This might cause a stir but i need some advice...

[rij73]

I've heard of people teaching small dogs to go to the bathroom in kitty litter boxes. No kidding. It might be an option for you.

This is very true... As a matter of fact there are dog litter boxes on the market, or you can just make something up that suits you. My mom's 3 Maltese dogs are all paper trained. She only takes them out on nice days to romp and play in the yard, but they never HAVE to go out. They just do their business on papers in the laundry room. Of course she has to clean up in there a few times a day.

 

[Boemy]

The allergies are what worry me. You really need to get this resolved before a puppy comes into your life, IMO. Does your M-i-L know you have allergies?

 

[sourjayne]

I think you have gotten some great advice here.

I think the potty training will be an issue. Just because an 8-week-old puppy can hold its bladder for 3 hours, doesn't mean it will voluntarily. 3 hours is probably a maximum, you would feel discomfort in your bladder long before you've reached your breaking point, right?

I am lucky enough to take my puppy to work with me. Until he was about 14 weeks old, I took him outside to go potty 10-13 times in a 24-hour period. If I didn't do that, he would have gone wherever he was and would never be housebroken. I used puppy pads for times when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take him out before he needed to go for the first week or so, until I figured out his schedule.

Now he's 18 weeks old and it's once when we get up (7:30), once before work (9am), once before lunch (around 12:30), once in the afternoon (around 2 or 3), once before dinner (around 6), and once or twice more before bedtime.

I can't imagine how things would be if I left him by himself for so long. I think you might have a much much easier time if you didn't get a puppy. I'm not sure where you live, but here in the US we have animal shelters and rescue organizations with millions of adult dogs waiting for a home. An adult dog can hold their bladder all day and would be less stress for you in general. You'd still need the neighbor to check in during the day, especially if you have to work late or something, but things would be a lot easier all around.

The allergy thing is interesting too. I got tested for allergies yesterday and found out I'm mildly allergic to dogs! Who knew? My allergies are livable unless I also have a cold. I think I might start an allergy thread to hear some more about these living with allergies ideas.

I guess I'm in a rambling mood today. Sorry for the long post!

 

[yoko]

i think it's totally doable! it's going to take alot of work though. i got yoshi while i was working full time. i took about a half a week off for her. i work 2:30-close meaning i get home about... 1 or 2 in the morning *now when i first got her just worked about 5 hours a day 4 days a week* when i first got her was the hardest. you just have to dedicate more time to your dog saay you get up at 8 instead get up at 7 take dog for walk. when you get home before you get settled and don't want to get up take your dog for another walk. getting someone to stop by will help too.

i am also allergic to yoshi. some days are better than others. sometimes i'm ok but then the next day i'll wake up and i'll be clogged up and have a headache. vacuuming and keeping yoshi bathed and brushed helps a lot. only on days when i let that go does that get bad. i don't usually take meds for it, only if my allergy sypmtoms are so bad they'll interfer with work theni might force some down but i've just learned to live with it.

you know dogs are puppies for a long time. i got yoshi when she was 4 months old and i think that helped me out a little, she was past a big destroying stage, she could hold going to bathroom a little longer. try rescuing a dog they'll love you forever and i'm sure you could find the perfect dog for you guys

 

[MarkG]

Wow - cheers for all the replies peeps, all that advice was really welcome and i thank you all for it... especially the big long posts

Firstly a couple of developments, i went over to my parents last night and brought up the subject of the puppy, they were over the moon and said if i wanted to i could drop the puppy off at their house every morning and pick it up after work... mom only works a couple of hours a day and will be in 99% of the time to care for the puppy

This does of course raise another question, how would a puppy cope with his/her enviroment changing everyday? my parent are on the way to the girlfriends work, but it is about a 45minute car journey everyday?

As for the allergy thing, i already take allergy medicine everyday in the summer, i've got no problems taking it for the winter as well. I will however consult my doctor about it on the weekend

 

[sourjayne]

My pup has three places he calls home: My office during the day, My home on weeknights, and My boyfriend's place on weekends. He had to be housetrained in three places, which is why I'm so vigilant about taking him out regularly, I don't leave it up to him. I expect it to take longer for him to be reliable because of this, but he's doing pretty well.

He seems to really look forward to the various places, bounding up the stairs at the boyfriend's condo for a weekend of chasing cats, bounding in the house when we get home every night to greet the roommates' dogs and get some dinner, bounding into the cubicle to take a nice cozy nap or standing guard right at the entrance to my cube waiting for someone to come by and play with him

He's also just fine in the car and always has been because I've taken him to work every day since he was 8 weeks old. (He's been amazingly well-behaved.)

I've heard adult dogs are more routine oriented and more bothered by disruption than puppies. If the puppy is raised with a lot of variety in his life, he'll be better suited for that sort of thing as an adult.

 

[tempura tantrum]

Great advice so far, and it sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders!

Someone mentioned the absolute NECESSITY of making sure that the sire and dam of your puppy pass heart-health tests with flying colors, and I cannot emphasize enough how VERY important that is in A CKC. Heart problems run RAMPANT in this breed, and there is nothing more devastating than losing your dog at 2-3 years of age because you didn't do your research.

Your prospective breeder should take that very seriously.

Also- expect to be absolutely GRILLED by the breeder as to why you would make a good home. Don't accept a dog from anyone who will sell it to a friend to give to you as a gift. That is absolutely asking for trouble. If the case is that your friend/family member is just providing the purchase price- then this is acceptable, but I would RUN in the opposite direction of anyone who didn't require a meeting with the future owners themselves. Getting a puppy from a good breeder is roughly akin to adopting a child. In other words- it should be hard!

