pennyw74

When our Cavalier had her vaccinations, we decided to take her for a walk. Well, she dug her heels in and wouldn't move. She would sulk if she saw the lead and would hide. I tried everything. I tried to let her take me for a walk around the backyard. She just wanted nothing to do with it. We took her to puppy pre-school at about 13 weeks (ring and book in now - perfect age). I was worried how she'd go because she had to be on lead for some of the time (not during the actual training) and I think seeing the other puppies completely took her mind off it. From that day on, she was perfect. As for the barking - not sure - ours has never really barked at other dogs.

We got our six month old 5kg Cavalier girl desexed last week. We paid $244 for the desexing which included the anaesthetic, pain relief, hospitalisation and suture removal. The only pain relief she had was some sort of morphine before and a non steroid anti inflammatory after but nothing more than that. We didn't have to give her anything when she came home. She had to stay overnight. We also had a pre-anaesthetic test, which tested to see if she was anaemic or had any kidney or liver problems. This cost an extra $70. We could have had just the mini screen that checks the red cells and that was $30 but thought we might as well pay the little bit extra. We also had a choice of giving her fluids during the procedure which cost another $70. She also had two puppy teeth removed which didn't cost anything and they also checked her eyes because she has bad tears. They were going to flush the tear ducts but unfortunately, she has no visible tear duct openings. She has her stitches out on Sunday. So all up, we paid $384. We're in Sydney.

A ruined guard coat?

Not sure about the nutritional value - vitamin B?? Besides, they'd be better than some other "treats", wouldn't they!!

I gave Izzy apple a couple of times. The first time, she loved it but after that, didn't really care too much. I might try a banana - that seems to be popular.

What toothpaste do you use?

As far as I know, Advance has a Rehydratable food for puppies up to six months, then there is a Growth food. One is for large breeds. Here is the website: Advance

Do you feed your dogs fruit? If so, which fruit? What do they love? What is their favourite? What is really good for them?

We are lucky that Izzy doesn't mind her eyes being wiped at this stage. She's a good girl.

My puppy has had tears since we got her. She will be six months next week. She had her eyes examined yesterday when she was getting desexed. He was going to see if her tear ducts were blocked and was going to flush them to unblock them. After examining her, he has found that she actually has no visible tear duct openings on either eye, upper or lower so her tears have nowhere to go, except down her face. He has said we can go to an opthamologist and he can do further examinations under very powerful microscopes and with his tools, may be able to find them but he also might not. At this stage, since it's not worrying her, he has suggested that we not worry too much and just wipe the eyes daily. Just wondering if anybody else has this problem?

The vet checked Izzy's eyes and she has no visible tear duct openings, that's why her tears can't go anywhere but down her face. We can send her to a opthamologist and he may be able to find the openings with a very powerful microscope and whatever tools they use but he still might not be able to find them. While ever they're not worrying her, he said not to worry too much about it.

I spoke with the vet today. Izzy's going in tomorrow to be desexed. He said he will remove her puppy teeth while she's in.

Oh yes, her first book she ripped up was The Readers Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. That was when we thought she was too little to reach the sixth step and we left it on the step to take upstairs next time.

Thanks, Luke. I read your list. I had heard of "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey and have also seen the Ian Dunbar DVD, Sirius Puppy Training. I might look at his books as that's how we started training Izzy when we first brought her home. She has been to puppy school and I will be taking her to obedience classes soon, too. It's always good to read up on any tips to help.

Has anybody bought any good books with really good advice on puppies, training, dogs, anything at all to do with behaviour, etc? When you go into book shops, there are so many to choose from but I just want to find a few that people recommend with really good advice. Thanks...

Tried bones over the weekend and lots of chew toys - still not loose. I'll ring the vet tomorrow to see if he wants to do that on Thursday, too.

Can't they unblock the tear ducts, though?

Well, Izzy's going in to get desexed next week - he's going to look at her eyes then, so I'll mention the teeth so he can do it while she's under if need be. I'm off to the butcher to buy a lamb shank for my girl so she can start chewing on the weekend to see what happens. They're not loose at all.

Funny you say that. Izzy's top canines haven't fallen out, either. Her new ones are coming through but they puppy ones aren't even loose. She has lost all her other puppy teeth. A couple of people have mentioned teething causes staining, too but our vet said that isn't true.

Izzy never cried in the car but she doesn't love the car, either. We took her in the car almost every afternoon just to the end of the street and back when she was first home with us. She has just got her car harness a couple of weeks ago. She's not too keen sitting in the back and lets out a little whine but then she just goes to sleep. Baby steps...

Izzy used to scrape her teeth along a concrete pot and some bricks. She has stopped that now but it was a horrible sound. She only did it for a few weeks when she was around 10 weeks old...not anymore.

Well, she's going to the vet next week to have it checked out. She has had eye drops already but that did nothing. The vet is going to check her tear ducts. Lets hope that's the issue so it can be resolved.

Thank you very much. She is our little angel. She's getting bigger now, though.

Izzy's teeth and gums are perfect. She is only five months, though so I guess you wouldn't expect anything but...

It might not be a "normal" thing for a Cav but it's very common. I have heard a lot of Cavs with the same thing. My vet doesn't think it's normal when I asked him about it, either.