Thank you for trusting River’s Edge Cavaliers with this new and exciting addition to your family! Here is a list of possible items and some general information that may make life with your puppy a bit easier:

 

CRATE: A crate sized around 22” inches is appropriate for starting out with your puppy. You can also buy an adult-sized crate, which is 30”, but make sure it has a divider! You can use a box for a divider if it does not come with one. That way you can size the crate up as the puppy grows. The reason for this is so that the puppy doesn’t use one corner as a bathroom and the other to sleep in! The crate sleeping area should only be large enough for the puppy to comfortably lay down and stand up. This will encourage them to only use the crate for sleeping. Kim makes each puppy a fleece blanket that smells like your puppy’s mom and siblings for their bed. This helps them to adjust to their new home.

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HEARTBEAT SLEEP PUPPY: Can help with sleeping in a crate. The puppies pile on top of each other for warmth and a feeling of safety. The puppies can't see or hear for the first couple of weeks. They use smell to find their littermates and mom. Previous adopting families have spoken highly of using a heartbeat stuffed animal in conjunction with the blanket Kim makes each puppy. Chewy is a great company to order pet products.

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Description

Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy Behavioral Aid Dog Toy is designed to help your dog cope with everyday stressors. This comforting toy recreates the intimacy and physical warmth that your nervous pup craves in times of stress due to loneliness, fear and separation anxieties. This stuffed animal behavioral aid also features a real-feel, pulsing heartbeat and heat source that works to calm your pup and reduce negative behaviors such as barking and whining. You can switch the heartbeat function on and off as desired.

Key Benefits

• Adorable toy reduces negative behaviors resulting from anxiety, such as whining and barking, through natural instinct, not through medication.

• Recreates intimacy with physical warmth and a simulated heartbeat which eases crying, loneliness and separation anxiety in pets.

• Disposable warming pack provides an extra source of comfort for your pet and is all-natural, odorless, and simple to use with no electricity, no microwaving, and no mess.

• Easy to clean, the plush toy is machine washable with the heart removed.

• Pulsing heartbeat lasts up to two weeks of 24/7 use on just one set of AAA alkaline batteries (included).

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Link: https://www.chewy.com/smart-pet-love-snuggle-puppy/dp/196019

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FOOD: Your puppy will be eating “Iams – ISmart Puppy and Purina Puppy Chow” when you bring him home. It can be found at most Wal-Mart stores and specialty pet food stores. The bag will have feeding instructions for the puppy. It should be between ¾ and 1 cup of dog food per day.

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Link: Puppy Food Information

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TOYS: KONG makes some high-quality puppy toys. The KONG Puppy Goodie Bone Toy works well for teething puppies. They can be purchased at chewy.com. Nylabone is another quality brand.

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FOOD & WATER BOWLS: You will need one for water and one for food. I prefer stainless steel as ceramic can break and plastic can turn into a toy for chewing. Plastic feels smooth however they are not. The tiny grooves can grow bacteria. Puppies drink lots of water.

 

POTTY TRAINING: Do not use “pee” pads. These encourage your dog to use your home as his potty. Wood shavings can be purchased at a pet store or Lowes. Take the puppy to the location in your yard you would like him to use. Once he uses the restroom, sprinkle the shavings in your yard at that location. He will mentally link the shavings with the restroom. This enables the puppy to run outside, smell a familiar scent and know where to go. It makes potty training easier. I suggest carrying your puppy (in your arms) to the area you prefer to use for his restroom, sitting him down, and using one word to indicate it's time to use the restroom. That word can be anything from potty, restroom, or literally any word you want him to associate with using the restroom. You should ignore him until he uses the restroom and then praise him. Some give him a small treat for using the restroom. I have mixed feelings about using treats. Cavaliers are smart! They can learn to pretend they are using the restroom for a treat. Then it goes to playtime and they need to use the restroom when they go back inside.

 

WORMING: Your puppy has been routinely wormed with a full spectrum of the proper deworming medicine at the appropriate times. Our dewormer medicine comes from our veterinarian office. We do not use medicines from a co-op or pet store. It is rare that worms are found in a fecal sample at your veterinarian, but this can happen. Please do not be alarmed. It is very unique to each individual puppy, and it is hard sometimes, due to resistance in certain individuals, to eradicate each individual parasite.

