Gretel

Yes if hair on furniture, clothes and carpets are a problem for you a Cavalier is not the best choice. I didn't realise how much they lose till my black and tan started sleeping on my bed - the black shows up a lot more than ruby or blenheim hairs....

I like chicken livers and hearts (well the dogs do anyway :cool: )

HI Kezza, I wouldn't feed Innova simply because I will not shop at THAT PLACE (yes I am shouting!). Since the food is only available from PP it is not one I would consider. What food did your pup's breeder recommend? It's usually best to keep to a similar diet to avoid tummy upsets at first. I have fed Royal Canin, Advance and Eagle Pack to pups and been very happy with them.

I have a lovely Cavalier girl of just over a year old. I have trained dogs before without too many problems but Bree really has me stumped. When we are out and about her nose is very firmly to the ground and no matter what I have tried there it stays! I introduced her to a clicker a while ago and with that managed to get her to focus on me and she can heel quite acceptably inside at home as well as sit and drop. A totally different story outside though! This nose down bit really is quite obsessive behaviour. My latest plan was to use a target stick.... She touches it reliably at home so I thought I'd give it a try outside today but no good. She is just not interested. She loves food but it's not enough to motivate her either. I'm not expecting to obedience trial this little one (gave up on that idea months ago :D ) but I would like to get her in the show ring. I am getting seriously discouraged. Any help please?

My first dog many moons ago was a Wei and she was always into trouble! Bee stings, swallowed a golf ball and other odd things. Then I had a GSP pup who managed to get a cup hook through her tongue... aaaah!! Some definitely get up to more mischief than others.

Yes I've been going to Karen Hedberg for years and find her very good

Good idea, Lefki. I'm too far away so can't help out. It may help if you let people know what sort of pup you have?

just had too

A friend's Cavalier pup fell from a table and damaged the growth plate in his front leg. He had surgery to repair damage and was strictly crated for some time. He healed beautifully and is now very active - you wouldn't know anything had happened to him. He is 7 months old now.

On the table? What??? Sorry couldn't resist......

Hi Peta, If you go to the breeds section of this site you can look at some breed profiles of King Charles Spaniels http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profil...les-spaniel.asp They are very different to Cavaliers in the head. Some Cavaliers are smaller than others. The standard is 5.5kilos to 8.1 so that allows for a fair variation. Many pet Cavaliers tend to be quite large and well over the breed standard. Maybe you have seem more of the bigger ones? Did you buy Franklin from a breeder and get his registration? That will leave you in no doubt as to his breed If you go to the photos section there is a heap of Cavalier photos members have put up.

Hi Peta, Ditto to everything laffi said! A lot of people seem to think that their dog knows they have done wrong because they look guilty but it really isn't a concept that dogs understand. How long is he alone? Cavaliers are a real companion breed and don't do well if left alone for long hours. When I'm at work I confine my girls to the kitchen with their toys and some newspaper (and yes my pup does shred the paper but what does it matter?). They are comfy and safe there and not much mischief can be done! Aerogard sprayed on surfaces will deter chewing. He is a pup and pups chew - it's up to you to keep things out of his reach.

Do we know yet which breed Franklin is? A friend had a Charlie (King Charles) with shocking skin. It turned out he was allergic to just about everything :D He lived on turkey and cortisone to keep him comfortable. Cavaliers and King Charles have quite different temperaments. I always said I would train a Charlie for obedience until I got to know them - I don't want that much of a challenge! Oh okay I just read your post in the other thread and see that Franklin is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Some vets probably haven't even heard of all the foods so they really can't be expected to know much about them. Many stock one type and push that as the best to feed. I don't think they are particularly up on nutrition as a whole. I've been feeding Advance for quite a while and been happy with it. I've had the girls on Nutro for about 6 weeks or so and haven't noticed any difference in their condition so far. My new pup, Lola, has come to me on Advance and I will keep her on it. Bree (my avatar) was raised on Royal Canin and has changed over to Nutro now.

<I wiped the wall down with white vinegar this morning as an interim measure and then the idiot went and licked it... > mmm tasty! One of mine used to lick the bitter bite as it ran down the woodwork - ugh!

Oh dear! I use Aerogard to deter chewing. Works well for my lot.

I think a raw diet is great but you really do have to get it right to provide everything a growing pup needs. I use a combination of dry and add more raw as they get a bit older.

Ah 'tis a pretty colour one you are getting

Vickie, that is a lovely photo of Portia and thank you for your kind comments. I love photos of dogs doing agility - they look to be smiling

Well I'm going to have a brag Actually I did nothing to achieve it but two Cavalier sisters I bred are doing so well and I'm very excited! Susan just rang to let me know Tally has gained her AD title today so she has her AD and JD titles. Her sister, Portia, has her ADX, JDX, SPD, SD and GD titles. The girls are only young and Susan had never done agility before training Portia so I think what she has acheived with the girls is fabulous And by the way it was a struggle for me to get their mother to stand properly in the show ring

I bought a moisture magnet ages ago and for some reason put it away in the cupboard and never used it Anyway I hunted it out yesterday and used it and it did get a lot of water out of the boy I bathed. So thanks for jogging my memory! In the cooler months I quite often use my little blower heater to dry them off a bit. I put them in a crate with the heater blowing towards them. You do have to keep a close eye on them though - don't want to cook 'em!

<maybe you could suggest that new supermarket one> Thanks Jed. Do you know the name of it?

I have a boy here I've been looking after for a week. His skin looks yuk and he has developed two hotspots this week He is on Supercoat but I'd say it is not suiting him at all. He is being picked up on Sunday. I suspect his owners will not go to any great expense or trouble with is food. If he were mine I would feed him nothing but raw and I think that would help. I doubt that the owners will go for that. What would people recommend I suggest for him? I know the vet they go to will advise them to feed Hills if they ask them advice and I'm not a fan of that at all.

I read through all the replies the other day with interest. One of my girls got hotspots every now and then. Funnily enough she never got them when she was younger just as she got on a bit. Well blow me down if I didn't come home to find her son with a hotspot yesterday I thought I'd try out the Betadine and Curash cause I had both here.... or so I thought. The Betadine must have gone out of date and I've tossed it. I've been told to use Listerine but never tried it. So I dabbed the spot well with Listerine and then put Curash on it. Doug hasn't touched it overnight so fingers crossed it will do the trick.

He is so cute!!! You're gonna have so much fun with him - he looks a terror