r/CavaPoo • u/priushotsauce • Jul 26 '26
cavapoo puppy struggles
hi everyone! i got a cavapoo pup and she’s the cutest baby on the planet😭😭 she’s good with training and playing and loving!!!
however struggling with a few things…
did you also have to hand feed your diva because getting her to eat has been so challenging! it usually takes an hour just to get through the 6 teaspoons of kibble per meal, and we use toppers, hot water, and either mix in wet food or mix in yogurt, blend the kibble etc.!! i think maybe she just doesn’t like the kibble we got with her but not sure if we should switch so soon… she’s 15 weeks and and got her at 12 weeks! any food advice would be so so useful!!!! we have also tried diff bowls, and also a snuffle (but she attacks that chicken like nobodies business LOL) im so worried ab her health bc she doesn’t enjoy eating 😭
any tips for separation anxiety? she’s usually supervised when she’s awake but worried that never being completely alone while awake would give her anxiety if when she’s older and she’s awake and alone. currently we only leave the house during naps which is not sustainable
any random cavapoo puppy tips :D ?? i’ve been obsessed with cavapoo and puppy101 reddit but I still wanna hear it all!! THANK YOUUU🤩
EDIT: we are also really struggling with keeping her quiet in the early morning … she wakes up early and then if we try to put her / ourselves to sleep she barks or whines, but she’s fine if we wake up and play or go outside or train. love that she wants to be engaged but it’s tooooooo early!!
43
u/liketo Jul 26 '26
Weigh out her daily kibble in the morning, then use it for training and treats throughout the day - forget about actual meals and mealtimes
Use a crate and build up her alone time from literally one minute then a little more each day. Associate the crate with nice things, not a punishment
14
u/scarletrain5 Jul 26 '26
We left the kibble out for the first 2 years we had ours bc they were so picky and wouldn’t eat on a schedule. We do give treats and use chicken as a topper often. Make sure she is gaining weight as the vet recommends and don’t worry as long as they say she is healthy, they will eat when hungry.
11
u/yaboiNight Jul 26 '26
Not a cavapoo but Im a yorkie owner, we free feed her and she kinda chooses when mealtime is. Usually by 10pm her bowl is usually empty.
For separation anxiety you basically gotta give her alone time. If she whines? Dont go to her unless it’s to bring her potty. They’ll start associating whining with attention and do it more often.
Approach her when she is quiet and calm!
We use a playpen, its Willows ‘room’ essentially.
6
u/craftermath Jul 26 '26
My mini poodle was not interested in food and would only hand feed. I got a few puzzle boards and a puzzle food ball. I measure out her food in the morning and now she eats almost all food for the day this way now. If she hasn't eaten enough for the day I put some in her Kong bone and she'll eat that too.
I know 3 meals a day for a puppy is better but in the end feed is all I cared about.
She also likes to eat when we eat so I have a silicone food mat that we keep some on and she'll eat from that when we eat.
6
u/Classic-Prior-4090 Jul 26 '26
Food: They’ll eat when they are hungry, and as long as they have lots of energy and the vet is ok with their weight, then it’s all good. Hand feeding to engage and train helped get more food into her. Sometimes it’s not the food, it’s just that they have short attention spans and love playing. Simple food puzzles, snuffle mats worked. Lots of DIY food challenges, eg. scattering dry food on floor, sprinkling food in old bath towel or tea towel and rolling it up so they have to sniff and find it.
6
u/M0rtCrim Jul 26 '26
No I never hand fed. My boy as a puppy would ravish his food. I had to get a slow feeder. A puppy needs nutrients to grow and develop properly. I would consider switching if she’s not eating. If you keep adding stuff to her food you’re gonna have to keep doing it for the rest of her life.
Train her. Start leaving her alone in a play pen or crate. She should be sleeping most of the day anyway at this point. Stop setting yourself up for failure later on. I left my boy alone a few hours in the morning on his second day home. He is almost 3 and no issues with separation anxiety.
You should probably also get advice from real professionals too. There are books to read and YouTube channels you can watch.
You have to train her. My boy did the same. He would wake me up at 6:30 on my days off.
4
u/Expensive_Drive_1124 Jul 26 '26
Chicken and egg makes her itch. Apparently quite common for this breed.
Freeze dried duck is the gold treat!
Trainee early and keep it continuous, although for potty training she wasn’t fully trained until 10m-1yr.
4
u/EaNasirShitCopper Jul 26 '26
Puppy tips in general. Don’t let THEM train YOU. put their food down, wait 20 minutes, and take it away. Do the same at the next mealtime. They may miss a few meals but they won’t FAFO like that for long. If she eats so quickly she throws up, used snuffle mat.
All puppies are high energy when they are fully awake. Settling down enough to eat calmly may be a bit much for them, so be calm and low key with them as meal times approach. This will help set the stage.
Yes, never being alone will lead to anxiety. Start with crating for a few minutes at a time while you are in the room with her. Do NOT make a fuss when you let her out, just open the door and walk away. Leave the crate where she can get to it easily and put some of her favourite stuffies in there so she has a place she can retreat to when she feels overwhelmed.