Think twice about getting a dog from anyone who will part with a puppy just because you have the cash. This is a sure sign they're in it for the money. And if that's the case, then you can bet they're cutting corners elsewhere too. (Eg: the likelihood that the parents will have had heart screenings is basically nil).

Another thing you're going to have to take a good hard look at- the toy breeds are bred SPECIFICALLY to be companions. That means they want to be around you ALL the time. More than most breeds. It would be unfair to ask a breed like this to go for 8 hour days with no one around- so definitely make sure you've got friends and family who can keep your dog company and break up the monotony of the day.

Toy breeds can sometimes be more difficult to housetrain than others as well. I totally second the idea of getting some indoor potty pads in your case. It would be incredibly difficult to house train a puppy with any consistency when you're gone for such long time periods- *especially* because these guys have little bladders!

ETA: just saw your latest post- I believe your pup would do just fine with the environment change. CKCs are absolute people-lovers- not one-man dogs in the least! So I don't think you'd have a problem there. As long as the dog has some kind of a set *routine* you're golden. Dogs don't like to be "thrown for a loop," so to speak. They enjoy predictability, structure, order, and knowing where they are in the pack order.
Good luck!

 

[misticaleclipse]

Firstly a couple of developments, i went over to my parents last night and brought up the subject of the puppy, they were over the moon and said if i wanted to i could drop the puppy off at their house every morning and pick it up after work... mom only works a couple of hours a day and will be in 99% of the time to care for the puppy

This does of course raise another question, how would a puppy cope with his/her enviroment changing everyday? my parent are on the way to the girlfriends work, but it is about a 45minute car journey everyday?

As for the allergy thing, i already take allergy medicine everyday in the summer, i've got no problems taking it for the winter as well. I will however consult my doctor about it on the weekend

Excelent. Thank you again for asking these questions and taking the answers to heart!

There should not be a problem with the enviroment change. A lot of dogs go to doggie day care during the day and are home at night and there is no issue. A lot of dogs also love car rides, but some do get car sick, so you would want to keep an eye out for that.

I am taking it that over the moon means they would be more than happy to take care of the puppy? They also need to keep in mind that they would be doing the majority of the house training with the puppy. Of course there will be accidents, and with a toy breed it can take over 6 months or more to train them to be 100% house trained. I just want to make sure they are really informed and understand the work involved?

Its great to hear you are willing to pay for an take the alergy medications if needed

 

[misticaleclipse]

double post

 

[moe]

Hi Mark I am from the UK too lol, good to see you are doing your research before the puppy comes along. while reading this topic, my main concern apart from toilet training was the lack of socialisation your pup would be getting while you are both at work all day, am am more happy now that I have read that your mother will be looking after your pup this will make a big difference IMO, and the pup will settle into a routine in no time going from one house to another, what I would say though is Epupz is not the best place to get your pup from, there are many puppy farmers advertising on there, that on the face of it look really good but are knocking out litters here there and everywhere I would contact the breed club and request the recommended breeders list, normally these are breeders that have passed a certain criteria set by the club, and the breeder meets their code of ethics. with regards to health, breeding age, etc.

heres a link to the CKC club.
http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html
it also may be work looking at the rescues they have maybe something that is already trained?

this is the link to regional clubs each one should have a breeders list.
http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html

Mo

 

[Zoom]

Great advice so far, and it sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders!

Someone mentioned the absolute NECESSITY of making sure that the sire and dam of your puppy pass heart-health tests with flying colors, and I cannot emphasize enough how VERY important that is in A CKC. Heart problems run RAMPANT in this breed, and there is nothing more devastating than losing your dog at 2-3 years of age because you didn't do your research.

Your prospective breeder should take that very seriously.

Also- expect to be absolutely GRILLED by the breeder as to why you would make a good home. Don't accept a dog from anyone who will sell it to a friend to give to you as a gift. That is absolutely asking for trouble. If the case is that your friend/family member is just providing the purchase price- then this is acceptable, but I would RUN in the opposite direction of anyone who didn't require a meeting with the future owners themselves. Getting a puppy from a good breeder is roughly akin to adopting a child. In other words- it should be hard!

Think twice about getting a dog from anyone who will part with a puppy just because you have the cash. This is a sure sign they're in it for the money. And if that's the case, then you can bet they're cutting corners elsewhere too. (Eg: the likelihood that the parents will have had heart screenings is basically nil).

Excellent advice and also a good way to let the gift-givers still have the joy of giving while you and your girlfriend will be able to be matched to the dog best suited to you.

 

[MarkG]

Hey guys... Boy we have a different Time zone out here, i'm about to go to bed and you guys are all at work!

Anyways, again a special thank you to all the people that took the time out to give advice, every last bit was really helpful.

Moe - Thanks for those links, i'll have a really good look at them tomorrow at work (its midnight and i'm going to bed!)

I feel much better about taking a puppy into the family with all of that information, i'm going to continue to read up and do the best i can in time for her birthday... its ironic that i'll have to train the girlfriend with all my research before we can start training the puppy!

I've been looking into crate training quite a bit and along with the litter trays i think it sounds like the best way to go... hope it doesn't confuse the little guy having to wee in a flower pot in the day lol

Either way, my worries have now been turned into excitement and i'm pretty confident that as long as i give it 100% that the little guy should be walking into a great home... I want to say a big thanks to everyone that posted, i owe you all a beer

In a couple of months i'm sure there will be more questions tho!