 

VACCINATIONS: Your puppy will come with their first set of vaccinations. These vaccinations will be listed in your Health Record that will be provided when you receive your puppy. Your puppy will need additional vaccinations that are age-specific and recommended by your veterinarian. You should check with your veterinarian, however, most recommend three to four series of vaccines spaced three weeks apart. Your puppy will receive its first series of vaccinations around seven to eight weeks of age and before leaving for his new home. The first rounds of vaccinations are for distemper and parvo. It's mixed in one needle, by our veterinarian, and administered under the skin.

 

MICROCHIP: You should consider and speak to your veterinarian about microchipping your puppy. A pet microchip is about the size of a grain of rice. It consists of a tiny computer chip housed in a special type of glass. The material is made to be compatible with living tissue. The microchip is implanted between the dog's shoulder blades, under the skin, with a needle and special syringe. The process is similar to getting a shot (except with a larger needle). Although collars and tags are essential, they can fall off or become damaged. Microchips are designed to last for the life of a dog. They do not need to be charged or replaced. There are no batteries. Once in place, the microchip can be detected immediately with a handheld device that uses radio waves to read the chip. This device scans the microchip and then displays a unique alphanumeric code. A microchipped dog can be easily identified if found by a shelter or veterinary office in possession of a universal scanner. Most shelters and veterinary offices contain a microchip scanner. Scanners are relatively inexpensive. We have one here at our kennel. It cost approximately $70 to microchip a dog, not including other optional services. The initial $70 includes basic lifetime services. You can pay an annual fee for such services as having the subscription company create flyers and contact you in different ways. We don’t subscribe to these services. I recommend getting it done at a normal office visit instead of a special visit to avoid paying the office visit fee in addition to the microchip process. We’ve had 8-week old puppies microchipped and it can be tough on them. The needle is large for a small puppy. The last visit for age-specific shots around 13 weeks is a good time for microchipping. When they are spayed or neutered, and under anesthesia, is the best time for this process.

 

SPAY/NEUTER: Most veterinarians recommend neutering a male pup between 4 to 6 months of age, and females before their first heat (which occurs around 6 to 8 months of age.) It is imperative that you spay or neuter your pet if you did not buy on “Full” registration and do not have experience breeding animals. Once a female comes into heat it can be messy to deal with and her personality can, and usually does change, when in season. The female heat cycle can result in a month of doggy diapers and chaos during outside restroom trips. Males especially change in their behavior with marking/urinating/leg lifting and mounting objects! Spay and neuter your pup for a consistent, family-friendly personality and ease of dog ownership.

 

HEARTWORM/FLEA TREATMENT: We routinely treat for the prevention of fleas. Some families choose to treat for fleas, and others with minimal or no pets and minimal surrounding pets do not. Please discuss these options with your veterinarian, as many medications and topical treatments are available if you so choose. We use Sentinel Spectrum for all our dogs. We ask our veterinarian for a prescription and purchase online from California Pet Pharmacy. It’s the same product and considerably cheaper than at the local veterinarian office. You must have a prescription for the medicine. Some veterinarians are hesitant to write the prescription because they want you to buy their product. Sentinel Spectrum is for heartworms, roundworms, tapeworms, and fleas. It’s approximately $40 for a 6-months supply. It's one tablet per month.

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Sentinel Spectrum provides protection against heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, fleas, and tapeworms. The beef and bacon flavored soft-chew are readily accepted by dogs six weeks of age or older. Sentinel Spectrum does not kill adult fleas. If your cavalier has adult fleas, they will lay eggs and the Sentinel Spectrum will kill the eggs, however, the adult flea will continue to live on your pet. We use Bravecto to kill adult fleas and ticks. One Bravecto chew lasts for 3-months. Adult fleas can live for up to a month on your pet. A combination of Sentinel and Bravecto takes care of heartworms, other worm parasites, flea eggs, adult fleas, and ticks. Bravecto is not safe for puppies under 6-month old.