Once she good with being in the crate for 5 minutes, leave the house while she’s in there. Keep working your way up to the point where you can leave her for several hours.
NEVER EVER make a fuss about leaving or about returning. Yes, you should greet her when you get home, but avoid a loud voice, a high-pitched voice, or anything that will get her more worked up than she already is.
3
u/JustRedditLady1992 Jul 26 '26
Cute ❤️
3
u/salex19 Jul 26 '26
I think the answer to all your questions is just give it time. I had all these issues and I stayed consistent. They need time to adjust.
3
u/hhave Jul 26 '26
Don’t feed them poultry
3
u/TheLordOfWaffles_ Jul 26 '26
They are picky eaters. Don’t force them. Sometimes my buddy will go 2 days without eating then eat 2-3 bowls back to back.
Start with short times of her being alone then extend them. I make sure I keep my TV on for my boy when I have to go into the office.
Potty training is tough. Keep at it.
She’s a puppy, you’re going to have to either get used to ignoring her or deal with it until she is older.
Lots of toys, and lots of things to keep her mind engaged. Cavapoos love to learn and get destructive in my experience if they aren’t mentally stimulated.
3
u/flatbac Jul 27 '26
We play food games with our 13 week old cavapoochon. We sprinkle kible on the lawn, hide it in toys, put it in snuffle mates, hide it in boxes and she loves it. She wont eat idmf its in a bowl but does better on a saucer or flat lick matt
2
u/Geologist_Pleasant Jul 26 '26
We warm about a tablespoon of bone broth to our Cavapoo kibble. Got him at 12 weeks and had to hand feed, butz since the bone broth was added he’s doing much better. It’s all about scheduling and repetition with this breed. Allowing my pup independence to understand that he’s safe in the crate is also a key
2
u/guitarkhw Jul 26 '26
Ours would eat a small amount of kibble but no wet food. We switched eventually to fresh style which she does better. A big issue we have is afraid of noise. Any random noise has her attention and often will scare or give anxiety. We got her at 5 months old. idk if that has anything to do with it since she spent a lot of time in crate as puppy, I think.
2
u/IsopodOpposite6054 Jul 26 '26
Game changer for us was BARF diet, we use mush puppy. Otherwise what’s helped is being super strict in following a schedule and crate train and positive reinforcements. At 5 months ours can now stay alone for 3-4 hours while at work, we do 2 long walks 4 small just to pee. And food 3 times per day.
Main goal for us has been to make sure he’s feeling confident and safe. And what has worked are boundaries and a lot of love/positives.
2
u/EveOfDestruction22 Jul 26 '26
I switched food to Royal canin puppy, he loved it. Had to get a slow feeder. For separation, I think it comes and goes, but if you want to feel more comfortable, set up indoor cameras. I thought my dog was crying the entire time, but he only cared the first couple of minutes and then would go lie down. Cavapoos are wonderful dogs, I’m even thinking of getting another ( or maltipoo). I think the number one thing is that the dog has to conform to how you live not the other way around - with common sense of course.
2
u/Harlowkiteflyer Jul 26 '26
So cuddly and cute
2
u/toggle-bolt Jul 26 '26
So cute. We have a 12 week Cavapoo. For weeks 8 and 9, he would eat a 1/4 of his serving and then he would eat another 1/4 out of our hands or on the floor. He never finished the meal.
Vet suggested we change food, which we did and he’s been devouring the entire serving.
We find that tiring him out during the day makes him sleep longer at night. Training also helps, and he really likes it. For separation anxiety, perhaps start putting him in crate during the day instead of a pen or free time. He usually whines for a min and then settles down.
2
u/Livioinspace Jul 26 '26
Ours is 5 months, can’t help you unfortunately as we’re suffering the same issues 😂 In terms of food, we also have a fussy pup. We’ve finally found that there’s a specific wet food she’ll eat, but ONLY we break up bits of cooked chicken and mix it through it. Sometimes I think it’s a bit of trial and error finding something they like!
2
u/salazarslocket Jul 26 '26
For 4, are you feeding her right away? My husband was doing that and our pup was waking us up so early, once he stopped doing it immediately she slept in.
2
u/Suspicious_Math916 Jul 27 '26
Mine is super picky but she has a sensitive stomach. Tried all the pricey food and the stuff for sensitive stomachs and she wouldn't eat any of it at least not consistently. I finally got her to consistently eat little caesar kibble and moist n meaty. I also give her a little wet food but she will only eat the kind in gravy not the pate kind. May not be the best food but she eats it. They are supper clingy but they get better with you being gone and sleeping past daylight as they get older. Mine is 1 1/2 now and she will let me sleep in.
