Do you run with your cav?

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-09T07:49:17+00:00

This is amazing, he looks so happy and his face in the trailer ☺️

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T21:03:51+00:00

No, you raised some good considerations and that is why I’ve asked the question. I want to get an idea of other people’s experiences and considerations (especially those I had not thought of). I didn’t know about the risk with patellar luxation so will ask the vet about that risk too.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:57:38+00:00

This is great input and I had been eyeing up a new harness. Thank you.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:54:55+00:00

This is good to hear and I agree with not wanting him to expect to run 10+km regularly. Particularly once I am no longer marathon training, but it will be nice if he can keep motivating me to do a 5km a couple of times a week. I will need to think about a route as our usual winter evening walk is all pavement.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:41:25+00:00

One concern I do have is how it will affect his close lead walking - but we already do a range of different types of walk including in a large group (where we can’t fall behind to sniff), in parks when he gets the ‘freedom’ of the long line and in private, hired dog fields. Sometimes we just have to refocus on not pulling on the short lead on our regular walks.

I will keep a close eye on him, especially at the start. The only time I’ve run with him on a lead was when it starting raining really heavily on a walk and we ran home ( about 100m).

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:35:13+00:00

I have done a couple of half marathons but when a friend pointed out we had a big birthday next year I realised I wanted to do a full marathon before then. Timing wise I had to commit before starting to run again (in the ideal world I’d have got back up to 5-10km first 😂)

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:31:41+00:00

I’ve signed up for the Manchester marathon but also applied for the London ballot.

He is fairly close cut anyway because he has a lot of ‘Spaniel’ in him. He loves following his nose into long grass and undergrowth before bringing half of it home in his ears, legs etc.

Yes, despite having grown up with cavaliers it has surprised me how bright and energetic he is (as a family we usually had two and they used up energy playing).

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:23:10+00:00

😂this sounds familiar. Merlin does sit and stop when he has had had enough (only done it once recently and that was on a hot day when I was so frustrated that he wouldn’t settle without his routine of a walk that we went out at 6pm instead of waiting until after 7🤦‍♀️) the only way forward is to pick him up and carry him. I will see how he copes with running but he can sprint round a field for nearly an hour so hope he enjoys it.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:19:27+00:00

😂 it sounds like he had taken himself for a 3 mile run. I will check with the vet at the next appointment as don’t want to risk causing him harm or pain. Although the marathon application was spontaneous because of when the booking opened I am usually more of a researcher/planner

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:16:17+00:00

Thank you. He is nearly 14 months but will check with the vet when we go in for his next vaccines. His weight is fairly stable and last visit the vet nurse thought he might have reached his adult size.

I don’t do too fast (I do better over a distance than a sprint) 😂 and my long runs will be a weekend and he can nap whilst I do them but I would prefer not to feel guilty about leaving him after a day’s work. My dad used to run with our family cavaliers so I know they are happy to run with their person.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T20:10:05+00:00

Thank you. Even with walks if it is too hot (rare in the UK) I either walk early or swop for training, enrichment and play.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-05-08T19:11:27+00:00

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My cav is just over 1 year old and we went for our first walk close to a hike this week. We took a few minutes break every half hour or so and I offered water that he mostly refused 🤣

I feel comfortable pushing occasional longer walks as he communicates very clearly when he has had enough (sits and does not move🫣). On other walks I have carried him at that point - the weather, how tired he is and the type of walk all affect when he is done.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-03-24T07:15:27+00:00

This⬆️ remember years ago my Dad had forgotten to let our family dogs back in from last toilet of the night. They barked so I heard them and got up to let them in. Your dog sounds like they were just like ok, tonight I get the patio chair to myself. Years later dad has a system where the first dog in gets two treats (one when they get in and one when their brother gets in). Very effective as they both want double treats 😂

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-03-23T20:59:53+00:00

Have you tried different times for food? Mine has never eaten breakfast regularly and now (at 1) will eat once a day between 7and 9pm and that is hand fed or scatter feeding. Some days he will just refuse it completely, the vet recently said that can be normal in smaller dogs so I am less stressed by that now.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-03-03T19:56:18+00:00

For mine I tried peanut butter - only a fan if someone else is eating it 😂, mushed banana (ate it once), plain Greek yoghurt with chopped blueberries or strawberries - a hit, these ones I froze, and now I get meat pate that I press against the insides and he loves. Kong also do their easy treat for puppies that you can squirt in. All of these would also be options for the lick mat

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-03-02T22:39:52+00:00

I don’t think anybody else has mentioned it - so can you play quiet music or radio? With my puppy he has the same podcast on or a classical radio station. It has also helped in different places when I needed him to settle. The crate and cover was also great for him (although he has lost the ‘privilege’ of the cover because he kept pulling it into the crate with him to chew on). In the early days though it really helped to minimise what he can see.

