12 year old girl commandeering whatever pillow she chooses after a walk in the extra hot weather today.

Hi all! Orla, Lady, and I made it safely to New York Sunday afternoon. I’m happy to report that they did well on the flight and everything went smoothly going through security and boarding.

Though, the landing was a bit jarring so Lady’s eyes bugged out from being startled lol 😂

Now it’s a matter of getting the used to the city life, lack of grass, and our new home! More pictures of their adventures in the city to come. Thank you for all the advice for traveling with my duo! It was very helpful.

Poor Boris chewed me out for being gone for so long. He sure missed his “GamGams”. Parker and Rocky also missed me, but at least they didn’t yell at me for over 5 minutes. 😂

Flannel weather is coming

The boys love the 2 1/2 months in Michigan every summer

My little guy is about 16 lbs, and the bag says something like 1 to 2 cups a day, which is honestly a massive range when you're that small. Vet said to go by body condition since he's neutered and moderately active, but that still feels like I'm just winging it every time I scoop.

Started reading into why the bag ranges are so vague and apparently even a properly calculated number can be off by 30-40% per dog just from normal metabolism differences. Kind of made me feel better about not getting it perfect, but also made me realize most of us are probably just eyeballing it.

The tricky thing with Cavaliers is they're so food-motivated (at least mine is) and they pack on weight fast. One extra treat here and there and suddenly the vet is giving you the side-eye. Plus with the heart issues this breed is prone to, keeping them lean actually matters a lot more than with some other breeds.

How do you all figure out portions? Straight off the bag, watching body condition, something else? Found a calculator, also this guide, and this, that break down the math but I'm not sure how much it correlates with reality.

How much do you guys feed your fluffballs?

Prince demands everyone to go out at least 5 times a day to enjoy rest of the summer ❤️❤️❤️

My 2 yo cavie hasn’t been able to go on her walks outside because it’s been raining hard the past 2-3 weeks. It’s sunny today and look at my diva of a baby soaking in the precious sunshine 🐥⭐️

So Archie is 6 months old now. He’s largely a pretty happy and healthy fella. Full of energy. The one issue he’s had: his awful digestive flare ups.

It did start out with having Giardia when he was at 3 months, we got that treated and his digestion cleared up for a while after that. However, we’ve noticed a trend where every time he has a significant addition to his diet, he doesn’t just have a stomach upset, he seems to get a full on colitis episode where he’s having diarrhea and upset stomach for multiple days in a row. Last time it lasted to where he had to get meds from the vet just to finally settle. This happened from trying to switch his food to Blue Buffalo from a sensitive prescription food he’s been on. (which in hindsight we transitioned way too quickly and switched him back)

Right now, he’s having a flare from some sample beef food we received at a Pet Store. It isn’t surprising me now checking the ingredients why it didn’t agree with him, it looks like it had a ton of fiber stuff in it. But he didn’t eat a ton of it, maybe 10-15 pieces tops. So it’s surprising his stomach is still as upset as it is two days later.

When he’s not having a flare, his digestion/ BM’s are very normal. He can even occasionally eat a small scrap of something falling on the floor or a new treat with no problem. It just seems like whenever he has something that gets him to flare up, it really does a number on him and completely throws off his gut.

What are others experiences with this, especially at his age? Is this something that he may grow out of and partially due to his age? I’m just hoping we don’t spend the next 10 years giving him digestive meds on and off every time he eats too much of the wrong thing. 😂

Just a girl living her best life!

I have a 5 month old who is just starting puppy training classes. It is a 7 week class and last week was the first class. The trainer asked us to bring in 300 treats which sounded insane to me - we didn't go through all that but we did go through maybe 200 in an hour. I was using the 'Bil-Jac Little Jacs Small Dog Training Treats' (made with fresh chicken liver). Cut to about 2am and she has diarrhea that lasted all weekend.

If anyone has any recommendations of a treat I can use for training in bulk that wouldn't upset her stomach I would be sooo grateful.

Also as a side note - a lot of people have said I should just use her kibble. She is very picky and also super curious so the regular dog food I feed her is not gonna cut it lol. Like she would not be impressed by a piece of kibble for sitting down.

Short version:
Adult cavapoo and cavalier puppy refuse to eat their own food and will only eat the other's food, how do I make sure they're getting the nutrition they need? I cannot separate them because they get stressed and hunger strike.

Longer version:
So, we all know that cavaliers are velcro dogs and really clingy.

My cavapoo, Archie, is turning 9. He's always been a light eater, just a grazer so I could leave his food bowl out and he'd nibble through the day, but mostly preferred to eat as a "pack" when humans were having their meal time.

We recently got a full CKCS, Posy, and she's a few months old now, actively losing her baby teeth.

When we got Posy, we expected she'd be clingy around humans too. But instead, she got glued to her big brother. We tried to separate them during meal time so she could have her puppy food and he could have his adult food, but they both get stressed out and refuse to eat when they're separate. They also only have interest in what the other is eating, so now my puppy is eating adult food and my adult is eating puppy food, because they will only eat out of the same bowl. We've tried a few different formulas, but they're not really interested unless they see the other one eating it, it's bizarre.

So now I want to make sure they get the nutrition they need, while also not being stressed during meal times. They are BEGGING for food, while they have access to it *right there*, but they are hungry because they are refusing what we give them, despite if it's wet or dry.

Help a desperate mama out, I want to make sure my babies are happy and healthy but I'm so confused as to the next steps. Do I mix the kibble so it's a little of each? Is there a formula out there that will satisfy a growing puppy's needs without being too much for my adult? Do I play bad cop and leave them separate until they give up? The yelping/whining when they're separate is really difficult to deal with.

Photos for puppy tax.

Thanks!

Which cartoon character is your Cavalier’s favorite?

When you can no longer get a treat every 5 min just for being cute because the vet said you need to lose two pounds 😔

So, my male (neutered) cavie of 3.5 years has a “girlfriend” stuffed animal. He loves her. Maybe too much. He now has a little rug burn on his private area. Too much lovin. Has anyone encountered this before? Any home remedies for treating the little sore? I think I will have to put the comfort collar on and hide his girlfriend for a few days but if anyone has a remedy to help it heal, let me know, please. Much appreciated.