We thought you might like to know a little about how are dogs live from day to day and how our moms and puppies are raised as well. Look below to see some pictures of our home.
We have 5 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels: 2 are older and retired, Beau and Josie; We also have 2 females, Scarlett (Blenheim) and LeeLou (Tricolor) and 1 male Winston (Blenheim) as well (that makes the 5 total). We don't have any kennels per se. We have tile and wood floors and area rugs throughout our house. Our son has special needs and he hates all animals! Crazy of us, I know, but we love our dogs! The dogs have crates and comfy beds all over the house, but we never close the doors to the crates anymore. They are just there because our dogs prefer to sleep in them and like to go in there if there is a thunderstorm or if they want quiet time. I crate train every dog I have, including the puppies when they are old enough. The dogs' bedroom is pretty much theirs except when our kids come home from college and they all have to share or I go and sit with them and work on paperwork, computer or watch tv with them if they are in there for any length of time. When our son is at school or not home, the dogs are free to roam the entire house and they usually follow every footstep that I make and they go outside several times a day. It's too hot here to leave them outside for very long periods of time and Cavaliers are meant to be "inside" dogs. We have a nice, big yard with a privacy fence that is their domain. They all sleep in their bedroom at night or in our den. When our son is at home, we play musical dogs between outside, the den and the dogs' room depending upon where in the house my son chooses to be at any time. He will NOT be in the same room as the dogs. He will NOT go outside when the dogs are outside. When we are expecting puppies, all the dogs stay together like normal until we get to within a few days of delivery or she goes into early labor. When that happens, I move myself into the dogs' bedroom and my girl and I stare at each other 24/7 until she goes into labor. The other dogs move into the den to sleep while we have puppies. They do get visitation rights for socialization once the puppies get a few weeks old. I whelp the puppies in the dogs' room. After the puppies are born, I move the whelping box to the floor and I pull out the trundle bed under the daybed and I sleep (ha) there for at least the first week to 10 days. I'm usually awake pretty much for 3-4 days straight during early labor and after the puppies are born. I'm paranoid that someone will get smushed underneath mom or accidentally left off in a corner and get too cold or have trouble nursing or something. Once the puppies get their eyes open and start scooting around well, I move them into the small kiddie pool in the dogs' bedroom. Once they get big enough that they can crawl out of the pool, I basically give them run of the bedroom with a wire fence blocking off the furniture so they can't crawl under the couch or bed, etc. I kennel them up in a smaller exercise pen with mom to begin the crate training process. Once the puppies start walking, they get to go outside with everyone else and I stay with them constantly. We have an in-ground pool, so everyone gets introduced to the water before they go home unless it's too cold outside for swimming. They get play time in other parts of the house, so they get used to tile and wood floors, rugs, concrete patio and around the pool, water and grass as well as all the normal sounds of the household, tv, vacuum, people coming and going, etc. They go for car rides to and from the vet and maybe to the Starbucks drive-thru (although they don't get "Puppacinos" until they get older!) lol
As you can see, all of our dogs and puppies truly live as part of our family!
We have 5 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels: 2 are older and retired, Beau and Josie; We also have 2 females, Scarlett (Blenheim) and LeeLou (Tricolor) and 1 male Winston (Blenheim) as well (that makes the 5 total). We don't have any kennels per se. We have tile and wood floors and area rugs throughout our house. Our son has special needs and he hates all animals! Crazy of us, I know, but we love our dogs! The dogs have crates and comfy beds all over the house, but we never close the doors to the crates anymore. They are just there because our dogs prefer to sleep in them and like to go in there if there is a thunderstorm or if they want quiet time. I crate train every dog I have, including the puppies when they are old enough. The dogs' bedroom is pretty much theirs except when our kids come home from college and they all have to share or I go and sit with them and work on paperwork, computer or watch tv with them if they are in there for any length of time. When our son is at school or not home, the dogs are free to roam the entire house and they usually follow every footstep that I make and they go outside several times a day. It's too hot here to leave them outside for very long periods of time and Cavaliers are meant to be "inside" dogs. We have a nice, big yard with a privacy fence that is their domain. They all sleep in their bedroom at night or in our den. When our son is at home, we play musical dogs between outside, the den and the dogs' room depending upon where in the house my son chooses to be at any time. He will NOT be in the same room as the dogs. He will NOT go outside when the dogs are outside. When we are expecting puppies, all the dogs stay together like normal until we get to within a few days of delivery or she goes into early labor. When that happens, I move myself into the dogs' bedroom and my girl and I stare at each other 24/7 until she goes into labor. The other dogs move into the den to sleep while we have puppies. They do get visitation rights for socialization once the puppies get a few weeks old. I whelp the puppies in the dogs' room. After the puppies are born, I move the whelping box to the floor and I pull out the trundle bed under the daybed and I sleep (ha) there for at least the first week to 10 days. I'm usually awake pretty much for 3-4 days straight during early labor and after the puppies are born. I'm paranoid that someone will get smushed underneath mom or accidentally left off in a corner and get too cold or have trouble nursing or something. Once the puppies get their eyes open and start scooting around well, I move them into the small kiddie pool in the dogs' bedroom. Once they get big enough that they can crawl out of the pool, I basically give them run of the bedroom with a wire fence blocking off the furniture so they can't crawl under the couch or bed, etc. I kennel them up in a smaller exercise pen with mom to begin the crate training process. Once the puppies start walking, they get to go outside with everyone else and I stay with them constantly. We have an in-ground pool, so everyone gets introduced to the water before they go home unless it's too cold outside for swimming. They get play time in other parts of the house, so they get used to tile and wood floors, rugs, concrete patio and around the pool, water and grass as well as all the normal sounds of the household, tv, vacuum, people coming and going, etc. They go for car rides to and from the vet and maybe to the Starbucks drive-thru (although they don't get "Puppacinos" until they get older!) lol
As you can see, all of our dogs and puppies truly live as part of our family!
