Picture taken from www.doggydynasty.com
Good day and welcome everyone!
This is Sharda with another Cocker Spaniel newsletter.
Your life changes the moment you select a Cocker Spaniel puppy (or adult dog) to make your own. The trip home will most likely be your first period of prolonged time spent together.
Your new Cocker Spaniel, whether puppy or adult, will be a bit nervous from being removed from his familiar surroundings, plus this will probably be his first car ride.
Here are a few tips for the ride home:
- If at all possible, you should bring someone else along to do the driving so you can spend time holding and reassuring the little Spaniel puppy.
- It’s a good idea to bring a towel or old sheet to cover seats or your lap in case he gets carsick.
- It’s your choice whether you choose to hold him or let him sit on the seat; this decision might be based on his size.
- Request an item such as a toy or a piece of a blanket that he had with his littermates. This will help comfort him. If you will crate your Spaniel dog you can put this in the crate as well.
What to Do When You Get Home
Try not to have too much activity when you enter the home. Your new arrival has already had enough excitement from the car trip home; greetings by other family members, and children in particular should be welcoming but low-key.
- Before you take him inside, place him on a leash and walk him to his potty spot. You may be pleasantly surprised that he takes his first pee after that draining car ride.
If he does, praise him. Even if you live in an apartment and will be doing most housetraining inside on paper, you should still introduce him to a spot outside while you have the chance.
- Once inside, give him about a cup of water and wait for about 15 minutes to make sure it stays in. If it does, you can safely leave the water dish down. If he’s still over-excited and brings up the water, pick up the dish, wait for things to calm a little more and try again until he can drink without bringing it back up.
- If you did your prep work you should have a sample of his regular chow from the Cocker Spaniel breeder. Feed your Cocker Spaniel puppy a small amount of food in the same manner he’s used to (mixed with water, meat, etc.).
If you plan to switch the Spaniel dog to another brand (and we suggest you use a high-quality brand listing meat as the first ingredient), you can mix in a small amount of the new food and gradually decrease the old brand.
- Over the next few days, you will want to adjust the feeding schedule to suit your needs. All dogs will become accustomed to new feeding schedules as long as they are consistent.
Some feed twice a day, some once. Many adult dogs can be left to graze hard kibble at their leisure, but that will come later. Trying to do this with a Cocker Spaniel puppy will not only make housebreaking difficult, it could create a sick puppy that hasn’t learned yet to control his eating urges.
- If you’re starting out with a Cocker Spaniel puppy it must continue to feed three to four times per day, but you can adjust what times those feedings are given.
I hope that you learned a lot from today’s Cocker Spaniel newsletter
All the best and take care
Warmly,
Sharda Baker