great name!

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hi, congrats on your new pup, i think that it just may have been a combination of a few things, which everyone has covered here already, puppies need sml meals and if their been running around playing let them wind down before feed time, stick with the breeders food and slowly introduce the food you want to feed the pup or what agrees with the puppy, cavies can be fussy, mum has 3 :laugh: cute pics of cavies posted, i sooo luv the black and tan.

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Morning all, I'm a little overwhelmed by the response, I'm used to IT forums. They are not such a nice place to post!!!

Shiraz was 8 weeks on Tuesday, that makes him almost 9 weeks, the last 5 days have been a blur!

In regards to the chicken, I dice up some maryland and put it in the microwave. It isn't bbq.

When my partner and I decided to get a Cav, we spent most of the lead up time thrashing out names! In the end, we both agreed on Shiraz because it is a "nice red". On the first night we had him, we decided to open a bottle to celebrate his arrival...we jokingly wondered if there was a Shiraz 2008 on the wine rack...there was! It was meant to be!

I really love the black and tan Cavs also...I met Shiraz's Dad when I picked him up on Wednesday (who is a black and tan) and was gobsmacked at how gorgeous he is.

We are so proud that he is doing so well at night also. Cried a fair bit on the second night, but on the 3 other nights has been quiet, sleeping from 11 til 6. He'll be a well informed dog, we have ABC news radio in his playpen running all night and a ticking clock next to his crate. I'd mentally prepared myself for him being a lot worse, so it is a relief that we are sleeping well also.

Will definitely post a few pics on the Cav thread, thanks for pointing me to it.

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:laugh: glad you like it here so far .

Your boy probably needs 4 meals a day at this stage... very tiny ones :D

I'm glad the ABC is keeping him company... just be careful that he has some time without it.. or he may become dependent on having voices to settle.

unless he has a tummy upset still.. chicken does not need to be cooked .

So- when do we see photos? :cool:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just an update on Shiraz. I contacted the breeder who told me to stand firm and keep dishing up the dry food, removing it after 15 minutes. Whilst he ate some of it, most days he would skip a meal. The breeder said that they had a Cav who is a fussy eater also and would mix in a little of this dog roll types stuff you get from Coles. The suggestion was to try that after a couple of days if he still is being picky. We did that and hey presto, it was like flicking the "eat" switch on him. For the first time he was eating all of his food. Now, fingers crossed he maintains his new found appetite!

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Good to hear that Shiraz is eating properly again. I'd go easy on the meat roll - they tend to be pretty fattening and aren't all that healthy, maybe now that he's eating again you could gradually replace the roll with some raw chicken mince to feed with the kibble.

Don't forget to come and say "hello" on the ckcs thread. :(

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