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Always feed your Cavalier a proper balanced diet of dog food either moist or dry making sure not to over feed. We always add a 200 iu. Capsule of Vitamin E to the diet to help protect the heart. We also add Plaqueoff for the teeth and a Brewers Yeast tablet for the coat and skin. Alays have have fresh water available, especially when a dry diet is fed.
One of the first things that prospective Cavalier owners ask me is “ Do they take a lot of grooming?”
The answer to that is “ No, but a little and often goes a long way”
To keep your Cavalier in good condition it is best to give him a grooming on a regular basis. Set aside a time for this and make it as relaxing as possible by talking soothingly to him and gently brushing with a slicker to remove dead undercoat. Tip 1: Always use a “soft” or “ tender care “ slicker and be gentle with it to avoid injury. Pay particular attention to the ears and neck area. Check the armpits and legpits for knots.
Knots. They can arrive in the coats of even a newly groomed dog but need not be a massive problem to remove if care and gentleness are used. If a knot is found, then tease it out gently with the fingers, an anti tangle spray can be used first to make it easier. Tip 2: Spray it well to make it work better, it has to soak the hair shaft to make it slippery.
Tip 3: Don’t upset the dog and yourself by yanking at the knot. Instead, get one of those handy little seam rippers from a haberdashery or sewing shop and use this to work and trim the knot out causing minimum damage to the coat. It has a tiny blade on it and will be less likely to cause wounding to the dog . This is important if the knot is very close to the skin, usually behind the ears. Tip 4: If scissors have to be used as a last resort cut up into the knot rather than across it to reduce chop marks in the coat. Again, care must be taken to avoid cutting the skin which is often difficult to see.
If the long black hair on your Cavalier is turning brown or the blenheim is looking faded and yellow this is usually dead or sun damaged hair. To restore the coat back to it’s original glory will take a little work but will be very worth while. Tip 5: Take a metal comb with fine teeth such as a cat comb , not as fine as a flea comb. Next, take an elastic band and weave it in and out of the teeth near the base until the whole of it is used up. Now, use this to comb the dog, keeping the blade flatter to the body rather than upright. The elastic will grip the dead coat and “ teggy bits”and pull them out leaving the live coat behind. Your Cavalier may not like this at first, do not spent hours doing it, a few minute a day will be kinder until you have got “ on top of the job” and he will get used to it. Tip 6: Rubber thimbles such as used for counting money are excellent when worn one on the finger and one on the thumb to gently pluck out dead hear from the top of head and ears.
Cavaliers usually liked to be bathed, this can be done on a regular basis at home quite easily. Tip 7 Use an over the bath baby bath to raise the dog to a better level. Tip 8 Dilute the shampoo in a plastic jug with warm water, before you start. It will go further and rinse easier. Always use a proper dog shampoo, use warm water to wet the coat well. Tip 9: After rinsing well, use a dog conditioner such as a moisturising or silk one. Tip 10: Use a moisture magnet or synthetic chamois to remove excess water from the coat then finish with a cotton towel. Tip 11 Using a hair dryer set to warm, not hot, blow dry the dogs coat but at the same time use the slicker brush to groom the coat to lie in the direction that the hair grows. This can be tricky with a hand held dryer so it may be worth investing in a bracket that holds the dryer NOT THE DOG in pace. Tip 12. When the coat is dry, set the dryer to cool and continue with brushing for a couple of minutes more. This contracts the hair shafts that the heat has relaxed and helps them to stay smoother longer. Tip 13 If your dog is for show or you are spending a lot of time outside it is a good idea to then finish the groom with a spray of product such as Mr Groom Show groom as it adds shine, reduces static but importantly contains sun screen.
Check regularly that your dogs nails are not too long. Cutting can be done by your groomer, vet or self. As it is not easy to see on black or brown claws care must be taken not to cut the “quick” TIP 14: Before starting to cut the nails have a pot of bleed stop, styptic powder or Trimmex to hand so that if you do make a mistake bleeding can soon be stopped and a lesson is learned for next time not to cut so short.
Tip 15: If your Cavalier suffers from tear staining bathe the area twice or three times a day with neat witch hazel ( hammamelis water) on a cotton wool pad. Once removed this can be done daily or every couple of days. Do not put it IN the eyes.
Always check your check your dogs teeth and ears , inform the vet of any problems and get it dealt with sooner rather than later. Clean the ears once a week with a product such as Biogroom Ear Cleaner. This company also makes a mite treatment , we tend to use THORNIT as a preventative.
We also treat our dogs 4 times a year for worms, plus use Stronghold for mite and flea prevention.
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