Expert: Liz Gregory - 2/6/2009

Question
We are looking at a female King Charles Cavalier puppy, currently 4 weeks old. She won't be adopted out until she is 9 weeks old, but we are being asked to make a decision now. This puppy seems to be gentle. She was the first of her litter to leave the whelping box to explore and is the first to explore when placed in a new environment, which makes me think she might adapt well to new environments. She sometimes plays with her 5 other siblings but sometimes prefers to sit to the side by herself (about 50/50). She is the only pup who prefers to sit out the puppy play and I am not sure what this means. I am wondering about how well she is learning to have a soft mouth, how trainable she will be and how well she will get along with other dogs and people. We do plan to socialize her. Our home has 2 adults, no children or other pets, with one of us at home full time. This will be our first dog since we were teenagers (we are middle aged now)

Answer
Hi Ann,
I think this puppy would make an excellent match for you as you have no other pets or children. I have had pups similar to this and I always place them with people with your lifestyle. It doesn't mean that she is antisocial or anything, she sounds like a gentle soul. My pups that I have had similar (and there is usually one in every litter) always want to be with me rather than play with their siblings or explore when I bring them all out for socialization.
If you take her out often around other people and animals that are friendly she should do well with them. When they haven't gotten as much exposure, they may be rather shy, or even protective of you.
Cavalier puppies are very mischievous. You would definitely need many chew toys as they love to chew as puppies (and older). They will find anything that they can and they are very good at finding things.
I think she will be very attentive to you and you should find her easy to train.
Good luck with your puppy and if you have any other questions or need more clarification feel free to contact me again!

Liz