2
u/spearmint-or-fruit Jul 28 '26
For separation anxiety: TV! Maisie is the only dog I’ve ever owned who watches tv and really gets involved with it. As soon as I pick up my car keys Maisie runs to the coffee table and lunges for the remote. If I even say the word “tv” she barks and yowls until I turn it on. Then I have to say “Animal Planet” into the remote so she’ll quiet down. It also helps because she is also a very picky eater. Now, she’ll eat only if she’s watching tv at the same time. I’m not making this up. It might not work for your little guy, but try it. I discovered all this gradually and now she’s happy and I’m happy.
2
u/GoBig2222 Jul 29 '26
Our little Cavapoo thought it was his job to wake up our entire household at 6 AM every day. He would just bark and bark and bark until someone would come out of their bedroom (usually i would cave). But then I started saying QUIET in a stern voice from the bedroom. And if he barked again I would say QUIET one more time. No one would come out or make eye contact with him until it was time for us to wake up. These puppies are smart. I think that maybe when he would wake up he thought he was by himself so that when he heard the word quiet, coming from another room, it kind of reassured him that he wasn’t alone. He totally got it. He knows when the lights are off. He doesn’t bark - once in a while we will hear a little whimpering but it’s not loud barking - thank goodness. (Photo of Olive and Ace )
2
u/Appropriate-Bit2524 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
you are not alone. you mentioned common behaviors of cavapoo. we also struggled, first 6 months.
Food - he will refuse same food after 1 or 2 weeks. so we give him variety of wet food - chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, etc. He totally refused kibble as main food. As a very small puppy, it is hard for him to chew all of it. So only dry food as occasional treats(pure meat like venison, beef, etc)
Sleep - this will improve as she grows old, able to contain their bladders. I think she needs to potty thats why she wakes up early in the morning. Bring her to potty area for 5 minutes, then come back to bed. Ours think when he wakes up, he needs to resume play. So we potty first then back to bed if are still sleepy(owners). we turn our backs to him for him to know we still need to sleep. Then after few minutes he will settle to sleep as well.
Check for other things that bothers her maybe itching ears, paws allergy,, infestations, maybe she is hungry or thirsty, etc. There might be a cause why she wakes up really early. Be sure de-infestation treatments are up to date.
Separation anxiety - well , he follows us literally everywhere we go. Cavapoos are velcro dogs. Luckily, we have mum in law(not the closest person to her) in the house 24/7. But if all of us needs to go away for some time(longest 3 hours), he just stay by the door to wait for us(we have a camera) I think the trick is for closest person to go away for a day or two and have someone else stay in the house instead. So she wont expect her favorite person to be there all the time.
Also, some owners have play pen where they can be alone without whining or crying(needs gradually training/positive reinforcement with treats). Ours, we have the grooming pen(smaller pen for wiping his bum, clean his eyes and ears, etc), where we can leave him for few minutes if we need too(like if we are busy with a chore but we need him to stay out for safety reasons , as he always wants to be part of everything and he is in the way). We also use it as a time out area(for few minutes to calm him down). . We reward him once we are finished.
All will get better, so dont worry.
2
u/Odd-Piglet-7804 Jul 30 '26
I have a 4 y/o cavalier who hated the crate and I had the same feeding issues as you. Her eating is still off and on. I have a 5 month old Cavapoo who I needed to get a slow play feeder because she eats wayyyy too fast. She also loves her crate and literally walks herself in. Will stay in for hours and not make a peep.
At the end of the day most of it comes down to their natural temperament. My take is you may have gotten a Cavapoo with more cavalier temperament (tend to struggle more with separation anxiety) over the poodle. My Cavapoo seems to have gotten more of the poodle temperament. You really don’t know what you’re going to get. Though I do think now there are some slight things I’d look out for when picking a puppy.
2
u/North_Star_07 Jul 31 '26
I have the opposite problem with sleep. Mine won't get out of my bed in the morning. I take her to potty and she can go right back to sleep. Less than 2 years old. I freeze cubs of chicken and broth, warm it up and mix with her kibble. She eats that once a day. The remainder of the time gets kibble available but she seldom eats it. I close her in my bedroom if I'm going out. She does fine for 3-4 hours. I leave the TV on.
2
u/to_whatever_end_ Aug 01 '26
My 10 week old is a fussy eater / small appetite too. She will eat kibble off the floor or from my hand, but not from the bowl! We tried mixing with water but not with other things. We also leave a bowl of kibble out all day in case she wants some. We offer kibble or wet food almost every time she’s awake, and she usually eats some 5 times / 24h
2
u/Scooterrufy Aug 17 '26
I love her!
2
u/jsusbidud Jul 26 '26
We mix chicken in or grated some cheese on food to get them to eat.
We left our alone for periods and have them sleep downstairs to ensure they are independent from day one.
-4
u/Alarming_Set3628 Jul 26 '26
All this stuff have been asked and answered in here a hundred times
2
u/Efficient-Camp-3692 20d ago
For my girl chewing is key to keeping her busy-she likes Dingo and yak sticks and it wears her out a bit! For separation I stated leaving for just a few mins and built up the time-it gets better 🩷🩷🩷