Elsha_UK_AU

quality of life after injury/illness etc but we also have Gold Paws insurance up to $15,000 per annum and we'd obviously go above that as much as we could afford/borrow dependant on outcome etc etc. It is a position I hope never to have to be in.

Sounds like Porthos He slept on my pillow, draped across to my husbands pillow and kept peering at me in the dark... I knew he was doing it as the smell of fish breath (not sure how he gets fish breath since he doesn't eat fish) kept wafting in my face and as soon as I moved, his tail would start thumping the bed.

The hair never ends.... I could coat king and furminate the little lovlies all day and the hair would still be tumbling past me in the lounge when I switch the air conditioning on

We recently came back from 3 weeks in the UK, our 2 are 2 & 1 (in Dec this year) and we've had them from 1 and 10 weeks. When we came back they ran into our bedroom and then cowered low to the floor, then whined whilst their tails wagged and we picked them up for cuddles. They then slept on our bed but kept waking us up as they were licking our faces... guess they were happy to see us

I have air cond but not on a timer. I can't leave the air cond on all day, so our two are inside without air cond. Our house is insulated, metal roof. We also have tiles everywhere. We leave plenty of bowls of water and when we get home, the air cond goes on, however they then run around in the heat outside like loonies and then come in later on for a lie down under the air cond vents. We also didn't walk them this week when it was 39ºc as it was way too hot for them.

I think you should be able to take treats to the park, I don't myself but then I don't train in the park...BUT like you said...what if you were eating a sandwich and the other dog came over, are you in the wrong for trying to eat your lunch? I would say "NO" If a Dog is begging for food then it is obviously a behaviour that is tolerated or not yet adjusted. I have 2 dogs.... my older (nearly 2 year old) can sit on your lap whilst you are eating and is not concerned, interested or expecting something. My younger one (nearly 1 years old) sees all food as an excuse to sit intently staring at you, getting closer to you at each blink of the eye until he's touching your knees under the table. He doesn't jump or make a noise - he just stares. We're working on him. I would have told this lady that if she could not control her Dog off lead, the she should have the Dog remain on lead. I would have stated that if a family or a child was sitting on the grass enjoying something to eat and her Dog could not be recalled without being chased, that this could be a problem. I am not good with things like that though. I was walking my two on a lead in an onlead (school oval) when this teenager with a family said "You best walk by quickly, our Dog doesn't like other Dogs and could attack"... I looked over and they had a huuuge Dog (not sure of breed) and so I walked by quick and said "If you have a Dog that doesn't like other Dogs, then put yours on a lead...this is an on-lead park" Anyway, you did nothing wrong and I would continue to train your Dog in the park

Porthos is switched off and D'Artagnan probably wasn't switched on to begin with He's a lovely Dog but there's not much happening upstairs... I love him dearly!

My husband just paused from World of Warcraft to check out those pics Made me bawl my eyes out, poor little baby!

We get lovely comments about our two from stranger.... who always seem to think they are girls...(but you get that).... but a friend (who obviously isn't a cavalier lover) said they had weird bug eyes .... does this look like a "weird bug eye"???? And can I just say, how I love seeing the piccies of all your Dogs. Whilst we each have our preference to which breeds we like, it is lovely to see all these beautifully unique Dogs.

He is beautiful Some people just say stupid stuff!!!! I got told that my 2 pure bred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were King Charles Cavalier Spaniels....and.... not just by the everyday person who may not know the difference... but by a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owner at a Dog event!!!!!! Mind you, mine didn't look like hers.... he was around 5kg+ overweight and had been buzzed allover, (ears included). I nearly didn't recognise him as a CKCS myself...but least I kept my mouth shut. She said, "No yours are King Charles, not Cavalier King Charles... not like mine" and I said "No, they are the same, we have just left their coats alone, especially as the older one is ex show dog" Can't believe the pet shop guy saying "Change the food every few days" uneblievable!

This was the first day we had Porthos (10 weeks) The Cockroach on the couch Innocence ... hmmm We love his wonky eye A rare moment of stillness! and not to forget D'Artagnan - our nearly 2 year old.

every 4-6 weeks dependant on weather. Normally in the bath - we had a wide ledge so I sit on the ledge and they stand in the bath on a plastic non slip mat and I use a tap sprayer attachment. We are going to get them groomed soon though so will try the hydro bath and most likely stick with that, with the odd bath at home thrown in (if they've rolled in poop or some other muck).

Everyones dogs look so cute This is Porthos aged 10 weeks With his older brother (not biological) D'Artagnan 11 weeks around 14 week Around 5 months Around 7.5 months now at 10 months With D'Artagnan who is 22 months. Porthos is 10 months

My Vet has given us free dog food when we were trialling Porthos on different diets for his bad stomach, he has given us free consults, he has texted/called us after every "non routine" visit and he hugs me and the dogs every time he sees us! He adores Dogs and my youngest one adores him right back

Mine love the back garden. They are loving the mulch we put down today - am just hoping Porthos (9 months old) does not get a bad tummy from it. D'Artagan getting his own back! Porthos (he's growing into his ears now) Looking innocent D'Artagnan looking serious

My 9 month old gets just over a third of a cup of Royal Canin Intestinal Kibble morning and night (with CKCS specifc RC mixed in as we are wheening him off the Intestinal). My 22 month old gets 3/4 - 1 cup of RC CKCS specific, plus the odd chicken neck thrown in. Their treats when we leave the house to go to work are carob scooby snacks.

