Welcome to Card’s Cavalier King Charles Breeder

Our whelping box is set up where our girls give birth to their puppies. Our role is to be present and provide love and support as needed. This includes giving calcium supplements, water, and laying down clean towels.

Once all the puppies arrive, their weights, coloring, and sex are recorded. Once they settle in for a well deserved nap, Mama gets a quick gentle bath before snuggling back up with her pups. She will stay very close to them for the first week or two, ensuring their happiness and growth. During this time, we closely monitor the mom, ensuring her smooth recovery, proper nutrition, hydration, and a calm and comfortable environment.

Warmth is crucial for young puppies. To help them, we tuck a heating pad under soft bedding, choosing materials that provide good traction and liquid absorption as they start to find their footing. 

The first 3 days there is minimal handling (weights, ribbon change, head to toe check) and return to mom asap.

On day 4 we start Early Scent Introductions such as spices and others. We also start handling exercises or Early Neurological Stimulation to gently run our fingers along their body offering

them our nose and mouth to smell. We hold them close to our heart and face. Then we wait for calm energy and then return to the mom.

After one week, their eyes and ears are still closed, as they rely entirely on mom for warmth, nutrition, and care. Newborns pups spend most of their time nursing and sleeping, growing rapidly each day. Pups that are thriving well should have doubled their birth weight by this point. The ones which are smaller at birth often catch up rapidly when weaned.

During this week we still have daily handling, weight check, and even scent reactions.

On Day 7 we trim the puppies nails. Which we also continue to do every 7 days. deworming before sending them to their new homes.

Around the end of week 2, the puppies’ eyes are beginning to open, though their vision is still developing and will remain blurry for a while. 

It’s during this week  on day 15 that we continue daily handling but now we rub ears, cover eyes, open mouth and run fingers on gums, rub belly in circular motions, run hand down back, run hand and fingers along tail, touch all paws, tap nails, run fingers around neck and under ribbon/collar, and touch their nose. All handling is gentle and safe. Then we let pups smell our mouth and nose and hold next to our heart until pup settles in and sleeps then return to mom.

On day 18 we also start exposing the pups to loud noises such as beating pans together, clapping, or whistling.

Also at 2 weeks, the puppies are given Nemex 2 dewormer to help prevent and eliminate roundworms, a common parasite in young puppies, ensuring they are off to a strong and healthy start.

At three weeks old, our puppies are growing more active and curious about their surroundings. Their littler eyes and ears are now open, and they start noticing sights and sounds, making this an exciting stage. They take their first wobbly steps, interact more with their littermates and us, and even begin playful nibbling. Their tiny growls and attempts at communication are absolutely heart-melting!

During this week we continue the daily handling exercises. Also on day 21 we expand noise exposure to many different sounds such as loud TV, music, vacuuming, firework sounds, dogs barking and so on. Now we also start exposing the pups to a multitude of new items in the litter/welping box. Some of the items would be pillows, buckets, apples, stuffed animals, and more.

At 3 weeks, we let the pups get their first taste of the big-kid menu as we start introducing solid food!

At four weeks old, the puppies are little bundles of energy and curiosity! They’re wobbling around with more confidence, starting to play with their littermates, and showing off their tiny personalities. Their teeth are beginning to come in, making them extra eager to explore solid food (and maybe nibble on a few unexpected things!)  Some of the things you see at this stage include adorable head tilts and little tail wags.

Once the pups are comfortable on their tiny feet, we start taking them outside when we catch them waking up to start potty training and the outdoor exposure.

On day 28 we add some gentle tugs during the daily handling exercises on the ears and tails. Now we also add more exposure activities throughout the day.

At 4 weeks, the pups get given their second round of Nemex 2 dewormer. 

Now the puppies are moved to another area where they start training in an open crate to sleep with a potty and food/water area. During this time we also start doggie door training when taken outside to potty. 

They are now quite sufficient eaters and enjoy solid food that has been slightly softened with substitution milk which they will gobble up instantly upon seeing it!

Playtime is a full-contact sport now, featuring dramatic pounces, exaggerated barks, and the occasional accidental somersault. Their little baby teeth are coming in, which means everything is fair game for chewing—your fingers, their toys, and probably their own tails.

The best part about week 5 is they’re starting to develop their unique personalities, from the bold adventurer who leads every expedition to the sleepy cuddlebug who prefers to nap in a puppy pile.

One thing’s for sure, we love to play with them, ensuring the pups get plenty of human interaction, including some naps on our laps. 

We now add touching between the puppies pads on their paws and nose touching.

Potty, doggie door, and stair training continues during this time. 

Puppies are typically fully weaned by now and eating solid food, though some may still nurse occasionally if the mother allows it.

As they live with us in our home, they are exposed to a number of different sounds. From vacuums running, dishwashers and washing machines, and everyday random noises. Pups begin to develop their little voices at this time and will be eager to use it to let you know when they want to be played with or held. This is when you can start to see their individual personalities really begin to come out.

Week 6-7 is also when we take them to get their first Veterinary check to insure they are healthy before they go to their furever homes. They also receive their first set of vaccinations and a microchip for you to register. 

Some pups will have umbilical hernias which are quite common and not usually a problem. Many small hernias will close up and self correct between 4-6 months of age. The ones that don’t can easily be sewn up when the pup gets spayed or neutered at 6 months of age which only adds a small fee by most veterinarians as it’s done while they are already under anesthesia. We are also willing to refund that extra cost to you. Another common problem found during this visit is a heart murmur. Again many murmurs self correct by 6 months of age.

By 7 weeks of age the puppies are fairly proficient at using our doggie door where we can wake them from their nap and tell them to go outside and they will head straight to the doggie door. They are usually proficient at stairs and doggie stairs where they now join the big dogs on our laps on the couch. 

The long wait is over! At week 8 your puppy is ready to leave the litter and join you in their new furever home.

Once you choose a name for the puppy, we start using it for them to be used to by the time they are home.

There are a few ways that you are able to pick up your new family member. You can drive to our home in Blanding, Utah, we can fly the puppy out of the Salt Lake City airport using a flight nanny, fly into Salt Lake City yourself, or we can communicate a pick up spot that will work for both of us.

At this time, they are also given their 8-week deworming. 

The pups will be sent home with a backpack filled with many items for your new puppy to include, a weeks worth of puppy food that we use, an folder containing all their paperwork, brand new puppy toys that they choose, a few puppy pee pads, a collapsible travel bowl, poop bags and holder, a blanket with moms scent, a stuffed puppy with a heartbeat, and maybe a couple of other surprises.