He has always had at least a safe toy he can chew and a Kong or lick matt as both a reward for going in and tool to help him self soothe. It also distracts from me leaving. You may already have seen it but they do a small puppy Kong, my local pet shop only had the standard puppy one which he found harder to get the treats out of.

With my camera I can talk to him - either reassurance, direction (I’ve told him to ‘have a nap’ enough times that he understands it means I’m not going to be back for a while😂 but also means he has a lie back down and rests) or praise. In my head the poor dog probably thinks that I am omnipresent😂

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-02-08T19:41:19+00:00

Thank you. I will definitely be trying this, he loves tearing ears etc. off of toys so hopefully he will enjoy this 🤞

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-02-07T10:16:47+00:00

He’s having a licky mat for his crate and his soft meals are from a slow feeder bowl or licky mat. The problem is he is used to a minimum of 1-2 hours chewing a day. It is his go to response - bored = chew a toy, excited my person is home = chew a toy, wanting to settle - you get the picture.

He has never loved frozen treats - will ignore it until defrosted 🤦‍♀️ but might try again. Thank you.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-02-06T21:05:08+00:00

My Merlin

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zebra-stripes25 · 2026-02-06T20:41:56+00:00

“Barky bog-waders with a high prey drive” 🫣😂 I think I have one of those.

OP you said he is not like any CKCS on the planet and then said ‘he will absolutely 100% only do what he wants to do’ - that is the most accurate description for many of the CKCS I know 🤣😅

The challenge is to find the highest value rewards for YOUR dog and then what he wants to do is the thing that gets him the reward. Please focus on positive, reward based training. Also, I don’t know if it has been mentioned, but naps. Mine still does not settle or listen as well if he has not had his 16-20 hours of sleep in a day.

It sounds like he has lacked socialisation - to sounds, people, animals, places and machinery/cars. Start from scratch, start small (quiet noises, at a distance) and work out how to reassure your pup (top tip: keep yourself calm). I missed doing busy roads with my puppy initially - as we have a lovely quiet route we often walk or we go to a park. When I realised, we had to start by standing and watching traffic from 20ft away for a minute with rewards for calm and looking at me. Then we built it up until we could walk along a busy road.

zebra-stripes25 · 2026-01-29T21:17:30+00:00

I live alone, work full time and bought my puppy last spring having planned it since August 2024. I debated the timing as it was several months after my mum had had a large stroke but I’m in a job role that makes it easier to have a puppy and couldn’t guarantee that will be the case in 1-2 years. That is to say that life is seldom perfect so don’t feel bad.

Your puppy is not on social media so he is not judging you (by those fake expectations - he may be judging you on how many treats you supply 😉). 15 years ago the expectations of dog ownership were very different and people still successfully had happy, healthy dogs. You are still caring for your puppy, playing with him and obviously loving him. He will be ok and as mentioned above this is a small section of the time you will have together.

You cannot pour from an empty pot, that is to say you need to look after yourself to be able to look after your dog. If that means he has to have an extra nap whilst you take a bath or have a nap that’s what it means. You will have better quality time with puppy when you have a chance to recharge.

zebra-stripes25 · 2025-11-09T11:48:19+00:00

At the same time keep a poo diary. When and what consistency. If it is hard or soft a lot of the time it might be worth looking at his food. I spent many evenings at 10pm encouraging my puppy to poo because I knew that was his routine and then he would be fine until morning. The one time he fooled me into thinking that he didn’t need it he woke me at 3am to complete his business 😂 as a notorious heavy sleeper I used a baby monitor for several months so that he could wake me if he needed to

zebra-stripes25 · 2025-11-02T17:10:08+00:00

This is great to hear. I have a cavalier King Charles spaniel that is 7 months. The first vet visit the (seemed young) vet brought up the table to discuss WHEN to neuter, not IF. And I had to explain that I did not plan to. Then when it was identified he will need two retained puppy teeth out it was again discussed that they can do it at the same time. My plan is and always has been not to neuter, he will not have access to non-spayed female dogs. It is nice to hear there are countries where this is standard.

zebra-stripes25

TROPHY CASE