
Originally Posted by
Leogem
There are two things that I think you should do when rearing a puppy and these are rarely mentioned in training books.
Firstly, start taking them out for car journeys at an early age, even if it's just a short drive around the block. Most people who show do this to acclimatize their dogs to long car journeys, but we often hear of pet owners who rarely do this. When the need arises to take their dog on a fairly long drive the dog is invariably car sick.
The second point is that you should leave the puppy alone for a short while during the day. We would never sell a puppy to people who are out at work all day and the pup is left alone, but at the same time is important to get them use to being alone for a short while. We have two friends, one with a Beagle and one with a Cavalier, who always made sure that someone was there with the dog at all times. This may sound quite admirable but they have huge problems whenever they do have to go out (maybe due to an emergency) because the dogs simply howl and howl. In the case of the Beagle owner it caused huge problems with neighbours.
Dennis
I'm quite fortunate in that I work from home so I'm able to only leave the pup alone for short periods and I'm planning to work less during the initial few weeks to make house training and settling in much easier
Brand new to the world of Cavaliers, as my post no doubt shows! - Dave