Feeding & Training
Preparing to Bring Home a New Puppy
All puppies need time to grow and mature.
They have all the energy of youth combined
with a darling, silly little puppy brain.
You need to be prepared to keep your puppy
safe, happy, well-fed, healthy, entertained, trained, exercised, and
loved.
Your puppy is fully dependant upon you.
You are your puppy’s entire world.
A young, untrained puppy will require a
significant commitment of your time and attention.
Silly young puppies pose a huge danger to
themselves, and can easily get into something that can cause them harm.
Things to Arrange before
Puppy Arrives……
-
Veterinarian:
Locate a good, local veterinarian who is not far from your
home and make an appointment for a few days after the puppy is due
to arrive – this is for your own protection.
If you don’t like the first vet you try, make an appointment
to see another vet at the same practice.
Before agreeing to various extra shots and procedures, tell
the vet that you prefer to wait on that for the moment and do some
research/call the breeder.
Unless it is vital to save your puppy’s life, it can wait and you
can arrange for such procedures/shots to be done later on, if
appropriate.
-
Boarding:
Unless you plan to remain at home for the next 12 years, you
really need to locate a responsible situation for your puppy to be
left when you are out of town and it is best for puppies to start
boarding when they are young.
Good kennels are fine and better than leaving with a friend or
family where accidents can happen.
Some breeders and people involved with the care of dogs,
board in their homes. Having
someone come to your home is not ideal in that you really never know
if they actually come and for how long?
It’s too long for dogs to be on their own for a week or more,
only to briefly interact with a human three times a day.
In the Tri State area, we have Camp Chadwick as an option.
Contact us for further information.
-
Housebreaking/Socializing:
These
are your prime concerns when you first get your puppy.
Instructions on Housebreaking are provided.
Take puppy everywhere with you but carry puppy.
Puppies are not fully vaccinated until 4 months so cannot be
with other dogs or go to public parks until after the last 4 month
old vaccine is given.
When Puppy Arrives……
When you first bring your puppy home, your puppy should not be crated
for more than 2 hours at a time, unless sleeping at night.
Initially, your puppy will need to relieve
itself every 2 hours or so.
Be prepared to take your puppy outside very
early in the morning, as well as late at night. You will need to feed
your puppy three times, daily.
(Tip: Don’t feed your puppy too late in the
evening.)
Potty Training…..
I
strongly advise you to read
Chadwick’s Guide to Housebreaking your Cavalier,
in advance
of picking up your puppy.
This training technique works well with
Cavaliers.
If you should choose to potty train using a
different method, that is fine, as long as you are willing to accept
that responsibility.
Once home, for the first three days, you should not allow the puppy’s
paws to set foot on the floor of your home.
Your puppy should always be: 1. In your
arms, 2. In the crate, or, 3. Outside, doing its business.
As your puppy matures and becomes more
reliable, your pup can earn safe “floor time”.
Do not give your puppy the run of the house
or too much freedom too soon (too soon being before two months of
bringing your puppy home).
Children, especially visiting children, should be discouraged from
picking up the puppy as they are so wiggly and they will fall.
When puppy is on a chair or sofa, sitting
with someone, puppy should never be allowed to jump off as soft puppy
bones can be broken.
Best to have children sit on the floor with
the puppy or put puppy’s harness or leash/collar on and have the
children hold onto that so puppy cannot go anywhere.
Items to be Purchased
……
Prior
to Bringing Home Your New Puppy ( a list of recommended items will be
provided, but not all need to be purchased at one time):
1.
Crate:
You must have a crate with divider and a small mat to fit half the crate
when you pick up your new puppy.
This is strictly for the safety of your
puppy.
It is required before any puppy can go to a new
home.
Consider this as important as having a car seat for
a newborn baby.
You can purchase an airline-style flight
kennel, usually the #100 size which is small, for night-time sleeping by
your bed or traveling in the car, and for sure, a metal wire crate for
every day.
Size for an adult Cavalier is 18” x 24” x
19-“-20” high.
The divider will make the crate half size
for the baby puppy.
2.
Baby Gate(s) and Scat Mat:
Optional and buy later if needed.
Prepare a puppy “safe zone“ in your house,
usually the kitchen.
You may need to put up a baby gate.
You cannot allow your puppy the run of the
house.
Trust me, puppies are little hooligans, and they
will destroy your carpet, furniture, books, pillows, shoes.
They will chew on electric cords.
Scat mats are used to disallow access to
rooms that are off limits to dogs or discourage exiting doors leading to
no fencing.
If
you have a backyard/run, you should inspect it in advance, and make sure
it is safe, too.
Look for holes in and at the bottom of the
fencing where puppies can scoot under and look over the list of
poisonous plants.
Puppies love to dig holes and tear-up
landscaping.
Do not leave your puppy outside, unattended.
Always keep your puppy on a leash when out in public,
with no fencing.
3.
Puppy Piddle Pads and a Tray (for paper
training ONLY):
This
product gives your puppy an indoor option.
If you are housebreaking the puppy during a
time of year with inclement weather, this is convenient.
Petco carries a tray with pads for around
$18.
Not recommended if you plan to housebreak the
puppy.
4. Bacterial Enzyme Cleaner: Have something like “Simple Solution” or “Nature’s Miracle” on hand for clean-ups. “Resolve” also makes a good cleaner. If you have an accident, use one of these types of cleaners. It removes the odor, and makes it less likely the puppy will use that spot again. Do not use ammonia-based products for clean-ups.
5. Exercise Pen 24": Optional and buy later if needed, but very useful. They are not expensive and can be ordered online from various dog catalogs. They can be used to block off an area if needed, like a computer desk, fireplace, grill, bookshelf, Christmas tree. Can be used to create a temporary safe zone. Portable and temporary.
When you pick up your puppy, you will be provided with a Puppy Starter
Kit.
It will contain various supplies for your puppy.
You will get some current food so that your
puppy can stay on his/her regular diet until you decide on a food that
the puppy likes.
You will also receive a folder containing
the puppy’s medical information, puppy’s recent health certificate,
copies of the health clearances by various specialists for the
parents of your puppy and
various other informational documents.
Housebreaking, Training & Feeding
instructions, Purchase agreement, Health Insurance form, Membership
Application and Restricted Transfer papers (restricted from being bred)
will be sent via email.
Naturally, your new puppy will need time to adjust to its new
environment. The first few days your puppy is home, please understand
that your puppy has been whisked away from its mother, siblings,
familiar people, sights, sounds and smells.
Initially, your new puppy may seem worried,
cry a little the first night and may not do its business outside easily.
This is all normal, temporary, so don’t
worry, and very soon everything will fall into place and become routine.
As
the breeder, I am always there for support and back-up, so just pick up
the phone, give me a call, or email me and let me know if things are
going well, or, maybe not
going well, and we can discuss strategies and solutions.
C. Anne Eckersley
I must tell you that your "strong encouragement" to
follow your housebreaking instructions intensively and accurately has
paid off royally. Yes, you were correct that friends and even
professionals would offer their well-meaning advice. But we stuck
painstakingly to your regulations and I'm happy to report that Vienna,
at five months, has not had an accident for one month. I'm not
saying that adhering to your strict rules at times wasn't arduous, but
it has proven to be well worth the results and pay-off. Vienna is
able to have more free safe playtime, and we get to enjoy it with him as
well. It's a win-win situation that we delight in!
Andrew Achsen
More to come