Ckcs Pup...questions

[vanessa0305]

Hi I Picked up our Cavalier pup on Thursday from the breeder. He was born on the 8 of June. The Breeder was also breeding Paillion and Mini Foxies.

He was wormed, vaxed and flea treated but required worming again with in a few days.

I was surprised to find that all the dogs were on the same food. Chum caned and adult biscuits. Even the puppies. They were also on milk and had pasta and eggs occasionally.

So I bough Bailey home to find that his first poo at home was very very runny. Poor Bailey has the trots. I figured it was his diet and the stress of going to a new home. We starting toilet training from the moment he got home and has been doing very well with only one wake up a night to go out and a clean crate each morning and only one accident since he came home inside.

I took Bailey to the Vet the day after I got him for a quick check over and to be wormed. They recommended I change is diet straight away to Euk puppy small breed since he already had an upset tummy. We did that night. Then we took him again on Monday as he was still having soft stools and they gave him some meds to help but felt it was still his raw tummy that was causing the trouble from is previous poor diet and the meds have helped. Today, his stools are much harder and more like puppy poo.

Questions....

Is Euk the best thing to have Bailey on. Its what our vet recommended but I don't know enough about it. We live in country Qld so finding good food is harder.

When should I introduce chicken necks or wings? especially with his sore tummy and does it replace a meal or is it in addition to a meal.

I am crate training him, Is this the best thing to do with a small dog? or should I just have him free in a small room?

Is it ok to let him free access to go outside while trying to toilet train him or should I be taking him out every half our and keep him without the access to the yard? Bailey will often go out by himself now but if he does I am not there to give him the command. I do use a command word when I do take him out during the night and the day when its too cool to open the big doors to our outside run.

thanks for your advice

Vanessa

[cassie]

Ahh, Bailey is a little cutie! More pics when you get the chance!

First of all...GOOD MOVE getting him off his 'Chum' diet, that stuff is nasty! The vast majority of people here wouldn't feed it even if it were given to them for free!

I have not tried Eukanuba on any dog I've owned so can't specifically comment on it. But since his stools are improving then that is a good sign.

I'm sure other people will give you some better answers. Keep us updated

[peibe]

Get some yogurt, natural aphidote, (sorry about the spelling) and give him a few teaspoons a couple of times per day, it will help his raw tummy

I have not used Euk, but have been told it is good, wait until his tummy and poos are better before giving raw food as this can make it worse

He sure is a cutey

[vanessa0305]

Thanks for the advice everyone...

One more question

Bailey likes to bark when he is playing, to me it shows he is really having a good time. Should I be discouraging this? Will it make him a barky dog? Or is it something he will only do at play?

Thanks again

[peibe]

I have no idea, maybe that is a training question? lol

[Nekhbet]

Euk puppy is good enough if thats all you can get your hands on. My bitch was allergic to it but then again 99% of dry foods go straight through her. I wouldnt ever feed ANY type of can, that stuff is evil.

You can start with maybe some roast chicken or boiled chicken meat NO COOKED BONES EVER!!! Get the pup used to it and then try a half teaspoon of raw human grade low fat chicken/turkey mince when the stools look better. This pup is going to need gradual changes or you are going to constantly have bouts of diarhea. Maybe even some boiled mashed up veges mixed in with the kibble, or make some stock and pour it over to warm the dry.

[Georgie-boy]

Congrats on your new baby Vanessa - he's just a bit cute!

My 2 Cavs have both been on Eukanuba and enjoyed it, without any problems. I have my 4 month old puppy on Hills puppy at the moment but thats because the rep gave me a massive bag free George my older Cav is on a restriced calorie diet as he was a little chubby - he's not now. So in answer to your question - Eukanuba is a great food to have him on. As was suggested, I would prob wait until after Baileys tummy has settled before introducing raw bones and then it would be as a meal replacement.

Crate training is a great idea - I would never give a puppy access to a room unsupervised. Personally, I have only crated during the night but I know others who have done it more often - maybe one of them can shed some more light on that.

Toilet training outside should IMO always have you there. When he goes outside at all - you should know where he is cos little puppies can get into heaps of mischief. Something I was told which has stuck with me is don't let your puppy do anything you wouldn't let a toddler do.

Generally you'll find you can probably tell when he needs to go - go out with him, take him to your designated toilet spot and say the command. Take him out even if you're not sure - its not going to hurt.

Hope thats helped a little. Hope you have the best time with Bailey.

[vanessa0305]

Oh my god George is just so cute. Got to love the Cavaliers. Our outside area is more of a run then a backyard. We built it specially for Bailey. its 8mx3.5m completely fenced area for him to be outside. Bailey isn't out of our site very often as we are a house hold of 6 and I work at home. The area outside is completely visable from anywhere in our livingrooms and kitchen. What I mean is if Bailey decideds to go outside to do his business, Should I quickly follow him to give him his comand? our home is on ground level so the outside run is really an extension of our living room area. I have just noticed that Bailey will go outside and pee before I have had a chance to get to him. should I be blocking off his access to the outside run so that I am in control of when he goes outside to do his business?

[Georgie-boy]

Thanks - we think George is a bit spunky!! If you have a look in the photo section - I have posted some pics of our 4 month old girl Millie.

You can follow Bailey and give his command to go but only if he is doing his business. Otherwise just let him be and give him heaps of praise for going. I wouldn't block his access or you might find you start having problems and accidents.

He sounds just lovely and quite well adjusted. Hope we get to see lots more piccies

[cavmad]

We tried our Cav boy on eggs and found that they give him runny, bloody poo too so we now avoid it like the plague! I'm not a fan of any tinned food so Chum is out for us. We were feeding our puppy diced chicken, sometimes with a little rice and Hills dry food (the puppy bite sizes) which he just loves. Now that he is almost 8 months old he has lots of vegies as well. We never ever give chicken wings (I know a lot of people do and they love them and I'm fine with that...it's just my personal preference plus I can't stand that crunching noise!) We occasionally give him lamb necks and lamb shanks (all uncooked) and he loves those. We also give him dog biscuits that we buy from our local Pet Supply store. Dogs are lactose intolerant so I would avoid milk including the puppy milks. Water is plenty! In regards to the toilet training, we have a spare room which we put newspaper in and he has learnt to go on this. He knows when we are home to go outside but whilst we are at work and he is in the house, he goes on the newspaper. As he is getting older he is hanging on more and more anyway. We don't have a doggie door as I am too scared he'll escape or get stolen so I am happy for him to go on the newspaper whilst indoors. Your puppy looks just like ours at the same age. They are such adorable creatures, so loving. I wouldn't swap Cooper for a million dollars! Good luck!

Edited August 10, 2006 by cavmad