 

BATHING: Your puppy only needs minimal bathing early in life. Too frequent baths can dry out their skin. We recommend no more than once a week. Only use puppy safe shampoo or "No Tears" baby shampoo. Avoid harsh flea treatments and other chemicals for your puppy. Be careful of getting water into their ears! Puppies are susceptible to ear infections and clipping their ears up during bathing, or any other sort of lifting their ears and getting water into their ear canal can cause an infection. Keep their ears down and run water only down the top of their head, not into the ears. Ears can be cleaned out with the proper type of cleaning solution found in pet stores when needed. Most dogs do not like blow dryers. Be careful not to burn the puppy's skin if you choose to use one. If you do choose to use a blow dryer set it on low and warm. Puppies cannot control their own body temperature until they are 3-4 weeks old. We do not bath our puppies until they are at least 6-weeks old. We use baby wet wipes for the puppies between baths. We keep them by the door for use when bringing the puppy inside after bathroom breaks or playtime.

 

MEDICINE: Chews are normally not a problem but it can be difficult if you need to give your dog tablets. One trick is to take a small (1"x1") piece of bread or thin meat such as deli shaved ham/turkey/chicken. Wrap the tablet in the bread or meat making a little ball. They make pill pockets and those can work also.

 

COMMON POTTY AREAS: Common areas for dogs to use the restroom are ripe for worms, viruses, and parvo. If you stop at a gas station or other area for your dog to use the restroom pick a location that other will not commonly use. Don't use the most obvious location. I see some interstate gas stations that will have a grassy area on one side. Many times this where 95% of the dogs go for a potty break. Avoid that area.

 

VET OFFICES: Our vet offices are very clean, however I try not to let our puppies or adults touch the floor. I use a large tub for the puppies and plastic dog travel crate for the adults. Vet offices have a mixture of healthy and sick animals that arrive. I may be over protective but I look at it like a human walking around in a hospital emergency room barefoot. I wouldn't want to do that and would not let my children do that for sure.

 

COLLAR: I recommend a puppy or cat collar with a breakaway buckle for your puppy’s first collar! The breakaway will release if the pup gets caught on something (a buckle closure could strangle them as they try to free themselves). A regular collar with buckle closure or preferably a small harness can be used when they are older and ready to start taking walks.

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Link: https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-keep-safe-break-away-dog/dp/52245

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VITAMINS: We give each adult cavalier one of these vitamins per day:

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Link: Doc Roy's Daily Care Canine

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It's a quality vitamin and they see them as a treat.

 

We also give Doc Roy's B Strong liquid daily. It's really good for a boost if a dog gets sick or stressed. It helps with their immune system.

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Link: Doc Roy's B Strong

Link: Small Syringes without Needles

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I have not tried these but hear good things about them:

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Link: Omega Gold Soft Chews

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We are not affiliated with any company and do not receive any type of kickback. You should be leery of any breeder demanding you use one particular food or vitamin. We do highly recommend you start your puppy on Iam's puppy food as that is what they've been eating. We provide directions on how to transition the puppy to a different food if you prefer. If you switch them cold turkey there's a good chance they'll have an upset stomach or not eat at all.

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Two of my favorite placed to order dog items is Chewy and Revival Animal Hospital. You can search for the name and find their websites.

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CRITICAL CARE FOOD: If you have a dog or cat that is in need of additional nutrition the food listed below is very good. It helps after sickness, surgery, or any stressful situation.

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Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets CN Critical Nutrition Formula Canned Dog & Cat Food is designed to help manage the nutrition of dogs and cats that are critically ill or anorectic. This formula centers on providing a concentrated energy source and an optimal nutrient profile to support your pet in recovery. The smooth texture allows this protein-rich formula, so you pet can begin to experience its benefits as quickly as possible.

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Key Benefits

• This energy dense formula provides concentrated nutrition to your dog or cat that is critically ill, anorectic, or recovering from surgery.

• Added antioxidants promote overall well-being and high protein and fat content provides nutrition for your pet when they need it most.

• High palatability and digestible so your pet can experience it benefits quickly.

• Made in the USA.

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You do need a prescription for purchase. A lot of veterinarian offices have the food in stock for purchase. It's typically $3-5 a can.

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Link: Purina Critical Nutrition Cat/Dog