Charming Cavalier puppies are family raised with love. Their early socialization process in preparation for their life with you begins at birth. The early bonds they form with their mother, littermates and their first human family (Charming Cavaliers) will allow them to trust and bond with their new family. Early socialization is key to a puppy’s development. When the puppies’ ears and eyes open, enrichment items are added to their environment, Puppy toys give them new safe things to investigate, we expose them daily to different sights and sounds and they interact with people of different ages as well as our family pets. Besides the other Cavaliers we also have two indoor cats so our puppies are cat friendly. All of these opportunities are to encourage the young Cavaliers to be confident and know how to handle new experiences. Once old enough they will also have outside playtimes in the backyard, fresh air, warm sun and new smells. Our puppies are accustomed to normal household sounds as they are raised in our home underfoot. In order to give our puppies the best start possible we feel it’s necessary to keep them with there mother and littermates until they are 10 weeks of age. Charming Cavaliers believes this extra time gives our puppies a head start to becoming more confident and well-adjusted adults. The essential skills they learn from their mother and littermates are carried with them throughout life.
     
Remember Charming Cavaliers has been the only home your puppy has known. Being away from Mom and the littermates for the first time will be a big change. Cavaliers are very adaptable and bond to their owners very quickly so the adjustment should be a smooth one. They are known for, “Loving the one they are with.” The solid foundation of early socialization your puppy received while under our care will help ease the transition. Once your puppy leaves our care continuing socialization is up to you.

We recommend you plan to spend as much time as possible with your new puppy while he/she is awake the first few days to help the adjustment. Plan to pick your puppy up at the start of a weekend. This extra time will help you bond and help ease the transition. 

 
Remember a young puppy has not yet had all of its vaccinations completed and is very vulnerable to communicable life threatening disease. The immunization process can take anywhere from 14-16+ weeks. Your veterinarian will tell you when your puppy is fully protected.  When socializing a puppy that has not completed their immunization please stay away from public locations where  other dogs have been or may have been and if you have to take your puppy, carry them, do not place them on the ground.

When socializing your puppy try to make sure that each experience is a pleasant one and non-threatening. Think of everything you plan to do with your Cavalier in the future and slowly introduce them to it. If you want to bring your Cavalier shopping with you in a carrier, start now. Introduce your puppy to people of all ages, men, women, children, seniors. If you see the puppy shy away (uncommon in Cavaliers) have healthy treats on hand and ask the person to give your dog a treat before greeting. Before long every new person they see will mean food! Ask your vet if it would be safe to socialize your puppy with adult dogs of family or friends that you know are healthy and fully vaccinated. All other dogs will have to wait until your puppy is older and fully vaccinated. Cavaliers do require moderate grooming so be sure your puppy is accustomed to the routines of grooming, bathing, brushing, trimming the nails, brushing their teeth and cleaning their ears and eyes. Remember it’s so much easier to teach the proper way to behave from the beginning than it is to regain once bad habits are learned. Have fun and enjoy your new family member!