I moved to England when I was 23 and left behind a dog...however he was not mine....he was our family pet and that tore me up enough. He was my late Mothers dog and she had died a year before I moved....my Dad was very attached to the dog so I could not even consider taking him with me. He was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel so no way would I have wanted to put him through quarantine. I can really imagine the anguish you are going through right now, I purposely did not get a dog whilst living in the UK because I did not want to have to quarantine them when moving back to Australia. I now have my 2 CKCS and we recently went to the UK for 3 weeks and I could not stop thinking about them and worrying the entire time. That being said, if this job is going to kick start your career and you are not likely to get an opportunity that allows you to stay in Australia, then maybe you need to consider the fact that your Dog will be cared for by your parents. Maybe you could give it a go and see how you get on? Either way, not an easy decision to make. My heart does go out to you. {hugs}

awww all so cute Here are a few... (first day we had Porthos) Porthos asleep on couch! Asleep on my husband.

Oh and don't be surprised if your dog leaves you a little gift every now and then.... no... not pee or poop! Chewed up puppy pee pads. Apparently all the cool dogs are doing it and it is hilarious to both lay down and chew them to pieces and sprinkle said pieces around the back part of the house for the humans to clean up!

Both mine are on dry only (with the occasional chicken neck etc thrown in). My 8 month old is on Royal Canin intestinal because he has an odd tummy and my 20 month old is on Royal Canin CKCS breed specific kibble. Both LOVE their dry food. They were on raw mince/kibble before but the puppy had constant runs and both have improved since being on premium kibble only. Their little mouths crunching on the kibble are so cute - specially my 8 month old.... he has this weird little chewing face - so cute! Susan

I PM'd you. I use the pee pads for my 8 and 20 month old. They are sometimes locked in the back part of the house when we go out and if they need to (very rarely now) they will use them. It is clean, easy to tidy up and effective. We used this solution, you dropper on initially when Porthos was 10 weeks. I might add though, that if we have the door/dog door open and the pads down, they will always (100%) go outside to pee...they don't use the pads if they know they can go outside. I use the ones from city farmers - they are square with stick tabs so I can stick them at the corners to our tiles. Susan

We had naively intended to get two puppies but through researching on forums etc we understood that we would need to make sure that if we got a pup that we waited 12 months before getting another... of course, around the same time we were in contact with a breeder who said she may have a solution as she had a 12 month old who she was selling as a pet. He had been intended as a show dog and actually was shown a few times but was very timid and did not enjoy the whole experience. Around 10 months old he was moved from the breeders Daughters house to the breeders house (they both breed/show) and was desexed and sold to a lady who developed an allergy and had a horrific allergic reaction - he was returned to the breeder and was even more timid and nervous. As for our two, well D'Artagnan did not really like Porthos at first but they slept with eachother from day 1. At first D'Artagnan tried to be as far away from Porthos at night as poss but Porthos just follow Tagnan whereever he went Now they will snuggle together sometimes or sleep back to back at others. Here is a pic of the love D'Artagnan felt for Porthos on their first meeting!! Tagnan was growling in this pic, cos Porthos put his paw on him Having 2 is a lot of work but they are always playing and fighting and playing again - they definately have a strong bond.

I have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, D'Artagnan is 20 months and we got him at nearly 13 months and Porthos is nearly 8 months and we got him at 10 weeks. We work full time and knowing that the breed are predominantely companian dogs, we wanted to make sure that they were not alone (as in, 1 on their own). D'Artagnan had around 20 other Dogs at the breeders and was a very nervous, timid dog. The breeders we spoke with had no problem allowing us 2 Dogs/Puppies but agreed one should not be left alone. We leave the house around 7.30am and Husband gets home around 5.15pm - we may go out again for another hour 1-2 times a week to the gym, besides that the weekly grocery shop (Sat morning) and the odd night out, we are home with them and they are our "focus". Our two sleep in our room, have plenty of snuggle time with us in the mornings and have adapted well to a routine. They know when I am getting them their "Treats" in the morning that it is time for work and they run and jump onto their dog bed in the laundry and sit waiting :D Whilst it is not ideal - it works for us and they are happy and healthy. D'Artagnan is still a nervous, timid dog to a degree but as long as he has his little buddy - life is good Susan

I have a 20 month old Cavalier and a 8 month old Cavalier - both have slept on our bed but to be honest, I like my space at night and both dogs like to sleep sideways under the covers - so not a lot of room for DH and me We have a dog bed on the floor next to our bed and it has a piece of plywood(?) beside it rigged up to form a barrier (our version of a crate). Both dogs initially come up on our bed at first and hubby and I have a cuppa and read for a while. When we are ready for lights out, we say "Bedtime" and they will walk over to us to be put down onto their dog bed. The 8 month old generally needs a potty break around 3-5am some nights and he will wake us. If it is around 5, they will then be allowed back onto the bed afterwards until our alarms go off around 6. They snuggle into my warmth and it is not unusual for me to wake up with a little head nestled into my neck and another head in the crook of my knee. I don't have kids yet and won't be a co-sleeper with them. My 2 CKCS, know their boundaries and even if we fall asleep and they are on the bed, they don't automatically expect it the next night Susan

ok back to add - my Breeder had Porthos on Advance kibble and raw beef mince - he was sick with the runs from the moment we brought him home and when we saw the vet, he was not happy to have him on raw mince. We tried the kibble alone and he was still bad and then went onto other things. The RC intestinal was almost instantaenous...within 24 hrs he was firming up. My older Cav is on RC Cavalier Specific and is loving it :D Susan